DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

1 October 2024-23:59-GMT+02:00 Eastern European Time (Chisinau)

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: https://www.wfp.org and follow us on social media to keep up with our latest news: YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter.

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: Head of External Relations
• TYPE OF CONTRACT: International Consultant, CST II
• UNIT/DIVISION: Partnerships, Communication, Reporting
• DUTY STATION (City, Country): Chisinau, Moldova
• DURATION: 11 months

BACKGROUND
The World Food Programme (WFP) is the world’s largest humanitarian agency, working towards achieving a world with zero hunger. Since the beginning of the Ukraine refugee crisis in February 2022, WFP set up operations in Moldova to assist in the refugee response. To respond to the deepening vulnerabilities of the crisis-affected populations and to strengthen the government shock-responsive capacity, WFP developed an Interim Country Strategic Plan (ICSP), approved during the Executive Board session in February 2024. This iCSP outlines the activities in the country for the next 2 years (March 2024 – February 2026). To support the implementation of the ICSP and nourish WFP’s mandate in Moldova, WFP Moldova is now seeking to fill the position of Head of External Relations and Executive Support.

PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT
The objective of this position is to manage a team to drive WFP’s effective positioning with public, private and external partners to attract policy support, resources, technical assistance and innovative solutions to advance the work of WFP in Moldova and ensure the smooth functioning of the WFP Representative and Country Director’s Office.
Under the direct guidance of WFP’s Representative and Country Director, the Head of External Relations will supervise a team to manage the day-to-day operational and administrative support of the Country Director and overall external relations, positioning, and strategic engagement of WFP Moldova.

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

Executive Support
• Manage the Country Director’s front office to ensure the smooth implementation of management priorities both internally and externally.
• Support strategic positioning and advocacy, including preparation of strategic analysis, documents, options and guidance notes to support and document strategic management of WFP operations and presence in Moldova.
• Monitor global and regional conflicts and trends and their impact on Moldova. Provide regular short updates and reports to Country Director.
• Shape WFP Moldova’s contribution to corporate learning and innovation on optimising WFP’s business model in ‘exiting responsibly’ in context of transitioning from responding to needs, to shifting the needs to national systems while strengthening the system.
• Proactively highlight strategic opportunities and issues to senior management and propose options for the best course of action to nurture trust and interest in the work of WFP.

Partnerships

• Coordinate the drafting of high-quality proposals and donor reporting documents, ensuring
conditions and obligations of contribution agreements are met.
• Advise on national, bilateral- and multilateral processes and cooperation frameworks, and engaging and influencing government, stakeholders and other key actors on advancing WFP’s agenda.
• Design and support execution of external relations strategy and lead implementation in close collaboration with relevant CO units and colleagues.
• Facilitate corporate dialogue with partners through preparation of quality briefing materials and organizing necessary missions, meetings and engagements.
• Collate and assist in the dissemination of political and development analysis pertaining to WFP current or future responses and donor policies, trends and preferences to ensure
country specific input to WFP’s operational reporting.
• Gather and share partner intelligence (including forecasting), using key information systems (e.g. WINGS, Salesforce, Factory, WFPGo), and assess results.

Communications
• Manage and implement communications plans that raise WFP’s profile and fundraising activities, favorably impacting the views of the public, opinion leaders and donors.
• Maintain and develop a contact list of journalists and media outlets and manage the regular flow of news/information about WFP’s work to the media, ensuring reputational risks are identified and managed.
• Coordinate and oversee the production of donor specific visibility products, ensuring consistency with corporate messages, and technical WFP Moldova documents, across various communication products.
• Work in close collaboration with counterparts to align activities and ensure a coherent approach to communications within WFP.
• Track and analyze traditional and online media, to identify trends and/or issues, and propose solutions and ideas to improve the effectiveness of communication strategy and activities.

Reporting
• Provide technical advice, governance and oversight to WFP Moldova Country Office on the integration of Operational Information Management policies and guidance into established systems to drive the quality, consistency and standardization of information management across WFP.
• Collaborate with counterparts internally and with other UN agencies to ensure consistency in humanitarian information and to complement WFP analysis and information.
• Collaborate with counterparts in WFP Divisions, supporting performance of activities and ensuring an aligned and consistent approach to information management, analysis and performance reporting.
• Support the Annual Country Report (ACR) for the Annual Reporting Exercise in collaboration with the country office programme, monitoring & evaluation and logistics functions to coordinate and ensure coherence and quality of information.

General:
• Manage a team of national officers (partnership, communication) and other (general support staff), providing coaching and guidance as required to ensure appropriate development and enable high performance.
• Represent WFP in inter-agency, UN Country Team, donor forums and events.
• Other duties as required.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education: Master’s degree in international development, Business Administration, Social Sciences, Information Management and Research, Political Science, Economics, Statistics, Social Sciences, Journalism, International Relations, Public Relations, Communications or another relevant field.

Experience:
• At least 8 years of progressively responsible related experience with a background / interest in international development and humanitarian work specifically.
• Experience in reporting and partnerships activities is required.
• Experience designing and/or managing resource mobilization processes and resource strategies, negotiated contract terms and provided resourcing advice to senior management is required.
• Experience in a field context, country office, or similar is required.
• Experience in political economy analysis is desirable.
• Experience managing a front office is desirable.

Knowledge Skills:
• Good understanding of corporate strategies and priorities and gained experience in developing multi-stakeholder partnerships.
• Ability to produce high-quality written materials, including graphically- based PowerPoint presentations as well as text documents.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to analyze and interpret data and draw out key messages.
• Strong interpersonal skills to effectively coordinate and tactfully liaise with a wide range of people at all levels and across different cultures.
• Strong oral and written communication skills, able to clearly articulate insights to stakeholders in WFP.
• Action management skills (time management, organization, judgement) to ensure ability to balance competing priorities successfully, and to work to tight deadlines.
• Self-motivated and able to work with a high degree of autonomy.

Languages:
Fluency in English language is required. Knowledge of Romanian, Russian and/or Ukrainian language is an asset.

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 dedicated to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our recruitment process is inclusively crafted to welcome candidates of all backgrounds, celebrating diversity and ensuring a respectful environment for all. We aim for an accessible and fair recruitment journey. Should you need any reasonable accommodations or have accessibility concerns, please reach out to us confidentially at global.inclusion@wfp.org. Our DEI team is here to ensure your full participation in our recruitment process.

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 global.hrerecruitment@wfp.org 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.