Individual Fundraising Strategic Operations Lead

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

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 worlds 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 WFPs 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: 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).

POSITION TITLE: Individual Fundraising - Strategic Operations Lead
TYPE OF CONTRACT: Short-Term Regular Consultant (CST 2)
UNIT: Private Sector Partnerships (PSP)
DUTY STATION: HQ Rome
DURATION: Five (5) months
LINE MANAGER/SUPERVISOR: IG Tech & Ops Lead

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the worlds largest humanitarian agency working to create a world with zero hunger. WFP and its partners believe that no child should go to bed hungry and that individual and collective wellbeing can only be achieved if all children women and men get the nutritious food they need to lead healthy dignified lives. Each year WFP assists 90 million people in 83 countries. Every day some 5600 WFP-chartered trucks are on the road 92 planes are in the air and 20 ships are at sea. These numbers speak to WFPs unparalleled reputation as an emergency responder one that is often the first on the scene in the most difficult environments. WFP also works with partners to strengthen the resilience of communities most vulnerable to hunger and malnutrition through long-term development programmes aimed at boosting food security local economies education employment and gender equality. While hunger and malnutrition are the worlds largest solvable issues the needs are still immense and growing. 821 million people in the world suffer from chronic hunger.
The Private Partnerships Division (PSP) is responsible for working with the private sector to achieve greater impact in WFPs work. PSP has embarked on an exceptionally ambitious new strategy to raise an additional one 1.3 dollars for hungry or malnourished people in the next five years and to expand the contribution to WFP from the business sector through effective and sustainable long-term partnerships as well as from private individual supporters around the world. This includes securing new high impact technical partnerships signing significant new corporate deals and growing existing relationships as well as building a base of one million individual supporters.

INDIVIDUAL FUNDRAISING
WFP operates one of the fastest-growing global individual fundraising programmes in the humanitarian sector. Initially launched as a lean digital-focused initiative the programme has evolved into a major strategic driver of income growth with an ambition to raise USD 1.3 billion annually by 2030.
The programme has transitioned from a purely digital model to a digital-first multi-channel approach. While the centralised global team continues to acquire supporters through core digital channels (Meta and Search) it is rapidly scaling additional acquisition channels such as Face-to-Face Direct TV Telemarketing and Direct Mail. This diversification is essential to sustaining growth and strengthening donor lifetime value but it also introduces increased operational regulatory and contractual complexity.
At the same time the programme is shifting from a largely Western-market focus to a more g-local model. Now operating in seven languages it enables more locally relevant engagement and is expanding into high-potential strategic markets including Korea China Italy and the Middle East. This expansion requires robust governance frameworks strong understanding of fundraising regulations and effective management of contracts with external partners and vendors.

Supporter engagement is delivered through an integrated multi-channel loyalty ecosystemincluding email SMS WhatsApp outbound telephony and Metaensuring a high-quality donor experience that drives long-term engagement and impact.
In this context of rapid growth and increasing complexity and as part of a broader team restructuring a new Strategic Operations sub-team is being established to strengthen governance contractual and compliance oversight across Individual Giving (IG) and ShareTheMeal (STM). The team will play a critical role in enabling sustainable fundraising expansion while ensuring compliance consistency and organizational integrity.

PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT
The Strategic Operations Lead will report to the Head of the IG Tech & Ops team and will assume responsibility for the entire operational portfolio of Individual Fundraising.
The role is responsible for leading and overseeing key operational processes to ensure efficiency compliance and alignment with WFPs organisational goals. It provides essential operational leadership across three critical Individual Fundraising teamsIndividual Giving ShareTheMeal and Business Intelligenceand manages a strategic procurement portfolio of more than 40 vendors.
The position oversees the full lifecycle of contracts including preparation review renewals amendments and performance monitoring. It also supervises purchasing activities such as purchase requests contract renewals vendor coordination and cost optimisation for a vendor portfolio with annual expenditure exceeding USD 12 million.
Given the ambitious boardmandated growth targets the role will also play a critical part in enabling rapid compliant expansion across priority markets and highpotential fundraising channels. Ensuring that operational foundations scale at the same pace as programme ambitions will be essential to unlocking growth reducing bottlenecks and supporting accelerated market entry and channel development.
Acting as a central operational hub the Strategic Operations Lead coordinates cross-functional activities and serves as the primary point of contact between fundraising teams and key corporate stakeholders including Procurement Legal Privacy Technology Risk Managememt and PSP Finance. The role ensures that contractual financial and operational decisions comply with internal policies and external regulatory requirements.
Additionally the role will oversee two roles one covering Regulatory & Governance streams and the other providing more admin and project management support while also providing guidance to new team members and TDYers.

