Logistics Officer (Field Office Head of Logistics), CST I, South Sudan, Multiple Duty Stations

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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.

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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: Logistics Officer (Field Office Head of Logistics), CST I

TYPE OF CONTRACT: Regular International Consultancy (CST level 1)

UNIT/DIVISION: Logistics

DUTY STATION (City, Country): Bentiu or Renk Field Office, South Sudan

(This vacancy announcement includes positions at two duty stations. A candidate to select the duty station(s) he/she wishes to apply for. A candidate may choose more than one).

DURATION: 11 Months (Renewable subject to performance and funding).

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

Country Context:    

South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, continues to struggle to overcome a multitude of challenges. Conflict, climate shocks, economic instability and the ongoing war in neighboring Sudan have created a perfect storm of suffering, leaving families unable to access enough food. Since April 2023, over 1.1 million people fleeing the conflict in Sudan have crossed into South Sudan, placing additional pressure on overstretched communities and humanitarian systems. The World Food Programme (WFP) has supported more than 620,000 of them with fortified biscuits, food or cash assistance, and nutrition support for mothers and young children.

A total of 7.56 million people – over half the population – face Crisis or worse levels of food insecurity or worse, with hunger reaching near-record levels. The situation is particularly dire for children, with over 2.1 million aged over 5 acutely malnourished.

Food assistance remains essential to averting a humanitarian catastrophe, yet it must also serve as a bridge to long-term recovery. WFP is working with partners, communities and authorities to build resilience, support peacebuilding, and foster self-reliance in the face of relentless adversity.

This vacancy announcement includes positions at two duty stations which are Renk Field office (FO) and Bentiu Field Office (FO), South Sudan. A candidate to select the duty station(s) he/she wishes to apply for. A candidate may choose more than one

SPECIFIC ROLES & RESPONSIBLITIES: HEAD OF LOGISTICS, BENTIU FIELD OFFICE:

Report directly to the Head of Field Office Bentiu and functionally to the Country Office Head of Logistics, the Bentiu Head of Logistics leads the Field Office Logistics Hub, prepositioning exercises for Bentiu FO and operation in Yida, ensures effective support to Cash-Based Transfers (CBT) operations and On Demand Services (ODS), and supervises the Bentiu and Yida logistics team.

• Lead, manage, motivate and develop the Bentiu logistics team, providing coaching, capacity building and career guidance as required to ensure appropriate development and to enable high performance. This role also supervises the four logistics staff (SC6, SC5, SC4, SC3) based in Yida (Ruweng Administrative Area) for Sudan operation.
• Ensure timely dispatch vs plan and ensure a successful prepositioning exercise for Unity State, adjusting corridors and transport modalities as required. Oversee the implementation of the supply chain processes and documentation for dispatch, delivery and tracking of food commodities for all Activities: General Food Distribution (GFD), Nutrition, Home-Grown School Feeding (HGSF) etc.
• Monitor risks and trends which may affect in-kind food deliveries and proactively propose solutions, switching transport modality and corridors as required.
• Collaborate with the Logistics Officers in other Field offices and ensure strategic and or operational support to Logistics staff in other Field offices, operational support notably for Yida.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBLITIES: HEAD OF LOGISTICS, RENK FIELD OFFICE:

Report directly to the Head of Field Office Renk and functionally to the Country Office Head of Logistics, the Renk Head of Logistics leads the Field Office Logistics Hub, prepositioning exercises for Renk FO and Maban, ensures effective support to Cash-Based Transfers (CBT) operations and On Demand Services (ODS), and supervises the Renk logistics team.

• Lead, manage, motivate and develop the Renk logistics team, providing coaching, capacity building and career guidance as required to ensure appropriate development and to enable high performance.
• Ensure timely dispatch vs plan and ensure a successful prepositioning exercise for Renk FO and Maban. Oversee the implementation of the supply chain processes and documentation for dispatch, delivery and tracking of food commodities for all relevant Activities (Unconditional Resource Transfer - URT1, Malnutrition Prevention - NPA, School based Programmes - SMP etc).
• Manage the Sudan crises response food commodities and coordinate river/ Road movement within/across borders.
• Lead and monitor the local purchase Sorghum project within Renk. Oversee and supervise cleaning, re-bagging of local purchase Sorghum according to WFP standards.
• Monitor risks and trends which may affect in-kind food deliveries and proactively propose solutions.
• Coordinate the collection of market data and facilitate retailers’ engagement and Business to Business (B2B) contracting.
• Coordinate Logistics, fleet and warehouse management support services in the area of assignment.

