Professional Experience:
Shehu Abdul-Karim currently serves as the Deputy Head of Office & Head of Programme for the World Food Programme (WFP) Odesa Field Office in Ukraine. In this role, he leads the design and implementation of effective, efficient, and highquality programmes, while providing strategic leadership in the management of human and financial resources. He also plays a critical role in fostering and maintaining partnerships with government counterparts, UN agencies, the private sector, cooperating partners, and donors. Shehu works closely with technical teams and senior management at both the country and field office levels, contributing to day-to-day decision-making and strategic planning.
A seasoned and results-driven professional, Shehu brings over 19 years of diverse experience across the UN system, international and national NGOs, and the private sector. His expertise spans around Project Management, Humanitarian Development & Emergency, Stakeholder engagements, Coordination, Support to Smallholder Agricultural Market Support systems, Cooperative Governance & Farmer Empowerment, Leadership & People management, Donor relations, Partnership, social & behavior change communication, etc.
Prior to his current assignment, he served as Head of Office for WFP in Lake State, South Sudan, and earlier as Head of Office for Sofala and Manica Provinces in Mozambique. He also held the positions of Deputy Head of Office and Head of Programme for the Cabo Delgado Emergency in Mozambique. In Ghana, Shehu served as Activity Manager for the Sustainable Food Systems Programme, among other national roles.
He brings a wealth of experience in leadership and people management, localization, quality programming, capacity strengthening of government and partners, and emergency response. His technical expertise includes general food assistance, food systems, smallholder agricultural market support, climate risk reduction and adaptation, nutrition sensitive programming, school feeding, and monitoring and evaluation.
Shehu is a highly motivated, empathetic and collaborative leader, committed to making a meaningful impact in the lives of vulnerable populations affected by crises and the teams he works with daily.