National Consultant

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 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:  and 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).

ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT:
The WFP Lebanon Country Office Social Protection Unit has been working with the Ministry of Social Assistance (MOSA) in the definition, design, delivery, and monitoring of programs for immediate and longer-term social protection. The WFP has provided different types of support, from service delivery to capacity building and strategic advising. Likewise, the WFP is involved in various aspects of the social protection delivery chain including targeting and surveys, eligibility determination, database management, payments and reconciliation, grievance redress management, and monitoring and evaluation. Together, the WFP and MOSA are working to build high quality and reliable social assistance delivery services to affected populations for emergency response. 

An essential aspect of this work is collection, storage, processing, and management of data. WFP manages a historical applicant database updated with new household data during program design, ensuring accuracy through validation and duplicate removal, involving both automated systems and manual adjudication. All this work is done before eligibility algorithms are run which output a list of beneficiaries. Payment lists and delivery services ensues. This labor-intensive process, essential for generating beneficiary lists and ensuring high-quality data, is currently distributed across teams using a RACI matrix and program-specific SOPs. However, systematic coordination to oversee data flow, enforce standards, and maintain tool effectiveness is lacking, impacting data quality, credibility, and organizational reputation.

The position is based in WFP Beirut Country Office and reports to the Head of Programme.

JOB PURPOSE: 
To define data, process, tool, and resource requirements and coordinate the data management cycle from acquisition or collection (when necessary) to output and external usage. 
The Consultant is initially involved in the definition and design of data dictionary, collection forms, SoP, and responsibilities associated with new or modified assistance programs, working with RAM (Research, Assessment & Monitoring) team and data collection service providers to ensure compliance to quality standards. Next, the Consultant defines data processing, storage, and cleaning processes for the TEC-Data team; working to ensure all data collected (and other related programs) are properly cleaned, stored and aligned to the existing database registry of applicants. The Consultant oversees the work on deduplication of the lists, adjudication and other data cleansing processes. The Consultant  next follows up with the appropriate team to identify and resolve data discrepancies reported by the CBT (Cash-Based Transfer) team in the creation of payment lists and reconciliation, with the AAP (Affected Populations ) team on CFM (Community Feedback Mechanisms) , and with OIM (Operational Information Management ) for monitoring, and reporting. Finally, with respect to any data shared outside with partners or stakeholders, the officer follows up with data privacy and protection agreements established to ensure compliance. 
The Consultant will be expected to be a team player able to produce accurate and organized work while demonstrating good client orientation, ability to convene, coordinate and create consensus among different stakeholders, attention to details, proactiveness and communication skills and the ability to interact with different individuals. 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES (not all-inclusive, nor exhaustive):

•    Review and provide input into social protection program design and definition with specific emphasis on data quality control with a specific focus on identity management

•    Draft Data Governance Guidelines, Data Flow Matrixes, Data Dictionaries, Application Tool usage Guidelines, and Standard Operating Procedures documents for each program in consultation with all teams involved

•    Provide inputs into data collection instruments definition, design, and programming (considering in particular household and individual identification such as biographic and demographic data); ensure alignment with existing database formats and structure

•    Coordinate the data management life cycle from data collection/acquisition to storage/transformation, payments, reconciliation, monitoring, CFM, output/reporting, and data sharing to ensure proper operationalization for data quality, security, and process systemization.

•    Review use of tools from SQL DB to Excel, Scope, and others throughout the data lifecycle and establish guidelines and protocols in how each tool should be utilized in relation to the central database (or other) for data integrity and a single source of truth

•    Review and revise end-to-end data workflow and SoPs documentation of all teams and stakeholders involved (including data sharing partners)

•    Review all identity related data for quality control, security, privacy and protection from acquisition to sharing, defining timeliness and recommending methods of improving methods, tools, and processes. 

•    Maintain issues in Project Management Tool to ensure issue tracking, resolution, documentation, and historical tracing. 

•    Ensure adherence to best practices in data privacy and protection, in accordance with WFP and Government policies and regulations. 

•    Organize meetings internally, with government and partners as required

•    Communicate roadblocks immediately to team and supervisors; seek to resolve within limits of responsibilities

•    Conduct demos and trainings using documentation and other training materials 

DELIVERABLES: 

•    Draft and maintain a workplan for the registry (steps, timeline, roles)

•    Draft and maintain Data Governance Protocols, SoPs, RACI and roles documentation

•    Draft Data Dictionary for new programs; define processing requirements 

•    Draft and follow up with Data Sharing Agreements with partners/stakeholders

•    Draft and maintain Data tools usage guidelines documentation

•    Drafted inputs into data collection instruments and process

•    Project Management tool updated on daily basis with tasks assigned to users

•    Provide routine verbal, email, chat communication with all project partners and stakeholders

•    Provide input to reports and dashboards for all social protection related programs

REQUIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE:

•    Experience interacting with databases (MS Access, MySQL, others)

•    Experience conducting quantitative analysis (SPSS, others)

•    Experience using design tools for flowcharts or similar

•    Excellent information technology skills (Windows OS, MS Excel, internet, computer management)

•    Experience using Project Management Tools (MS Project, others)

•    Excellent interpersonal skills

•    Strong attention to detail 

•    Excellent communication skills (oral and written)
    
DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE:

•    Familiarity with analytical and reporting tools will be an added advantage.

•    Familiarity with feedback and grievance mechanisms or similar tools/systems.

•    Experience in humanitarian or development field

STANDARD MINIMUM ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS:

Education:Advanced University degree (i.e. Master's degree or higher) in Statistics, Data Science, or related field or First University degree in a relevant field (i.e. Bachelor's degree) with additional years of related work experience

Experience: Three (3) or more years of postgraduate professional experience (after completion of Advanced University degree), in data/statistical analysis, data collection or surveying, including at least 3 years supervising or coordinating survey data collection or analytics or, five (5) years or more after completion of First University degree (i.e. Bachelor's degree). Previous experience in data governance management and experience in project management related to data and information management in required. 

Language: Fluency in both oral and written communication in English and Arabic language. French is 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.