DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS3 February 2026-23:59-GMT+03:00 East Africa Time (Nairobi)
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 worldโs 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).
JOB TITLE: Data Scientist
TYPE OF CONTRACT: Consultant
UNIT/DIVISION: PPRG Vulnerability Assessments & Mapping
DUTY STATION (City, Country): Nairobi, Kenya / Remote
DURATION: 11 months
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:
The Early Warning and Forecasting Unit is committed to addressing the pervasive challenge of food insecurity through innovative and data-driven approaches. To this end, we seek to leverage advanced analytical capabilities, including AI and data science techniques, to better understand, model, and forecast food insecurity and its drivers. The Data Science team within the Early Warning and Forecasting Unit in the Vulnerability Assessment and Mapping service, is a specialized team dedicated to addressing the challenge of modelling and forecasting food insecurity and its drivers through the innovative application of machine learning and data science techniques By leveraging large heterogenous datasets and
advanced algorithms, the team can identify patterns and trends that are not immediately apparent and predict the impact of impending natural and human generated hazards, enabling timely interventions and anticipatory actions in vulnerable areas. The work is crucial in facilitating data-driven decision-making for governments and humanitarian organizations, allowing proactive strategies in combating food crises and their underlying causes. This proactive approach helps to mitigate the impact of potential crises on affected populations, improving resilience and ensuring food security.
This project harnesses expertise in artificial intelligence and product innovation alongside WFP's operational insights and localized data to generate early warning signals that facilitate proactive interventions. The system integrates real-time data, satellite imagery, news data streams to enhance response capabilities and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of efforts to prevent food crises in vulnerable communities.
The Data Scientist will be primarily responsible for designing and developing a robust early warning model for food which encompasses creating advanced AI solutions to analyse trends, forecast potential crises, and generate early warning. A crucial aspect of this role is the constant integration of feedback from domain experts within the WFP Country Offices, ensuring the system's relevance, accuracy, and usability for local operational planning and decision-making. Furthermore, the Data Scientist will be tasked with expanding and integrating datasets, adhering to established guidelines, to enrich the early warning system's analytical capabilities and provide comprehensive insights. All models developed will be in production-ready code to ensure smooth maintenance and deployment within the County Offices analytical frameworks.
ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:
The Consultant will be responsible for the following activities:
Develop state of the art Machine Learning end to end inference pipelines, from automated ingestion of data sources to the production of early warnings.
Research, design and implement models for estimating food insecurity and produce early warning of impending crises.
Lead the interactions with HQ and Cos on the development of the early warning platform by integrating feedback from national stakeholders.
Coordinate with technical leads in the design of data platforms to privately and publicly share the early warnings.
Measure and monitor the impact of the early warning platform in the Country Offices daily tasks.
Ensure adherence to WFP policies regarding data, including data privacy, security, management, and code documentation.
Participate in field missions to WFP country offices as required.
Perform other tasks as required.DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT:
- Technical inputs to the development of Early Warning System, including the code and methodology for generation of the signals.
- Deployment of models in a production environment
- Maintenance of the code base following industry's best practice
- Impact evaluation document of early warning platform.
- Participation in project meetings, scientific committee meetings and dissemination events.
- Presentations on the technical aspects of the project, as needed.
QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:
Education:Master's degree in a quantitative field
Experience:
At least 5 years of professional experience in an analytical role
Knowledge & Skills:
- Python programming skills and experience with data science libraries
- Advanced knowledge of machine learning
- Experience in querying SQL databases is required
- Experience in GIT is an asset
- Experience in forecasting methodologies is an asset
- Knowledge of survey methodologies
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to
- work effectively and respectfully in a diverse and multicultural team
- environment
Languages:
Excellent spoken and written English. French or Arabic is an asset.
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: global.inclusion@wfp.org
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 recruitment system. We do not accept CVs or spontaneous applications by email.
If you experience challenges while submitting your online application, please contact us at global.hrerecruitment@wfp.org for technical support only.
Please note that applications sent to this email address cannot be considered.
We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete, and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, language skills and UN Grade (if applicable).
Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.
Kindly note the only documents you will need to submit at this time are your CV and Cover Letter
Additional documents such as passport, recommendation letters, academic certificates, etc. may potentially be requested at a future time
Only shortlisted candidates will be notified
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.