Tech & Operations Lead

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).

JOB TITLE: Individual Giving – Tech & Operations Lead, Private Sector Partnerships (PSP)
DUTY STATION: Rome HQ
CONTRACT TYPE: Short-Term, Regular Consultant (CST-2)
DURATION: 11 months

LINE MANAGER/SUPERVISOR: Head of International Individual Giving

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
The Private Partnerships Division (PSP) is responsible for mobilizing resources from the private sector. PSP has developed an ambitious five-year strategy and our ambition is based on need. 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. Every day 5,000 WFP-chartered trucks are on the road; 80 planes are in the air and 20 ships are at sea.

Work as hard as we might, through drought and floods, conflict and peace, disasters natural or man-made, the needs are immense and growing. 318 million people in the world are acutely food insure. To get to a world with Zero Hunger faster, WFP has significantly increased resources in recent years from donor governments. We are now investing in and grow private sector fundraising to reach more people. WFP’s private sector strategy (2025 – 2030) proposes to dramatically increase income from individuals to help reach more people and get to Zero Hunger faster, using digital engagement tools to reach audiences across the globe in a flexible and cost-effective way.
Traditional individual fundraising in our sector was primarily conducted through offline channels and implemented through national fundraising operations. The individual fundraising market now looks vastly different, with many potential donors having a digital presence and comfort with transacting online. WFP has a unique opportunity to define its approach amid this digital change, and leapfrog peers through its creation of a digital-led fundraising strategy that engages people worldwide from one centralized team. Our digital focus elevates the importance of an agile approach to delivering opportunities to engage.

INDIVIDUAL FUNDRAISING
In the first year of the new growth strategy the IG team recruited 100k new regular givers supporters, from over 190 countries primarily through digital advertising (Social and Search). Annual income has grown from $3m in FY19 to $56m in FY25 with growth ambitions going far beyond this. Our focus is a digital-first strategy, working through a centralized global team recruiting supporters primarily through digital channels and building an outstanding supporter experience through a multi-channel loyalty programme that delivers a best-in-class donor experience.

PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT
WFP’s Individual Giving Team is looking for a thoughtful, resourceful, and independent person to lead our dedicated Fundraising Tech & Operations Team within the Private Partnerships Division. The successful candidate will be responsible for managing a team and lead the development and growth of the Individual Giving as an enabler to fundraising growth now and in the future from Individuals.

As we plan to expand our fundraising efforts into new markets and channels, the need for structured coordination, compliance oversight, and operational efficiency becomes critical. The IG Tech & Operations Lead plays a central role in ensuring that new fundraising initiatives are successfully launched while adhering to strategic, technical and legal requirements. This role is designed to streamline the implementation of new fundraising activities, ensuring they are efficiently rolled out in compliance with both internal policies and external regulations. By managing cross-functional teams and liaising with key stakeholders, the Tech & Ops Lead ensures that the necessary approvals, technical integrations, and operational frameworks are in place before launching in new markets and/or channels.

Given the complexities of fundraising across different regulatory landscapes and digital platforms, this role serves as a critical link between fundraising teams, compliance departments, and technology teams. Their leadership ensures that fundraising innovations are not only feasible but also scalable and legally sound. The Tech & Ops Lead also works to enhance operational efficiencies, mitigate risks, and create a structured pathway for sustainable fundraising growth.

The Tech & Ops team consists of two branches, each playing a crucial role in our fundraising efforts. The Fundraising Operations Compliance branch spearheads the implementation of new fundraising initiatives at both the country and channel levels facilitating these core activities by securing stakeholder endorsement and ensuring adherence to regulatory standards. The Tech and Product branch oversees our donation platforms, IT tools, and fundraising products, ensuring seamless functionality and innovation.

We are seeking a visionary leader to assess our existing team resources, structure, and technology stack against the current program requirements. This individual will identify gaps and implement necessary adjustments before the conclusion of the current strategy period (2025-23).

We need a forward-thinker - someone who will collaborate closely with peers in Supporter Acquisition and Supporter Experience to determine the most effective operational and technical solutions for driving future income growth from individuals. Their work will be instrumental in supporting the 2026-2030 PSP Growth Strategy (currently under development), ensuring our systems, IT tools, products, and platforms evolve in sync with growth drivers and remain adaptable to emerging needs.

A critical aspect of this role is alignment with WFP’s overarching strategy, roadmap, and ecosystems. This includes fostering strong partnerships with WFP’s Technology Division (TEC), Procurement, Legal, Privacy, Risk, Global Offices, and other key stakeholders to ensure synergy, transparency, and well-managed relationships.

