Business Transformation Officer -NOD, Nairobi.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES continued.....

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. 

WFP Kenya Country Strategic Plan is based on the National Zero Hunger Strategic Review, as well as the United Nations Development Assistance Framework. It contributes to Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 17, as well as WFP Strategic Results 1, 4, 5 and 8, through four specific outcomes:

• Refugees and asylum seekers living in camps/settlements and populations affected by natural and man-made disasters have access to adequate food to meet their food and nutrition needs.
• Targeted smallholder producers, food-insecure and vulnerable populations benefit from sustainable, inclusive food systems and increased resilience to climate shocks to meet food and nutrition needs by 2023.
• National and county institutions in Kenya have strengthened capacity and systems to assist food-insecure and nutritionally vulnerable populations by 2023.
• Government, humanitarian and development partners in Kenya have access to and benefit from effective and cost-efficient logistics services, including air transport, common coordination platforms, and improved commodity supply chains.

WFP Kenya works in some of the remotest parts of the country, working with local communities to deliver on our promise to enhance food securiy, eliminate mulnutrition and strengthen food systems. We work with the national and country governments as well as national and international actors, including other UN bodies, the private sector and individuals of goodwill.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The incumbent will be required to work under the general supervision of the Senior Deputy Country Director. The position holder will establish and manage effective business relationships, provide expert IT advice and develop innovative solutions that fulfil business objectives while ensuring corporate guidelines are adhered to.

Internally, the holder will be accountable for the delivery of digital solutions and IT Services to the Kenya country office structures and other Nairobi-based WFP offices in alignment with corporate TEC Division governance, guidelines and policies. The role will provide leadership and management to BTU staff and act as a point of escalation and coordination for critical incidents. It will manage relationships with internal staff and suppliers to ensure effective and efficient technology products and services are delivered.

Externally, the incumbent will ensure that WFP’s own technology is deployed to governments responsibly. He/she will work with and through local private sector providers, civil society and academia to provide expertise and services to national systems. The holder will  encourage and advocate for the use of WFP’s in-house digital programmatic expertise to open opportunities for wider, strategic engagement. All decisions with respect to the use of technology should consider the sustainability of the digital services and solutions, including support, within WFP and within the national development plans.

JOB PURPOSE

This is a leadership role that will head the Business Transformation Unit and will report to the Senior Deputy Country Director. It is accountable for providing all Kenya country office staff with the technology products and services needed to perform their roles. The Business Transformation Unit (BTU) is also responsible for providing IT services to other offices including the Regional Bureau East and Central Africa (RBN), SCOPE Global Service Desk, Food Systems Summit and the Digital Transformation Unit. The position directly oversees 12 staff and has an indirect reporting line to 3 TEC staff in field offices (Mombasa, Kakuma and Dadaab). 

The holder of this position will also head a cross-functional technical team that works closely with Programme and particularly with Outcome 3 (Government Capacity Strengthening) to assure that needs for digitalization initiatives are clearly defined and well-coordinated across the Country Strategic Plans and with government as well as Innovations Unit.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

Strategic Advice and input to the Country Strategic and Business Plans

• Engage with senior management at strategic and operational levels to develop Country Office-Technology Solutions Roadmap based on the CSP, Digital Transformation Solutions Roadmap and key digital product lines.
• Participate in the development of country office strategy and planning to advocate for business results and outcomes in compliance with WFP policies, standards and strategy.
• Keep abreast of the strategic direction, profile, environment and needs of the business to identify initiatives or core business process improvements with enabling technologies that allow the business to meet its goals. 
• Enable business change and improve ability of the business to adapt by analysing business capabilities, defining needs, modelling the business and identifying new opportunities or recommending solutions that deliver value for business priorities.
• Gather and shape business demand, anticipating the direction of the business and offering industry, business and technology insights with potential to create value for the business environment.
• Promote an approach that emphasizes strategic national systems strengthening to all digitalization projects.

IT Service Delivery and Client Relationship management

• Lead the delivery of IT services and projects to ensure solutions transfer into the business in accordance with established overall project and service delivery objectives, business strategies and requirements, while managing and mitigating risks in IT services and products.
• Initiate Country Office digital scale-up teams in alignment with the Field Digital Playbook and the defined Country Office digital roadmap.
• Keep abreast of relevant knowledge and best practices in the IT industry on Business Relationship Management, Business Analysis and IT Project Management, adopt best practices and guidelines and orient towards continuous improvement of the IT service delivery in the country office and regional bureau.
• Lead and promote government capacity strengthening initiatives aimed at building solid IT and DAS expertise amongst IT colleagues in Country Office and with our partners, thereby influencing the emergence of a new country office IT function that is more business and government aligned.
• Lead and motivate the team of staff, providing coaching, training and guidance to ensure appropriate development and enable high performance.
   

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES continued...

