Macro insurance Programme Coordinator (P4), London United

WFP - World Food Programme; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation allowance

30 days annual leave

Pension plan

Medical insurance

Job summary

World Food Programme in London seeks a driven professional to advance macro insurance and Disaster Risk Financing (DRF) initiatives. You will build technical partnerships, advise on DRF architecture, and coordinate with the UN and financial partners to scale pre-arranged finance for emergencies.

You will lead engagement with policymakers, insurers, and NGOs, ensuring robust risk financing and early action across WFP operations while supporting staff development and cross-cutting risk strategies.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in a relevant field or equivalent with 8+ years of disaster risk financing experience.
• Experience in macro risk financing and climate risk management.
• Fluency in English; working knowledge of a second UN official language is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain partnerships with macro insurance stakeholders in London.
• Advise on DRF architecture and UN DRF platform development.
• Represent WFP in UN and multilateral fora and support fundraising for DRF programmes.
• Lead capacity strengthening and provide technical supervision on DRF products.
• Coordinate with country offices on risk profiling and payout design.
• Oversee budgeting, reporting, and stakeholder communications.

Skills

Fluency in English

Education

Advanced degree in economics/environmental studies/agriculture/food security

Job description

Deadline for Applications

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS 20 September 2026-23:59-GMT United Kingdom Time

Equal Employment Opportunity

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. 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).

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

This position is part of Global Headquarters (GHQ) and reports to the Functional Director, or designate. WFP focuses on macro insurance and insurance-linked securities to enhance preparedness and finance early action and emergency response. Its flagship initiative, ARC Replica, expands climate risk insurance coverage for millions while strengthening government capacity to respond to major climate shocks and integrate with adaptive social protection systems. The macro insurance portfolio has grown to new regions and risk pools (CCRIF, PCRIC, SEADRIF), new market players (e.g., pilots in Syria and Afghanistan), and more catastrophic products (ARC and a World Bank Cat Bond). WFP is developing a Disaster Risk Financing (DRF) architecture to streamline this portfolio across corporate systems and to support a new UN DRF platform for inter-agency risk transfer. WFP is a leading UN agency in this field, with over USD 102 million in pre-arranged finance for 2025 and active roles in the Insurance Development Forum and the Global Shield Coordination Hub. Reporting to the Lead DRF Advisor in PRGR, this position sits within the DRF team, which supports micro, meso, and macro insurance initiatives and integrates innovative climate risk management tools into Country Strategies and climate adaptation projects funded by mechanisms such as the Green Climate Fund and Adaptation Fund.

THE ROLE

Based in the WFP London office, the role facilitates strategic partnerships with macro insurance partners (brokers, risk pools, insurance and reinsurance companies) and DRF actors (e.g., Center for Disaster Protection, the World Bank, Insurance Development Forum). The role increases WFP’s visibility with the UK government, IFIs, and the wider insurance sector, and contributes to designing and implementing the WFP DRF Architecture, the UN DRF platform, and the DRF4ASP window, including gender-responsive operational plans and a strengthened risk-layering approach.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Partnerships: Develop and maintain effective technical and resource partnerships with key insurance stakeholders based in London – such as the World Bank’s Crisis and DRF London hub, The Centre for Disaster Protection, the Insurance Development Forum, Start Network (consortium of NGOs), and other partners (Lloyd’s syndicates, brokers…). Identify opportunities to develop new partnerships with development, humanitarian and private sector entities to support more effective and efficient approaches to climate risk finance programming.
• Strategic engagement: Ensure WFP's engagement on strategic discussions in the DRF sector and advise on developments on this topic which can effectively advance resource mobilisation for WFP's risk financing portfolio and more broadly for emergency preparedness and response.
• Representation: Represent WFP in UN and other multilateral bodies, including NGO and private sector fora and provide these stakeholders with information on WFP’s disaster risk financing portfolio.
• Resource mobilization: Identify funding opportunities and develop proposals, advocacy and communication materials to increase WFP’s profile and support resource mobilization for DRF programmes from bilateral and multilateral public and private donors.
• Technical supervision: Support country offices in the design and update of the risk profile, index insurance product, risk transfer parameters, and engagement with the insurance industry. Supervise the technical work and ensure that WFP purchases the best possible products to protect its operations against climate events and other disasters, and that governments have the best possible support regarding the design and implementation of their DRF strategy.
• Capacity strengthening: Advise and support the development and delivery of functional training in disaster risk financing and insurance (DRF) to enhance the capacity of WFP staff at Global HQ and CO levels to design and deliver effective risk financing programmes, and strengthen governments stakeholders' capacities.
• Research & Evidence generation: Lead on the research and implementation of strategies for risk layering and improved early action in the context of the macro insurance programme, as well as the wider generation of evidence for ex ante approaches to disaster response. Develop and implement the learning strategy for macro insurance. Support the risk transfer research agenda for WFP in close collaboration with the Centre for Disaster Protection and other relevant research partners.
• Operations, Preparedness and Response implementation: Oversee the implementation and continued scaling of WFP's macro insurance programme in the existing countries and prepare to expand to new countries or hazards over the course of WFP's next Strategic Plan (2026-2029).
• Field work: Conduct country visits to introduce COs to macro insurance and DRF, with a focus on strengthening WFP and governments’ response capacities, timelines and risk financing.
• DRF architecture: Contribute to the design and implementation of the DRF architecture and to increase the amount of prearranged finance, as per WFP's target.
• UN DRF platform: contribute to the coordination on the development of the platform with the other UN agencies, and humanitarian organizations (IFRC, Start Network), prepare necessary documentation to structure the project, engage with relevant stakeholders (IDF, CDP) who can support this initiative. Once the platform is operational, WFP's role will be clarified.
• Budget management & Reporting: Plan use of resources, ensure that technical and financial reporting to donors is consistent and timely.
• Any other tasks as required