The ideal candidate will bring extensive experience working in IT-driven environments, ideally with Customer Relationship Management (CRMs), fundraising platforms, digital paid media, and e-commerce platforms. They will have a proven track record of project managing and delivering IT-based solutions, overseeing budgets, and strategically deploying resources to meet the evolving needs of both requestors and end users.

ACCOUNTABILITIES / RESPONSIBILITIES
The Tech & Ops Lead's role is to be the custodian of the fundraising operations’ vision and accountable for maximising the value and reach of our fundraising efforts at the structural level. This is done by understanding business and end-user requirements (collaborating with PSP’s Supporter Acquisition and Supporter Experience teams) and prioritising activities and features to be implemented.

1. Leadership & Team Enablement
• Lead and develop a cross-functional team of 10+ specialists across operations, compliance, technology, and product.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, psychological safety, and continuous improvement avoiding micromanaging and balancing delivery expectations with long-term team health, well-being, and professional development.
• Support capacity building, mentorship, and skills development within the IG Tech & Ops team.
• Represent the interest of the team within other stakeholders.

2. Cross-Functional Coordination
• Navigate and manage the interfaces between technology, compliance, operations, and fundraising strategy to ensure cohesive delivery.
• Translate strategic objectives into clear, aligned actions across multiple disciplines and teams.
• Maintain visibility on cross-functional work, manage interdependencies, and proactively identify and remove blockers.

3. Delivery Oversight & Operational Excellence
• Oversee the delivery of digital products, data services, and operational workflows, ensuring successful outcomes.
• Apply appropriate project delivery models (e.g., Agile, hybrid), adapting methodologies to suit specific contexts and organizational needs.
• Monitor and manage delivery risks in technical, data, and compliance environments, engaging specialist expertise when necessary.
• Build and maintain standardized processes for launching fundraising initiatives across countries and channels.
• Lead continuous improvement efforts to optimize efficiency, scalability, and quality assurance.

4. Market Expansion & Fundraising Rollout
• Lead planning, execution, and monitoring of fundraising operations in new countries and channels, ensuring full compliance.

• Manage a $7M annual budget for IG fundraising activities, building adaptive roadmaps aligned with strategic goals.
• Identify and address operational challenges in new fundraising territories to enable successful market entry.

5. Compliance, Risk & Approvals Management
• Oversee compliance operations for Individual Giving fundraising across legal, privacy, procurement, and IT.
• Identify and mitigate operational, financial, and data privacy risks related to fundraising activities.
• Ensure ongoing monitoring and reporting of compliance status and risk exposure.

6. Strategic Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement
• Serve as member of the IG leadership team, collaborating with acquisition, supporter experience, and PSP counterparts.
• Build partnerships with internal and external stakeholders to maximize efficiency, knowledge sharing, and innovation.
• Advocate for strategic priorities of fundraising operations during periods of growth and organizational change.

By fulfilling these responsibilities, the IG Tech & Ops Lead ensures that new fundraising activities are executed efficiently, compliantly, and in alignment with the organization's strategic goals.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
Education
 University degree in a relevant discipline. Or First University degree with additional years of related work experience and/or trainings/courses
 Sufficient years of experience in Fundraising Operations, or related fields.

Work history
 minimum of 10 year’s progressive experience working in or leading teams in a IT product based or digital first team environment.
 Experience at the international level, including at a UN agency and humanitarian organization is desirable.
 Experience with multi-vendor project and delivery coordination and management.
 Experience deploying in enterprise production environments; and
 Experience with design and development team set-ups..
 Experience of managing teams and able to adapt management style to meet the individual needs of direct line reports.

Technical expertise
While the postholder does not need to be a subject-matter expert in each area, they must bring a working understanding of the relevant domains and confidence in coordinating across them. Experience in the following areas is valued:
Domain Fluency (supportive, not specialist):
 Digital fundraising platforms and CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce, Stripe, GoCardless)
 Data privacy and regulatory environments (e.g., GDPR, PCI-DSS)
 Technical change delivery, data integration, and platform management
 Fundraising operations and campaign delivery mechanisms

Soft skills
 Collaboration: Builds strong relationships with internal teams, external partners, and stakeholders.
 Pragmaticism: Balances ideal solutions with delivery realities — knows when to optimize and when to ship.
 Empowerment: Recognizes and champions the expertise already present in the team.
 Strategy: Sees the big picture, aligns technology and operations with organizational purpose.

Language(s)
 Excellent command of spoken and written English
 Intermediate knowledge of another official UN language would be a plus.
 

.

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.