DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

5 February 2026-23:59-GMT+03:00 East Africa Time (Dar es Salaam)

WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.

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.

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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: Anticipatory Action and Disaster Risk Reduction Expert

TYPE OF CONTRACT: SC9

UNIT/DIVISION: Tanzania Country Office, ESARO

DUTY STATION (City, Country): Dodoma, Tanzania

DURATION: One year renewable

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes, contributing to saving and changing lives. Access to climate services and early warnings by the most at risk contribute to better decision making on use of household resources prior to, during and after climate shocks impact on lives and livelihoods. The fundamental right of access to both high quality climate services and early warnings has been acknowledged in the recent call of the UN Secretary General (UNSG) to enhancing early warning systems (EWS) to reach a complete coverage, ensuring that within five years every person is reached through EW delivery (UN Early Warnings for All Initiative, 2022). WFP has committed to supporting this initiative through its global operational reach and expertise in the delivery of climate services through its global integrated climate risk management and anticipatory action portfolio.

Climate extremes are a key driver of food insecurity in Tanzania. The climate crisis is compounding drivers of food insecurity, including conflict and economic shocks. To successfully manage these intersecting issues, disaster risk management and humanitarian response systems need to evolve from crisis response to forward-looking risk management, closely linked to climate science and climate services. The impact of climate extremes can be reduced when reliable climate observations and forecasts, translated into actionable climate services geared towards more informed decision-making to support most at risk communities.

To spearhead the implementation of WFP’s engagement with government counterparts and partners to institutionalize Anticipatory Action and strengthen national systems for climate and Disaster Risk Management, Tanzania Country Office is seeking a seasoned expert to support, as part of a team, the implementation of Anticipatory Action and Disaster Risk Reduction programmes at national and district levels working closely with  Prime Minister’s Office – Disaster Management Department (PM-DMD).

This position will require frequent travel to Dar Es Salaam as well as to districts covered by the project as needed.

Accountabilities/Responsibilities:

Under the supervision of the Anticipatory Action and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) lead, the expert will be based in the WFP’s Country Office in Dodoma and will be required to undertake the following tasks:

Disaster Risk Reduction:

• Undertake district level Hazard, Exposure, Capacity and Vulnerability Assessment – Risk Assessment in collaboration with experts from both PMO-DMD and selected districts.
• Lead and work closely with PM0-DMD in the development of District level Emergency Preparedness and Response Plans (EPRPs) in agreed selected districts.
• Development of DRM programmes that link to social protection and Anticipatory action to ensure integrated interventions.
• Support development of Contingency Plans for various hazards (floods, droughts, epidemics) under the leadership of Government through PMO-DMD, and support planning of simulation exercises.
• Support closely the implementation of project activities funded under FCDO and other donors supporting DRR activities directly.
• Provide technical input to the review and formulation of policies and strategies related to DRR.
• Participate and provide technical input to the donors’ working groups notably the UN Emergency Coordination Group (ECG).
• Liaise with ESARO DRR colleagues to support development of Emergency Preparedness and response (EPR) SOPs at CO level.

Anticipatory Action:

• Support Prime Minister’s Office – Disaster Management Department in their coordinating and convening role in the multi-sectoral Anticipatory Action system design process, building on existing Disaster Risk Management coordination platforms at national to sub-national levels.
• Provide support to WFP Tanzania’s anticipatory action programmes under the supervision of the AA lead.
• Set up and act as secretariat for the Anticipatory Action Technical Working Group in support of PMO-DMD.
• Support the development of multi-hazard anticipatory action plans together with relevant WFP teams, Government, and partners.
• Work with the WFP RAM team, TMA, and partners to define impact-based triggers and thresholds for anticipatory action.
• Together with relevant teams and external partners, develop implementation plans for anticipatory actions.
• Provide technical backstopping support to field teams on implementation of anticipatory actions, ensuring goals and targets are reached in a timely manner.
• Work with the WFP M&E team and relevant partners to develop and implement a learning agenda for anticipatory action.
• Support engagements with Government and partners on Anticipatory Action, Early Warning, and other areas of interest including disaster risk financing.
• Provide support to resource mobilization for the anticipatory action portfolio.
• Support Prime Minister’s Office – Disaster Management Department in consolidating Anticipatory Action system components in standard operating procedures and plans in alignment with government planning mechanisms at national and sub-national level.
• Support Prime Minister’s Office – Disaster Management Department in their coordinating and convening role in the multi-sectoral Anticipatory Action system design process, building on existing Disaster Risk Management coordination platforms at national to sub-national levels.
• Coordinate and align efforts to foster integration of the Anticipatory Action and Shock Responsive Social Protection initiatives.
• Others as required.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education:

Advanced University degree in meteorology, atmospheric science, climate change, environment, earth sciences, geography, climatology, disaster risk reduction/management or related fields.

Experience:

• Minimum of 6 years post graduate, progressively responsible, job related experience in disaster risk reduction, disaster risk management and/or risk financing or related areas and in working closely with government.
• Demonstrated ability to provide technical assistance and capacity building to stakeholders involved in DRM.
• Experience working on programmes related to food security, agriculture, or rural development is considered an asset.
• Demonstrated experience in managing projects on capacity strengthening for climate action programmes would be ideal.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Ability to engage with senior technical staff from Government, UN and NGO partners.
• Knowledge of how climate change impacts people’s food security and nutrition, and a good understanding of the range of climate services available to support vulnerable populations to adapt to these challenges.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, with the ability to convey complex meteorological information to non-experts effectively
• Curiosity and willingness to learn, including proactively researching different climate innovation areas to deepen one’s knowledge in their design and implementation.
• Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities, to synthesize and produce a range of well-communicated information products from reports to proposals, best practices, advocacy documents etc.
• Strong interpersonal and coordination skills, ability to work in a team and to communicate clearly and diplomatically with a wide range of stakeholders from diverse backgrounds.
• Proactive, independent, with ability to plan and organize their work, efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines, and achieving results.
• Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations.
• Proficiency in Windows, MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) .