Fit for Purpose WFP s New Organizational Design [17 August 2012] Introduction On my first day as Executive Director, I told WFP staff: Every decision we make, every programme we launch, every dollar we spend each must be judged by its impact on the people who depend on us. We must achieve this goal as a team in an increasingly complex and ever-changing humanitarian environment. Framework for action A rapid organizational assessment (ROA) was immediately undertaken to facilitate a process of reflection, review and analysis. The results of the ROA were assessed by a team composed of diverse WFP leaders the Organizational Development Team (ODT). With a goal of enabling WFP to better fulfil its mandate of feeding the world s most vulnerable and hungry people, the ODT then made a wide range of going-forward organizational design and operating recommendations to the Executive Management Group (EMG). In May, I and the other members of the EMG subsequently considered each recommendation and developed a Framework for Action 1 (FfA) which is the basis of a comprehensive strengthening plan for WFP. The FfA identified key corporate actions for delivery around seven interrelated themes (Figure 1). Figure 1 Framework for Action 1 Strengthening WFP A Framework for Action (18 June 2012). 1
Organizational design and realignment In mid-june, as part of theme two, the Organizational Design and Realignment (ODR) initiative was launched. The ODR objective was to develop recommendations for aligning WFP s organizational design around the strategic priorities. The ODR team was tasked to look beyond WFP s organizational structure in order to focus on issues of delegation of authority, decentralization, resource allocation, accountability, and the roles and capacities of country offices (COs), regional bureaux (RBs), liaison offices (LOs) and Rome Headquarters (HQ) with a view to building an organization that is fit-for-purpose. The ODR team brought WFP staff together in consultations in the field and at HQ to elicit their thoughts on ways of optimizing WFP s design to ensure that we deliver our mandate effectively. The team reviewed corporate functions to identify areas where WFP can maximize efficiency, avoid overlaps and create synergies among COs, RBs, LOs and HQ. The ODR team consulted the EMG at several points and presented their conclusions to me on 20 July 2012. Purpose of this paper This paper is the outcome of the process described above. It sets out my vision of the future organization of WFP. My decisions have been informed by extensive consultations with WFP staff since the beginning of my tenure on 5 April 2012. I have sought advice from all parts of WFP and have based my conclusions on the ROA, the report of the Organizational Development Team, conclusions of the ODR team as well as the ideas, suggestions, inputs and support from the EMG. The paper provides an overview of the principles, decisions and next steps for the implementation of the new organizational design. A detailed Change Management Plan will follow in early September 2012. We will present the Management Plan (2013 2015) to the Executive Board in November 2012. This presentation will include decisions I have taken and a request for approval of the budget which will support this future design implementation process. This paper is divided into four main sections: i) Design principles; ii) Functional analysis; iii) Organizational architecture; and iv) Future actions. Design Principles We at WFP are united as an organization that is trusted for coming through for the people we serve, in the most challenging circumstances. We recognize the importance of a field presence close to the beneficiaries we serve. We want to increase our expertise in finding and providing efficient and effective food assistance solutions to hunger and malnutrition. We are a trustworthy humanitarian and development partner. Our enthusiastic staff works hard to achieve WFP s mission and to deliver life changing results. We believe in a culture of learning that enables evidence-based interventions to deliver results in a cost-efficient manner. My decisions on WFP s organizational design are based on four basic principles: Beneficiaries are the focus of all our work this is the central tenet of the organizational redesign and it drives the second and third principles; COs are empowered as WFP s centre of gravity, with decision-making authority located as close as possible to the point of implementation; RBs serve as WFP s front line platform for managing, overseeing and supporting the country offices; and Unity of purpose and strong corporate identity ensure that everyone in WFP operates according to the core policies and strategies that bind our organization together. 2
