1. POSITION VACANT: Evaluation and Research Officer (Centre for Food and Nutrition Excellence), SAMS, Odisha

2. ABOUT ORGANIZATION:

Our client, the World Food Programme (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.

PROJECT BACKGROUND:

WFP has been a longstanding partner of the State Government in food and nutrition security reforms over the decades, and at the request of the Odisha Government is establishing the Centre for Food and Nutrition Excellence (CFNE) to help accelerate efforts in addressing the food and nutrition security challenges.

In alignment with the State's priorities, leveraging WFP’s technical expertise and acting through its country office in India, CFNE will help fill critical evidence gaps and generate actionable knowledge to inform policy, pilot innovative solutions, scale proven interventions for strengthening systems capacity, compile and draw on global best practice, foster inter-sectoral convergence, and drive sustainability, ensuring improved nutrition security and long-term resilience in the State.

OBJECTIVE OF CFNE:

The objective of CFNE is to promote food and nutrition security in Odisha by acting as an institute of global standards for inter-disciplinary research, knowledge generation, policy analysis, convening and innovation. The Centre will inspire and support inter-departmental collaboration, pilot innovative solutions and scale-up proven solutions to address hunger and malnutrition amongst the most vulnerable groups.

As part of its objectives, the Centre aims to identify evidence gaps in the food and nutrition security sector and conduct systematic research to evaluate existing and potential policy interventions. The Centre will also provide support to the Government of Odisha to evaluate some of the major schemes to determine their effectiveness, as well as to document insights to support scale-up of promising solutions. In this regard, the Centre intends to recruit an Evaluation and Research Officer who will be responsible for implementing the specific responsibilities as follows.

3. JOB DESCRIPTION/ RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Evaluation and Research Officer (ERO) would lead the Centre for Food and Nutrition Excellence efforts in promoting research excellence and facilitating the generation of relevant and impactful evidence and dissemination of valuable insights and solutions. The Officer would also undertake evaluations of relevant government schemes, and undertake capacity building initiatives on research, evaluations, and assessments as required, in collaboration with stakeholders to drive meaningful impact.

The main responsibilities of the Evaluation and Research Officer (ERO) include:

Key Job Responsibilities:
(A) Research:

(1) Identify, prioritize, and execute research and evidence generation opportunities through collaboration with academic institutions, research organizations, and relevant experts, etc;
(2) Lead and/or support literature reviews and secondary data analysis using official sources;
(3) Present research evidence and findings through data visualization, charts, graphs, and dashboards;
(4) Document and disseminate relevant state, national and international best practices, success stories, innovative solutions, lessons learned, and areas for improvement from the research and evidence generation initiatives;
(5) Facilitate the dissemination of research findings across the organization as well as at the state, national, and international level through multiple platforms such as workshops, seminars,
conferences, webinars, relevant publications, etc;
(6) Other duties as required;

(B) Evaluation and Assessments:
(1) Support the Government of Odisha to undertake the evaluation and assessment of some of the major schemes to determine their effectiveness, outcomes, budget utilization, gaps, and areas for improvement;
(2) Contribute to the development of evaluation and assessment concept notes, terms of reference, study design, onboarding of consultants (if required), data collection tools, analysis and report writing, etc;
(3) Provide guidance and technical oversight to agencies conducting evaluations and assessments;
(4) Collaborate with external evaluators, researchers, and consultants to ensure high-quality practices;

(5) Analyse and interpret the evaluation and assessment findings to provide actionable insights and recommendations;
(6) Contribute to other evaluation and assessment requirements as required;

(C) Capacity building:

(1) Support capacity-building initiatives for staff and stakeholders on research, evaluation, and assessment related processes and best practices;

(D) Any other duties as required:

4. QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND COMPETENCIES: 

Qualification:

Advanced university degree in Economics, Statistics, Geography, Demography/Population Studies, Social Sciences, Rural Development, Development Economics or other relevant field.

Experience:
(1) Minimum 5 Years of progressively responsible work experience in the field of research, evaluation, assessment and monitoring in the field of food security, nutrition, poverty, livelihood, health and related areas. Experience in providing inputs into designing studies and programmes and has provided inputs for policy discussions in the mentioned fields;
(2) Experience of working in UN would be an added advantage.

Computer Skills:
Must have proficiency in the use of Internet based applications, Graphics, MS Word, MS Excel and MS Power Point and other related applications;

Knowledge & Tools:
(1) Proficient in using various modern quantitative, qualitative, geospatial analytical and visualization software such as R/ Python/ Stata/ Google Colab, NVivo/Atals.ti, QGIS/ArcGIS, Tableau, PowerBI etc;
(2) Experience in writing concept notes and proposals for evaluation and RAM projects with clarity;

Languages:
(1) Fluency in English, Hindi required & Odia would be an advantage;

5. REPORTING STRUCTURE:

The Evaluation and Research Officer (ERO) will report to the Head of Unit, Research, Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation (RAM-E) Unit, at WFP India Country Office, and work in close collaboration with the other members of WFP team and the Government of Odisha.

6. CONSULTANCY FEE:

The monthly consultancy fee for the Evaluation and Research Officer (ERO) is budgeted at INR 1,61,000/- Gross Per Month, depending upon qualifications, experience and remuneration in the last assignment. The professional fee will be subject to withholding taxes, as applicable.

7. NATURE OF ENGAGEMENT:

The selected candidate shall be engaged as a Consultant on the rolls of SAMS, a third-party payrolling agency, for a full-time consultancy engagement initially offered for a period of one year. The contract is extendable based on performance and project requirements. It is explicitly clarified that this consultancy engagement does not constitute a promise or guarantee of future employment, with SAMS, or our client, or any other organization associated with the project.

8. LOCATION: Odisha

9. REFERENCE: ERO-O-SAMS

10. CONTACT INFORMATION:

Team SAMS
Strategic Alliance Management Services P Ltd.
1/1B, Choudhary Hetram House, Bharat Nagar
New Friends Colony, New Delhi 110 025
Phone Nos.: 011- 4081 9900; 4165 3612

www.sams.co.in

11. APPLICATION PROCESS:

Interested candidates are invited to submit their CVs, along with a cover letter outlining their relevant experience and motivation for the position, on or before February 7, 2026.

Our client is committed to promoting diversity and gender balance and follows a “zero-tolerance policies” in the workplace.