Blockchain Technology Strategy and Portfolio Project Manager

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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 (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. We are currently seeking to fill a Blockchain Technology Strategy and Portfolio Project Manager position in the INKA division, based in Munich, Germany.

Brief description of WFP Innovation Accelerator, INKA:

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the United Nations frontline agency fighting hunger. WFP reaches more than 100 million people every day - delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with smallholder farmers, communities, and governments to improve nutrition and build resilience.

The WFP Innovation Accelerator was named by Fast Company as Most Innovative Non-Profit Organization 2021 for its work in identifying, nurturing, and scaling disruptive start-ups and innovations to end global hunger. Based in Munich, Germany, the Innovation Accelerator provides WFP employees and start-ups with funding, hands-on support, and access to WFP’s global operations. Through the Accelerator, WFP is leveraging unprecedented advances in digital innovation - such as mobile technology, artificial intelligence, and blockchain - and new business models to transform the way it serves vulnerable communities across the world. In 2021, Accelerator supported innovations that positively impacted the lives of 9 million people globally. Most recently, the Accelerator runs programs for external partners such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and others.

More information here: http://innovation.wfp.org and https://youtu.be/OnKkQlRdh2c

General Information:

• Job title: Blockchain Technology Strategy and Portfolio Project Manager
• Unit: Innovation Accelerator, Innovation and Knowledge Management Division (INKA)
• Country: Germany
• Duty Station: Munich
• Initial contract duration: 5 months (extendable)
• Expected Start Date: 01.03.2023

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

The incumbent, reporting to the Head of Innovative Finance, Frontier Innovations and Venture Launchpad, is expected to:

1. Drive the blockchain technology strategy development and project portfolio management: design the development and implementation of the blockchain strategy at the WFP Innovation Accelerator and oversee the blockchain project portfolio management, addressing both internal WFP processes, as well as in the context of program delivery in emerging and developing countries:

• Develop a blockchain strategy and set focus areas and priorities to explore where blockchain technology can have an impact on humanitarian response and the food systems transformation;
• Identify and drive the development of promising blockchain-based technical solutions addressing humanitarian use cases from idea to scaling through the core WFP Innovation Accelerator program;
• Define key performance indicators and milestones for blockchain projects and overall portfolio, and assure their implementation, impact measurement, and reporting;
• Build collaborations around blockchain technology, create the methods for accessing potential partnerships, and work with the team of Blockchain Consultants to ensure that new blockchain solutions are developed, prototyped and iterated upon quickly;
• Act as a project manager to champion specific blockchain initiatives led by WFP:
  • This includes supporting Country Office blockchain pilots related to emergency response, small-holder farmer support, supply chain management, and other areas.
  • Identifying and supporting opportunities to use blockchain for internal efficiency and effectiveness across WFP.
  • Champion blockchain piloting with and/or integration within WFP operations or within other organizations (as applicable), while liaising with internal units such as TEC, procurement and legal, as required.

2. Drive the development of blockchain-based software solutions from ideation to pilot implementation (Technology Readiness Level 5-6):

• Use available tools and expertise to drive the development of lightweight technology prototypes to test research hypotheses.
• Develop architecture standards, templates, and principles for WFP Innovation Accelerator blockchain projects in line with corporate standards.
• Map solution design to WFP Enterprise Architecture standards and reference architectures.
• Collaborate with all necessary stakeholders, including business and IT roles to gather needed input to derive and document an agreed-upon solution.
• Support the project team in applicable procurement processes linked to the projects, as needed.
• Provide guidance on applying agile project management methods (e.g. Scrum, Kanban) in projects, as required.
• Provide effort estimations for software development and appropriate project delivery.
• Liaise with the TEC Division to provide WFP Innovation Accelerator, internal and external stakeholders and vendors with appropriate software-development infrastructure and access to WFP.

