CODA Product Manager Consultant at World Food Programme (WFP)

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Create and maintain the CODA Product Canvas outlining the vision of the product;
• Create and maintain the CODA Product Roadmap outlining the evolution of the product;
• Present the Product Roadmap for endorsement to the TEC Architectural Board, when updated;
• Report regularly to the CODA Product Owner in the Nutrition Division and the cross-divisional CODA Steering Committee on a quarterly basis;
• Perform the role of Scrum Product Owner:
• Gather and validate requirements following a Human-Centred Design (HCD) approach;

Communicate requirements inwards to the Development Team:

• Identify and categorize stakeholders/customers/users/subject-matter experts;
• Decompose high-level requirements;
• Identify and describe Product Backlog Items (PBI), partnering closely with the Business and the team to ensure everyone understands the items in the backlog;
• Ensure the PBIs pass the Definition of Ready criteria;
• Facilitate the Just-In-Time (JIT) detailed requirements delivery;
• Determine whether PBIs were satisfactorily delivered; and
• Give the Development Team clear guidance on which features to deliver next.

Communication outwards to Stakeholders:

• Communicate estimates, dependencies and technical issues after grooming sessions, informing and negotiating with the Business;
• Make decisions, in consultation with Stakeholders, regarding the priority of PBIs;
• Inform of progress and host demonstrations to stakeholders; 
• First point of contact between stakeholders and the Scrum team.
• Decide when to deploy the product with the predisposition towards frequent releases;
• Take care of Backlog Grooming: regularly review items on the backlog to ensure the backlog contains the appropriate items, that they are prioritized, and that the items at the top of the backlog are ready for delivery;
• Participate in the Sprint Planning session; a team planning meeting that determines what to complete in the coming Sprint;
• Listen-in at the Daily Stand-up session: a 15-minute mini-meeting for the team to sync-up.
• Chair the Sprint Demo session: A sharing meeting where the team shows what was produced during the Sprint; 
• Participate in the Sprint Retrospective session: a review of what did and did not go well during the Sprint, with actions to make the next Sprint better;
• Manage the product budget, and prepare cost estimates based on the IT Solution Architect’s high-level effort estimates;
• Control project spending, keep track of the consumption of purchased time-and-materials quotas;
• Provide guidance to vendors concerning the submission of consumption reports and invoices;
• Approve consumption reports for the insertion the corresponding Service Entry Sheets; and
• In collaboration with the TEC’s Head of Sourcing, create and renew Purchase Orders;

When required, act as Project Manager:

• Report periodically on progress to the project management office, informing them of any issues/risks requiring attention. Identify and escalate issues that could affect the product outcomes, timeline or budget.
• Any other duties as required for the successful delivery of the product or project.

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT:

• A well-defined Product Vision and an up-to-date Product Roadmap fully aligned with Business Roadmaps and the needs of end-users
• A well-managed Product Backlog, duly groomed and with Product Backlog Items (PBIs) passing the Definition of Ready criteria.
• A product which achieves the highest quality in terms of technical usability, user acceptability, and domain suitability.
• A high level of satisfaction of the product users as first priority, in particular country office and implementing partner teams, IT Solution Architect, and Development Teams in relation to soft-skills such as effective communication, conflict management, strategic contributions to product’s success, leadership skills, etc.
• Contribution to improvement of shared processes and tools.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education:

• Required: University degree in Nutrition, Public Health / Social Protection, Business Administration, Information Technology or related fields. .

Experience:

• Required: 3 – 5 years of product management or humanitarian program cycle management experience.
• Desired: Nutrition programmatic experience (WFP or implementing partners), product management experience or a proven track record of planning, leading and executing technology related projects.

Knowledge and Skills:

• Required: Proven track record leadership and cross-cultural collaboration and complex stakeholder networks.
• Desired: Exposure to Agile and Scrum methodologies; Knowledge of Product and Project Management methodologies/tools; Experience gathering business and user requirements; Ability to influence cross-functionally to manage projects within a matrix environment; Ability to manage budget, resources and risks; Ability to manage Stakeholders also at senior levels.

Language:

• Fluency in oral and written English
• Intermediate knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish) or Portuguese (one of WFP’s working languages) is desirable.

Closing Date: 21st, August 2022