Supply Chain Officer FT NOC At World Food Programme

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

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

The deadline to apply for this position is March 20th, 2024.

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme 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.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

These jobs are found in Headquarters (HQ), Regional Bureaux (RBs) or Country Offices (COs) and report to a more senior Supply Chain Officer or Deputy Division/Country Director. Job holders at this grade level demonstrate adaptive capacities in effective supply chain management and make significant independent contributions to the planning and development of operating policies and procedures. Job holders are expected to manage and complete projects or assignments of a major nature achieving effective outputs. Job holders typically anchor a substantive team consisting of professional and support staff ensuring high performance and development.

Global hunger has reached alarming levels in 2022, and WFP, the Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2020, remains dedicated and committed to address this global food crisis. The United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) is a network of strategically located hubs established to support humanitarian organizations and the broader international community in responding to emergencies and crises. UNHRD provides essential services such as storage, easy access to critical supplies, and technical assistance.

As an Operations Manager at one of the hubs of the United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD), reporting directly to the Hub Manager, your role is pivotal in leading and coordinating the hub’s operational activities. You will oversee Logistics and Warehousing, Procurement, and Customer Service units, ensuring efficient service delivery aligned with UNHRD’s mission.

JOB PURPOSE

To provide specialist advice, analytics and contributions to integrated supply chain operations at HQ/RB level, or manage field supply chain operations to ensure an effective and integrated supply chain approach meeting the food assistance needs of beneficiaries and service provision requirements for partners.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

1. Participate in the development and implementation of supply chain plans and procedures, in line with the global WFP supply chain strategy and regional/functional strategies, policies and plans, to achieve operational cost efficiency, agility, reliability, quality and to support national capacity strengthening.
2. Analyze regional/country context, and design and manage end-to-end operational supply chain and retail networks, to proactively mitigate and/or address dynamic supply chain challenges and obtain operational optimization.
3. Plan and manage implementation of innovative supply chain operations, initiatives and services to ensure timely, cost-effective and integrated approach with core activities and services and in close cooperation with key supply chain stakeholders.
4. Provide technical advice and identify opportunities for improvement and innovation initiatives analyzing best practices from the humanitarian and development fields, academia and private sector.
5. Plan, monitor and manage resources to maximize effectiveness of supply chain operations.
6. Build productive partnerships and collaborate with counterparts in the key supply chain functions to ensure an integrated supply chain approach to food assistance and cross-functional operational alignment.
7. Identify and build productive partnerships with counterparts amongst government and other national organizations, UN agencies, NGOs and private sector to share operational knowledge and resources and build capacity to ensure coordinated and cost-effective supply chain operations.
8. Perform in-depth market analysis and supply chain network mapping to inform the selection of an appropriate operation modalities to improve supply chain performance.
9. Manage supply chain operations to ensure compliance with the established supply chain strategies, policies, procedures and controls, and following corporate standards, with special emphasis on quality control, loss prevention, risk mitigation and cost effectiveness.
10. Constantly monitor the performance of supply chain operations to ensure that appropriate internal controls are in place.
11. Manage service providers/vendors, port, fleet and warehouse operations to promote safe, efficient planning and execution of WFP operations and safeguard WFP’s interest.
12. Manage accurate and timely reporting including provision of substantial analysis of supply chain activities and trends to enable informed decision-making and consistency of information presented to a wide range of stakeholders.
13. Manage, motivate and develop a team providing coaching, training and career guidance as required to ensure appropriate development and enable high performance.
14. Contribute to preparedness actions, providing technical recommendations and guidance and monitoring the management of specific supply chain risks to enable WFP, governments and other partners to quickly respond and deploy food and resources at the onset of the crisis.
15. Other as required.

OTHER SPECIFIC JOB REQUIREMENTS

As the Operations Manager, you play a central role in ensuring the effective operation of the hub, contributing to UNHRD’s mission of providing humanitarian support with excellence.

