Supply Chain Officer (Commodity Accounting) at World Food Programme

JOB PURPOSE: SUPPLY CHAIN PLANNING SERVICE

• The Regional Bureau in Southern Africa (RBJ) is responsible for support and oversight of several countries in the region; Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, Republic of Congo, Angola, Comoros and the operations in South Africa. This vast region periodically encounters a myriad of challenges ranging from climatic shocks (cyclones, floods, drought), civil conflicts, and political tensions. RBJ has to be adequately prepared to provide quick support to country offices when the need arises, for effective risk mitigation and timely response when challenges emerge.
•  The Supply Chain Unit is at the forefront of preparedness and response and has the responsibility to provide guidance and support to country offices. It is essential that the unit keeps abreast of all developments and logistics activities in the region, coupled with dissemination of timely information to all stakeholders.
• The corporate commodity accounting system, LESS, monitors and tracks WFP commodities from source to final delivery locations. Challenges continue to be faced by country offices most notably where overland commodity movements are involved and with reconciliation of physical stocks versus system stocks across various stages of the supply chain.
• Under the overall supervision of the Regional Logistics Officer of the Supply Chain Unit, the National Logistics Officer will provide analytics to the supply chain activities following an effective and integrated supply chain approach to meet food assistance needs of beneficiaries and service provision requirements for partners.  This will include, but not limited to support the Country Offices with full implementation and use of LESS system, assist with relevant information management and for the country offices’ implementation of Emergency preparedness measures.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES 

Under direct supervision of Regional Logistics Officer, and in liaison with relevant functional units in the RBJ and HQ, the incumbent will focus on:

• Produce monthly monitoring reports with analysis on data reliability, accuracy and timeliness of data capturing in LESS by Country
• Collect and analyze data and put together reports highlighting opportunities for improvement and effective operationalization of commodity accounting in the region
• Prepare accurate and timely commodity reports and support preparation of complex reports, dashboards and other visual materials on supply chain activities for supervisor’s review to contribute to informed decision-making and consistency of information presented to the stakeholders
• Carry out Oversight and Compliance Missions in the area of commodity Accounting and Management.
• Ensure that risk analysis/management and emergency logistics preparedness is timely undertaken and adequately reflected in Contingency plans. Periodically monitor the management of risks and report on any actions taken
• Participate in the development and implementation of procedures for logistics field operations ensuring that objectives are achieved in compliance with regional and functional strategies, policies and plans.
• Any other duties as required

Strengthening of commodity accounting in the region by:

• Reviewing of key fundamental supply chain processes as currently implemented in the respective country offices how they are executed and mapped out in corporate systems (WINGS - another corporate accounting system and the Logistics Execution Support System). Based on findings determine whether current business practices and processes adhere to WFP policies, procedures and best practices. Where shortcomings are identified make recommendations on suitable corrective measures to be implemented.
• Putting in place mechanisms to enhance the evaluation of data integrity of LESS across the region
• Provide support as/when required in building capacity of Regional Bureau and Country Offices’ staff members for their understanding and use of LESS effectively
• Guiding staff across the region in the reconciliation of LESS and COMET (corporate systems) as per the corporate methodology
• Supporting to country offices in the use of LESS to ensure high quality data, accurate and timely reporting, as well as the effective interface with other platforms
• Assisting Country Offices with robust Information Management related to Logistics activities throughout the region, by collecting, collating and disseminating data, information and reports as/when required
• Monitoring data accuracy, reliability, and timeliness of data capturing in LESS

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

• Advanced University degree in Transport Economics, Engineering, Supply Chain, Logistics, Business Management or other related field and a minimum of 1 year role related experience, or First University degree with additional years of related work experience.
• Advantageous: CIPS or a Diploma in Procurement and Supply 

Desired Experience:

• Experience in the implementation of SAP application in complex operations involving overland transport
• Experience evaluating and selecting service providers and third parties
• Experience identifying transportation operations risks and maintaining documentation on emergency logistics preparedness
• Experience determining with Supply Chain actors best transport modality/timing and liaising with agents and suppliers to meet deadlines. Experience preparing and managing transport and project budgets
• Experience managing integrated air, sea, and land transport operations
• Experience supervising professional staff

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS Continued

Knowledge & Skills:

• Supply chain management, emergency preparedness and response, transport contracting and operations, WFP and international standards bodies policies and procedures, air/sea/surface transport processes and procedures

Language:

• Fluency (level C) in English language. 

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

• Experience in analysing operational context and trends
• Experience in supporting analytical and conceptual work on supply chain strategy and implementation
• Experience in designing plans and operational scenarios in collaboration with key internal and external stakeholders
• Experience in analysing end-to-end supply chain operations
• Experience working with supply chain information systems
• Experience in troubleshooting and solving operational issues
• Experience in commodity accounting
• Experience as a procurement specialist
• Experience with sourcing and contracts
• Experience in vendor management
• Experience in procurement and supply chain operations
• Experience in supply chain management
• Experience with vendor database management
• Experience as a Supply Chain Manager
• Experience as a Procurement Officer
• Experience tendering and contracting 
• Experience as a Supply Chain Specialist

4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES

Purpose:

• Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives: Understands WFP’s Strategic Objectives and the link to own work objectives.
• Be a force for positive change: Flexibly adapts individual contributions to accommodate changes in direction from supervisors and internal/external changes (such as evolving needs of beneficiaries, new requirements of partners).
• Make the mission inspiring to our team: Recognizes and shares with team members the ways in which individual contributions relate to WFP’s mission.
• Make our mission visible in everyday actions: Sets own goals in alignment with WFP’s overall operations, and is able to communicate this link to others.

People

• Look for ways to strengthen people's skills : Assesses own strengths and weaknesses to increase self-awareness, and includes these in conversations on own developmental needs.
• Create an inclusive culture: Participates in open dialogue, and values the diverse opinion of others, regardless of background, culture, experience, or country assignment.
• Be a coach & provide constructive feedback: Proactively seeks feedback and coaching to build confidence, and develop and improve individual skills.
• Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit: Participates in accomplishing team activities and goals in the face of challenging circumstances.

Performance

• Encourage innovation & creative solutions: Shows willingness to explore and experiment with new ideas and approaches in own work.
• Focus on getting results: Consistently delivers results within individual scope of work on time, on budget and without errors.
• Make commitments and make good on commitments: Commits to upholding individual accountabilities and responsibilities in the face of ever-changing country or functional priorities.
• Be Decisive: Makes rational decisions about individual activities when faced with uncertain circumstances, including in times of ambiguity regarding information or manager direction.

Partnership

• Connect and share across WFP units: Seeks to understand and adapt to internal or cross-unit teams’ priorities and preferred working styles.
• Build strong external partnerships: Demonstrates ability to understand and appropriately respond to and/or escalate needs of external partners.
• Be politically agile & adaptable: Portrays an informed and professional demeanor toward internal and external partners and stakeholders.
• Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships: Provides operational support on analyses and assessments that quantifies and demonstrates WFP’s unique value as a partner.