GENERAL ROLES & RESPONSIBLITIES / ACCOUNTABILITIES FOR BOTH ROLES:

• Ensure operational excellence in logistics, effectively leading all Logistics activities in the Field Office in accordance with set guidelines and procedures. Activities include but are not limited to Planning, Warehousing, Transport, Commodity Accounting, CBT, ODS etc
• Ensure assurance measures are implemented correctly (commodity accounting, transport allocation etc.) and in accordance with Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs), KPIs and guidance. Regularly visit the warehouses and conduct Physical Inventory Counts. Communicate regularly to the team on the importance of strict adherence to assurance measures.
• Maintain regular meetings to discuss the pipeline forecast, available stocks, expected arrivals and shortfalls, to support decision making and programmatic changes/adjustments if need be.
• Pursue an increase of On Demand Services to other partners, ensure good relationships and ensure high-quality implementation. Report quarterly on progress.
• Define the scope and objectives of Logistics projects in coordination with all relevant internal/external stakeholders to ensure technical feasibility. Ensure that all projects are delivered on time, within scope and budget. This includes road rehabilitation projects, warehouse upgrading etc. Proactively pursue funds mobilization and external partner engagement.

• Establish strong coordination and collaboration with Country Office Logistics as well as with the other functional units at Country Office.
• Ensure logistics engagement in the gathering of market intelligence and retailer/wholesaler performance (including food quality, quantity, variety, price), and contingency planning for hard-to-reach areas and market disruptions. Report regularly on progress.
• Manage the retail/wholesale relationship to help ensure adequate supply to markets, linking local supply to markets where feasible.
• Early identification of risks and trends affecting CBT delivery, including road inaccessibility, seasonal flooding, or security challenges. Propose mitigation measures and or market development measures to avoid supply gaps and price hikes and support implementation upon approval. Develop plans aligned with CBT implementation timelines, coordinating closely with Programme, Finance and CO Supply Chain to ensure smooth workflows.
• Conduct cost-benefit analyses comparing in-kind vs. CBT vs. hybrid models.
• Collaborate with the Logistics Officers in other Field offices and ensure strategic and or operational support to Logistics staff in other Field offices.
• Cultivate professional working relations with local authorities and other external stakeholders.
• Address and manage all operational challenges, reports and incidents to ensure continuity and effective supply chain process flow.
• Provide key strategic inputs and operational updates for Field Office and Country Office regular reports/sitreps, meetings, strategic documents and/or advocacy products.

• Undertake regular field visits/support missions as required.

• Perform other relevant duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

EDUCATION:

Advanced University degree in Transport, Economics, Supply Chain, Logistics, Engineering, Business Management or other related field, or First University degree with additional years of related work experience and/or training/courses.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCES:

• For a master’s degree holder, minimum 3 years of progressively postgraduate international professional in commercial or humanitarian transportation sectors, supporting complex operations, strategic planning, and food supply chain management in a hardship duty station or emergency operation is required. For a bachelor's degree holder, at least 5 years of above experience is required.
• Experience in the management of CBT operations including assurance of supply, price reduction measures and coordination with internal and external stakeholders is required.
• Proven capacity in effective relationship building with government and other access stakeholders, private sector, and humanitarian/development partners.
• Experience of emergency operations and multimodal transport i.e. the management of integrated air, river and road food transport operations.
• Experience monitoring and reporting on transport and freight market conditions and trends. Experience in warehouse and commodity management.
• Experience working with corporate systems (databases, software).
• Experience in supervising staff and building national staff capacity

DESIRED EXPERIENCES:

• Demonstrated experience and success in food supply chain optimization and cost‑efficiency initiatives.
• Experience in identifying food logistics operational risks and maintaining documentation on emergency logistics preparedness.

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS:                    

• Leadership & people management: coaching, performance management, conflict resolution
• Knowledge of humanitarian food and commercial food supply chain sector
• Strong organizational, coordination, skills, and transfer of knowledge
• Excellent communication skills and commitment to teamwork.
• Strong interpersonal and intercultural skills
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Outlook, Word, and Excel

Languages:

Fluency (level C) in English language is required

REMARKS:

This VA will also be utilized to generate a roster for the future potential consultancy assignments within the same or lower grade, at the same or other duty stations within South Sudan.

Female candidates are highly encouraged to apply.

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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

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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.

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• 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.