Change & Transition Lead, One Payroll Programme

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

14 October 2026-23:59-GMT+01:00 Central European Time (Rome)

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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 extreme weather shocks.

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, 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: Change and Transition Lead, One Payroll Programme

TYPE OF CONTRACT: Regular Consultant Contract, Level 2

UNIT/DIVISION: Technology Division, Digital Services

DUTY STATION (City, Country): Rome, Italy (HQ)

DURATION: 11 months

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the world’s largest humanitarian agency, working towards achieving a world with zero hunger.

WFP is seeking to bring improvement and modernization to its admin and HR processes. The One Payroll Programme consolidates three payroll populations, onto a single SAP S/4HANA platform. Phase 1 will go-live in 2027. Phase 2 extends the solution to additional employee populations in 2028. The programme runs through implementation, go-live, and stabilization to its close at the end of 2028.

The programme is in its active build phase. Configuration begins following the enterprise platform upgrade, and the period ahead moves the programme from design into implementation, testing, parallel run, go-live, and the stabilization that follows. This is a delivery role. It is concerned with converting an agreed design into an operating reality across a large and decentralized organization.

The programme introduces the shift from payroll processing distributed across Country Offices to increased centralized processing at Headquarters. Managing this transition, and the readiness and confidence of the field through it, is the central purpose of this role.

The Change and Transition Lead is accountable for organizational readiness and adoption of the One Payroll solution across its implementation, from the current build phase through Phase 1 and Phase 2 go-live and into stabilization.

The role ensures that the organizational implications of the technical build are identified and addressed ahead of each go-live, that the functions and offices affected are prepared for the change to their operating model, and that programme governance receives an independent assessment of organizational readiness at each critical decision point. It operates across the technical, human resources, and finance workstreams, and engages counterparts from the working level to director level across those functions.

Beyond the delivery of change, the role provides advice to the Programme Manager and to the divisional leads on the organizational dimension of the programme. It shapes the programme’s governance rhythm, designs the agendas and decision flows for the Steering Committee and Advisory Panel, and brings forward the structures, work streams, and interventions the programme requires as organizational needs emerge, including where these extend beyond communication and training into how the affec