IT Portfolio Manager

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

8 September 2026-23:59-GMT+01:00 Central European Time (Rome)

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: https://www.wfp.org 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).

JOB TITLE: IT Portfolio Manager Consultant

TYPE OF CONTRACT: Regular consultancy contract (CST) Level II

UNIT/DIVISION: TEC Division, Digital Transformation Office

DUTY STATION (City, Country): Rome (HQ)

DURATION: 11 months

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

WFP’s information and technology strategy for 2023–2026 sets a bold vision for accelerating the organization’s shift to becoming a digitally enabled, data-driven organization and advancing its mission of achieving zero hunger. WFP has made significant progress in this transformation, but to fully realize the benefits and meet growing operational demands, WFP will have to overcome structural barriers and deliver integrated, fit-for-purpose solutions that support faster, more effective humanitarian response. Complementing the IT strategy is a five-year digital business transformation plan. Developed in consultation with country and regional offices and global headquarters divisions, the plan reflects a “whole-of-WFP” approach to technology aimed at maximizing organizational impact. The investment plan proposes a shift from localized, tactical IT spending to the use of globally scalable, interoperable platforms.

Under the direct supervision of the Senior Coordinator, Digital Transformation Office (DTO), the IT Portfolio Manager is expected to oversee Portfolio of projects under the Digital Business Transformation Plan (DBTP) ensuring our IT solutions bring value and achieve the highest quality. The incumbent will be responsible for overseeing the delivery of projects that span across one or more business units and to ensure resources, schedules, KPIs and financials adhere to deadlines throughout the whole project management cycle (in coordination with Project Management Office-PMO, the Budget Manager, DTO, and additional TEC stakeholders).

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Lead and coordinate the oversight of a portfolio of complex initiatives/projects under the DBTP including the following duties:

• Stand up the central Portfolio of projects in ServiceNow, ensuring business cases, risks and delivery performance is tracked.
• Perform ongoing reporting to ensure Initiatives are delivering to agreed scope, schedule, cost and benefit for transparency and rapid intervention.

• Collaborating and coordinating with key stakeholders, teams and PMO members by sharing project's planning and updates.

2. Benefits Realisation:

• Ensure clear, measurable benefits are articulated for each Initiative with agreed baselines, targets and benefit owners. Establish ongoing tracking of benefit realization and establish reporting to the Technology Investment Committee and Digital Business Technology Committee.
• Ensure Initiatives bring about cost-savings as planned, drive the decommissioning of legacy applications and reduction in Shadow IT and are in line with the Target State Architecture.

3. Coordinate with supervisors/managers of the Project Management Office (PMO) to ensure agreed objectives are respected.

4. Provide appropriate visibility of DBTP portfolio to senior management via regular reports/dashboards to enable informed decision-making and escalating potential risks and issues accordingly.

• Ensure timely and quality quarterly reporting on the DBTP Critical Corporate Initiative
• Support the Senior Coordinator, Digital Transformation with for his engagements with the Technology Investment Committee, Digital Business Transformation Committee, and other fora as needed.

5. Discuss and support the resolution of the issues and questions raised by the technical and functional teams of the projects.

6. Communicate clearly and manage stakeholders’ expectations about the main DBTP projects’ timeline, risks, quality, and costs, keeping them informed of progress of projects’ IT activities, challenges and achievements.

7. Ensure lessons learned are captured, shared and applied.

8. Other duties as required.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education:

University degree in Business Administration, Economics, Information Technology or related fields. Project Management education/ certification desirable.

Experience:

Minimum 8 years of professional experience in project management within an Organisation and proven record of management and delivery of the full cycle of projects, ideally IT-related projects.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Knowledge and experience with portfolio and project management methodologies, including Agile/Scrum and project portfolio management tools.
• IT background or solid knowledge of IT.
• Experience with managing teams with related areas of expertise.
• Ability to interact comfortably with different levels of management, senior stakeholders and functional teams.
• Experience with multi-vendor projects, delivery coordination and management.
• Initiative and drive to meet deliverables on time and within budget.
• Proven ability to work creatively and analytically in a problem-solving environment demonstrating teamwork, innovation, and excellence.
• Excellent communication skills both written and oral.
• Organized with attention to detail to ensure projects run efficiently.
• Personal Effectiveness: strategic and analytical thinking, results orientation, commitment to excellence, appropriate and transparent decision making.
• Ability to effectively prioritize and execute while under pressure.
• Strong customer service orientation.
• Ability to work in multi-cultural and multi-ethic environments.

Languages:

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

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:  global.inclusion@wfp.org

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 recruiting system. We do not consider CVs or applications sent by email, LinkedIn, or any other channel.

• We strongly recommend that your Workday profile is accurate and complete, and that all sections are filled in, including your employment history, academic qualifications, language skills, and UN grade (if applicable). Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.

• If you experience technical issues while submitting your application, you may contact us at global.hrerecruitment@wfp.org. Please note that this email is only for technical issues with an application - unsolicited applications or documents sent to this inbox will not receive a reply.

• At the application stage, the only required documents are your CV and Cover Letter. Additional documents (passport, certificates, recommendation letters, etc.) may be requested later in the process.

• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the recruitment process.

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.