Director, Humanitarian Diplomacy – D1  

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

11 August 2024-23:59-GMT+01:00 Central European Time (Rome)

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.

Are you interested in further developing your professional experience while contributing to ending global hunger? Are you passionate about helping those in need? Would you like to join a global organization investing in its people?

If so, an exciting & fulfilling career awaits you!!! Join our diverse and passionate team that works on varied and international projects directly contributing to saving & changing millions of lives around the globe.

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), a highly prestigious, reputable & 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.

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).

ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT: 

The Humanitarian Diplomacy service is a new entity placed in the Office of the Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of WFP. The aim of the service is to foster the development of a stronger awareness and better understanding across the organisation of the political context of WFP’s work. This senior level Director position, reporting to the Director of the Office of the Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, will lead the service and work closely with WFP’s leadership, network of Regional Bureaux and Country Offices as well as Global Offices in key capitals around the globe.  

JOB PURPOSE:

The Humanitarian Diplomacy service supports WFP’s leadership in making strategic and well-informed decisions and provides expertise to support their humanitarian diplomacy efforts with the wider UN system and Member States. It contributes to identifying and leveraging more effective opportunities for humanitarian diplomacy, particularly relating to humanitarian access, by WFP’s leadership with key stakeholders. It also provides WFP’s leadership with analyses and recommendations for course of action on key issues in the global political landscape with the potential to significantly impact WFP’s work.

ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Represent WFP vis-à-vis the UN system, Member States and/or other selected partners.
• Formulate and implement WFP’s diplomatic engagement strategy, as per WFP corporate policies and wider UN strategies, to ensure support to field operations and meet the mandate of WFP.
• Identify and build productive relationships with a broad range of relevant decision-makers, influencers and constituencies in order to advance WFP’s corporate strategies, priorities and interests, and promote transfer of knowledge, expertise and innovation.
• Demonstrate ownership when promoting and deploying corporate initiatives and ensure that WFP’s engagement is aligned with these and wider UN strategies, policies and processes.
• Disseminate WFP political analyses, studies and innovations to WFP’s leadership with a view to position WFP and inform political dialogue; Increase WFP’s capacity to attain, share and use knowledge for positioning and partnering purposes.
• Contribute to a network of peer WFP Regional Bureau, Country Office and Global Office Directors worldwide, providing analysis of political trends, opportunities and potential risks to the WFP Leadership Group and/or other appropriate WFP counterparts to facilitate integrated solutions that address hunger and the root causes of hunger.
• Propose strategies for WFP senior/executive staff engagement to reinforce political dialogue and expand political outreach; actively participate in or co-lead national, UN and other multilateral fora to generate support for Zero Hunger, advance WFP’s leadership in areas of specialisation and position WFP effectively vis-à-vis relevant decision makers and influencers.
• Hold accountability for transparent and efficient people management, staff development and coaching to expand the reach and depth of the humanitarian diplomacy function.
• Hold accountability for standards, guidance and processes within the office; Provide effective leadership to the team, enabling implementation of best practices and high performance, and ensure best use of financial resources for the achievement of set objectives.
• Take concrete actions which promote health and wellbeing within the workplace and mitigate risks related to stress, health and safety.
• Take appropriate measures to foster a safe and harmonious work environment in which employees are protected from exposure to any form of abusive conduct (harassment, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination), and act as a role model in reflecting respect towards all employees.
• Take responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives in all areas of work, to ensure equal participation of women and men.
• Other as required.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE:

Education:

• Advanced University degree in Political Science, Economics, International Development, Social Sciences or other relevant area, or First University degree with additional relevant experience and/or advanced training/courses.

Experience:

• Thirteen years or more (of which six working internationally or with international organisations) of senior level experience in fields related to diplomacy and political analysis and reporting. Management role is required. Extensive experience leading multicultural teams and improving performance and motivation.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Broad understanding of diverse humanitarian assistance and/or development practices.
• Ability to lead, coach and motivate large and diverse teams and drive improving performance.
• Excellent diplomatic skills and management acumen, with the ability to leverage external partnerships.
• A track record of dealing with and politically influencing at the highest levels within and beyond the organisation.
• Ability to assimilate and analyse complex political issues and scenarios in support of strategic decisions and excellent drafting and presentation skills.
• Sound understanding of business principles and processes and the ability to quickly assimilate UN / WFP specific strategies, processes and systems.

OTHER SPECIFIC JOB REQUIREMENTS:

• Experience in operating within politically complex environments in the field and a deep understanding of the operational context of international organizations, particularly within the United Nations system.
• Experience leading a collaborative, strategic and innovative approach to attract, nurture and develop strategic partnerships with Member States and/or other selected partners.
• Holistic understanding of Member State governments’ strategies, priorities and interests in a political context.
• Experience in outreach to internal and external stakeholders and forming the engagement strategy for relationship building in order to grow partnerships with Member States and/or other selected partners.
• Experience in building and maintaining a strong, active network with representatives of Member States and the UN system.
• Experience networking and influencing external stakeholders in large fora.

Language: 

• Fluency (level C) in English language.
• Intermediate knowledge (level B) of a second official UN language: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish, and/or Portuguese (a WFP working language).

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

• Geographical Mobility is and continues to be, a core contractual requirement in WFP. The selected candidate will be employed on a fixed-term International Professional position as well as a rotational contract with a probationary period of one year.
• WFP offers an attractive compensation and benefits package, including basic salary, post adjustment, relocation entitlement, travel, visa and shipment allowances, 30 days’ annual leave, home leave, an education grant for dependent children, a pension plan, and medical insurance. For more information, visit https://icsc.un.org/.
• The selected candidate will be required to relocate to Rome, Italy which is a family duty station to take up this assignment.

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 ACCOMODATION

WFP is dedicated to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our recruitment process is inclusively crafted to welcome candidates of all backgrounds, celebrating diversity and ensuring a respectful environment for all. We aim for an accessible and fair recruitment journey. Should you need any reasonable accommodations or have accessibility concerns, please reach out to us confidentially at [email protected]. Our DEI team is here to ensure your full participation in our recruitment process.

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

• We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete, and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, language skills and UN Grade (if applicable).
• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.
• Please make sure you upload your professional CV in the English language
• Kindly note the only documents you will need to submit at this time are your CV and Cover Letter
• Additional documents such as passport, recommendation letters, academic certificates, etc. may potentially be requested at a future time
• Please contact us at [email protected] in case you face any challenges with submitting your application
• Only shortlisted candidates will be notified

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.

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