Innovation Programme Manager, Fixed Term – NOB, Regional Bureau for Eastern Africa (RBN)

BACKGROUND:

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the United Nations frontline agency fighting hunger. WFP reaches more than 80 million people every day – delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with smallholder farmers, communities and governments to improve nutrition and build resilience.

As conflict, climate change and COVID-19 drive up the number of hungry people in Eastern Africa, finding innovative solutions to the complex humanitarian & development challenges in the region is essential, now perhaps more than ever. WFP Regional Bureau for Eastern Africa which oversees some of the most promising innovations at WFP, has recently launched a WFP Innovation Hub for Eastern Africa to disrupt hunger in the region (Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda). Its main goals are to a) upscale & support local innovation ecosystems to strengthen local food systems, b) support WFP country offices to test new products and innovations and c) facilitate best practices & knowledge sharing.

Based in Nairobi, the WFP Innovation Hub for Eastern Africa identifies, supports and scales high potential solutions to hunger worldwide. It supports entrepreneurs (could be WFP innovators or external startups, NGOs, companies) to take their innovations to the next level – either getting ideas to the first proof of concept or already implemented solutions to the next scale-up. Supported innovative projects can get seed funding, hands-on support by our New Venture Consultants or our partners and access to WFP's operations in Eastern Africa countries and globally through different acceleration and incubation programmes. The most promising innovations are supported in scaling further.

The WFP Innovation Hub for Eastern Africa is now supported by USAID, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other partners. A wide range of next-level innovation are being supported, ranging from innovative businesses in South Sudan to start-ups in Uganda and Rwanda. With additional funding secured, the Hub is planning to launch new innovation programmes in the region (e.g. a climate-focused acceleration programme), build more services and products to support WFP teams in their quest to build the WFP of tomorrow and implement its newly-developed theory of change and M&E framework.

PURPOSE AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

Reporting to the Head of the WFP Regional Innovation Hub For Eastern Africa, you will be working with all functional units in RBN including Partnerships, Supply Chain, Programme, Evaluation, and others. You will also work with WFP Country Offices, stakeholders, and partners in the regional innovation ecosystem.

The responsibilities will include:

1) Support and drive the development of a healthy startup/innovation pipeline (both external innovation ecosystem and internal WFP innovations) across the region:

• Support country offices (CO) to select a credible implementing partner (IP) to execute IGNITE innovation challenges and to develop associated workplans and budgets.
• Support COs and IPs to design the innovation challenges and associated processes (application design, management, communications, innovator recruitment etc)
• Support the COs and IPs to ensure successful delivery of innovation challenges against set budget and workplan.
• Review and select MSMEs and start-ups to attend the acceleration programmes organized by the Hub; co-create criteria for selection with other team members/IPs, building on what was executed for IGNITE cohort 1.
• Support the due diligence process of each business in each ecosystem/country context, engaging partner organizations if/when needed.
• Support the cultivation and maintenance of a network with other accelerators/investors in the social impact/food tech/agri-tech/supply chain tech/fintech sectors for pipeline sharing and exchange of lessons learned in the ecosystem.
• Manage and support the innovation investment selection process with Implementing Partners and Innovation Hub’s Innovative Financing Advisor

2) Coordinate the delivery and scaling of cross-regional innovation projects:

• Coordinate and support country offices with the delivery of innovative projects e.g. aflatoxin prevention and control in South Sudan and Rwanda.
• Coordinate/oversee the delivery of pilot/scale up projects with selected country office programmatic teams.
• Coordinate the production of research projects as required, in collaboration with necessary functions, e.g. FSQ, Food Systems.
• Organize the sharing of learnings on projects across the region (workshops, info briefs etc).
• Coordinate and consolidate the necessary inputs (methodologies, activities, lessons, impact, case studies) for donor reporting on these projects.

3) Manage the organization of program delivery and support measurement and learning activities:

• Coordinate and manage the budget of the Innovation Hub’s portfolio of work; working with finance to create quarterly reports on spending/budget positioning, to correct/justify any variances to plan and to release funds to country offices (overall accountability will reside with Head of Innovation Hub).
• Organize workshops and events, e.g. innovation bootcamps, and create needed materials (liaising with internal procurement and communications).
• Create and manage process flows for existing and new programming (Gannt charts with roles and responsibilities, coordination between country offices and partners) managing timely execution of deliverables against timelines.
• Working with the Learning Advisor and partners to collect impact data of activities, gathering actionable insights to inform future program design and meet reporting requirements.
• Work with the Learning Advisor to develop and meet donor reporting requirements as required.
• When needed during programs, act as an ‘entrepreneur in residence’ to support project teams during ideation and product design stages.

4) Support other Innovation Hub activities:

• Provide analysis and content preparation (data on projects, PowerPoint presentations, briefs etc) for corporate priority topics, donor meetings and executive management meetings
• Collaborate with colleagues in other divisions and/or external stakeholders on topics related to innovation.
• Support other core processes of the Innovation Hub (e.g. fundraising, partnerships, events, procurement) as required.
• Support the Head of the Innovation Hub as required.

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THIS FIRST CONTRACT PERIOD:

• Successful management of budget portfolio.
• Satisfactory delivery of innovation challenges and innovative projects.
• Necessary donor reports completed on time.
• Satisfactory support to other hub activities including required research, presentations, and strategies.
• All work and materials developed during the contract are well documented and available to all relevant stakeholders in designated knowledge management processes/platforms.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education: Advance degree in business, innovation, design, international development or other related degrees.

Experience: Three years post graduate relevant professional experience in African Start-ups, consulting, FMCG private businesses or innovation/entrepreneur support in the humanitarian/international development sector, or five years of under graduate professional experience with a first University Degree.

Program and event organization, project management, and data collection and analysis experience required. Experience working with startups/organizations in the East Africa innovation ecosystem and/or in food systems is beneficial.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Curious, motivated to learn, and comfortable asking questions and proposing new ideas;
• Self-motivated, proactive and able to work with a high degree of autonomy and sense of ownership. Able to ask for help when needed;
• Collaborative spirit, able to partner and empathize with colleagues across professional levels and cultures, able to act with patience, credibility, diplomacy and tact;
• Highly organized and able to effectively manage multiple projects and stakeholders, effectively leveraging tools (GANNT, excel etc);
• Able to collect, analyze and synthesize programmatic performance data;
• Strong time management skills with an ability to plan ahead, anticipate requirements, problems and obstacles, and an ability to juggle competing priorities successfully, and to work to tight deadlines;
• Excellent communication/presentation skills, with the ability to write reports, develop guidance documents, and present findings clearly and concisely to a range of different audiences;
• Committed to achieving the aims of the UN World Food Programme and the Sustainable Development Goals;
• Network of actors in African innovation ecosystems and a nuanced understanding of the sector and its development over the past decade is beneficial.

Languages: Fluency in oral and written English mandatory. Good command of Swahili; other regionally-spoken Bantu, Nilotic, or Afro-Asiatic languages; and/or French is an added advantage.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS:

This vacancy announcement will close on 11 November 2022 @ 11:59 PM EAT

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