Programme Associate (Innovations Services) - SSA6

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

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

ABOUT WFP

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the United Nations frontline agency fighting hunger by delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with smallholder farmers, communities, and governments to improve nutrition and build resilience. In the Eastern African region, the Kenya Country Office and its operational context offers optimal potential for using innovative solutions to improve food assistance programmes and support capacity strengthening. Designing, piloting, implementing, and scaling new ideas lies at the heart of WFP Kenya.

As innovations in WFP Kenya are becoming increasingly important and widely spread, there is a need to strengthen the sourcing processes of high potential innovations and coordinate the increasing demand for innovation services from internal and external stakeholders. In response to these needs and opportunities, WFP Kenya is opening a position for Innovation Services Associate, with the key objectives to identify and frame problems, validate assumptions, and iterate project designs using innovation methodologies and best practices such as human-centred design and lean start up and agile development. The World Food Programme (WFP) is the United Nations frontline agency fighting hunger by delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with smallholder farmers, communities, and governments to improve nutrition and build resilience. In the Eastern African region, the Kenya Country Office and its operational context offer optimal potential for innovative solutions to improve food assistance programmes and support capacity strengthening. Designing, piloting, implementing, and scaling new ideas lies at the heart of WFP Kenya.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT and JOB PURPOSE

Under the direct supervision of the Head of Innovations, the Programme Associate (Innovation services) will support the Country Office in delivering innovation services offered by the Innovation Unit, support innovation coordination and innovation knowledge management across the WFP Kenya office, source innovations, manage innovation program implementation and events.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

Innovation services:

• Contribute to developing and managing the innovation services portfolio by designing custom solutions for clients in the humanitarian and private sector, including events and workshops.
• Support the Unit’s offering of innovation services, such as ideation sessions, sprints, capacity building trainings, tools development and conducting grand challenges on topics linked to innovation (human centred design, nature-based solutions, techvelopment).
• Initiate, facilitate & support events and workshops e.g. innovation trainings and capacity strengthening activities by coordinating and facilitating sessions both for WFP internal and external stakeholders.
• Lead external consultations to better understand the needs of local innovation ecosystems and investigations and analysis of opportunities & barriers related to WFP operations and external stakeholders’ needs.
• Oversee quality and client satisfaction through design thinking workshops: design and deliver high-quality events that have high satisfaction among clients and users.
• Support with maintaining relationships with partners to achieve impact at scale, gain a deep understanding of clients’ needs, and develop strong, long-lasting relationships.
• Facilitate and support innovation workshops and events for entrepreneurs and country office staff (focusing on human centered design, lean startup, leadership development, etc).

ACCOUNTABILITIES Cont.

Innovation Advocacy

• Help build a network with local innovation entities (innovation centres, incubators, accelerators, etc.) to ensure that the Kenya Innovation Unit is perceived as a central coordination point in the innovation ecosystem.
• Support building up and maintaining strategic connections with other players in the Kenyan innovation ecosystem. Coordinate and ensure delivery of knowledge sharing activities.
• Support networking activities and design a sourcing process for selecting high potential innovation projects (through innovation challenges, pipeline sharing, active scouting, etc).
• Assess and identify WFP support areas for Kenyan innovation players through use of small adhoc innovation events Coordinate design and execution of communication campaigns to mobilize the Kenya innovation ecosystem for innovation unit events.
• Help to grow a network of global experts, mentors and partners to support the Hub’s innovative projects. Innovation project management support
• Support project managers in the design of solutions and pilot projects leveraging innovative techniques such as human centred design, lean start up methodology and agile development.
• Provide user experience research and user experience design support to projects in the Innovation unit portfolio.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Completion of secondary school education. A post-secondary certificate in the related functional area. Language: Fluency in both oral and written communication in English is required. Knowledge of Kiswahili is of value.

Experience: At least 5 years of relevant, progressively responsible, professional experience in start-up advisory or innovation services

Knowledge & Skills: In-depth knowledge of human centered design methodologies. Able to inspire and engage.

Experience with business development in emerging markets and or social impact start-ups. Strong business writing and professional verbal communication skills.

Highly organized with the ability to multitask and prioritize.

