Food and Nutrition Security Advisor

Wageningen University

We are looking for

Are you an experienced professional, keen to contribute to healthier and more sustainable diets through food system transformations in Low and Middle Income Countries? This position as Food and Nutrition Security Advisor at Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation might be something for you

Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation (WCDI), is the international expertise and capacity development business unit of Wageningen University & Research. Our domain of work is food and ecosystems transformation in the Global South. Our work portfolio contains short-term and longer-term assignments and projects, focusing on identifying, contextualizing and applying knowledge into projects and reflecting and recombining experiences into new knowledge. In addition we actively work on capacity development, facilitating training and learning trajectories. In our work we closely collaborate with partners mainly in Africa, the MENA region, and Asia and to a lesser extend Latin America. Our partners include governments, knowledge institutes, NGOs and CSOs and private sector.

In your role as Food and Nutrition Security Advisor you will have the opportunity to get involved in a variety of projects, in which your role might differ (e.g. from advisor to trainer to project manager) and in which you might have to deal with a variety of sub-topics from the FNS agenda. Your work may require visits to our partners and projects in the mentioned regions.

The selected candidate is a development practitioner who is able to work in multi-and transdisciplinary teams, both with other advisors from WCDI and WUR and with team members from our partners. You should be able to link theory and practice, and have a specific interest in individual, organisational, and network capacity development as part of your professional activities.

We ask

  • MSc or PhD degree in Social Sciences; Public Health, Human Nutrition, International Development or related fields;
  • A minimum of five years of relevant work experience, with at least two years of work experience in Africa, Asia or Latin America, including advisory work and knowledge development;
  • Experience in (the transformation of) agri-food sectors, in particular with a view on nutrition and food security outcomes;
  • Strong communication skills, both oral and written, including the ability to work effectively with people from a variety of disciplinary and cultural backgrounds;
  • Entrepreneurial, and result oriented, with the ability to work in a variety of teams as well as work in an environment with a high degree of self-management;
  • Excellent English proficiency (a minimum of CEFR C1 level). For more information about this proficiency level, please visit our special language page.
  • Willingness to travel and adaptability (moving from in-person to online formats as necessary).
  • Proficiency in French or another language is an added value

We offer

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:

  • working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
  • the option to accrue additional holiday hours by working more, up to 40 hours per week;
  • sabbatical leave, study leave, and paid parental leave;
  • there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
  • a fixed December bonus of 3%;
  • excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will of course receive a good salary. We offer, depending on your experience, a competitive gross salary of between €2.790,- and €5.183,- for a full-time working week of 36 hours, in accordance with the CLA Wageningen Research Additionally, a contract for 32 hours can be discussed.

Wageningen University & Research encourages internal advancement opportunities and mobility with an internal recruitment policy. There are plenty of options for personal initiative in a learning environment, and we provide excellent training opportunities. We are offering a multi-faceted position in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere.

Coming from abroad Wageningen University & Research is the university and research centre for life sciences. The themes we deal with are relevant to everyone around the world and Wageningen, therefore, has a large international community and a lot to offer to international employees. Applicants from abroad moving to the Netherlands may qualify for a special tax relief, known as the 30% ruling. Our team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family.

Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. Wageningen University & Research’s International Community page contains practical information about what we can do to support international employees and students coming to Wageningen. Furthermore, we can assist you with any additional advice and information about helping your partner to find a job, housing, schooling, and other issues.

More information

For more information about this position, please contact Katherine Pittore, Advisor Food and Nutrition Security, via [email protected] or by phone 0317-488822.

For more information about the procedure, please contact Jeanine van ‘t Veer, Corporate Recruiter via, [email protected].

How to apply

Please see the full vacancy and use the apply now button to submit your application.


Closing date: 9/29/2022