Consultant Supply Chain

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

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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 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.

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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: Upstream Supply Chain Optimization Expert
TYPE OF CONTRACT: Consultant
UNIT/DIVISION: Supply Chain Planning 
DUTY STATION (City, Country): Rome, Italy 
DURATION: 11 months
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:
The World Food Programme (WFP) is the United Nations frontline humanitarian agency addressing 
hunger and malnutrition worldwide. WFP tackles poverty and hunger through a range of interventions: 
saving lives and protecting livelihoods in emergencies; investing in the prevention and mitigation of 
disasters; restoring and rebuilding lives and livelihoods in post-conflict or post-disaster situation; and 
other interventions to tackle hunger. Each year, on average, WFP feeds more than 90 million people in 
over 80 countries.
With a strong focus on end-to-end planning, visibility, and optimization, the Supply Chain Planning & 
Optimization unit works intensively with colleagues in the field and the WFP headquarters (HQ) in Rome 
to provide a holistic view of each operation to all functional areas, ensuring there is alignment both 
horizontally and vertically across key actors and decision makers. Building on this shared view, analytical 
tools are deployed to anticipate issues down the line and support the creation of supply chain plans 
and what-if scenarios. Through this pro-active approach, WFP decision makers can make more 
integrated, evidence-based decisions that improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of their 
operations. Based on the demonstrated impact of this approach to managing WFP operations, a Supply 
Chain Planning function is now being institutionalized across the organization, with new positions being 
created in HQ and in our field offices. These Planners are part of a global planning network, equipped 
with a suite of analytical tools and processes that were created to support WFP operations, and will be 
responsible for improving operations at global, regional, and country level.
ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:
The Supply Chain Analyst will support planning activities in WFP's Head Quarters in Rome, Italy, with 
a focus on the upstream supply chain, in close collaboration with the Procurement, Shipping and 
Logistics units.
The role consists in delivering advanced quantitative data analyses focused on the upstream supply 
chain of WFP. This is achieved by the development of analytical methods, creation of relevant 
indicators, automation via data pipeline design, and dissemination of reports to support all 
stakeholders within the supply chain division of WFP. As well as targeted in-depth analyses to inform 
strategic decisions
Specific responsibilities include the following:
1. Lead the product roadmap and feature prioritization for upstream supply chain optimization 
tools, more specifically acting as Product Owner responsible for the development and rollout 
of the AI-Optimization planning tool Scout, mainly used to plan for the corporate inventory 
(GCMF).
2. Identifying and developing enhancements to the web application and its mathematical 
optimization algorithm, incorporating advanced features based on field use cases;
3. Testing and validating new features to ensure quality, consistency, and alignment with agile 
development best practices;
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TERMS OF REFERENCE 
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4. Providing technical supervision to internal and external developers to ensure rapid 
implementation of business requirements and minimize user impact;
5. Supporting and implementing the rollout of Scout across all regional offices;
6. Assisting Scout focal points during critical analyses to validate recommendations and identify 
potential solution gaps.
7. Deep-dive on business requirements with relevant teams (data owners, field users, 
stakeholders, etc.) to understand data availability, business drivers (KPIs), and evaluate 
further optimization opportunities.
8. Build advanced automated reports on the state of the Supply Chain including prices, stocks, 
lead times, capacities, expected demand coverage, alerts on potential shortages or other 
issues.
9. Creation of relevant indicators, documentation of the methodology and dissemination of the 
reports.
10. Prepare in-depth, quantitative analyses to support operational and strategic decision making.
11. Perform what-if scenario analyses to support the resolution of ad-hoc issues and emergencies 
affecting WFP's global supply chain.
12. Present findings to other units and Supply Chain management on the result of such analyses.
13. Build the necessary data integration between the corporate systems for the regular supply 
chain analyses, consistently with other data-needs and initiatives within the division.
14. Design, implement and deploy technical solutions based on supply chain optimization 
algorithms to support and improve operational decision making.
15. Monitor, maintain and improve data pipelines, algorithms and technical tools to ensure their 
stability, efficiency, and continuous improvement based on insights from different units and 
feedbacks.
16. Support improvements of the sourcing and delivery planning methods and tools, in particular 
the integration of all relevant data and the upstream supply chain modelling, to enhance the 
quality of sourcing and delivery plans.
DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT: N/A
QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:
Education: Master's Degree or equivalent in the area of Supply Chain Management, 
Engineering, Data Science, Operations Research, or Business Management.
Experience:
• 4 to 5-year experience in data analytics / operations research for supply 
chain is required (e.g. statistics, SC network/flow optimization, 
development of KPIs and visualization dashboards, Extract-Transform-Load 
pipelines, etc.); including 3-year experience with consultancy-type 
activities (e.g. business analysis, process mapping, data transformation 
and analysis, presenting conclusions to senior management, etc.) is 
required; and 3-year with software-development activities (e.g. proficiency 
in programming languages, agile methodologies, testing and deploying 
code, system design);

• Experience in product ownership or management of digital tools within 
supply chain context.

• Prior experience in SC-related industry (e.g. supporting S&OP-type 
processes, material planning, distribution planning, procurement, shipping, 
etc.) is preferred;

• Experience working with government or humanitarian agencies (e.g. UN, 
NGOs, etc.) is preferred.
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TERMS OF REFERENCE 
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Knowledge & Skills:

• Self-motivated and proactive, able to take initiative and work autonomously 
to achieve objectives;

• Problem-solving attitude, able to structure ambiguous problems and solve them through a 
mix of quantitative and qualitative analyses;

• Highly numerate, able to rapidly analyse and interpret data;

• Highly developed communication skills, able to use written and verbal mediums to 
communicate recommendations and influence outcomes;

• Strong time management skills with an ability to plan ahead and anticipate requirements, 
problems, and obstacles;

• Ability to juggle competing priorities successfully while working under (sometimes) 
tight deadlines;

• Effective people skills, able to work both individually and in a team in a multi-cultural 
environment;

• Ability to interact with senior leaders and wide range of stakeholders with credibility and tact;

• Fully committed and motivated to achieve the aims of the World Food Programme.
Languages: Verbal and written fluency in English is required. Working knowledge of second 
UN language is desired

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

• All applications must be submitted exclusively through our online recruitment system. We do not accept CVs or spontaneous applications by email.

• If you experience challenges while submitting your online application, please contact us at for technical support only.

• Please note that applications sent to this email address cannot be considered.

• 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.

• 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

• 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.