SSA Consultant- Climate- Resilient livelihoods & Food Systems expert

WFP encourages female candidates and people with disabilities to apply

WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles. Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis. We are committed to promoting diversity and the principle of equal employment opportunity for all our employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of religion or belief, ethnic or social background, gender, gender identity and disability.

VACANCY DETAILS

Job Title: SSA Consultant- Climate- Resilient livelihoods & Food Systems expert

Type of Contract: Special Services Agreement

Duration: 7 Months from start date of the contract

Reporting To: Team Lead (CSP) and Deputy Country Director (DCD)

Duty Station: New Delhi

Date of Publication: 20 May 2026

Deadline of Application: 09 June 2026

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

• This vacancy is open to Indian National only
• A Written test will be used for Screening Candidates
• Candidates readily available to join immediately will be preferred.
• The recruitment process will be limited to individual consultants only. Candidates applying as representatives of firms, agencies, or any other organizational entities would not be eligible for consideration, as WFP will issue payments directly to the consultant and not to any firm, agency, or institution
• The Salary for this position will be LUMP-SUM and will be linked to deliverables Refer to the payment schedule in Terms of reference. Consultant will be covered with medical & death & disability coverage as per WFP 's Plan. All Tax liability for payments from this contract are to be borne by the subscriber.    

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE

The Country Strategic Plan (CSP) Review (2023–2027) provides a comprehensive assessment of WFP India Country Office (CO) strategy and programmatic activities over the period. It aims to generate evidence, insights, and strategic direction to inform decision-making and the formulation of the next CSP (2028–2032).

Specifically, the review will:

• Undertake a landscape and context analysis of the food security and nutrition sector in India;
• Assess the CSP 2023–2027, including programmatic performance and partnerships with the Government of India and State Governments;
• Generate independent, impartial evidence and strategic learnings from programme implementation to inform future strategic direction;
• Identify opportunities and potential for resource mobilization from diverse funding sources.

The review will include both internal and external components. The internal component will focus on performance analysis of the current CSP, while an external review will focus on the landscape analysis including funding landscape, which will be led by a team of consultants (one Team Leader and three subject matter experts), each contracted individually. For more details, please access the detailed TOR here.Climate Resilient livelihoods & Food Systems Expert

To guide and coordinate this process, the India CO will establish a CSP Task Force responsible for overseeing the implementation of the CSP review.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (Not all inclusive) 

Climate resilient livelihoods & food systems expert will work under the overall guidance of the Team Leader and in close coordination with the CO CSP Task Force, with primary responsibility for analytical inputs related to climate resilient livelihoods and food systems.

Specific Responsibilities

• Provide support to the Team Lead in developing a detailed methodological design, work plan and analytical framework, in consultation with CO CSP task force, and submit it as part of the inception report for CO management approval.
• Conduct landscape analysis and provide technical and analytical inputs to the CSP review related to climate resilient livelihoods and food systems, with particular emphasis on climate resilience, livelihoods diversification, sustainable food systems, and community level adaptation.
• Review and assess WFP’s technical assistance to Government of India on climate resilient livelihoods and food systems, including interventions targeting smallholder farmers (particularly women farmers), value chain strengthening, climate smart practices, and technology enabled innovations at the grassroots level from external lens
• Examine integration of climate risk analysis, adaptive capacity building, sustainable natural resource management, and participatory approaches within programme design and implementation.
• Assess WFP’s contribution to institutional and community level capacity strengthening for climate adaptation and resilience.
• Identify emerging risks, opportunities, and policy shifts related to climate resilience, food systems transformation, and livelihoods in India.
• Support stakeholder consultations with central and state government officials, technical agencies, research institutions, UN agencies, and partners relevant to nutrition and food systems.
• Support horizon scanning and identification of emerging trends, risks, and opportunities to support climate resilient interventions within India and drawing on global trends and best practices.
• Undertake stakeholder consultations focused on climate resilient livelihoods and food systems areas with, but not limited to, CO senior management, central and state government officials (3-4 priority states based on the state prioritization), other key actors in the sector including UN agencies, NGOs and other development partners, key funders for the sector (including private philanthropic institutions, corporates, high-net-worth individuals (HNIs), bi-multilateral donors, embassies, etc.
• Prepare thematic inputs, case summaries, and analytical notes for inclusion in the External Review Report.
• Provide technical support to the Team Leader in synthesising findings and formulating forward looking recommendations for the next CSP, particularly for strengthening partnerships, innovation, and scalability under climate resilient livelihoods and food systems.
• Support preparation of presentations and briefing notes related to climate resilient livelihoods and food systems for sectoral and high-level consultations, and CO management discussions.
• Ensure adherence to ethical standards and quality assurance requirements, including confidentiality, informed consent, and responsible use of data.
• Provide support for any other relevant tasks for the CSP review as informed by the external review Team Leader and CO CSP task force and as mentioned above in the TOR. 

DELIVERABLES & PAYMENTS

The selected consultant is expected to closely engage with external review Team Leader and CO CSP task force team and keep them updated via emails and meetings (as required). Key deliverables for the assignment include:

• Inception Report: Detailed methodology, tools, and workplan; Refined review framework; Stakeholder engagement plan with timelines
• External Review Report:  Insights from Landscape review and stakeholder consultations,
• Presentations for Sectoral and High-Level Consultations

• The payments would be made after approval of the deliverables for each of the milestones by CO task team leader. The reimbursement of travel costs will be as per the WFP rules after completion of the travel and submission of the claims verified by the CO CSP Task force leader.
• The consultant will be required to undertake at least trips to 2-3 states for meeting the state level stakeholders. The travel will be arranged by WFP, and the travel costs would be borne by WFP over and above the lumpsum professional fee. The travel entitlements will be as per the guidelines applicable for SSA consultants.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

Advanced university degree (master’s or higher) in Climate Change, Environmental Studies, Sustainable Development, Agriculture, Rural Development, Natural Resource Management, Economics, Development Studies, Social Sciences, or a related discipline.

EXPERIENCE

• Minimum 10-12 years of relevant professional experience in climate resilient livelihoods, food systems, agriculture, or climate adaptation programming.
• Strong technical understanding of India’s climate, livelihoods, food systems and agriculture policy landscape, including national and state level climate adaptation and resilience initiatives, value chain development, community based adaptation, and sustainable resource management.
• Demonstrated experience in design, review, evaluation and analysis of climate resilience or livelihood focused development programmes, preferably at national or large scale programme level.
• Experience working with or alongside Government of India institutions, state governments, UN agencies, or international development organisations.
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to synthesise complex programmatic and operational information into clear technical insights and recommendations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, with proven ability to contribute to high quality analytical reports, technical notes, and presentations.
• Proficiency in MS Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). 

LANGUAGE

Fluent oral and written communication skills in English and Hindi.

HOW TO APPLY

To be considered, interested candidates are invited to apply via (https://www.wfp.org/careers/job-openings). Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

WFP will not request payment at any stage of the recruitment process including at the offer stage. Any requests for payment should be refused and reported to local law enforcement authorities for appropriate action.

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme 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.  Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.

WFP has a zero-tolerance approach to conduct such as fraud, sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to WFP’s standards of conduct and will therefore undergo rigorous background verification internally or through third parties. Selected candidates will also be required to provide additional information as part of the verification exercise. Misrepresentation of information provided during the recruitment process may lead to disqualification or termination of employment.