DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS
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Job Title: Digital Transformation- Senior Strategic Technical Advisor (SSTA)
Type of Contract: Consultant, CST II - WAE
Unit / Division: Social Protection - Iraq CO
Duty Station: Remote with travel to Iraq on mission
Duration: 11 months (maximum of 15 working days per month)
ORGANISATIONAL AND COUNTRY CONTEXT:
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and supporting a sustainable future for people recovering from conflict, disasters, and the impact of climate change. Through providing food for vulnerable people, skills to build futures and enhanced social protection, WFP is helping the Government of Iraq build people’s food security and resilience. For more information, see wfp.org/countries/iraq and ar.wfp.org/countries/Iraq.
WFP has embraced a stronger and more proactive stance on social protection corporately, which is now a key pillar of WFP’s ‘Changing Lives’ agenda and is prominent in the WFP’s Strategic Plan 2022-2025. As a growing area of work, social protection is prioritized across all regions and countries, including Iraq, reflecting its global as well as local significance.
Iraq has a comprehensive social protection system, underscored by the Public Distribution System (PDS), one of the world's largest food assistance programs. With the highest per capita coverage globally, the PDS serves approximately 96% of the Iraqi population. Committed to extensive reforms, the Federal Government and that of the Kurdistan region of Iraq (KRI) continue to enhance the social protection system's capabilities beyond the PDS.
In partnership with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), under the European Union-supported UN Joint Programme "Leveraging Effective Response and Accelerating Reform for Social Protection in Iraq," WFP is delivering technical and operational support to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of Iraq’s social protection mechanisms. As part of this support, WFP provides technical advisory services in areas such as food security and nutrition, social inclusion, shock responsiveness, climate change adaptation, supply chain, and digitalization. These efforts aim to strengthen the national social protection system, including establishing and operationalizing Iraq’s first single registry, the first school meals policy, the first national social protection strategy, and modelling and piloting of economic empowerment pathways. These pathways are designed to help individuals transition from chronic poverty and vulnerability to social security, with improved access to active labour market programs, entrepreneurship, and employment opportunities.
PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:
Under the direct supervision of the Head of the Social Protection Unit, the Senior Strategic Technical Advisor (SSTA) on Management Information Systems (MIS) for Social Protection will play a pivotal role in advancing WFP's engagement in social protection reforms in Iraq.
The role of the Senior Strategic Technical Advisor (SSTA) on Management Information Systems (MIS) for Social Protection at WFP Iraq involves providing strategic guidance and oversight to define clear objectives, actionable steps, operational risks and mitigating measures for the successful implementation of the Iraq Single Registry (ISR) initiative and the enhancement of social assistance programs’ MIS. This initiative is a crucial component of the social protection system reform efforts. Leveraging extensive expertise and experience, the SSTA will offer technical advice and quality assurance to the government of Iraq at both federal and regional levels, with a particular focus on the Kurdish Region of Iraq (KRI).
The incumbent will utilize their deep knowledge of digitalization in social protection and food systems to develop and communicate a policy-oriented, realistically phased and budgeted digital convergence strategy. This strategy will aim to address the current fragmentation of digital and MIS enhancement efforts of social transfer programs, supported by the national social protection team. Additionally, the SSTA will strategically advise on a partnership plan with key international partners including the World Bank, GIZ, UNICEF, ILO, and UNESCO. These partners are instrumental in the establishment of a Social Registry and the improvement of the MIS for various social protection programs.
Furthermore, the SSTA will conduct a comprehensive scoping and review of evidence and efforts to provide technical oversight and inputs to collaboratively craft a detailed proposal to the EU. This proposal to be develop as part of a team of experts, will seek to capitalize on efforts to build and strengthen Iraq’s first single registry (SR). The aim is to ensure in the short- to long-term the convergence of social protection measures with disaster risk reduction and food systems efforts, enhancing the digital and analytical capabilities needed to more effectively address challenges such as poverty, malnutrition, vulnerability, and social exclusion.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES/ACCOUNTABILITIES:
1. WFP’s social protection and workstream strategy and direction
a. Review, refine and unpack the social protection unit’s strategy (2025-2029) informing the upcoming Country Strategic Plan (CSP)
b. Ensure that WFP’s social protection programming is in alignment with global goals and targets, adheres to standards and best practices, integrates WFP’s corporate frameworks, and is consistent with Iraq’s national development plan.
c. Provide technical assistance and thought leadership in the hypermarket food subsidy and economic empowerment pathways pilots complementing the SSN and across key programs like the school meals (supporting the integration of school connect), the PDS and people with disabilities (PWD) programme.
d. Support the design and operationalisation of a real-time monitoring and analytics framework within the Single Registry, integrating food security, nutrition, and risk indicators to assess programme adequacy and responsiveness to shocks— enabling adaptive decision-making across social protection, disaster risk reduction, and food systems.
2. Digital Landscape Analysis and Strategy Development:
e. Conduct a comprehensive review, summary, and update of the digital landscape assessment and action plan for Iraq to guide the development of the Iraq Single Registry (ISR).
f. Develop and implement a strategy for the uptake and socialization of assessment findings, ensuring understanding and ownership by government counterparts in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). This includes organizational roles and responsibilities, and inputs into technical agreements between partners.
3. Communication and Documentation:
g. Oversee the creation of a master slide deck, briefing notes, key talking points, and visual aids that effectively communicate the objectives and benefits of the Single Registry and MIS strengthening initiatives. The presentation includes the key principles which will be followed as well as an overview of the main activities.
h. Develop a narrative that explains the measurable benefits, key risks and mitigating measures, and concrete results expected from the digitalisation of social protection programs MIS, building on global evidence, lessons learnt and performance indicators.
