Lead Backend Specialist

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

7 September 2026-23:59-GMT+01:00 Central European Time (Rome)

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).

JOB TITLE: Lead Backend Specialist, TEAM: ShareTheMeal
UNIT/DIVISION: Private Partnerships (PSP)
DUTY STATION: Remote
CONTRACT TYPE: CST-1 - Short-Term, Regular Consultant
DURATION: 11 months
LINE MANAGER/SUPERVISOR: Head of Software Engineering

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. WFP 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. Around 20,000 people work for the organization, most of them in remote areas, directly serving the hungry poor.
To reach a world with zero hunger, WFP is investing in and growing private sector fundraising and partnerships. Serving as a broker between WFP and the private sector, WFP’s Private Partnerships and Fundraising Division (PSP) strives to mobilize funding, technical assistance, innovative solutions and visibility and awareness to help WFP fulfil its mission, while offering companies and the wider public the opportunity to contribute to a world with zero hunger.
ShareTheMeal is WFP’s fundraising and awareness-raising app. Free to download, the award-winning app is a pioneering way for people to join our efforts in creating a world with zero hunger. ShareTheMeal was launched in 2015 as the first pilot of WFP’s Innovation Accelerator, which among other things supports start-ups and innovators in developing their ideas for zero hunger.
ShareTheMeal currently has more than 1.9 million users worldwide, who have shared more than 290 million meals (US$ 200 million). WFP is pursuing an ambitious growth strategy for individual giving, and ShareTheMeal is a key driver for this strategy going forward. The team, located in Berlin and remotely, is focused on increasing the funds raised to help get to zero hunger by further developing the app to include new and innovative features, increasing the engagement of existing users and growing the user base through marketing and communication initiatives. As the user base has grown, there is a significant opportunity to increase funds raised from existing users and deliver an exceptional experience to build a long-term relationship with each supporter.
PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT
As the technical leader for ShareTheMeal's backend engineering function, define and execute the technology strategy that enables the organization to scale from 1.9M to 10M+ users while maintaining exceptional user experience and operational efficiency impacting an annual revenue of $30 million USD.

ACCOUNTABILITIES / RESPONSIBILITIES
The Consultant, reporting to Head of Software Engineering is expected to:
1.Lead Technical Strategy for Backend
a.Own the backend engineering vision and multi-year technical roadmap, aligning with ShareTheMeal's growth objectives and WFP's mission to reach zero hunger.
b.Define and evangelize architecture standards across Backend, Admin, and Infrastructure, ensuring scalability to support 10M+ active users.
c.Establish engineering metrics and SLOs that drive measurable improvements in performance, reliability, and user satisfaction (e.g., P95 load time <2s).
d.Drive hiring of key positions and growth of the team.
e.Represent backend engineering in cross-functional leadership forums, influencing product strategy and organizational technical decisions.

2.Build and lead a high-performing backend engineering organization capable of rapid, high-quality delivery
a.Drive architectural decisions with clear rationale, creating decision frameworks that enable the team to move quickly while maintaining quality.
b.Continuously optimize team velocity and engineering effectiveness, eliminating blockers and establishing processes that scale with team growth.
c.Hold regular 1:1's with all direct reports
d.Develop engineering talent through structured mentorship
e.Own the technical roadmap, translating business objectives into quarterly engineering initiatives with clear success metrics
f.Lead drafting of KPIs and SLOs and project initiatives.
g.Establish engineering culture and best practices for code quality, testing, and operational excellence that become organizational standards
h.Build cross-functional partnerships with Product, Design, Mobile, and Data teams to ensure seamless delivery of user-facing features
i.Spearhead the design of scalable architectures for Android, iOS, and QA platforms.

3.Drive engineering quality and technical sustainability
a.Own the engineering quality strategy, balancing feature velocity with technical health through data-driven prioritization
b.Lead technical debt reduction initiatives that measurably improve system maintainability, reducing bug rates and increasing feature velocity
c.Establish quality gates and engineering standards (code review practices, testing requirements, performance benchmarks) that prevent quality erosion
d.Champion engineering investments in tooling, automation, and infrastructure that multiply team effectivenessConduct code reviews and assessments

4.Research, plan and facilitate the improvement of product quality, security, and performance.
a.Design, implement and maintain Backend solutions for ShareTheMeal
b.Design and implements test automation systems with the QA team
c.Conduct code reviews and assessments

5.Document architecture/code decisions and APIs

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT
- Deliver Product features and Tech Initiatives across Backend, Adminand Infra platforms.
- Documentation and handover to Head of Software Engineering

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
Education
▪University degree in computer science or related field.
Work history
▪At least 5 years of experience in developing Backend solutions designed to serve millions of active mobile app users.

Soft skills
▪Strong analytical abilities, both quantitative and qualitative.
▪Ability to make technical decisions that balance platform-specific needs with cross-platform efficiency.
▪Excellent problem-solving skills with ability to debug complex mobile issues.
▪Ability to interact with managers and stakeholders with maturity and tact.
▪Mature judgment with strong interpersonal skills.
▪Collaborative spirit able to work effectively across diverse teams and cultures.
▪Self-motivated and able to work with a high degree of autonomy.
▪Adaptability to rapidly evolving mobile technology landscape.
▪Fully committed and motivated to achieve the aims of the World Food Programme.

Hard skills
▪Proficiency in node.js and modern Backend development patterns
▪Strong knowledge of TypeScript
▪Experience with Observability best practices
▪Experience with architecture patterns (Clean Architecture, Domain Driven Design).
▪Knowledge of Unit Testing, End-to-End, and Test-Driven Development.
▪Expert understanding app performance optimization techniques.
▪Experience with CI/CD pipelines and deployment processes.
▪Familiarity with analytics, crash reporting, and monitoring tools.
▪Experience with agile development processes and cross-functional team collaboration.

Language(s)
▪Excellent command of spoken and written English.
▪Intermediate knowledge of another official UN language would be a plus (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish).

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 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 global.hrerecruitment@wfp.org. 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.

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.