PMO Implementation Manager & Head of Product Delivery
Organizational Context
The World Food Programme (WFP) is the world's largest humanitarian organization, dedicated to saving lives in emergencies and building pathways to peace and prosperity. This role is based in Rome, Italy, reporting to the Chief Digital Services, and is integral to WFP's mission of using food assistance to support recovery from conflict, disasters, and climate change impacts.
Job Purpose
The PMO Implementation Manager & Head of Product Delivery will provide strategic and operational leadership for the comprehensive delivery of WFP’s digital services portfolio, encompassing both corporate and field operations. This role is crucial for integrating project, programme, and product management to ensure digital initiatives are effectively prioritized, executed, and maintained in alignment with WFP's business objectives, enterprise IT standards, and compliance mandates. The incumbent will translate business needs into scalable digital solutions, ensuring adherence to WFP policies, financial regulations, and governance frameworks. Key responsibilities include leading cross-functional teams, managing portfolio budgets and resources, mitigating delivery risks, and ensuring transparency and value realization across WFP's digital investments.
Responsibilities
The role provides strategic and operational leadership for the World Food Programme's (WFP) digital services portfolio, encompassing both corporate and field-facing products. Key responsibilities include leading the Digital Services Product and Project Manager Team to ensure business value delivery through clear strategies, roadmaps, and prioritization aligned with WFP's needs. This involves providing enterprise-level leadership in project, programme, and product management, ensuring consistent application of standards, methodologies, and governance across the portfolio, and aligning all initiatives with WFP’s strategic priorities and humanitarian mandate. The role also ensures full compliance with WFP policies, financial rules, HR guidelines, procurement regulations, and IT governance frameworks. It acts as a focal point for audits and oversight activities, maintaining audit readiness through strong control frameworks. Furthermore, the position leads budget planning, forecasting, cost control, and reporting for multiple branches, overseeing cost recovery and providing inputs to corporate reporting. It coordinates cross-branch planning and delivery for Corporate Change Initiatives (CCIs) with a TEC component, ensuring accurate budgeting and resource alignment. Finally, the role involves leading, coaching, and developing a high-performing team, managing recruitment and staffing plans, and acting as a senior escalation point for stakeholders to resolve delivery risks and manage expectations.
Work Experience
Requires a minimum of 8 years in programme, project, or product management, with at least 4 years in IT/digital environments and 2 years in HR and Finance. Must have demonstrated experience in managing budgets, finances, and resources for large, multi-stream portfolios. Proven ability to work within complex organizations, applying compliance, governance, and audit requirements is essential. Strong autonomous operation and stakeholder coordination skills are necessary.
Skills
Project Management, Programme Management, Product Management, Agile Methodologies, IT Governance, Budget Management, Financial Management, Resource Management, Stakeholder Management, Leadership, Audit Response, Risk Management, Compliance, Data Analysis, Cross-functional Team Leadership, Digital Services Delivery, IT Processes, Business Operations Understanding, UN Language Proficiency