Digital Product Management Consultant

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

Are you a highly skilled Product Manager with extensive hands-on experience managing digital solutions? Are you fluent in the Agile language (Product Backlog, Epics, User Stories, Stakeholders) and know how to deliver outstanding products? Do you have a proven record of accomplishment motivating developers, and delivering digital solutions in an Agile context? Join our team and work in an exciting, collaborative, and fast-paced environment, surrounded by talented people of different cultures and nationalities. Help us build and maintain the corporate platforms required by the World Food Programme.

This is a remote role with a team working in the Central European Standard Time (CEST) time zone; for this role at least six working hours must overlap with the 08:30am to 5pm CEST working day.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT:

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the leading humanitarian organization saving lives and changing lives, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience.

The Technology Division of WFP partners with business areas across the organization to digitally transform our business. We design, develop, enhance and maintain a variety of digital products. The Digital Solution Delivery Branch is part of the Technology Division and oversees software development activities.

JOB PURPOSE:

Reporting to the Product Management Lead, the Product Manager is the custodian of the vision of the product, accountable for maximizing the value of the product resulting from the work of the Product Team. The Product Manager aims for an IT solution which achieves the highest quality in terms of technical usability, user acceptability, and domain suitability.

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Create and maintain the Product Canvas outlining the vision of the product;
• Create and maintain the Product Roadmap outlining the evolution of the product;
• Perform the role of Scrum Product Owner:
  • Develop and explicitly communicate the Product Goal;
  • Gather and validate requirements following a Human-Centred Design (HCD) approach;
  • Ensure that the Product Backlog is transparent, visible and understood;
  • Communicate requirements inwards to the Product Team:
    • Identify and categorize stakeholders/customers/users/subject-matter experts;
    • Decompose high-level requirements;
    • Create and clearly communicate Product Backlog Items (PBI), partnering closely with Stakeholders and the Product Team to ensure everyone understands the items in the backlog;
    • Ensure the PBIs pass the “Definition of Ready” criteria;
    • Facilitate the Just-In-Time (JIT) detailed requirements delivery;
    • Determine whether PBIs were satisfactorily delivered; and
    • Give the Product Team clear guidance on which features to deliver next.
  • Communication outwards to Stakeholders:
    • Communicate estimates, dependencies and technical issues after grooming sessions, informing and negotiating with the Stakeholders;
    • Make decisions, in consultation with Stakeholders, regarding the priority of PBIs;
    • Inform of progress and host demonstrations to Stakeholders; and
    • Be the first point of contact between Stakeholders and the Product Team.
  • Decide when to deploy the product with the predisposition towards frequent releases;
  • Take care of Backlog Grooming: regularly review items on the backlog to ensure the backlog contains the appropriate items, that they are prioritized, and that the items at the top of the backlog are ready for delivery;
  • Participate in the Sprint Planning session; a team planning meeting that determines what to complete in the coming Sprint;
  • Listen-in at the Daily Stand-up session: a 15-minute mini-meeting for the team to sync-up.
  • Chair the Sprint Demo session: A sharing meeting where the team shows what was produced during the Sprint; and
  • Participate in the Sprint Retrospective session: a review of what did and did not go well during the Sprint, with actions to make the next Sprint better;
• Manage the product budget (including support & maintenance costs), and prepare cost estimates based on the IT Solution Architect’s high-level effort estimates;
• Keep track of the consumption of purchased time-and-materials quotas;
• Provide guidance to vendors concerning the submission of consumption reports and invoices;
• In collaboration with the TEC’s Head of Sourcing, create and renew Purchase Orders;
• When required, act as Project Manager:
  • Report periodically on progress to the project management office, informing them of any issues/risks requiring attention. Identify and escalate issues that could affect the product outcomes, timeline or budget.
• Any other duties as required for the successful delivery of the product.

DELIVERABLES:

• Product Canvas;
• Product Roadmap; and
• Product Backlog well-structured in Epics, Features, and User Stories, with User Stories that pass the “Definition of Ready” as per the INVEST criteria.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

TERMS AND CONDITIONS:

WFP offers a competitive compensation package which will be determined by the contract type and selected candidate’s qualifications and experience.

Please visit the following website for detailed information on working with WFP.

http://www.wfp.org Click on: “Our work” and “Countries” to learn more about WFP’s operations.

Deadline for applications: 31 January 2021 at 11:59pm Rome time

REF: 133646

Qualified 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.

Saving lives, changing lives