Stakeholder engagement

• Advise on all digital assistance to the Government of Kenya.  Participate fully in engagement with government counterparts and government-led solutions. 
• Build and nurture strategic and working relationships with key internal and external partners in the technology sector (including government and private sector), aligning the business needs and priorities of WFP with providers’ capabilities and service portfolio.
• Develop relationships with operational and executive-level subject matter experts to shape and validate demand for digital services through user research.
• Define and utilize techniques for eliciting, understanding, analysing, documenting, validating and communicating business objectives, needs, requirements and process flows to ensure common understanding, agreement and prioritization between stakeholders.
• Build on existing relationships with Kenya National and County Governments and the respective state departments through enhanced partnership and technical collaboration in:
• Move ahead with the digital platform for relief assistance with the Ministry of Devolution and ASALs;
• Support the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) predictive model for improving Early Warning Systems;
• Provide technical support to the Ministry of Agriculture in the development of a digital food balance sheet dashboard to enhance decision-making at National and County level;
• Identify technical gaps in skills, tools and training to empower government technical teams to deliver government digital programmes and priorities.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

Education:  Advanced university degree in business management, computer science, telecommunications or engineering. Applicants with a first University degree in IT related field with two (2) additional years of related work experience or trainings/courses will be considered.
Experience:

• Eight or more years postgraduate progressive professional (manegerial) experience in IT with an interest in international humanitarian development, experience in project management, technology and/or strategy related work with a minimum of 2 years in aleadership role.
• Strong understanding of digital technology trends and how modern technology works.  
• Strong strategic thinking skills with the ability to connect dots within the context of a large, complex organization and sector.
• Strong relationship-building and influencing skills.
• Strong leadership in managing and developing operational teams and managed service providers in delivering and supporting IT services across all lines of business.
• Understanding of the software development lifecycle (SDLC) and sound knowledge of ITIL service principles, experienced supplier manager and focused on delivering CSI across production platforms and IT services.
• Expertise in budget planning, financial management and resource management.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.

Language: International Professional: Fluency (level C) in English language. Intermediate knowledge (level B) of a second official UN language: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish, and/or WFP’s working language, Portuguese.

4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES

Purpose

• Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives: Utilizes understanding of WFP’s Strategic Objectives to communicate linkages to team objectives and work.
•  Be a force for positive change: Proactively identifies and develops new methods or improvements for self and immediate team to address work challenges within own work area.
•  Make the mission inspiring to our team: Identifies opportunities to further align individual contributions with WFP’s mission of making an impact on local communities.
•  Make our mission visible in everyday actions: Helps colleagues to see the link between their individual tasks and the contributions of their unit’s goals to the broader context of WFP’s mission.

People

• Look for ways to strengthen people's skills: Is able to identify, support and encourage focused on-the-job learning opportunities to address gaps between current skillsets and needed future skillsets for WFP.
•  Create an inclusive culture: Recognizes the contributions of teammates, and encourages contributions from culturally different team mates to recognise the value of diversity above and beyond just including it in programming for beneficiaries.
•  Be a coach & provide constructive feedback: Provides and solicits ongoing constructive feedback on strengths and development opportunities to help develop individual skills, whilst also helping others identify areas for improvement.
•  Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit: Sets clear targets for self and others to focus team efforts in ambiguous situations (e.g., unprecedented issues and/or scenarios)

Performance

• Encourage innovation & creative solutions: Thinks beyond team’s conventional approaches to formulate creative methods for delivering food aid and assistance to beneficiaries.
•  Focus on getting results: Maintains focus on achieving individual results in the face of obstacles such as volatile or fragile environments and/or organizational roadblocks.
•  Make commitments and make good on commitments: Takes personal accountability for upholding and delivering upon team’s commitments and provides assurance to stakeholders.
•  Be Decisive: Demonstrates ability to adjust to team’s plans and priorities to optimize outcomes in light of evolving directives, while also responding quickly in high-pressure environments, such as in emergency settings.

Partnership

• Connect and share across WFP units: Demonstrates an understanding of when and how to tactfully engage other units in conversations on impact, timing, or planning
•  Build strong external partnerships: Networks regularly with key external partners using formal and informal opportunities to understand each partner’s unique value proposition, and to build and strengthen relationships 
•  Be politically agile & adaptable: Demonstrates ability to adapt engagement approach in the context of evolving partner circumstances and expectations
•  Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships: Demonstrates ability to articulate to internal and external audiences the value that individual contributions and immediate teams bring to partnerships.

FUNCTIONAL CAPABILITIES

OTHER SPECIFIC JOB REQUIREMENTS

The role  will manage large scale digital and IT-related projects which will require an innovative mindset. He/she must build strong relationships with CSP outcome managers, enabling WFP thereafter to strengthen its offering to the government by integrating digital technology based on local context and needs. This position should advise the Programmes in response to the demand for digital technical expertise and solutions from governments for programmatic purposes.

The job holder is expected to lead the Business Transformation team, having the necessary technical knowledge and experience gained over years of professional practice, and to guide the team in identifying, analysing and providing digital solutions in the implementation of Country Office strategic objectives. The job holder should understand the software development lifecycle (SDLC) and sound knowledge of ITIL service principles. The job holder must also be able to acknowledge when outside expertise (regional bureau, commercial sector) needs to be called upon to ensure that IT issues which can affect the smooth running of WFP’s programme are addressed by appropriate IT practitioners

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Be notified that a background check will be run against part of the information you provide in the screening questions.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

21 March 2021

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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.