WFP is looking for talented people who are committed to joining our efforts to eradicate hunger. It offers unlimited opportunities to grow your professionalism,  talent and expertise. Start your journey to be a member of the world-wide effort to eradicate hunger. WFP has a policy of affirmative action for women.

ABOUT WFP

United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) 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. In emergencies, WFP gets food to where it is needed, saving the lives of victims of war, civil conflict and natural disasters. After an emergency, WFP uses food to help communities rebuild their lives. On average, WFP reaches more than 80 million people with food assistance in 80 countries each year. The organization has the global footprint, deep field presence and local knowledge and relationships necessary to provide access to food and contribute to lasting solutions, especially in many of the world’s most remote and fragile areas.

Brief description of WFP in Uganda

In Uganda, WFP provides monthly food (in-kind and cash) assistance to almost 1.3 million refugees across 13 rural settlements as well as other crisis-affected populations, most recently providing emergency food assistance in response to alarming levels of food and nutrition insecurity in the Karamoja region. WFP Uganda also provides agricultural and market support to smallholder farmers, buying directly from farmers for its school feeding programme where possible. The UN agency uses its supply chain network to not only transport food but also other commodities such as medical protective gear to support the government COVID-19 response. WFP Uganda is also working closely with the government to strengthen its social protection systems and make them more responsive to shocks, both critical ingredients to achieving food security.

ARE YOU UP TO THE CHALLENGE?

We are seeking a qualified individual for the position of Programme Policy Officer (Innovations Advisor) SSA 8 to be based in Kampala. The selected candidate will be employed on a short term contract of 3 mothns with a possible 8 months extension.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The job is found in WFP Uganda Country Office. The incumbent will be reporting to the Head of Partnership for Uganda with a dotted line to the WFP Innovation Hub for Eastern Africa (for technical support), will be working with functional units in Uganda including Partnerships, Supply Chain, Programme, etc. and Area/Field Offices as well as stakeholders within the Uganda external innovation ecosystem.

The Government of Uganda has made a formal commitment to valuing the impact of innovation through the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) which recognizes the importance of Science, Technology, and Innovation to drive socio-economic growth and transformation. In parallel, the private sector/informal Uganda innovation ecosystem has been developing at a rapid pace over the past few years and there is strong potential for various WFP Uganda teams and programmes to tap into burgeoning innovation programmes. Recognizing the growing innovation space in the country, including an increase in innovation hubs and entrepreneurial activity, WFP is eager to understand how best to connect with and foster this growth.

WFP Uganda is tapping into the support of the WFP Innovation Hub for Eastern Africa which identifies, supports, and scales high potential solutions to end hunger – based in Nairobi. The key objective is to facilitate and foster innovation in the context of WFP Uganda activities, help innovation projects to scale, develop local innovation ecosystems, without compromising country- and department-specific initiatives while ensuring an orchestration of efforts, and the creation of synergies between projects. Ultimately, the goal is to bring to scale innovative solutions that can help us get close to a world without hunger.

JOB PURPOSE

The role will be responsible for the development and growth of impactful and sustainable innovations by leveraging WFP brand, public and private partners, deep field access, and expertise to develop, nurture and scale sustainable innovations to increase food security in Uganda. The incumbent will identify problem statements or (market) opportunities, source innovations, manage innovation programme implementation and events with the support of the WFP Innovation Hub for Eastern Africa, and support the scale-up of innovations through partnerships management and close coordination with relevant WFP and external stakeholders.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (1/2)

1. Understand the key gaps and opportunities where innovations can play a role:
   1. Lead internal consultations to identify WFP innovation needs in Uganda, what has been tested as well as current innovation plans and pilots
   2. Facilitate strategic connections to actors in the regional innovation ecosystem (private sectors, other UN agencies, government, etc.)
   3. Lead external consultations to better understand needs of local innovation ecosystems as well as market failures and opportunities overlapping with WFP positioning and key priorities.
   4. Understand the innovations that have been tried across WFP and what could be replicated in Uganda
2. Source, select and support innovations
   1. Identify key opportunities for innovation to enhance WFP Uganda’s impact and programmes, bringing bespoke support to develop pilots.
   2. Build a network with local innovation entities (innovation centres, incubators, accelerators, etc.) to understand partnership opportunities and latest innovations.
   3. Recruit, review and select innovative projects to attend innovation programmes and bootcamps.
   4. Lead preparation and writing of all fundraising proposals and scout innovation funding and partnership opportunities.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Bachelor’s degree in business, innovation, design, technology, international development or other related degrees
Language: International Professional: Fluency (level C) in English language.