4. Provide Technical Advisory & Thought Leadership Services: present and provide technical insights linked to blockchain concepts to peers and external stakeholders to introduce and explain the technology and foster appropriate use-case adoption:

• Serve as a blockchain expert & thought leader with deep insight into the blockchain industry;
• Advise and support innovation teams on key decisions regarding technical product features, technology elements, and relevant technology vendors/partners;
• Coach project teams from ideation to implementation (as applicable), using methodologies such as human-centred design, lean start-up, project management and SCRUM;
• Participate and carry out discussions with WFP colleagues in other divisions or in WFP operations to showcase the potential value of blockchain to address humanitarian and food security challenges;
• Provide technical inputs to Frontier Innovation and WFP innovation Accelerator strategy and plans.

3. Support the overall Innovation Accelerator operations:

• Provide analysis & content preparation (data on projects, PowerPoint presentations, briefs, etc.) for corporate priority topics and management meetings;
• Participate and carry out discussions with colleagues in other divisions or external stakeholders on topics related to innovation;
• Support other core processes of the Innovation Accelerator (e.g. innovation sourcing; innovation bootcamps; sprint programme; thought leadership; scale-up enablement; innovation services; knowledge management) as required;
• Support the Head of the Innovation Accelerator and the Director of Innovation and Knowledge Management with any other activities as required.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Bachelor’s degree in (Applied) Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, or related technical discipline. Master’s degree is a plus.

Experience: At least 5 years’ experience in a technical role such as software development of which 3 years in a blockchain product and/or project management role or equivalent.

Languages: Fluency in oral and written English is mandatory. Intermediate knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish) or Portuguese (one of WFP’s working languages) is considered advantageous.

REQUIRED SKILLS | WFP COMPETENCIES

• Passionate to build and apply technology innovations (e.g. mobile apps, blockchain, artificial intelligence) for social impact.
• Strong conceptual thinking to develop new strategies & innovative projects.
• Experience in innovation portfolio management and project life cycle - from ideation, minimum viable product, testing, prototyping and implementation.
• Practical knowledge of data analysis and data preparation and data governance in advance of the use case selection for blockchain solutions.
• Project experience with blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) such as Hyperledger, Ethereum, Corda, IOTA.
• Good programming skills in one or more relevant programming languages (e.g. Python, Solidity, NodeJS, JavaScript, etc.).
• Able to develop non-functional requirements for technical prototypes.
• Knowledge and experience implementing agile project management methodologies.
• Worked cross-functionally and able to get things done in an agile and hands-on way.

• Proven track record in driving projects - effectively delivering impactful elements of projects in a fast-moving environment, ideally for new businesses, new business models, start-ups.

• Able to generate new and original solutions to complex problems and to design new products ideas.

• Strong analytical skills to assess business requirements to develop innovative projects.
• Comfortable with a variety of responsibilities – we are a social impact accelerator, so we all have to roll up our sleeves!
• Able to interact with a broad range of stakeholders and external audience with maturity and tact.
• Excellent communication/presentation skills, with the ability to write strategy documents, to develop business plans and to write and deliver presentations.
• Collaborative spirit, able to partner with a wide range of people at all levels and across different cultures and to act with credibility and diplomacy.
• Self-motivated and able to work with a high degree of autonomy.
• Sets high-level of ambition for the project and own work to achieve impact for the hungry people we serve.
• Fully committed and motivated to achieve the aims of the UN World Food Programme.

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 website 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

Closing Date: 6 January 2023

VA Reference number: 187838

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Female applicants and qualified applicants from developing countries are especially encouraged to apply. WFP has zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate on the basis of 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.

WFP has a zero-tolerance approach to conduct such as fraud, sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to WFP’s standards of conduct and will therefore undergo rigorous background verification internally or through third parties. Selected candidates will also be required to provide additional information as part of the verification exercise. Misrepresentation of information provided during the recruitment process may lead to disqualification or termination of employment

WFP will not request payment at any stage of the recruitment process including at the offer stage. Any requests for payment should be refused and reported to local law enforcement authorities for appropriate action.