Logistics Officer

Job Description

Logistics Officer NOA | World Food Programme

The Tone:
This is a professional role at the World Food Programme, located in Lusaka, Zambia. The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, dedicated to saving lives in emergencies and building pathways to peace, stability, and prosperity through food assistance. This Logistics Officer role is critical in leading the logistics unit within the Zambia Country Office, ensuring efficient and compliant delivery of logistics services to support WFP’s humanitarian and development programs. The incumbent will provide strategic and operational leadership, enabling the organization to meet its mission of assisting vulnerable populations.

The TL;DR
• Role: Full Time
• Type: Full-time
• Location: In-person Lusaka
• Team: Leads the logistics unit in the Country Office, reporting to the Deputy Country Director.
• Mission: To provide strategic, technical, and operational leadership for logistics activities, ensuring the effective, efficient, compliant, and cost-effective delivery of logistics services.
• Tech Stack: Logistics information systems, corporate applications, data analysis tools

What You’ll Actually Do
• Lead: Lead and manage the logistics function, ensuring effective planning, prioritization, coordination, and delivery of services for WFP operations.
• Supervise: Supervise, coach, and develop logistics staff, ensuring effective workload management, accountability, and professional growth.
• Advise: Advise senior management on logistics strategies, operational priorities, and service delivery solutions to support organizational objectives and programme implementation.
• Oversee: Plan, coordinate, and oversee all logistics operations, including transport, warehousing, and inventory management, ensuring compliance with WFP policies and standards.
• Partner: Establish and maintain effective partnerships with government counterparts, UN agencies, and service providers to strengthen logistics coordination and operational effectiveness.

The Must-Haves
• Background: An Advanced University degree (Master’s or equivalent) in Transport Economics, Supply Chain, Logistics, Engineering, Business Management, or a related field.
• Experience: One year of post-graduate logistics experience in a humanitarian or related environment with an Advanced Degree; alternatively, a First University degree with three additional years of related work experience. This includes managing comprehensive logistics and supply chain operations such as transport, warehousing, and inventory management. Candidates must have experience planning, coordinating, and monitoring logistics operations, managing transport services, logistics contracts, customs clearance processes, and relationships with service providers and government authorities. Proficiency in coordinating logistics activities with procurement, programme, supply chain, and external partners, along with experience in emergency preparedness, contingency planning, and humanitarian response operations, is required. Familiarity with logistics information systems, corporate applications, and data analysis tools for planning, monitoring, and reporting is also essential.
• Skills: Strong analytical, problem-solving, decision-making, planning, organizational, resource management, leadership, and people-management capabilities. Effective communication, coordination, and stakeholder-management skills are essential, coupled with a sound understanding of logistics operations, supply chain management principles, emergency preparedness, and humanitarian response mechanisms.