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

• A minimum of 4 years of progressively responsible national or international experience in an innovation function in a private business or start-up and/or in innovations in the humanitarian or international development sector.
• Experience working in the humanitarian or international development sector and/or in the start-up or innovation world with a focus on humanitarian and/or development issues, especially in Uganda.
• Experience owning and building strategies to develop new concepts
• Experience navigating a complex network of stakeholders

4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES

Purpose

• Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives: Understands WFP’s Strategic Objectives and the link to own work objectives.
• Be a force for positive change: Flexibly adapts individual contributions to accommodate changes in direction from supervisors and internal/external changes (such as evolving needs of beneficiaries, new requirements of partners).
•  Make the mission inspiring to our team: Recognizes and shares with team members the ways in which individual contributions relate to WFP’s mission.
•  Make our mission visible in everyday actions: Sets own goals in alignment with WFP’s overall operations, and is able to communicate this link to others.

People

• Look for ways to strengthen people’s skills: Assesses own strengths and weaknesses to increase self-awareness, and includes these in conversations on own developmental needs.
•  Create an inclusive culture: Participates in open dialogue, and values the diverse opinion of others, regardless of background, culture, experience, or country assignment.
•  Be a coach & provide constructive feedback: Proactively seeks feedback and coaching to build confidence, and develop and improve individual skills.
•  Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit: Participates in accomplishing team activities and goals in the face of challenging circumstances.

Performance

• Encourage innovation & creative solutions: Shows willingness to explore and experiment with new ideas and approaches in own work.
•  Focus on getting results: Consistently delivers results within individual scope of work on time, on budget and without errors.
•  Make commitments and make good on commitments: Commits to upholding individual accountabilities and responsibilities in the face of ever-changing country or functional priorities.
•  Be Decisive: Makes rational decisions about individual activities when faced with uncertain circumstances, including in times of ambiguity regarding information or manager direction.

Partnership

• Connect and share across WFP units: Seeks to understand and adapt to internal or cross-unit teams’ priorities and preferred working styles.
•  Build strong external partnerships: Demonstrates ability to understand and appropriately respond to and/or escalate needs of external partners.
•  Be politically agile & adaptable: Portrays an informed and professional demeanor toward internal and external partners and stakeholders.
•  Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships: Provides operational support on analyses and assessments that quantifies and demonstrates WFP’s unique value as a partner.

FUNCTIONAL CAPABILITIES

OTHER SPECIFIC JOB REQUIREMENTS (1/2)

Knowledge and skills 

• Passion and deep understanding of the Ugandan innovation ecosystem and relevant context
• Wide-reaching networks in the innovation community in Uganda
• Start-up experience and/or start-up mentality, i.e. experience of working and leading across functions/teams to get things done in a hands-on way
• Proven track record of driving projects, effectively managing projects and events from design to completion
• Strong conceptual thinking to develop new strategies and innovative projects
• Able to interact with a broad range of stakeholders and external audiences with maturity and tact
• Ability to manage and motivate indirect reports (matrix management), set clear expectations, and encourage them to develop their skills and take ownership

OTHER SPECIFIC JOB REQUIREMENTS (2/2)

• Ability to own and lead multiple strategic areas of work
• Excellent communication/presentation skills, with the ability to write strategy documents, develop business plans 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 high-level of ownership over projects to achieve impact for WFP stakeholders
• Fully committed and motivated to achieve the aims of the UN World Food Programme