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
 

 

 

 

Job Title: Lead SCOPE Product Manager

 

Type of contract: Regular consultancy level II

 

Division: TEC – Technology Division

 

Duty Station: Rome HQ, Italy

 

Duration: 11 months

 

 

 

 

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT:

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the world's largest humanitarian agency, fighting hunger worldwide. WFP Technology Division (TEC, formerly known as IT) is the digital business engine of the World Food Programme, providing the business with multi-pronged and resilient technical capabilities able to respond with the agility required in humanitarian operations, be they manmade or in a natural disaster setting.

 The Technology Division (TEC, formerly known as IT) is the digital business engine of the World Food Programme, providing the business with multi-pronged and resilient technical capabilities able to respond with the immediate agility required in conflict zones on the one hand and with the longer-term stability to cope natural disasters on the other. 

The Product Development team is focused on delivering software solutions. It is based in Rome, but also consists of team members working remotely in Europe, and in Asia. 

Within TEC products, SCOPE is WFP’s beneficiary and transfer management platform that supports WFP in providing digital assistance. The SCOPE platform is used for beneficiary and transfer management.  

Reporting to the Head of Product Development, the Lead Product Manager is responsible for the successful delivery of software by the Product Management team. The Lead Product Manager holds the vision of the product or product components within the SCOPE ecosystem, hereby referred to as the product. The incumbent is accountable for maximizing the value of the product resulting from the work of the Product Development Team. The main objective of the Product Manager Lead is to manage the creation of IT solutions which achieve the highest quality in terms of technical usability, user acceptability, and domain suitability

 

 

 

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Manage the Product teams’ Product Roadmaps and ensure they are up to date outlining the evolution of the product components whilst providing guidance where needed.; 
• Ensure the Product Roadmaps are in ready states for endorsement to the Project Prioritisation Board (PPR) or TEC Demand Assessment Board (DAB).; 
• Provide guidance to the team on performing according to the standard role of Scrum Product Owner.: 
• Ensure the culture of using structured software development methodologies currently in place within WFP 
• Remain up to date on SCOPE functionalities and assess technical feasibility 
• Ensure functional testing and acceptance testing procedures are in place 
• Provide additional product demonstrations to stakeholders 
• Act as focal point for escalations of incidents on production as 2nd to 3rd line support. 
• Ensure the internal team processes are defined, executed and optimised. Implement an agile process for change management that will complement the involvement of the business counterparts. In doing so, ensure the team’s tooling is configured to match the process. 
• Maintain an up to date understanding of the business to comprehend the requirements for development changes. 
• Supervise a team of Product Managers and demonstrate exemplary behaviour 
• Provide guidance to the team on budget and quote management and implement an internal process that suits the team delivery and procurement procedures.  
• 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. 
• Verify vendor consumption reports and invoices. 
• Approve consumption reports for the insertion the corresponding Service Entry Sheets; and 
• In collaboration with the TEC’s Head of Sourcing, initiate the request for the creation of Purchase Orders. 
• Other duties as required. 

 

 

 

DELIVERABLES:

• Refined Product Roadmaps of the entire product landscape; 
• Product Backlog well-structured in Epics, Features, and User Stories, with User Stories that pass the “Definition of Ready” as per the INVEST criteria. 
• Escalation focal point for 3rd line support focussing on improved initial response times within the unit and greater satisfaction from customers and other units. Development of artefacts required to support the methodology. 
• Management of SLAs with associated teams 
• Testing processes and methodologies  
• Maintained repository of Product fact sheets and manuals  
• Maintained repository of release notes. 
• Project and release plans when requested 
• Provide line management and direction, with focus on developing stronger accountability for delivery within the team.  

 

 

 

 

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education:

University degree in business administration, information technology, or other related fields. 

Experience:

Minimum 6 years of post-graduate experience within Agile product management environments, including a proven track record of planning, leading and executing product deliveries.  

Technical Skills & Knowledge:

• Familiarity with SCOPE or other similar platforms or business  processes within the domain areas of digital assistance is a plus 
• Familiarity with banking systems, electronic money transfer systems, security protocols, industry standards, procurement of financial services and points/awards systems is a bonus. 

Competencies:

• Ability to think creatively, strategically, and identify and resolve problems. 
• Excellent verbal and written communication and presentation skills. 
• Well organized and detail oriented. 
• Able to effectively coordinate multiple responsibilities simultaneously. 
• Able to articulate complex concepts in non-technical language. 
• Able to plan and organize work and communicate effectively. 
• Used to work with a diverse population of people of with different national and cultural backgrounds, particularly valuing respectfulness and inclusively leveraging everyone's talents.

 

   Language:

Fluency in oral and written English with an intermediate knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish) or Portuguese (one of WFP’s working languages) is desirable.

 

 

 

 

 

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 websites 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: 27 May 2022 at 11:59pm Rome time (CET/CEST)

REF: 162425

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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