Cash-Based Transfers Surge Advisor
WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and
encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, color, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information,
gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status, physical or mental disability.
Job Title: CBT Surge Officer
Type of Contract: Consultants level II
Division: CBT / Cash-Based Transfers Division
Duty Station (City, Country): Rome HQ, Italy
Duration: 11 months
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:
The unprecedented growth in global cash operations and the activation of a “Corporate Scale-up” in response to the looming global food crisis comes at a time when the Cash Based Transfers Division (CBT) was already engaged in restructuring and increasing the size of its team to better serve field needs through services and support. The ability to timely deploy surge staff with the required experience and technical skills remains the critical factor for effective operations and CBT is establishing a fully dedicated team of standing CBT officers to secure, all year round, a predictable number of experienced personnel immediately available to deploy to emergency operations, but also other WFP operations with staffing gaps. This CBT Surge team will be housed in the CBT division and will be a global resource.
The team will include personnel at different levels of seniority which are expected to deploy to emergencies for about 6-8 months per year, depending on operational needs and with breaks between deployments. They will be deployable in a variety of contexts, including large corporate emergencies, and will typically lead large and diverse teams composed of individual specializations (i.e., fintech, systems, data analytics, service provision) ensuring overall effective coordination and synergy. Specific TORs for each deployment will depend on the country context. This position will provide surge support in COs requesting additional CBT capacity to meet emergency needs, with priority going to CAS and global food crisis responding COs. The positions are expected to be able to provide senior CBT technical and response capacity, with generalist expertise.
ACCOUNTABILITIES / RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Serve as a key advisor to the country management team (Country Director/Deputy Country Director/Head of Programme on all matters related to cash operations (programming, operations, funding, staffing gaps, partnerships, etc.)
- Oversee day to day implementation of all CBT programme activities by providing support for WFP operations, including activity design, implementation, monitoring and budget management.
- Align country cash operations to the new CBT Policy to achieve operational agility, reliability, and quality.
- Plan, monitor and manage resources to maximize effectiveness of large CBT operations.
- Maintain productive partnerships with key stakeholders amongst government and other national organizations, UN agencies, NGOs, private sector and academia to share knowledge and resources and build capacity, resulting in coordinated and cost-effective CBT operations.
- Lead sectoral assessments to inform the selection of appropriate transfer mechanisms to improve CBT performance.
- Determine the key business requirements for digital solutions needed to run CBT operations, and lead in the design of high-level digital strategies.
- Give strategic and operational inputs into beneficiary information management.
- Continuously review the performance of CBT operations to ensure that appropriate internal controls are in place.
- Coordinate selection and management of service providers, retailers and cooperating partners to ensure efficient planning and execution of WFP operations and safeguarding of WFP’s interest.
- Manage accurate and timely reporting including provision of substantial analysis of CBT activities and trends to enable informed decision-making and consistency of information presented to a wide range of stakeholders.
- Lead, motivate and develop a large team providing coaching, training and career guidance as required to ensure appropriate development and high performance.
- Contribute to preparedness actions, providing technical recommendations and guidance and monitoring the management of specific CBT risks to enable WFP, governments and other partners to quickly respond to and deploy CBT at the onset of crises.
- Promote for incorporating gender and protection perspectives in all areas of work, to ensure equal participation of women and men.
- When not deployed, contribute to timebound projects, such as reviewing and advising on CBT’s operational normative guidance; support the division to identify, recruit, and train the new generation of CBT officers (through recruitments, simulations, mentorships and other workforce development initiatives); and engage in dedicated personal learning opportunities as required.
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:
Education:
University degree in Economics, International Development or Social Sciences or other relevant field, or First University degree with additional years of related work experience and/or training/courses.
Experience:
At least 8 years of relevant experience in implementing CBT operations including coordination with internal and external stakeholders and supporting emergency programs.
Knowledge and Skills:
Experience in shaping and implementing operational CBT strategies in a country
Experience in developing and managing interagency and government relationships
Experience in implementing/setting-up CBT improvement and optimization initiatives to achieve cost efficiency, improved agility, reliability, and quality
Experience negotiating service provision arrangements with multiple third parties respecting WFP’s best interests
Experience in monitoring operational success and suggesting areas of improvements
Experience supervising teams of national staff
Languages:
Fluency (level C) in English and French is required. Intermediate knowledge (level B) of Spanish or Arabic is desired.
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: 09 November 2022
Ref.: VA No. 177821
All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an
inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority.
Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
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.
