Consultant Budget & Programming

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

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, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.

ABOUT WFP

The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

At WFP, people are at the heart of everything we do and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse, committed, skilled, and high performing teams, selected on merit, operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment, living WFP's values (Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves.

To learn more about WFP, visit our website: https://www.wfp.org and follow us on social media to keep up with our latest news: YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok.

WHY JOIN WFP? 

• WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

• WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse, and multicultural working environment.

• WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training, accreditation, coaching, mentorship, and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.

• A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe.

• We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement).

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The Programme Division manages the corporate policy framework, providing strategic and technical guidance, and ensuring quality programme design throughout the global CSP portfolio.

In coordination with other parts of the organization, the Division is responsible for shaping WFP’s strategic direction on key issues related to humanitarian and development actions and contributions to peace, in the context of Zero Hunger and the 2030 Agenda.

The PRG Division manages and oversees various funding sources, Corporate Fundings, Trust Funds and Special Accounts. Additionally, with the frontier policy topics the division deals with, a number of partnerships, and associated grants have been initiated to adequately support the division’s portfolio of work. Furthermore, the division has been nominated as the corporate lead for blended innovative financing modalities. Such resources, financial instruments and accounts need to be managed optimally, with regular analysis and reporting to divisional management for strategic decision making.

To lead and coordinate financial and budget support services involving the planning, recording and interpretation of financial and budgetary information to ensure the efficient functioning of the support services and inform decision-making. The selected candidate would report to the PPG Divisional Director.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES (not all-inclusive, within delegated authority)

Under the direct supervision of the Planning, Budget & Finance (PBF) Team Lead, the incumbent will perform the following duties:

Participate in the development and implementation of plans and procedures for budget and programming activities related to PRG, ensuring that objectives are achieved in compliance with divisional, corporate, country and functional strategies. Create and review the budget plans and forecasts for PRG Front Office and assigned Services. Design, implement, monitor and analyse budgets for new and ongoing projects, ensuring adherence to guidance and policies, and providing financial analysis and advice to optimize resources. Support the Division Director and the Head of Front Office to make strategic budgeting decisions, and positioning the division well for the corporate exercises. Coordinate the budget planning, funds management, financial reporting, resource mobilization, divisional donor proposals, financial systems from inside the division and cross-functionally. Monitor and provide advice on project closure, fund utilization and advance financing, loan and borrowing, repayment and refinancing arrangements; alert PRG managers and service owners to approaching deadlines for unassigned funds and potential resource shortfalls/surpluses and propose appropriate solutions. Simplify, harmonize, and consolidate financial procedures across the division, improve the comparison of financial data, and partner with managers to apply best practice approaches that support the efficient, effective, and compliant utilization of funds. Take a leadership role in the divisional Management Plan exercise and its subsequent reporting, coordinating the inputs from the directors and preparing informative overview and guidance for the final divisional Director and Head of Department approval. Monitor and manage the resource pipeline for the PRG division to maximise operational effectiveness and provide advice on resource allocations based on severity of funding shortfalls using relevant tools. Support corporate finance and resource management strategies and major ongoing programmatic initiatives, participating where appropriate using finance and resource management expertise. Provide financial assessment of partners, service providers, and other entities as needed, providing conclusions to management to enable them to make informed decisions and minimize financial risk to the organization. Coordinate and prepare accurate reports, to provide consistent information for stakeholders, and to identify trends/issues and propose solutions that support decision-making by senior management. Deliver financial controls and insight into WFP performance, undertaking periodic risk and internal control assessments to identify areas which may present potential audit, compliance or financial risks. Preparation of KPIs measurement, Annual Performance Plan and Risk Register. Analyse data and propose well-researched ideas to senior officers for improvement to systems, techniques, tools, processes and procedures to better monitor and manage budgets and funds. Build capacity of WFP staff in budgeting, fund management and operational planning, through preparing and delivery training, coaching, guidelines and manuals. Represent the PRG division at internal meetings/committees/working groups as required, in order to contribute to discussion of key issues from a budget and resource programming perspective. Lead taskforces or project teams and contribute to overall effective functioning of the PBF team, incl. by backstopping and supporting the rotational Team Leader position. Perform other related duties as required.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education:

• Advanced University degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics or other relevant field, or First University degree with additional years of related work experience and/or training/courses. Chartered accounting certificates are a plus.

Experience:

Minimum 5 year of postgraduate working experience in:

• Working in the finance or resource management or analytical function in a humanitarian institution;

• Preparing donor financial reports;

• Translating operational requirements into financial information;

• Budget planning, preparing reports for WFP management, and reviewing country office plans and budgets;

• WFP’s ERP (WINGS).

Knowledge & Skills:

Ability to review a variety of data, identify data discrepancies, accuracy and attention to detail in preparation of reports, advanced Excel and data processing skills, accounting and/or finance related working experience.

Language:

Fluency (level C) in English language.

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

WFP Leadership Framework guides to the common standards of behavior that guide HOW we work together to accomplish our mission.

Click here to access WFP Leadership Framework

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

WFP is committed to supporting individuals with disabilities by providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation, please contact:  [email protected]

NO FEE DISCLAIMER

The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.

REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

• All applications must be submitted exclusively through our online recruiting system. We do not consider CVs or applications sent by email, LinkedIn, or any other channel.

• We strongly recommend that your Workday profile is accurate and complete, and that all sections are filled in, including your employment history, academic qualifications, language skills, and UN grade (if applicable). Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.

• If you experience technical issues while submitting your application, you may contact us at [email protected]. Please note that this email is only for technical issues with an application - unsolicited applications or documents sent to this inbox will not receive a reply.

• At the application stage, the only required documents are your CV and Cover Letter. Additional documents (passport, certificates, recommendation letters, etc.) may be requested later in the process.

• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the recruitment process.

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.