The fourth basic principle, unity of purpose and strong corporate identity, provides a crucial counterbalance to the second and third principles. On the one side, empowerment with accountability is essential if we are to respond to the specific needs of the people we serve within their context and environment. On the other side, we must maintain our organizational unity One WFP. We must create the ability to shift financial and human resources agilely within and across the organization to meet our operational needs. We must learn from each other at every level: replicating successful actions while avoiding the repetition of mistakes. This way forward represents a constructive tension in WFP s organizational design that we must effectively manage. WFP s centre of gravity is located in the field: we will address the needs of our beneficiaries through a decentralized structure of empowered COs and a field-oriented global HQ (Figure 2). Figure 2 Overall Design of WFP Against this I have proposed four design principles. We will guide our decisions on the basis of subsidiarity, in other words, placing decision-making authority as close as possible to the point of implementation. We will, as a first option, locate support services in COs where appropriate and affordable. Where this is not possible, we will place support services in the RBs. The Rome HQ office will focus on developing organization-wide strategy, policy, corporate oversight, communication and resource management, innovative corporate initiatives, tools and guidance. We will establish a clear single line of accountability throughout the organization and within all organizational units and ensure a balanced span of authority ensuring that managers provide adequate supervision, direction, and support. In Rome HQ, we will eliminate duplication and consolidate functional expertise, thus providing clear points of reference for RBs, COs, and LOs. We will strengthen functional networks ensuring a constructive and dynamic balance between line management authority that flows from the Executive Director through the Regional Directors (RDs) to the Country Directors (CDs) ultimately to those directly performing functional operations, and corporate integration and cohesion. We will seek cost-effectiveness at all points, for example, keeping director-level positions in the global HQ to a minimum based on clear criteria, as well as reviewing options for shared service 3
centres to manage transaction-focused processes. To achieve this goal we must also review and execute the most effective and cost efficient implementation of our country-level programmes and activities, including but not limited to, maximizing our relationships with cooperating partners. Applying these design principles across WFP we will define the high level roles and accountabilities of COs, RBs, LOs and HQ as follows: Country Offices (COs) COs are responsible for programme design, delivery, monitoring and demonstrating results while aligning with the UN Country Team, as appropriate. COs have responsibility for designing and tactically implementing country programmes and operations while assuming full accountably for the management of food, financial and human resources. The significant operational change is in ensuring that the country directors (CDs) have full authority and are empowered to perform these tasks. The organizational realignment is now an inverted design with Rome and RBs supporting CO decisions and commitments within the strategic and policy framework of WFP. From 2013, we will begin allocating the Programme Support and Administrative budget as well as trust fund resources ensuring a more substantial contribution towards building the capacity of our COs. We will also commission a strategic review that will propose options for addressing the many concerns expressed regarding the viability and sustainability of small COs. We will empower COs to translate strategy into action. This requires the elimination of unnecessary impediments, providing appropriate delegations of authority, and ensuring effective internal controls systems. As such, I have already commissioned a comprehensive Business Process Review as outlined in theme four of the FfA. Regional Bureaux (RBs) In the new organizational design, RBs will provide the front line support for the COs, serving as critical components in WFP s commitment to the decentralization of responsibility and decisionmaking authority. The RBs are fundamental to enhancing management effectiveness, partnerships, operational oversight and strategic coherence at the regional and country level. RBs will perform the following core functions: i) in support of the corporate Strategic Plan, provide regional guidance, policy support and direction with respect to WFP operations; ii) provide management support and supervision, with regional directors (RDs) as the line managers of CDs; iii) monitor programme performance, holding country offices accountable for the achievement of programme objectives; and iv) provide functional support to ensure that COs maintain the technical and operational capacities to implement their programmes, while facilitating the sharing of technical resources among countries in their region. The RBs will become more valuable, flexible and responsive offices supporting CO operations. As already announced, RDs supervise the CDs and the RDs now serve as members of the EMG ensuring clear communication between Rome, the RBs and the COs. We will reconfigure two RBs 2. In general, whenever necessary to address emerging needs or changes in regional operating environments, WFP will reconfigure the RBs. 2 To align regional opportunities and stakeholders, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo Brazzaville and Tanzania will move from the East and Central Africa Bureau to the Southern Africa Bureau. Sudan will be moved to the Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe & Central Asia Bureau effective 1 February 2013. 4
