Regional Food Safety & Quality Assurance Officer (P4)

About the role

The Regional Food Safety & Quality Assurance Officer provides senior leadership and technical guidance on food safety and quality across Latin America and the Caribbean for the World Food Programme. Based in Panama City, the role supports 15 country offices to embed WFP standards throughout the entire food assistance supply chain.

Key responsibilities

• Develop, adapt and implement regional policies and procedures that align WFP’s FSQA approach with overall supply‑chain strategies.
• Provide expert technical guidance to country offices during programme design, sourcing, storage, transport and distribution.
• Lead the creation and rollout of field protocols for risk identification, incident management and rapid response to food‑safety concerns.
• Oversee systems for prevention and mitigation of FSQA issues, including product specification guidance and coordination with national authorities.
• Monitor compliance with FSQA regulations and report on performance across the region.

Required profile

• Senior professional with extensive experience in food safety, quality assurance and humanitarian supply chains.
• Proven ability to work across diverse regulatory environments and to travel frequently throughout the region.
• Strong leadership and communication skills to influence country teams and external stakeholders.

Required skills

• Food safety standards implementation (e.g., HACCP, ISO 22000).
• Quality assurance methodologies and audit processes.
• Risk management and incident response planning.
• Regulatory compliance assessment.

What we offer

• Opportunity to shape food safety policy for a major UN agency.
• Dynamic regional role with extensive travel and stakeholder engagement.
• Professional development within the WFP network.