Senior Transition Advisor

Job Description

JOB PURPOSE

This position is based in the WFP Regional Bureau in Cairo, Egypt, reporting directly to the Regional Director (or designate). The incumbent will be expected to provide interdisciplinary support to country directors and general management, coordinate change support towards regional functions to implement COSMOS, and advise RBC senior management on strategic regional issues.

S/he will be expected to demonstrate proven management experience in complex concepts, a field focus, and a willingness to travel frequently to field locations, including unstable and hard-to-reach locations. S/he will also work in close coordination with other parts of the organization, including relevant divisions in HQ as well as the COSMOS Secretariat.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

- Help senior managers and country directors of priority countries review their portfolios and, in the context of funding and socio-political changes across the region, adopt a future focus within the lifespan of existing country strategies (CSPs) and beyond.

- Support CO management with structured change management strategies to facilitate CO changes to the desired target state, working to ensure that relevant stakeholders – management, staff, partners, and beneficiaries - remain engaged, motivated, and safeguarded during the change process.

- Support organizational alignment and workforce planning efforts (e.g. identifying potential required shifts) and in implementing their outcomes as well as engaging with and communicating results to staff in a respectful and empathetic manner. At the CO level, this may include strengthening the capacity of national officers in management, where organizational alignment requires a reconfiguration of responsibilities.

- Design and implement a process for effective management changes, restructuring, and if needed, transformation, taking into account potential funding constraints, staffing implications, and CO context-specific sensitivities.

- Provide leadership, guidance, and mentoring to CO and RB managers, including advice on effective management of uncertainty with a view to equipping and empowering country office and RB staff to lead operations into the future, in the context of resource cuts, to increase their effectiveness in driving sustainable change, and focusing on mentoring and training senior national staff in managerial excellence.

- Develop and implement effective communication strategies on the benefits of transformational change to staff and stakeholders, including consultation strategies with the staff body and regular updates on the next steps/ outcomes.

- Put in place mitigation measures for conflict resolution and negotiation to address potential disputes and concerns related to restructuring.

- Incorporate diversity, inclusion, and gender perspectives in all areas of the change implementation, to ensure equitable participation of all where possible.

- Conduct regular pulse checks of regional functional teams, and country management team dynamics.

QUALIFICATIONS AND KEY REQUIREMENTS

EDUCATION:

Bachelors or Master's degree in a related field such as organizational development, business administration, or transformation management international relations, development studies, law, social sciences, or another relevant discipline.

EXPERIENCE:

- At least 11 years of progressively responsible professional experience in the humanitarian-development system

- At least three (5) years of professional experience working in a low/middle-income setting.

- A demonstrable track record of responding to emergencies on behalf of a humanitarian agency

- Prior experience of working as a Country Director or Head of Office.

LANGUAGE:

Fluency (level C) in the English language.

Intermediate knowledge (level B) of a second official UN language: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish, and/or Portuguese (A WFP’s working language.