1. Oversee logistics services, including stock maintenance, receipt, loading/offloading, customs clearance, and stock deployment. Oversee warehouse operations and align operational activities with corporate requirements,
2. Lead the operations team, providing guidance to each unit (Logistics, Procurement, Customer Service). Maintain clear reporting lines for effective coordination, alignment, and guidance within the UNHRD hub. Ensure that the respective teams comply with WFP rules, regulations, policies and procedures in their area of activity and properly implement and use corporate systems, such as WINGS, WMS and others.
3. Ensure seamless coordination between units for integrated service delivery and foster a collaborative work environment for streamlined operations, encouraging team performance and contribution to UNHRD’s vision,
4. Manage capacity strengthening efforts in logistics, warehouse management, customer service, etc at the hub level and ensure activities are aligned with the UNHRD network strategy,
5. In line with WFP rules and regulations and under the guidance of the Network procurement team, oversee procurement activities relative to specific hub,
6. Lead the customer service unit’s activities, focusing on “Strengthening Cooperation” as a priority. Manage key accounts and ensure customer satisfaction,

OTHER SPECIFIC JOB REQUIREMENTS CONT…

7. Liaise with service providers, partners and stakeholders as/when required to ensure smooth operations such as Freight Forwarders, relevant governmental and local authorities, suppliers, contractors, local and regional partners in undertaking UNHRD’s mandate,

8. Follow standard emergency preparedness practices for a quick response during crises, ensuring readiness of needed resources to deploy,

9. Contribute to continuous improvement, aligning with UNHRD’s mission and corporate standards.

10. Follow standard emergency preparedness practices for a quick response during crises.

11. Working together with the communication and reporting teams, ensure proper documentation of activities, including relevant data, for communication, reporting and advocacy purposes.

12. In the absence of the Hub manager, act as Officer-in-Charge and at all times, you will support the Hub manager.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Advanced University degree preferably in Supply Chain Management, Engineering, Economics, Business Administration, Logistics, procurement or other related field, or First University degree with 5 years of related work experience and/or training/courses.

Experience: At least five (5) years of professional experience in relevant fields. Extensive experience in humanitarian logistics, procurement, and customer service roles is highly desirable. Has proven experience in leading, motivating and coordinating teams. Strong leadership, coordination, conflict management and communication skills.

Language: Fluency in English and Spanish is required; Fluency in another UN language is desirable.

Competencies:

Technical competencies

• Good understanding of procurement, warehouse management and logistics
• Ability to develop sourcing and delivery strategies to ensure UNHRD is ready to support emergency response
• Contract management
• Work experience in Supply Chain is desirable.

Interpersonal competencies

• People management, drive performance, supervise and empower teams/team members.
• Partnership skills, ability to engage with stakeholders and partners, advocate for UNHRD work and represent UNHRD when needed
• Communication skills.
• Coordination skills.
• Strategic thinking, taking initiatives and being proactive.
• Problem-solving, analytical thinking, data management.

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

• Experience in managing an area of supply chain operations including coordination with internal and external stakeholders;

• Experience in implementing operational supply chain strategies in a country;

• Experience in designing and implementing supply chain, retail and partnership networks;

• Experience in managing relationships and national capacity building initiatives with UN agencies, NGOs, private sector and/or government organizations;

• Experience evaluating and selecting service providers and/or suppliers;

• Experience identifying operational risks and maintaining documentation on emergency preparedness;

• Experience in implementing approved corrective actions to improve performance and monitoring progress;

• Experience supervising professional staff.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Number of openings: 1

Based in: Panama City, Panama

Type of Contract: Fixed Term Level: National Officer / NOC

Duration: 12 months.

This position is open only to Panamanian citizens. You can consult the UN Salary Scale for Panama page for your reference. Fixed-Term appointments are for a continuous period of one year or more and shall have a specified expiration date. The initial appointment is subject to a probationary period of one year. Successful candidates will be placed in a roster for two (2) years.

Reasonable Accommodation

To enhance the accessibility and inclusiveness of the recruitment process at the World Food Programme (WFP), we encourage individuals requiring disability-related accommodations or other accessibility assistance to reach out to us. Please email your requests to global.inclusion@wfp.org. Upon receiving your email, a dedicated member of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) team will contact you to discuss your needs in a confidential and supportive manner. We are committed to providing a recruitment experience that respects and responds to the unique needs of every candidate.

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.

WFP has a zero-tolerance approach to conduct such as fraud, sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to WFP’s standards of conduct and will therefore undergo rigorous background verification internally or through third parties. Selected candidates will also be required to provide additional information as part of the verification exercise. Misrepresentation of information provided during the recruitment process may lead to disqualification or termination of employment

WFP will not request payment at any stage of the recruitment process including at the offer stage. Any requests for payment should be refused and reported to local law enforcement authorities for appropriate action.