4. Stakeholder Engagement and Field Missions:
i. Conduct field missions and extensive consultations with government counterparts in KRI to develop an engagement strategy and actionable plan for the Single Registry and MIS enhancements, focusing particularly on the People with Disabilities (PWD) program.
5. Project Planning and Coordination:
j. Work with the workstream lead and the Single Registry Project Management Team from the government in the formulation of a participatory action plan, in (particularly in close collaboration with the Ministry of Planning and the Department of Information Technology in KRI), to implement the ISR and enhance the MIS for critical social assistance schemes
6. Technical Advisory and System Design:
k. Provide expert advice and guidance on the necessary hardware, software and staffing capacity to enhance the MIS and ISR rollout in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), including reviewing vendor proposals to ensure timely implementation.
l. Support the design and establishment of Business Transformation Units (BTUs) in consultation with various government bodies, assisting with the drafting of ToRs for recruiting and the on-site training of specialists in federal Iraq and KRI.
7. Implementation Oversight:
m. Oversee the implementation plan for the ISR contract with selected vendors, together with a government-led Project Management Team including devising a risk management plan that aligns with federal government expectations.
n. Work with project managers to proactively (and retroactively) identify process enhancements, technological solutions, and personnel-based behaviour change for the successful implementation of the ISR.
o. Lead the design of a detailed implementation roadmap for the ISR from May 2025 to August 2027, utilizing EU funds in support of various emerging initiatives such as the hypermarket pilot and the integration of School Connect to the government systems.
8. Program Development and Strategy:
p. Conduct consultations for developing and alignment strategy with World Bank, UNICEF, GIZ and ILO on digital social protection.
q. Develop a digital convergence strategy to provide integrated operational and technical assistance for strengthening the MIS of key social and food assistance programs for their full integration into the ISR.
r. Technically support a collaboratively developed funding and programmatic proposal to secure EU support for capitalizing efforts in the ISR to enhance social protection and inform policy actions in disaster risk reduction and the food system.
9. Research and Publications:
s. Provide oversight and input to the ISR program manual and conduct a workshop in Q2/2025 to finalize and endorse the manual, clearly defining roles and responsibilities for the ISR.
t. Draft a lessons-learned document and forward-looking vision for digital social protection based on experiences in Iraq, intended for publication with the World Bank or as a WFP occasional paper. This document will guide the development of Single Registries for the Iraqi government and other countries aiming to guide EU and other donors’ support in this area of work.
u. Support the definition and action planning of a research agenda for the Digital Transformation Workstream, where metrics and indicators to measure success of the ISR and introduction of digital tools help build government support and ownership.
DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT:
The Senior Strategic Technical Advisor on Management Information Systems (MIS) for Social Protection will deliver the following outputs at the end of its contract:
• Situation Analysis document summarizing and updating the digital landscape assessment and action plan for Iraq.
• Strategy document for the uptake and socialization of assessment findings to ensure ownership by KRI government counterparts.
• Master slide deck, briefing note, key talking points, and visual aids detailing the ISR and MIS initiatives.
• Narrative document outlining measurable benefits and results from the digitalization of MIS in social protection programs.
• Documented key principles, based upon partner consultations, which are contextually appropriate. These are used to inform key decision during the design, development, and implementation phases.
• Report on field missions and consultations with KRI government counterparts, including an engagement strategy for ISR and MIS enhancements focusing on the PWD program.
• Participatory action plan developed with the Ministry of Planning and Department of Information Technology in KRI for the implementation of ISR and enhancement of MIS for critical social assistance schemes.
• Documentation on hardware, software, and staffing requirements for MIS and ISR rollout, including vendor proposal reviews.
• Implementation plan for ISR, including a risk management plan and a detailed road map from May 2025 to August 2027 using EU funds.
• Develop a RACI matrix which details key roles, responsibilities, and workflow for the development as well as operationalization of the MIS and ISR.
• Consultation reports with international and government partners for aligning digital social protection strategies and a digital convergence strategy document.
• Inputs into the funding and programmatic proposal for EU support to enhance social protection, disaster risk reduction, and food systems.
• ISR program manual with clearly defined roles and responsibilities, complemented by a workshop report for finalizing the manual.
• Lessons-learned document and forward-looking vision for digital social protection intended for publication to guide the development of Single Registries.
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:
Education
A Master's degree in Information Systems, Data Management, Project Management, International Development, Public Policy, or a closely related field.
Experience
• At least 10 years of professional experience in social protection or public sector contexts in low- or middle-income countries, with a dedicated focus on digital transformation, system design, and policy development.
• Proven track record in designing, implementing, and rolling out Management Information Systems (MIS) and interoperable registries (such as Unified Social Registries or Single Registries) for social assistance interventions.
• demonstrated expertise in engaging technical vendor implementation, conducting hardware/software capability assessments, and managing large-scale IT projects. Experience driving the transition of legacy social registries into dynamic, integrated Data-as-a-Service architectures.
• Hands-on experience in institutional capacity building, formulating Business Transformation Units (BTUs), and facilitating knowledge transfer to nationalize technical roles within government structures.
Knowledge and skills
• Strong understanding of nutrition-sensitive social protection policy and programming and its intersection with food security and vulnerability assessments.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct research, policy analysis, and knowledge management.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent writing, communication, and advocacy skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively with diverse stakeholders in a multi-cultural environment.
Languages
• Fluency in both oral and written English is a must.
• Knowledge of Arabic and/or Kurdish is an advantage.
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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
NO FEE DISCLAIMER
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REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION
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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.
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