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Advanced University degree in one or more of the following disciplines: economics, environmental studies, agriculture and food security, development studies, emergency preparedness or related area or First University Degree with two additional years of related work experience.
• At least 8 years of post-graduate, progressively responsible work experience in disaster risk financing, parametric insurance, or climate risk management.
• Proven experience working with sovereign / macro risk financing instruments, with regional risk pools, insurance industry players (insurers, reinsurers and brokers), specifically on product design, policy placement, preparedness, payout implementation.
• Existing strong networks with key institutions in climate and disaster risk financing and insurance (CDRFI).
• Participation in working groups in this field.
• Existing experience working with UN organizations will be an asset.
• Field experience in humanitarian work.
• Fluency (level C) in English language.
• Intermediate knowledge (level B) of a second official UN language: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish, and/or Portuguese (a WFP working language).

MORE ABOUT YOU

Strong expertise in climate risk financing / disaster risk financing / public finance management and operational experience in humanitarian preparedness & response to climate shocks or natural hazards. Ability to lead high level technical discussions and advise senior partners. Experience in managing partnership and managing complex programming, including large budgets (above 5 m USD p.a). Strong coordination and communication skills across diverse stakeholders. Excellent analytical writing and technical reporting skills.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

This is an International Professional position and is open to all nationalities. Mobility is and continues to be a core contractual requirement in WFP. This position is however classified as "non-rotational" which means the incumbent shall not be subject to the regular reassignment process unless the position is reclassified as rotational. The selected candidate will be employed on a fixed-term contract with a probationary period of one year. This position is open to both internal and external candidates. WFP offers an attractive compensation and benefits package in line with ICSC standards (http://icsc.un.org).

• basic salary
• post adjustment
• relocation entitlement
• visa
• travel and shipment allowances
• 30 days' annual leave
• home leave
• an education grant for dependent children
• a pension plan
• medical insurance

The selected candidate will be required to relocate to London, United Kingdom to take up this assignment.

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

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

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: [e-mail]

Company culture and equal employment statement (final repetition)

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, physical or mental disability.

The United Nations World Food Programme is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. We are 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.

Read more about WFP’s history here, and WFP’s mission here Want to hear what it’s like working for WFP? Check out our newsletter highlighting the career stories of our passionate staff here: Pathway to WFP | LinkedIn Integrity, collaboration, commitment, humanity, inclusion. These values inspire everything we do every day, allowing us to work towards a world with zero hunger. You can read more about the values here. Our behaviour guides us in how we accomplish our mission. All WFP employees are expected to demonstrate the standards of behaviour described in the WFP Leadership Framework here. WFP is aware of fictitious employment offers being circulated via email or originating from online job boards. Many of these schemes consist of an alleged offer of employment or contract with WFP in return for the payment of fees or providing personal or banking information. Read more.