Vacancies at Food For Education

About the role

The Nutritionist will lead efforts to improve the nutritional value and diversity of meals provided by Food for Education. This role includes coordinating menu planning, nutrient enrichment, and nutrition surveys to ensure meals meet the dietary needs of school-aged children. The Nutritionist will also oversee the coordination of nutritional testing, ensure evidence-based, cost-effective improvements to the menu, and support long-term nutritional planning and reporting.

Key Responsibilities:

Menu Development & Nutritional Enhancement

• Design and periodically review menus to ensure they are balanced, diverse, and aligned with national and international nutrition guidelines for school-aged children.
• Develop recipes incorporating affordable, locally available ingredients.
• Introduce innovative meal components (e.g., fortified foods, pre-cooking preparation of plant-based proteins) to improve nutrient content, micronutrient absorption, and meal appeal.
• Collaborate with kitchen and procurement teams to align menu plans with preparation feasibility and ingredient availability.

Nutrition Analysis & Monitoring

• Conduct nutritional profiling of meals, including macronutrient and micronutrient content per serving, utilizing laboratory services and NutriSurvey data
• Track and evaluate the nutritional adequacy of meals over time using standard tools.
• Lead efforts to fortify meals with key nutrients (e.g., iron, vitamin A, zinc) in collaboration with suppliers and fortification partners.

Research, Pilot Testing & Menu Diversification

• Together with the Operations team, lead trials and pilot tests of new meal components or ingredients before program-wide adoption.
• Research best practices and innovations in school feeding nutrition (e.g., biofortification, food-to-food fortification, dietary diversification).
• Build a database of alternative protein sources and nutrient-rich local foods suitable for school meals.

Nutrition Education & Behaviour Change

• Develop child-friendly nutrition education materials and activities to accompany the school meals program.
• Lead pilots on the implementation of nutrition education, working closely with the Impact and Operations team to assess pilot effectiveness and develop reports to inform roll-out.
• Train kitchen staff, teachers, and school health committees on basic nutrition.
• Support community engagement efforts to encourage healthy eating at home.

Policy, Compliance & Reporting

• Ensure nutritional standards comply with national school feeding policies and food-based dietary guidelines.
• Participate in policy reviews, donor reporting, and documentation of nutrition outcomes.
• Generate periodic reports on menu performance, nutrient intake gaps, and improvement recommendations.

Qualifications and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Nutrition, Dietetics, Food Science, or a related field (Master’s preferred).
• Minimum 4 years’ experience in nutrition programming, preferably in school feeding, community nutrition, or institutional meal planning.
• Experience in cost-effective meal planning, food analysis, and recipe development for large-scale feeding.
• Familiarity with fortification, local food systems, and behavior change communication.

Key Competencies:

• Strong analytical skills in nutritional assessment and menu design.
• Practical knowledge of nutrient requirements for learners aged 5–18.
• A financially-focused mindset with a keen eye for balancing cost with new menu additions.
• Ability to think outside the box on innovative, low-cost, high-quality nutrition, including partnerships with new nutrition players in the region.
• Ability to work collaboratively with teams.
• Excellent communication and training skills for diverse audiences.
• Strong data literacy and ability to use software such as NutriSurvey, Food Processor, or Excel-based nutrition models.

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About the Role:

We are seeking to hire a dynamic operations specialist who will work in collaboration with the COO to design and execute operational strategies. The role will also establish clear KPIs and success metrics for all areas of centralized kitchen operations that align with the organization's strategic objectives.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Planning & Operational Efficiency

• In collaboration with the Chief Operating Officer (COO), design and execute comprehensive operational strategies aligned with F4E’s goal of feeding 1 million children by 2025.
• Together with the Finance Team, continuously analyze unit economics, monitor performance metrics, and adapt expansion plans to ensure cost efficiency and sustainability.
• Lead day-to-day operations across our central kitchens in planning across key areas: expansion, supply chain, kitchen production, quality assurance, food safety, logistics, and school feeding.
• Act as a key business partner to the COO, providing updates and insights into the overall expansion roadmap.

Team Leadership & Cross-Department Collaboration

• Champion a unified sense of purpose within the Operations team aligned with organizational goals.
• Work closely with the COO to align operational priorities with organizational strategy, especially around expansion planning.
• Facilitate and at times lead collaboration with departments such as Finance, Expansion, Tap2Eat Operations, Data and Analytics, and Tech, through consistent communication and collaboration.

 Innovation & Continuous Improvement

• Introduce and integrate innovative ideas from diverse industries through structured pilots and experimentation to enhance F4E’s operational effectiveness.
• Monitor and manage operational financial performance, focusing on resource management and asset optimization.
• Continuously improve operational workflows, addressing inefficiencies and optimizing cost per meal in partnership with the finance team, Operations Associates, and Kitchen Managers.

