Data Engineer for Remote Programme Monitoring

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: 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:
Data Engineer for Remote Programme Monitoring
TYPE OF CONTRACT:
Regular Consultant (CST I)
UNIT/DIVISION:
APP-MF (Field Monitoring)
DUTY STATION (City, Country):
Rome, Italy
DURATION:
11 months

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

Assisting more than 100 million people in over 80 countries each year, the World Food Programme (WFP) is the leading humanitarian food security organization - saving and changing lives, delivering food assistance in emergencies, and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. To achieve its mandate, WFP must ensure that it reaches the right people and that it manages its relationship with those individuals and their communities in a responsible, accountable, and effective manner.
The Analysis, Planning, and Performance (APP) Division is instrumental in advancing WFP’s Zero Hunger mandate by placing high-quality evidence at the core of strategic and operational decision-making, resource mobilization and accountability. This approach ensures that operations are not only efficient and cost-effective but also transparent and responsive to the needs of beneficiaries. APP works to ensure that decision-making within WFP is grounded in credible, relevant, and timely data. This is achieved through a structured approach that spans the full programme lifecycle, from conducting initial assessments that inform programme design to monitoring outcomes for ongoing projects.
The consolidation of four core services within APP—food security analysis, research, programme monitoring, and budget management—enhances collaboration and strengthens connections across areas, deepening the evidence generated. APP uses evidence-based insights to demonstrate the impact of WFP's programmes to donors and stakeholders, aligning with organizational priorities to help WFP achieve Zero Hunger effectively and efficiently. By consistently applying data-driven approaches, APP ensures strategic decisions are well-informed and timely, allowing WFP to adapt to challenges and opportunities swiftly. This supports WFP's mission to achieve Zero Hunger in the most accountable and effective way.
The APP Field Monitoring (APP-MF) Unit is currently investing in improving interoperable systems for standardized outcome and process monitoring data. As part of a recent Corporate Critical Initiative, remote programme monitoring will feed into an integrated monitoring data pipeline to enable a multi-layered approach for field monitoring. This will allow to sustainably analyse and visualise findings, informing programmatic decision making and enhancing issue detection.
WFP APP-MF is seeking a Monitoring Data Engineer with technical capacities and responsibilities within the remote programme monitoring project. Under the supervision of the APP-MF Data Systems and Analysis lead, she/he will contribute building sustainable monitoring data pipelines, ensuring system interoperability in line with monitoring business requirements and developing analytical products for programme monitoring data. The work of the Monitoring Data Engineer will also feed into APP division efforts in the configuration of a CoreEngine solution, i.e. a working centralized infrastructure to support the scaling of data pipelines responding to present and foreseeable needs of APP units.

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

Under the supervision of the APP MF Data Systems and Analysis lead, the Data Engineer will lead efforts to integrate monitoring data pipelines and analysis, develop analytical, data cleaning and processing scripts, and carrying out global level analyses, including:

Data pipeline integration and script development:

•Elaborate scripts for automated data cleaning and processing of remote monitoring data and contribute to their integration into corporate platforms (e.g. Data Bridges, CoreEngine);

•Develop and implement interconnected solutions to converge relevant multi-layered monitoring data streams from various data sources, including field surveys, remote programme monitoring and pre-existing databases;

•Maintain remote programme monitoring data pipelines to ensure seamless data integration from multiple sources into a centralized database; and
•Contribute to division level script development.

Data Management:

•Create and maintain monitoring databases, ensuring data quality, consistency, and security;

•Develop and implement data governance policies and practices to maintain data integrity.

Data Analysis and Visualization:

•Creation of analytical scripts for remote programme monitoring data;

•Develop visualization solutions for integrated process and outcome data pipelines;

•Perform data analysis to derive actionable insights and trends related to WFP programmes at global level and in support of Country Offices and Regional Bureaus.

Data Automation and innovative solutions:

•Identify and implement opportunities to automate data collection, processing, and reporting tasks, streamlining workflows for efficiency;

•Explore and develop AI integrations to improve efficiency and efficacy of monitoring data pipelines.

Capacity Building:

•Train and support field staff and partners on system functionalities, and in analysis and reporting best practices.

Collaboration:

•Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including programme managers, analysts, and IT staff, to align data efforts with programme objectives.

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

The key outputs of the consultant are expected to be:

•Design and implement integrated/product-ready solutions for remote process and outcome monitoring data pipelines, feeding into corporate solutions (e.g., Data Bridges, CoreEngine);

•Contribute to the development of a division-wide product roadmap describing the product evolution for three horizons (short-medium-long), keeping in mind emerging needs and technologies;

•Develop and maintain standard scripts for outcome and process monitoring data cleaning, processing, data quality checks and analysis;

•Design and maintain standard analytical solutions for the static or interactive visualization of outcome and process monitoring data;

•Contribute to the consolidation of the APP digital roadmap;

•Lead product adoption within the monitoring domain at all levels (RB, CO).

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education:
Advanced University degree in social sciences, statistics, data science or software engineering, development economics, performance management, monitoring and evaluation or other related fields, or First University degree with additional years of relevant work experience and/or training/courses.

Experience:
Minimum of three years of relevant professional work experience in a data engineering / data-science related role, including PhD and other academic positions.
At least 2 years of Python programming skills and experience with data manipulation libraries (pandas, numpy, sqlalchemy etc.) is required.

Knowledge & Skills:
Experience in designing and querying SQL databases is required.
Experience with developer tools such as git is required.
Good knowledge in other data engineering tools, databases, and data warehousing technologies (e.g., ETL tools, Hadoop, Spark, etc.) is also an asset.
Proficiency in statistical and analytical packages, in particular Python, R, or STATA. Excellent level in at least one of the three is required.
Experience in GIS (QGIS, GDAL, PostGIS) is an asset.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work effectively and respectfully in a diverse and multicultural team environment, both independently and as part of a team.
Previous experience in humanitarian or development context is desired.

Languages:
International Professional: Fluency (level C) in English language. Intermediate knowledge (level B) of a second official UN language, in particular Arabic, French or Spanish.

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 dedicated to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our recruitment process is inclusively crafted to welcome candidates of all backgrounds, celebrating diversity and ensuring a respectful environment for all. We aim for an accessible and fair recruitment journey. Should you need any reasonable accommodations or have accessibility concerns, please reach out to us confidentially at global.inclusion@wfp.org. Our DEI team is here to ensure your full participation in our recruitment process.

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

• 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.

• Please make sure you upload your professional CV in the English language

• 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

• Please contact us at global.hrerecruitment@wfp.org in case you face any challenges with submitting your application

• 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.