Microsoft Office Suite knowledge.

UX/UI design and Graphic design skills are a plus. English. Knowledge of Kiswahili is of value.

Education: Completion of secondary school education. A post-secondary certificate in the related functional area.

DELIVARABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT

• Successful delivery of innovation workshops for internal and external stakeholders.
• Successful delivery of capacity building sessions on innovative methodologies for country office colleagues.
• Successful delivery of innovation events with broad participation of country office management and functional units, Regional Bureau representatives, the Innovation Accelerator, and external partners.
• Well maintained database of stakeholders of Kenya’s innovation ecosystem.

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

• High affinity with the Kenyan innovation space; and have some start-up-related experience
• A self-starter, full of initiative and great ideas.
• Works independently but also a great team player.
• Ability to multitask. Likes variety in their work and are willing to tackle different challenges when the opportunity arises.
• An organiser with great attention to detail. A meticulous planner but is flexible enough to change course when the situation requires you to do so.
• Driven by impact. Achieving impact through the job is important, and are passionate about working towards achieving zero hunger.
• Education: Completion of secondary education. University degree in related field or equivalent an added advantage.

4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES

Purpose

• Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives: Coaches team in the most effective ways to communicate WFP’s Strategic Objectives to WFP team and partners in the field.
• Be a force for positive change: Implements new methods or tools to improve team’s work processes and productivity.
• Make the mission inspiring to our team: Maps team’s activities and tasks to specific successes in beneficiary communities to showcase positive impact.
• Make our mission visible in everyday actions: Explains to teammates how each unit contributes to the overall WFP mission.

People

• Look for ways to strengthen people's skills: Identifies skill development opportunities such as training modules or on-the-job experiences for self, colleagues and direct reports.
• Create an inclusive culture: Facilitates team building activities to build rapport in own unit.
• Be a coach & provide constructive feedback: Facilitates the pairing of junior colleagues with coaches within own team.
• Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit: Proactively anticipates potential challenges and develops mitigation plans to ensure that team meets goals and targets.

Performance

• Encourage innovation & creative solutions: Identifies opportunities to be creative in own work and to help team be more innovative and accurate in their respective tasks and areas of work.
• Focus on getting results: Monitors team’s deliverables and provides feedback to ensure outcomes are delivered consistently and accurately.
• Make commitments and make good on commitments: Provides accurate guidance to team on expected responsibilities and tasks, whilst also upholding own commitment to the team.
• Be Decisive: Sets an example and provides guidance to junior team members on when to escalate issues when faced with challenging issues in the workplace or in the field.

Partnership

• Connect and share across WFP units: Facilitates partnerships with other WFP units to accomplish missions in the field.
• Build strong external partnerships: Sets an example and provides guidance to team on how to build relationships with external partners.
• Be politically agile & adaptable: Articulates to colleagues or direct reports the value of contributing to other WFP teams and agency partnerships in fulfilling WFP’s goals and objectives.
• Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships: Organizes, monitors, and prioritizes own and team’s efforts to ensure that they will fulfil the needs of internal and external partners.

FUNCTIONAL CAPABILITIES

Capability Name Description of the behaviour expected for the proficiency level Programme Lifecycle & Food Assistance Demonstrates ability to identify key variables and contextual factors that affect food assistance problems and programmes throughout the lifecycle to inform quality programme design or re-design. Transfer Modalities (Food, Cash, Vouchers) Demonstrates ability to implement, under guidance, food assistance programmes deploying the full range of transfer modalities with an understanding of basic principles guiding modality selection and implementation. Broad Knowledge of Specialized Areas Understands basic technical concepts and data and their relevance to food assistance programmes. Emergency Programming Displays capacity to provide inputs into the development, implementation and realignment of high quality emergency programmes. Strategic Policy Engagement w/Government Understands and applies basic principles of engagement with government counterparts at the national or local level.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

• This position is for an initial 4 months (with posibility of extension).
• WFP is an equal opportunity employer and does not charge fees from applicants at any stage of the recruitment process. Only short listed applicants will be contacted.
• Qualified female candidates are particularly encouraged to apply.
• For any queries write to [email protected]

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

Deadline to receive application: 22 August 2021.

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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.