Specialist in Agri-food Value Chains

Overview
Support the design and implementation of a strategy for agro-food systems in Venezuela.

You have:

University degree in Agronomy, Agricultural Economics, Administration, Rural Development, Agricultural Engineering, Rural Sociology, or a related field
At least 5 years of experience in agricultural value chains, local markets, productive development or agro-business, working with cooperatives and small producers, and engagement with the private sector
Experience performing fieldwork, interviews, and data collection
Excellent knowledge of the Venezuelan agri-food context
Fluency (Level C) in Spanish and desirable English

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Details
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

31 May 2026-23:59-GMT-04:00 Venezuela Time (Caracas) 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 Program 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: https://www.wfp.org and follow us on social media to keep up with our latest news: YouTube , LinkedIn , Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , TikTok .

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).
PROFESSIONAL PROFILE: Specialist in Agri-food Value Chains

CONTRACT TYPE: SC8

WORKSTATION: Caracas, Venezuela

DURATION: 06 months

THIS POSITION IS AVAILABLE ONLY TO NATIONALS

BACKGROUND
The World Food Programme (WFP) is the world’s leading humanitarian organization, providing food assistance, improving nutrition, and building resilience. Each year, the WFP supports more than 100 million people in 100 countries.

In Venezuela, WFP works to improve food security for vulnerable populations, in line with the Interim Country Strategic Plan (iCSP) 2023–2026, the United Nations Cooperation Framework for Sustainable Development (2023–2026), the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) and the 2030 Agenda.

WFP applies a comprehensive approach that combines food access, nutrition, and livelihood strengthening. Its main activities include school feeding, food assistance for vulnerable communities, livelihood training, conditional food asset building, support for climate emergency preparedness and response, and capacity building in schools, food systems, and national logistics. WFP in Venezuela is also strengthening its work focused on developing agri-food value chains, boosting local production, and integrating more efficient, resilient, and inclusive food systems. Within this framework, WFP seeks to identify opportunities to connect producers, agro-industries, markets, and social programs, contributing to improved food availability, quality, accessibility, and stability at the national level.

To advance this effort, WFP is seeking a Food Systems and Value Chains Specialist to support the design and implementation of a strategy that provides technical support to local market actors, strengthens market capacities, and improves the links between local food production and national markets. This role will also be key to formulating activities and developing strategic alliances between the public and private sectors, aimed at transforming food systems and coordinating food-based social protection programs with local production supply.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES
Under the direct supervision of the Supply Chain Manager and in coordination with the Program Manager, the International Specialist in Food Systems and Value Chains shall:

1. Contribute to the design and implementation of the methodology for the Local Markets Strategy and Food Value Chains. Provide contextual knowledge (productive, commercial, institutional, territorial).

2. Develop local inputs as part of the methodology: sectoral analysis, mapping of actors, marketing channels, diagnosis of the enabling environment, analysis of bottlenecks and opportunities, and identify relevant secondary information, studies, public policies, and national databases.

4. Conduct interviews, focus groups, and direct observation of key actors (e.g., producers, cooperatives, distributors, markets, government institutions, and private sector actors); as well as systematize data and collaborate with the organization, cleaning, and analysis of information.

8. Identify critical bottlenecks (production, logistics, finance, governance, etc.) and contribute to root cause analysis; Propose locally viable solutions, including improvements in infrastructure, services, aggregation mechanisms, association models and commercial articulation.

9. Contribute to the design of strategies that strengthen the links between producers and markets, providing proposals for intervention in productive development, market access, governance, logistics, post-harvest, inclusion, climate resilience, among others.

10. Facilitate links with public institutions, producer organizations, companies and markets, and accompany the International Specialist in meetings, visits and workshops with local actors to strengthen coordination and multi-sectoral synergies

11. Support the organization of external validation workshops and prepare periodic reports and case studies that document learning and impacts.

12. Perform other assigned tasks as needed.

KEY DELIVERABLES
· Local work plan and contributions to methodological contextualization.

• Implementation of methodology and coordinated work plan.

· Preliminary mapping of actors and chains.

• Database of interviews and analytical synthesis.

• Contributions to the analysis of bottlenecks and opportunities.

• Proposals for market-producer linkage strategies.

• Support for workshops (minutes, presentations, participant lists).

• Development of a final report on the Implemented Methodology and Proposed Strategies.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:
Training:

• University degree in Agronomy, Agricultural Economics, Administration, Rural Development, Agricultural Engineering, Rural Sociology or other related field

Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in tasks related to agricultural value chains, local markets,

Productive or agribusiness development, work with cooperatives and small producers, relationship with the private sector.

• Experience conducting fieldwork, interviews, and data collection.

• Desirable experience in projects of international organizations or the humanitarian sector.

Skills

• Excellent knowledge of the Venezuelan agri-food context.

• Ability to relate to commercial, institutional and community actors.

• Ability to organize data, systematize interviews, and write reports.

• Proficiency in basic digital tools (Excel, Word, data collection platforms preferred).

Languages

• Fluency (level C) in Spanish and English is desirable.

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

WFP Leadership Framework guides to the common standards of behavior that guide HOW we work together to achieve our mission.

Click here to access WFP Leadership Framework

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

WFP is committed to supporting individuals with disabilities by providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation, please contact: [email protected]

NO FEE DISCLAIMER

The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fees in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a request for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.

REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

All applications must be submitted exclusively through our online recruiting system. We do not consider CVs or applications sent by email, LinkedIn, or any other channel.
We strongly recommend that your Workday profile is accurate and complete, and that all sections are filled in, including your employment history, academic qualifications, language skills, and UN grade (if applicable). Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.
If you experience technical issues while submitting your application, you may contact us at [email protected] . Please note that this email is only for technical issues with an application – unsolicited applications or documents sent to this inbox will not receive a reply .
At the application stage, the only required documents are your CV and Cover Letter. Additional documents (passport, certificates, recommendation letters, etc.) may be requested later in the process.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the recruitment process.
All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.