Special Assistant to the Director

World Food Programme; New York (NY); On-site; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

World Food Programme in New York seeks a Special Assistant to the Director of the New York Global Office. You will provide timely, analytical support, manage the Director's calendar, and coordinate engagement with the UN system.

The role requires discretion under pressure, excellent organization, and strong written and verbal communication. You will prepare inputs for leadership, briefings, and official correspondence, and support trips and meetings across multilateral platforms.

Qualifications

• Excellent organization, interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability to work under pressure with discretion in a sensitive environment.
• Proven ability to provide timely and analytical information to senior leadership.

Responsibilities

• Day-to-day management of the Director's calendar and inter-office coordination.
• Ensuring input and background on issues related to the UN System and Multilateral engagement; providing timely advice.
• Overseeing coordination of inputs for official documents, including briefings, remarks, position papers, and official correspondence for leadership.
• Acting as focal point to support all Executive-level missions to the UN Headquarters, including staffing support and notetaking.
• Coordinating visits, meetings and briefs with other Special Assistants.
• Engaging with UN System and Multilateral counterparts to ensure appropriate representation of WFP.
• Managing the administrative elements of the Director’s office, including agenda, travel, accommodation, security clearance, etc.
• Coordinating internal meetings and reports, including the Annual Performance Plan and Risk Register.

Skills

Organization

Communication

Interpersonal skills

Discretion

Multilateral engagement

Job description

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

20 October 2026-23:59-GMT-05:00 Eastern Time (New York)

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 extreme weather shocks.

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).

The Special Assistant to the Director will provide timely and analytical information and coherent support to the Director. The successful candidate will have a proven ability to work and act under pressure and with discretion in a sensitive and challenging environment. The position requires excellent organization, interpersonal and communication skills. Within the relevant delegated authority, the Special Assistant will directly support to the Director of New York Global Office in executing their functions and ensuring the smooth functioning of the office, including through:

• Day-to-day management of the Directors calendar and inter-office coordination, including managing coverage of engagements, taskers and ED correspondence.
• Ensuring accurate input and background on issues related to the UN System and Multilateral engagement, and providing timely advice to the Director, as appropriate;
• Overseeing coordination and consolidation of inputs from Partnerships Officers for official documents, including, briefings, remarks, position papers, and official correspondence for WFP’s Leadership Team, the Director of the New York Global Office, and other senior leaders as required.
• Acting as focal point to support all Executive-level missions to the UN Headquarters, including staffing support and notetaking, as required.
• Ensure coordination for visits, meetings and briefs, with other Special Assistants
• undefined
• Acting as focal point for engagement with Member State and UN System front offices, including scheduling meetings and other engagements for the New York Global Office Director, Executive Director and other senior leadership.
• Engaging with UN System and Multilateral counterparts to ensure the appropriate representation and participation of the World Food Programme;
• Managing the administrative elements of the Director’s office, including agenda meetings and events, travel, accommodation, security clearance, etc;
• Coordinating internal meetings and reports, including the Annual Performance Plan and Risk Register, and ensuring internal information management;
• Performing other official duties and special assignments which may be requested by the Director.

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

WFP Leadership Framework guides to the common standards of behavior that guide HOW we work together to accomplish 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: [e-mail]

NO FEE DISCLAIMER

The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation 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 [e-mail]. 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.

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.