**DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS** 12 April 2026-23:59-GMT+01:00 Central European Time (Rome) **ABOUT WFP** The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change. At WFP, people are at the heart of everything we do and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse, committed, skilled, and high performing teams, selected on merit, operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment, living WFP's values (Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves. To learn more about WFP, visit our website:
**WHY JOIN WFP?**- WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.- WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse, and multicultural working environment.- WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training, accreditation, coaching, mentorship, and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.- A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe.- We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the **Terms and Conditions**section of this vacancy announcement). JOB TITLE: Advocacy & Communications Officer (CST-1)
TYPE OF CONTRACT: Short-term / consultancy contract
UNIT/DIVISION: Nutrition, School Meals and Social Protection Service
DUTY STATION (City, Country): Rome, Italy
DURATION:



11 months **BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT**: For more than 60 years, WFP has been the leading organization in supporting countries with their school meals programmes, which are widely prevalent throughout the world. In 2020, WFP launched a 10-year strategy for school meals. WFP advocates for the universal adoption of school meals programmes as a safety net that helps increase children’s access to education and learning opportunities and strengthens their health and nutrition. WFP focuses increasingly on helping countries to establish and maintain nationally owned programmes. In countries still requiring WFP’s operational support, it implements school meals programmes with clear hand over strategies. In 2021, these were taken to the next level with the launch of the School Meals Coalition at the Food Systems Summit to urgently re-establish, improve and scale-up school meals programmes in countries all over the world. WFP, which hosts the Secretariat of the School Meals Coalition, supports the Coalition’s objectives by driving forward the collective vision, ensuring effective coordination and implementation, connecting governments, partners and the Coalition Initiatives. It supports governments in advancing their national school meals programmes, also working alongside UN agencies and other stakeholders. The Coalition brings together over 110 member governments, 6 regional bodies and more than 150 partners.



The Secretariat of the School Meals Coalition, which sits at WFP’s Nutrition, School Meals and Social Protection Service, is looking for a qualified and experienced individual to serve as Advocacy & Communications Officer. **ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES**: Under the overall management of the Head of Advocacy and Communications of the School Meals Coalition Secretariat and under the direct supervision of the Communications & External Engagement Officer of the School Meals Coalition Secretariat, and working closely with WFP colleagues at headquarters, regional and national level, the consultant will be responsible for contributing to developing and executing advocacy and communications plans. **1. Advocacy and Communications Strategizing and Planning**
- Contribute to designing and executing the 2026 Advocacy and Communications Plan of the School Meals Coalition Secretariat, including a strategic digital engagement plan.
- Monitor policy trends across sectors, including education, nutrition, health and emergencies, to identify emerging opportunities for advocacy.
- Identify relevant advocacy platforms and support events (in person and online) to position school meals and the School Meals Coalition at global level across all relevant sectors. This includes gathering intelligence to identify key entry points and champions across governments and partners. Key global platforms include the G20, G7, Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, UN climate talks and the UN General Assembly.
- Help assess and respond to external requests for engagement around events based on agreed criteria with the team.
- Provide strategic advocacy and communications inputs to regular meetings organized by the School Meals Coalition Secretariat

📌 Advocacy & Communications Officer (Roma)
🏢 World Food Programme
📍 Roma