WFP Beirut CO - International Consultant - Head of Information Technology Operations

WFP Lebanon encourages female candidates and people with disabilities to apply.

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. WFP does not charge a fee or request bank details at any stage of the recruitment process.

WFP Lebanon offers flexible working hours schedule upon prior approval. Our premises are accessible, and we are committed to accommodating any required reasonable accessible needs to remove barriers in the workplace.

As an inclusive employer, WFP is committed to providing a supportive recruitment process for individuals with disabilities. Please contact us at [email protected] (and copying in [email protected]) to advise us the type of support and reasonable adjustments you may require at this stage. A member of the reasonable accommodation team will contact you to confidentially discuss your needs.

Position deadline: This position will close on 28 November 2023, 11:59 PM Rome time.

Organizational Background:

Assisting more than 115.5 million people in 120 + countries each year, the World Food Program (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. As the international community has committed to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition by 2030, one in nine people worldwide still do not have enough to eat. Food and food-related assistance lie at the heart of the struggle to break the cycle of hunger and poverty.

WFP Lebanon provides humanitarian assistance to over 2 million vulnerable persons for food and other essential needs through cash-based transfers and in-kind food. WFP Lebanon also provides food assistance in the form of snacks and fresh food to school aged students and promotes resilient livelihoods and sustainable food systems. In addition to direct assistance to the most food insecure and vulnerable people, WFP also supports government institutions, partners, and other entities to strengthen their capacity to deliver social assistance.

To know more about WFP’s mission, please check the below video: https://www.facebook.com/WorldFoodProgramme/videos/10154930622760178/

Key Responsibilities (not all-inclusive, nor exhaustive):

Under the supervision of the Deputy Country Director Support Services, the incumbent will be responsible for the following tasks: • Partner effectively with senior managers to understand their priorities, and provide solutions on all aspects of IT and the delivery of IT services, as well as on strategic and policy issues. • Lead and motivate a team of IT staff, monitoring performance, providing coaching, training and guidance to ensure appropriate development and enable high performance. • Take responsibility for an equitable and inclusive workplace which incorporates all dimensions of the WFP diversity and inclusion framework. • Manage business expectations in servicing demand and oversee success of business change initiatives, seeking ongoing opportunities to support or increase business value from WFP’s TEC (IT) initiatives and services. • Participate in the development of plans, budgets and policies, and lead the design and deployment of IT/TC systems aligned with business needs, in line with WFP corporate standards. • Participate in emergency preparedness and contingency planning, providing technical recommendations and monitoring of risks, so that WFP can maintain basic IT services and/ or quickly respond and deploy resources to affected areas at the onset of a crisis. • Participate in the implementation of operational plans and manage resource requirements at the onset of an emergency operation. • Keep informed about WFP Standard Operating Procedures, rules, guidelines, products, and innovations related to IT Operations, Digital Assistance Services, and Data Management and Protection. Adopt best practices and implement newest technologies where they contribute to the improvement and compliance of the country office functions. • Develop technical specification and tender documents, negotiate, and manage contracts with service providers to facilitate procurement of equipment and services at minimum cost, in line with WFP rules and regulations. • Coordinate reporting on IT/TC activities, investments, and costs, identifying trends/ issues and presenting clear recommendations to increase cost-efficiency. • Work in close collaboration with other UN agencies to align activities, conduct negotiations with common vendors, and maximize possibilities of future inter-agency collaborations through the inter-agency working group and beyond. • Form partnerships with colleagues and partner organizations, to foster information exchange, and obtain agreements to help meet WFP’s service requirements. • Develop and maintain technical expertise and knowledge of external industry developments to provide leadership in specific technical areas of competence. • Explore opportunities to innovate, improve and enhance digital technologies and tools. • Ensure proper documentation of all relevant TEC (IT) services and activities. • Plan and lead capability building of staff, collaborating with colleagues in the IT division to design and deliver training policies and programmes aimed at developing skills/knowledge in IT/TC.

Minimum Qualifications:

Education: Advanced university degree in Computer Science, Business Management, Information Technology, or relevant field(s) or first level university degree in those fields with additional relevant work experience.

Experience: At least 8 years of post-graduate progressively responsible professional experience in IT project management, IT governance strategies/policies and system architecture and infrastructure, IT systems analysis/design and development, IT security, etc.

Language: Fluency (level C) in English language. Knowledge in Arabic or French languages is an advantage.

Desired Experiences for entry into the role: • Has successfully led and coordinated large IT projects in the humanitarian context at HQ, regional office or in the field. • Has managed, coordinated, or actively executed emergency response operations. • Has effectively managed IT team and resources needed for the planning, development and delivery of specified information and communications systems services (including data, voice, text, audio and images) at HQ and field. • Has provided innovative approaches in the resolution of complex technical issues or problems. • Has successfully managed complex IT infrastructure, including the installation and testing of new hardware for improving systems performance. • Has led the design and successful implementation of ITIL service management systems and protocols for handling customer requests and achieving service excellence. • The possession of one or more of the certificates mentioned below is an added benefit:

• ITIL
• CISSP
• CSPO
• PMP
• Cloud computing with Microsoft Azure or Amazon AWS
• Data analytics, e.g., from Google, Microsoft, Cloudera, IBM, SAS

WFP Leadership Framework: Common Standards of Behaviour

• Leads by Example with Integrity - Upholds WFP values, principles, and standards - Respects others and values diversity - Stays focused and calm under pressure - Demonstrates humility and a willingness to learn • Drives Results and Delivers on Commitments - Delivers results for maximum impact - Delegates appropriately - Adapts readily to change • Fosters Inclusive and Collaborative - Is inclusive and collaborative - Gives timely and constructive feedback - Builds and shares new perspective • Applies Strategic Thinking - Communicates and fulfils WFP’s vision - Embraces curiosity and new ways of doing things - Analyses and evaluates data - Considers the impact of decisions • Builds and Maintains Sustainable Partnerships - Builds partnerships - Collaborates to deliver common objectives

WFP Functional Capabilities • Governance, Strategy and Architecture • Change Implementation, Project Management, Planning and Optimization • Technical Expertise • Service Management • Procurement and Contract Management

Applications must be submitted online: Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.