Innovation Ventures Consultant

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

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 is the 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:  and follow us on social media to keep up with our latest news: YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok.

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).

JOB TITLE: Innovation Ventures Consultant (Digital Solutions)
TYPE OF CONTRACT: Consultancy
UNIT/DIVISION: WFP Innovation Accelerator (INNA)
DUTY STATION (City, Country): Munich, Germany
DURATION: 6 months (extendable)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:
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 the 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, entrepreneurs, and start-ups with funding, hands-on support, and access to WFP's global operations. Through the Innovation 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 2023, Accelerator supported innovations that positively impacted the lives of 60.7 million people globally. Most recently, the Accelerator runs programmes for external partners such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and others.
More information here: and

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:
The incumbent, reporting to the Head of SDG2 Acceleration, is expected to:
1. Support the planning and implementation of core accelerator activities:
a. Ensure the development and improvement of the following activities and processes - content design, operational coordination and planning, and/or facilitation of bootcamps, workshops, and other innovation support activities.
b. Coordinate the start-up/innovation sourcing process (innovation challenges, pipeline sharing, active scouting, etc.) as applicable.
c. Match start-ups/projects with WFP Country Offices, HQ units or Regional Bureaux and vice versa, and external organizations, as needed.
d. Ensure that all innovation support activities are planned and implemented effectively and efficiently, with all relevant internal and external clients and stakeholders.
e. Support building strong collaborations and partnerships with the external innovation community globally, as applicable.

2. Coach ventures (internal and external) in their path to scale to advance towards Zero Hunger and the other Sustainable Development Goals:
a. Support and coach digital project teams from ideation to implementation (as applicable), using methodologies such as human-centered design, lean start-up, project management, and business modeling.
b. Advise and support innovation teams on key decisions regarding product features and technology elements.
c. Define key performance indicators and milestones for the innovation projects and innovation programs, and assure their implementation, impact measurement, and reporting.
d. Guide the innovation team throughout the innovation program curriculum, as required.
e. Support piloting with and/or integration within WFP operations or other organizations (as applicable), while liaising with internal units such as country offices, procurement, legal and technology division, as required.
3. Support the overall WFP Innovation Accelerator operations:
a. Provide analysis & content preparation (data on projects, presentations, briefs, etc.) for corporate priority topics and management meetings.
b. Participate and carry out discussions with colleagues in other divisions or external stakeholders on topics related to innovation.
c. 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.
d. Support the Head of the WFP Innovation Accelerator and the Director of Innovation with any other activities as required.

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT:
- Accelerator projects effectively carried out.
- Innovation projects/start-ups effectively guided.
- Ensure that all work and materials developed during the contract are well documented and available to the WFP Innovation Accelerator team.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:
Education:
The candidate must have a bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Management Information Systems, Information Technology, Digital Business Transformation, or other related fields.
Experience:
At least 3 years of progressively responsible international experience in a leadership role focused on digital solutions within a start-up, start-up accelerator, private sector innovation, or digital innovation projects. Proven experience working on information technology projects, including digital product development, preferably in an agile
environment.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Passion and understanding of technology innovations (e.g. mobile apps, blockchain, artificial intelligence) and business model innovations.

• Exposure to Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL), Application Lifecycle Management, Tableau or PowerBI, and Python.

• Excellent writing and editing skills for a variety of technical grade documentation.

• Experience in innovation project life cycle - from ideation, minimum viable product, testing, prototyping, and implementation.

• Experience working cross-functionally and getting things done in a scrappy and hands-on way.

• Worked in a large-scale organization or with a client/in partnership with a large-scale organization.

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

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

• Strong conceptual thinking to develop new strategies & innovative projects.

• Able to interact with a broad range of stakeholders and external audiences.

• Excellent communication/presentation skills, with the ability to write strategy documents, develop business plans, and 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 a high level of ambition for the project and own work to achieve impact for the hungry people we serve.
Languages:
Fluency in oral and written English is required. Intermediate knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish) or
Portuguese (one of WFP's working languages) is beneficial.

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 ACCOMMODATION

WFP is committed to supporting individuals with disabilities by providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation, please contact: 

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 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.