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Innovation Ventures Consultant

WFP Innovation Accelerator, INKA, Munich, Germany

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. We are currently seeking to fill an Innovation Ventures Consultant position in the INKA division, based in Munich, Germany.

Brief description of WFP Innovation Accelerator, INKA:

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the United Nations frontline agency fighting hunger. WFP reaches more than 100 million people every day - delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with smallholder farmers, communities, and governments to improve nutrition and build resilience.

The WFP Innovation Accelerator was named by Fast Company as Most Innovative Non-Profit Organization 2021 for its work in identifying, nurturing, and scaling disruptive start-ups and innovations to end global hunger. Based in Munich, Germany, the Innovation Accelerator provides WFP employees, entrepreneurs and start-ups with funding, hands-on support, and access to WFP’s global operations. Through the Innovation Accelerator, WFP is leveraging unprecedented advances in digital innovation - such as mobile technology, artificial intelligence and blockchain - and new business models to transform the way it serves vulnerable communities across the world. In 2020, Accelerator supported innovations that positively impacted the lives of 8.6 million people globally. Most recently, the Accelerator runs programmes for external partners such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and others.

More information here: http://innovation.wfp.org and https://youtu.be/OnKkQlRdh2c.

General Information:

• Title of Post: Innovation Ventures Consultant
• Unit: Innovation Accelerator, Innovation and Knowledge Management Division (INKA)
• Country:  Germany
• Duty Station: Munich
• Initial contract duration: 5 months, renewable
• Expected Start Date: 10.03.2022
  
  Duties and responsibilities:
  
  The incumbent, reporting to the relevant Head of the team, is expected to:

1. Support the planning and implementation of core accelerator activities:

1. 1. Ensure the development and improvement of the following activities and processes - content design, operational coordination and planning, and/or facilitation of bootcamps, workshops and other innovation support activities;
   2. Coordinate the start-up/innovation sourcing process (innovation challenges, pipeline sharing, active scouting, etc.) as applicable;
   3. Match start-ups/projects with WFP Country Offices, HQ units or Regional Bureaux and vice versa, and external organizations, as needed;
   4. Ensure that all innovation support activities are planned and implemented in an effective and efficient manner, with all relevant internal and external clients and stakeholders;
   5. Support building strong collaborations and partnerships within the Munich ecosystem and with the external innovation community globally, as applicable.

2.   Drive innovations/new ventures (internal and external) to potentially scale and to advance towards Zero Hunger and the other Sustainable Development Goals:

1. Support and coach project teams from ideation to implementation (as applicable), using methodologies such as human-centred design, lean start-up, project management and business modelling;
2. Advise and support innovation teams on key decisions regarding product features and technology elements;
3. Define key performance indicators and milestones for the innovation projects and innovation programs, and assure their implementation, impact measurement and reporting;
4. Guide the innovation team throughout the innovation program curriculum, as required;
5. Support piloting with and/or integration within WFP operations or within other organizations (as applicable), while liaising with internal units such as country offices, procurement and legal, as required;
6. Participate in and carry out discussions with WFP colleagues in other divisions or WFP operations to align on project scope and objectives, or with stakeholders in other organizations when applicable, and
7. Execute any other task as required.

3.   Support the overall Innovation Accelerator operations:

1. 1. Provide analysis & content preparation (data on projects, PowerPoint presentations, briefs, etc.) for corporate priority topics and management meetings;
   2. Participate and carry out discussions with colleagues in other divisions or external stakeholders on topics related to innovation;
   3. Support other core processes of the Innovation Accelerator (e.g. innovation sourcing; innovation bootcamps; sprint programme; thought leadership; scale-up enablement; innovation services; knowledge management) as required;
   4. Support the Head of the Innovation Accelerator and the Director of Innovation and Knowledge Management with any other activities as required.

Required qualifications and experience:

Required soft skills/WFP Competencies:

• Passion and understanding of technology innovations (e.g. mobile apps, blockchain, artificial intelligence) and business model innovations (e.g. innovative finance, sharing economy).
• Experience in innovation project life cycle - from ideation, minimum viable product, testing, prototyping and implementation.
• Experience working cross-functionally and getting things done in a scrappy and hands-on way.
• Worked in a large-scale organization or with a client/in partnership with a large-scale organization.
• A proven track record of driving and implementing projects - effectively delivering impactful elements of projects in a fast-moving environment, ideally for new businesses, new business models, start-ups etc.
• Able to generate new and original solutions to complex problems and to design new product ideas.
• Strong conceptual thinking to develop new strategies & innovative projects.
• Able to interact with a broad range of stakeholders and external audience with maturity and tact.
• Excellent communication/presentation skills, with the ability to write strategy documents, to develop business plans and to write and deliver presentations.
• Collaborative spirit, able to partner with a wide range of people at all levels and across different cultures and to act with credibility and diplomacy.
• Self-motivated and able to work with a high degree of autonomy.
• Sets a high-level of ambition for the project and own work to achieve impact for the hungry people we serve.
• Fully committed and motivated to achieve the aims of the UN World Food Programme.

Language requirements:

• Fluency in oral and written English mandatory. Intermediate knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish) or Portuguese (one of WFP’s working languages) is a plus.

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.

VA Reference no: 151339

Closing Date: 4 March 2022

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.

Fighting Hunger Worldwide