Supply Chain Planning Consultant – roster – various locations

Do you want to be part of the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide? This is your opportunity!

WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles.

Selection is made on a competitive basis, and we are committed to promoting diversity and gender balance.

WHAT IS A ROSTER?

It’s a pool of potential candidates with the necessary mix of knowledge, experience, skills, and values that match with our priority hiring needs in WFP worldwide. Candidates who are recommended following the competitive selection process, will be placed in the Roster for a specific profile and level, for consultancy opportunities. This is a reposting – if you already applied to the Supply Chain Planning roster before, you don't need to reapply.

WHY SHOULD YOU APPLY TO THIS ROSTER?

The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. This is your opportunity to be part of an organization with a humanitarian purpose "Saving Lives, Changing Lives", and to be part of a talent pool for future Supply Chain Planning Officer positions in various locations.

Qualified female applicants and qualified applicants from developing countries are particularly encouraged to apply.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Depending on your experience and expertise areas, you will be involved to a greater or lesser degree in work related, but not limited, to the following:

Level I Consultancy:

The Supply Chain Planning Consultant will provide expert advice and substantial contributions to integrated supply chain operations. They will conduct cross-functional analyses to support supply chain operations, to ensure an effective and integrated supply chain approach meeting the food assistance needs of beneficiaries and strengthening the capacities of governments and partners.

With a strong focus on end-to-end planning, visibility, and optimization, the Supply Chain Planning & Optimization unit works intensively with colleagues in the field and the WFP headquarters (HQ) in Rome to provide a holistic view of each operation to all functional areas, ensuring there is alignment both horizontally and vertically across key actors and decision makers. Building on this shared view, analytical tools are deployed to anticipate issues down the line and support the creation of supply chain plans and what-if scenarios. Through this pro-active approach, WFP decision makers can make more integrated, evidence-based decisions that improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of their operations. Increasingly, the same approach is being applied to support the operations of WFP partners, in particular in the humanitarian health sector.

Based on the demonstrated impact of this approach to managing humanitarian operations, a Supply Chain Planning function is now being institutionalized across the organization, with new positions being created to support HQ, our field offices, governments, and WFP’s partners. These Planners are part of a global planning network, equipped with a suite of analytical tools and processes that were created to support operations, and will be responsible for improving operations at global, regional, and country level either at WFP or for its partner agencies and governments. We are now accepting applications for the supply chain planning roster, allowing us to rapidly respond to new vacancies and requests for analytical support from WFP functions and partners.

The Supply Chain Planning Consultant will be assigned to a functional area, WFP office, or partner (hereafter: “client”). Independent of the client, the role will revolve around cross-functional coordination and analytics (including operational visibility, planning and optimization) to support their operations management and planning activities. Specific responsibilities include but will not be limited to:

1. Provide strategic visibility on prioritized operations to the client’s management, anticipating and flagging potential issues to be mitigated or addressed.
2. Perform what-if scenario analyses to support the resolution of ad-hoc issues and emergencies affecting the client’s operations.
3. Create integrated sourcing and delivery plans to support the implementation of the client's activities.
4. Coordinate closely with relevant business functions to ensure end-to-end visibility and cross-functional buy-in.
5. Contribute to analytical solutions that improve or optimize the client's operations.
6. Develop and/or apply cross-functional analytics to identify structural improvements to the efficiency and effectiveness of the client’s operations.
7. Promote best practices in operations management and advanced analytics and strengthen the capacity of the client’s staff in these areas.
8. Other as required.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Advanced university degree in the area of Supply Chain Management, Engineering, Data Science, Operations Research, or Business Management or related fields.

Years of relevant professional experience:

Level I Consultancy: Three to five years of relevant professional experience.

Competencies:

Supply Chain Management, Planning and Organization, Problem solving, Negotiation, Effective Communication.

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

Professional experience is desired (but not necessarily required) in the following areas:

• Experience in SC-related industry (e.g. supporting S&OP-type processes, material planning, distribution planning, procurement, shipping, etc.) is required.
• Experience in using analytics to support operations management (e.g. planning, optimizing supply chain networks, development of KPIs and visualization dashboards, etc.) is required.
• Experience with consultancy-type activities (e.g. business analysis, process mapping, data transformation and analysis, presenting conclusions to senior management, etc.) is required.
• Experience working with government or humanitarian agencies (e.g. UN, NGOs, etc.) is desired, in particular in the areas of humanitarian and health logistics.
• Experience with developing analytical solutions (e.g. dashboards, optimization models, data transformation pipelines) is desired.
• Experience with software development adapted to data analytics (e.g., python, R, SQL, git version control) is desired.
• Experience with optimization tools and methods (e.g., linear programming, graphs algorithms, heuristics) is desired.
• Experience with forecasting and statistical models (e.g. regression analysis, clustering, random forest) is desired.
• Highly numerate, able to rapidly analyze and interpret data.
• Problem-solving attitude, able to structure ambiguous problems and solve them through a mix of quantitative and qualitative analyses.
• Highly developed communication skills, able to use written and verbal mediums to communicate recommendations and influence outcomes.
• Strong time management skills with an ability to plan ahead and anticipate requirements, problems, and obstacles.
• Self-motivated and proactive, able to take initiative and work autonomously to achieve objectives.
• Ability to juggle competing priorities successfully while working under (sometimes) tight deadlines.
• Effective people skills, able to work both individually and in a team in a multi-cultural environment.
• Ability to interact with senior leaders and a wide range of stakeholders with credibility and tact.
• Fully committed and motivated to achieve the aims of the World Food Programme.

Languages:

• You are fluent in oral and written English and have technical writing skills;

• Intermediate knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, French, Chinese, Russian and Spanish) or Portuguese (one of WFP’s working languages) is desirable.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: 31 March 2023.

YOU ARE AT THE CENTER of our process, so we will maintain a fluid communication with you about the overall selection process.

WFP offers a competitive compensation package.

WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our values and humanitarian principles. Selection is made on a competitive basis, and we are committed to promoting diversity and gender balance.

APPLICATION PROCESS

• After completing your application, you will receive a communication indicating that your profile has been successfully received.
• All applications received will be reviewed and go through a selection process to assess relevant experience and qualification.
• Applicants who meet the selection criteria may be contacted for further assessment or interviews and to confirm their continued interest and availability for the Roster.
• Applicants who do not meet the selection criteria, will be informed about the status of their application.
• Successful candidates will be placed in the Roster for consultancy opportunities. Rostered applicants may be contacted in the next 24 months on a needs basis.

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian organization, saving lives and changing lives, delivering food assistance in emergencies, and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. 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. For its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict, WFP was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020.

WFP has zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, colour, ethnic group, age, sexual orientation, other affiliation or 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.

Apply For Job