IRM and Resource Management Specialist

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WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles.

Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis, and we are committed to promoting diversity and gender balance.

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide.  The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes.  Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.

BACKGROUND

The Integrated Road Map (IRM) - comprising the 2017-2021 WFP Strategic Plan, the Policy on Country Strategic Plans, the Corporate Results Framework and Financial Framework Review - strives to align WFP to the Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2030. Approved by WFP's Executive Board in Novemebr 2016, the IRM is being rolled out across the orgaisation in a phased manner.

As of January 2019, all 12 WFP Country Offices in Southern Africa are operating in the new Country Strategic Plan (CSP) and Country Portfolio Budget (CPB) framework.

In 2017 the Regional Bureau for Southern Africa (RBJ) established a Secretariat to facilitate day-to-day support for the roll out of the IRM across the region to provide front-line assistance to the Regional and Deputy Regional Directors. A cross functional IRM Task Team was activated , to maximize the engagement of different units at bureau level and coordinate support and guidance to County Offices. The IRM Secretariat maintains strong links to the global IRM Steering Committee, DRD / Directors' Integration Forum, and IRM-O and others at a technical level.

In order to support development and implementation of CSPs and CPBs, the recruitment of surge capacity for several key functins in RBJ has been necessary. Resource management expertise is crucial among these, with considerable demand for technical suppor and oversight of CPB development and new approaches to integrated resource management.

In accordance withthe broader corporate approach and schedule, RBJ will accelerate mainstreaming of IRM coordination and tasks during 2019, with a view to a full transition of responsibilities to relevant functional units by the end of the year.

PURPOSE OF ASSIGNMENT

Under the direct supervision of the RBJ IRM Coordinator, and with technical reporting to the Senior Regional Finance Officer, the IRM and Resource Management Specialist will be responsible for coordinating esidual IRM Secretariat responsibilities, supporting the mainstreaming strategy, and providing specific expertise on budgeting and integrated resource management in the IRM framework.

The role requires working closely with all functional units in the bureau, relevant staff in Country Offices and technical counterparts in HQ.

SPECIFIC ACCOUNTABILITIES / RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Stay abreast of policies, guidance, standards and tools relating to the IRM roll out, and ensure these are communicated to relevant RBJ and Country Office staff;
2. Review and contribute to corporate policy, guidance and processes relating to the IRM; propose well-researched ideas to improve and simplify these where necessary;
3. Test and provide feedback on corporate systems and tools associated with the IRM roll out, including the CSP Data Portal and new ‘Resources to Results’ metrics;
4. Coordinate support to Wave 3 Country Offices to cut over to the CSP/CPB framework (convene and chair weekly cutover meetings, update and roll out the RBJ cutover strategy and associated tools, and coordinate RBJ support missions);
5. Convene and brief meetings of the RBJ IRM Task Team, to reflect and update on key issues, and monitor the mainstreaming plan;
6. Coordinate and support regional and country-level IRM training events, providing specific budgeting and resource management expertise;
7. In coordination with Budget and Programming, advise on changing approaches to the preparation of realistic and suitable CPBs and their revisions, and provide technical expertise where necessary;
8. Support integrated resource management tasks for RBJ and Country Offices, including preparing accurate reports, analysing trends and issues, and proposing solutions to support decision making by RBJ and Country Office management;
9. Provide oversight of the implementation of CPB and resource management processes in Wave 1 and 2 Country Offices, and collect, document and share learning with others;
10. Represent RBJ in relevant IRM-related meetings and other fora as required; and 
11. Perform all other duties as may be required.

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT

1. A comprehensive report on the progress of the RBJ IRM mainstreaming plan, detailing key milestones and events, risks, mitigation measures, follow-up actions and learning;
2. A compendium of IRM policy, guidance, process, tool and learning resources;
3. Periodic reports to RBJ and relevant Country Office management on key IRM and resource management issues as necessary;
4. Other reports, analyses and inputs required to perform the above accountabilities.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

Skills and competencies required:

• Ability to communicate and coordinate effectively;
• Capacity to learn fast from documentation and experience;
• Advanced knowledge of WFP’s Finance, Budget and Programming and Supply Chain Management functions, and experience with the new CPB structure;
• Capacity to provide clear step-by-step instructions;
• Familiarity with the UN system or corporations with centralized/online institutional memory systems and ability to expand knowledge from online materials;
• Ability to engage with and provide advice to both junior and senior staff;
• Advanced data management skills (Excel, Access, Word, PowerPoint); and
• Ability to travel as required and possibly at short notice.

Standard minimum academic qualifications:

• Education: Advanced University degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics or other relevant field, or first University degree with additional years of related work experience and/or training/courses;
• Language: fluency (Level C) in English a requirement; French (Level B) would be an asset.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

29 March 2019

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Female applicants and qualified applicants from developing countries are especially encouraged to apply

WFP has zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status.

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.