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:
The role is expected to:
Lead the operational design and rollout of new fundraising activities across emerging channels and markets ensuring full compliance with organisational legal and regulatory frameworks.
Provide strategic oversight and direction for new fundraising initiatives ensuring the development of comprehensive operational plans and high-quality supporting documentation.
Oversee and direct budget management expenditure tracking and financial commitments across all contracts and procurement activities ensuring strategic resource allocation and full financial accountability.
Monitor financial performance across operational portfolios identify emerging risks and implement corrective measures to maintain organisational efficiency compliance and fiscal integrity.
Act as the primary liaison with Legal the Global Privacy Office Procurement the Risk Management Division and other UN fundraising entities ensuring alignment of processes compliance requirements and strategic priorities across the organisation.
Champion and represent the strategic needs of the Individual Fundraising (IF) programme within WFP and externally with vendors partners and UN agencies ensuring coherence influence and operational synergy during periods of rapid growth.

Develop strengthen and maintain highlevel partnerships with peer UN agencies (e.g. UNICEF UNHCR IOM) to exchange insights on risks mitigation strategies and operational best practices and to jointly design strategic initiatives that advance shared organisational objectives.
Lead crossteam knowledgesharing efforts to ensure all stakeholders have a clear understanding of operational processes compliance obligations and fundraising priorities fostering alignment and informed decisionmaking across teams.
Lead and direct strategic procurement initiatives for fundraisingrelated services ensuring full alignment with organisational priorities valueformoney principles and longterm operational sustainability.
Oversee the development negotiation and management of LTAs with more than 40 vendors guaranteeing compliance with legal financial contractual and dataprotection requirements across all vendor engagements.
Provide authoritative guidance on procurement strategies policies and best practices to ensure transparent equitable and compliant vendor selection processes.
Design and implement robust vendormanagement strategies that secure highquality costefficient partnerships and enable the scalable growth of fundraising operations.
Lead the identification assessment and mitigation of fundraising related risks ensuring proactive management and alignment with WFPs enterprise risk frameworks.
Integrate risk management practices into IF operations and ensure consistency with the PSP Divisions risk register.
Lead manage and mentor a team of operations and compliance specialists ensuring clear role definition strong performance management and continuous professional development.
Strengthen team capacity by identifying skill gaps and implementing targeted training coaching and resource support to enhance technical and operational expertise.
Cultivate a highperforming team culture grounded in collaboration innovation accountability and continuous improvement ensuring staff remain motivated empowered and aligned with organisational priorities.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
Education
Previous Experience
Knowledge & Skills
University degree in one or more of the following disciplines: Law Social Sciences Finance or related fields.
6-8 years to include experience in procurement and compliance including experience in project management.
Demonstrates solid knowledge of WFP/UN business processes and operational frameworks;
Possesses a strong understanding of public procurement principles within international and humanitarian contexts.
Ability to analyse financial data and identify trends and have understanding of cost structures revenue forecasting and financial modelling
Communicates confidently and effectively including when presenting to small groups or senior leadership.
Shows strong problemsolving abilities and exercises good judgement and initiative in diverse and complex situations.
Exhibits excellent communication skills with the ability to build rapport influence stakeholders negotiate effectively and support informed decisionmaking.
Builds strong relationships and earns trust and respect at all levels; collaborates effectively as part of a team.

Demonstrates a proactive solutionsoriented mindset committed to delivering results and driving continuous improvement.
Upholds high ethical standards and consistently demonstrates personal integrity.
Shows exceptional attention to detail and strong written and verbal communication skills.
Brings excellent organisational and administrative capabilities including proficiency in Outlook Word Excel and PowerPoint.
Maintains uptodate knowledge of relevant industry trends and best practices.
Handles sensitive information with discretion and confidentiality remaining focused and effective under pressure both independently and as part of a team
Languages
Excellent written and spoken English is required
Knowledge of another official UN language would be a plus.

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.