Performance Management & Monitoring

• Establish clear KPIs and success metrics for all areas of centralized kitchen operations that align with organization's strategic objectives
• Build and execute performance monitoring systems, enabling data-driven improvements and operational excellence.
• Identify inefficiencies and lead continuous improvement initiatives to optimize systems and processes.
• Ensure structured hiring, staffing, and training of kitchen teams to guarantee smooth operations pre-launch and post-launch.

Risk Management & Resilience Planning

• Conduct comprehensive operational risk assessments across central kitchens.
• Develop and implement robust mitigation and contingency plans to ensure business continuity and organizational resilience.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Operations Management, Supply Chain, Business Administration, or a related field. Master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum of 5–7 years of progressive experience in operations or supply chain roles, preferably in the food production, FMCG, or social impact sectors.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and drive strategic initiatives from concept to execution.
• Solution-oriented, able to think on their feet, and quickly pivot.
• Independent-minded, entrepreneurial, and can thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• Ability to handle multiple projects at the same time.
• Willingness and ability to handle any job assigned under your scope of work.
• Strong analytical, planning, and financial acumen.
• Experience working in fast-paced, mission-driven environments.

Key Skills & Attributes

• Strategic thinker and a self-starter, with a strong bias for execution
• Systems/processes-oriented and detail-focused
• Excellent leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills
• Very comfortable with data-driven decision-making and performance tracking
• Passionate about food systems, social impact, and scalable solutions

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About the role

As our inaugural Senior Manager, Internal Consulting, you’ll help to launch a high-impact consulting unit to tackle Food4Education’s thorniest growth and impact challenges—from kitchen efficiencies and menu improvements to strategic planning and org redesign. Your ultimate goal? Help us reach 1 million daily meals by 2027—and many more beyond then. In the short term, the Senior Manager will work with the COO and her Chief of Staff to design many of the processes and approaches that this team takes so that it can grow and thrive. You will also lead the design and management of the first projects this team does, from filtering client requests through project scoping and execution. Over time, you will help to pinpoint the most valuable approaches this team can take to ensure the team grows into a high-impact support unit within the organization. This role calls for a creative, ambitious, proactive strategist who is ready to influence and grow along with Food4Education. A generalist who feels comfortable executing in a number of topics and can build relationships to achieve success will thrive in this role.

Key Duties & Responsibilities 

Team set-up and leadership (~25%):

• Help establish and set up Food4Education’s internal consulting team, including providing input on strategy and processes for soliciting, selecting, and executing projects.
• Inform the design of internal team processes to ensure coordination, common standards, and continual improvement.
• Create, test, and improve tools to enable team management and growth (e.g., project trackers, impact dashboards).

Project management (~60%):

• Lead or co-lead projects that address critical areas of need or opportunity for the organization, from scoping through execution and handover.
• Support the design and implementation of select organizational pilots, innovations, or growth projects to accelerate impact.
• Manage internal client relationships to build demand for the team’s work and ensure work is effective and well-received.
• Create and use project implementation tools that help set the standard for this team’s operations in the long term.

Ecosystem scanning and engaging (~15%):

• Maintain an understanding of critical dynamics in the markets and environments relevant to Food4Education’s work, including school feeding, nonprofit strategy and operations, and technological innovation.
• Maintain collaborative relationships with select peers, partners, and supporters to enable and sustain information-sharing and growth (e.g., think tanks, businesses, similar non-profits).
• Formulate Food4Education’s Internal Consulting function to be best-in-class relative to peers in field, utilizing industry knowledge and expertise.
• This role will be based in Nairobi and require 10-20% domestic travel to facilitate project execution.

Desired Candidate Profile 

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Management, Economics, Engineering, or a related field; Master’s degree preferred.
• 7+ years of experience in consulting, finance, engineering, or similar strategic and analytics-heavy roles in fast-paced, client service environments.
• Experience managing people and teams, preferably on client-service projects.
• Experience with operating model, organizational design analysis, and transformation.
• Strong organizational and project management abilities.
• Exceptional strategic thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to create order and find insights amidst ambiguity and excessive information.
• High emotional intelligence and the ability to navigate sensitive situations with tact and diplomacy.
• Excellent presentation, communication, and interpersonal skills, including expertise in Excel and PowerPoint. Optional expertise with statistical software (e.g., R, Stata) and project management tools.
• Proven track record of managing complex projects and driving organizational change.
• Self-motivated, proactive, and results-oriented.
• Strong sense of integrity and commitment to the organization’s mission and values.