Career Opportunities: Senior Innovation Manager, Innovation Consultancy Services Lead, CST II (828522)

Requisition ID 828522 – Posted 21/07/2023 – Short Term Monthly – Africa, Central & Eastern – Kenya – Nairobi – Working Job Language (1) – PROGRAMME & POLICY

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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 United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide.  The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes.  Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.

BACKGROUND

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the United Nations frontline agency fighting hunger. WFP reaches more than 80 million people every day – delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with smallholder farmers, communities and governments to improve nutrition and build resilience. 

As conflict and climate change drive up the number of hungry people in the world and in Kenya, finding innovative solutions to the complex humanitarian & development challenges in the region is essential, now perhaps more than ever.

WFP has a strong presence in the field and in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) counties, with a proven track record of implementing innovative solutions in the deep field and challenging environments. Its unique ability to reach the most vulnerable people and understand their needs has brought about a consolidated network in the innovation ecosystem both in Kenya and globally. 

The Kenya Country Office Innovation Unit facilitates new ideas’ design, testing, and implementation, with a vision to curate and scale empowering, sustainable, and innovative solutions that accelerate the achievement of Zero Hunger for WFP Kenya and beyond. 

The Innovation Consultancy Services pillar was set up in late 2021, having been birthed from our new unit strategy. In this pillar, we aim to mainstream the innovation capabilities and mindset the unit has honed over the past decade with the Kenya country office as well as external partners.

Our work is driven by the methodology of Human-Centered Design – an innovation framework that focuses on the needs, hopes and realities of the people affected by the challenges we aim to solve.

The Innovation Consultancy Services has grown into a well-demanded service in the past year by WFP and other UN teams and became a critical pillar of WFP Kenya Innovation Unit. We are looking for an experienced and seasoned consultant to lead the Innovation Consultancy pillar of the Innovation Unit.

JOB PURPOSE

The incumbent, reporting to the Head of Innovation in WFP Kenya, will be expected to lead the Innovation Consultancy Services pillar, including the strategic leadership, business development, project delivery and team management. The incumbent will also be expected to actively contribute to the strategic direction and leadership of the Innovation Unit and work towards the overall success of the Unit and the WFP Kenya Country Office.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

1. Lead the Innovation Consultancy Services workstream including strategic direction and business development
2. 1. Set the strategic direction for the Innovation Consultancy Services team, manage the innovation portfolio, and ensure that the team delivers on key impact and budget targets
   2. Lead on demand generation, proposal preparation and negotiation of new contracts and funding agreements
   3. Provide guidance on scoping, delivering and managing innovation services in cooperation with a broad range of partners within and outside of WFP
   4. Build strong relationships with programme partners and realise high-impact, high value innovation projects with multiple partners within and outside of WFP

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ASSIGNMENT (cont.):

1. 2. Lead and deliver high-priority and high-impact innovation projects in line with WFP Kenya’s mission
   1. Ensure the on time, on budget and on scope delivery of the Innovation Services projects
   2. Plan and deliver projects related to WFP Kenya’s mission that involve senior stakeholders, and high-level partnerships management
   3. Lead and facilitate strategic multi-partner co-creation and strategy planning sessions, workshops, retreats
   4. Ensure that Innovation mindset, methods and practices are mainstreamed across the WFP Kenya country office through effective capability building and knowledge management
   5. Manage and guide the strategic partnership with the office of the UN Resident Coordinator on the development of UNCT Joint Programmes

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ASSIGNMENT (cont.):

1. 3. Lead and guide a team of Innovation experts:
   1. Guide and grow a team of Innovation experts and other disciplines by establishing priorities, providing coaching, and making sure people are engaged in the right value-creation activities.
   2. Provide strategic and expert advice and guidance on innovation methodologies, practices and project management
   3. Cultivate an open and high-performing team culture to help the team thrive in constantly changing environments.
   4. Conduct performance feedback and development sessions to foster the right conditions for collective and individual learning and growth

   5. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ASSIGNMENT (cont.):

      1. 4. Co-lead the strategic and organizational development of the Innovation Unit
         1. Contribute to the establishment of strategic objectives and ensure work plans are in place to meet key results.
         2. Build up the right capabilities, share knowledge and best practices, making sure that people are equipped with the right tools and skills to deliver results.
         3. Define and run initiatives and projects that help to improve the team’s efficiency and results

      Help shape the strategic evolution of the Innovation Unit’s portfolio and value proposition to best meet the needs of the people and organizations we serve

      STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

      Education:

      Advanced University degree in business, economics, innovation, international development, public policy or related fields

      Experience:

      At least 6 years of international experience in a start-up, innovation accelerator, innovation-related roles in private businesses and in the humanitarian or international development sector.Experience in building and managing partnerships and teams to deliver innovative, sustainable projects from within the private and humanitarian sectors. Experience owning and managing end-to-end verticals of work (e.g. delivering consulting products, capacity building programmes). Experience with the World Food Programme and working in a Country Office location is highly desirable.

      Languages:

      Fluency in oral and written English mandatory. An intermediate knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish), Portuguese (one of WFP’s working languages), and/or Swahili is desirable.

      OTHER SPECIFIC JOB REQUIREMENTS

      Knowledge & Skills:

      Experience in innovation project life cycle – from ideation, minimum viable product, testing, prototyping and implementationExcellent knowledge on Innovation methodologies such as Human-centered DesignExperience working cross-functionally and getting things done in a scrappy and hands-on way.Experience with leading teamsWorked in a large-scale organization – ideally in WFP/UNExperience with working in developing countries, ideally in East AfricaA proven track record of driving and implementing projects – effectively delivering impactful elements of projects in a fast-moving environmentStrong conceptual thinking to develop new strategies & innovative projects.Able to interact with a broad range of stakeholders and external audience with maturity OTHER SPECIFIC JOB REQUIREMENTS (cont.): Knowledge & Skills:  Excellent facilitator who is able to lead high-level stakeholder meetingsCollaborative spirit, able to partner with a wide range of people at all levels and across different cultures and to act with credibility and diplomacySelf-motivated and able to work with a high degree of autonomySets a high-level of ambition for the project and own work to achieve impact for the people we serveFully committed and motivated to achieve the aims of the UN World Food Programme TERMS AND CONDITIONS Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. The World Food Programme DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS. WFP embraces diversity and equal opportunity. We are committed to building a team that celebrates diversity and inclusivity in all ways. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications and merit. Applicants profile MUST match the C.V attached. Any discrepancies between the C.V and the profile will lead to automatic disqualification. CONTRACT DETAILS Type of contract: International Consultancy Level II Unit / Division: Innovation Duty station (City, Country): Nairobi, Kenya Duration: 11 Months DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS The deadline for application is 11.59 pm EAT Time on 03 August 2023. 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. Apply