Liaison Offices (LOs) The LOs are a vital component of our strategy to advocate with, and mobilize support from, interagency and inter-governmental forums, donor capitals and private-sector markets. They provide a higher quality of engagement and understanding than achieved through HQ engagement alone. LOs achieve cost-savings by minimizing travel expenses and eliminating duplication of work with HQ. To ensure effective use of the current LOs, a review of WFP s non-operational footprint will determine the optimum configuration, size and staffing required for delivering each LO's mandate. Headquarters (HQ) in Rome Rome performs a vitally important operations role. Rome initiates the development of most new tools assisting in the achievement of objectives set out in the Strategic Plan. It also ensures the more efficient execution of country programmes through a centralized provision of support services and tools. In the future, Rome HQ will steer the Executive Board-approved strategic direction, anchored by field realities and in a more coordinated fashion. This requires well-defined divisions of responsibilities within the Rome HQ, and in between the Rome HQ and the RBs. The organizational redesign will result in a light and lean (including grade structure) field-oriented Rome HQ focused on (i) setting strategy, policy and standards; (ii) providing corporate oversight; (iii) supporting innovation; (iv) ensuring accountability, performance monitoring, and corporate reporting; and (v) providing those services which are corporate in nature. During the coming year, we will explore other HQ entities: centres of excellence and shared services centres. Centres of excellence, such as the one established in Brasilia by WFP and the Brazilian Cooperation Agency, can serve as a global resource, providing information, expertise, and technical assistance on critical issues surrounding food and nutrition programmes. Shared service centres aggregate transaction-focused processes from various levels and functional areas (these could include HR, Finance and Treasury, Procurement, and IT) which potentially can be managed from a single location including Rome or another WFP office. Advantages of the shared service centre structure include administrative streamlining and cost efficiencies. Functional Analysis Applying these same design principles vertically throughout WFP, twelve key functions were reviewed focusing on aspects such as roles, reporting lines, budgetary allocations, and the control framework. These were: Policy and Programme; Nutrition; Procurement; Logistics; Information Technology; Emergency Preparedness; Field Security; Resource Management and Accountability; Performance Monitoring and Reporting; Human Resources; Government and Private Sector Partnerships; Inter-Agency and Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Partnerships. 5
The functional analysis was intentionally not all encompassing but rather was focused on particular areas where potential re-alignment would generate more effective performance. In several cases we concluded that the current design was fundamentally sound, but the opportunities existed for more sharply differentiating the roles and responsibilities between Rome, the RBs and the COs. We also identified opportunities at every level of the organization for strengthening key processes and capacities. We will use the conclusions developed through these discussions in the Business Process Review and the change management process (see Future Actions). Three examples illustrate this approach: First, for now we will keep separate logistics and procurement functions and we will focus on improving the supply chain management processes, clarifying the respective roles at the country, regional and HQ levels, and building capacity in the RBs and COs; Second, with respect to resource management and accountability, we decided to maintain the current design that brings together budget and financial management, performance management and business innovation the important development in this area is on integrating, and building capacity in, monitoring and reporting; Third, the audit, inspection, investigation and evaluation functions were not covered partly because of their relationship with governance and partly because their capacity has been strengthened in recent years nevertheless, under the leadership of the Inspector General and the Director of Evaluation, the we will strengthen participation of COs and RBs in these key processes. Of the twelve functions, four had significant implications for the future organizational design: The integration of the Policy and Programme Divisions and the place of the nutrition function in the design; Enhancing the performance monitoring and reporting function; Transformation of the management of human resources (HR); and Reaffirming the functions of inter-agency and NGO partnerships. Policy, Programme and Nutrition Programme and Policy currently reside in two divisions, with different reporting lines. Much of the work done by Hunger Solutions is related to these areas. The span of these functions is significant in that they impact WFP s strategic direction, programme implementation and partnerships with external stakeholders. To increase efficiency and clarify lines of accountability, we will create a new integrated Programme, Policy and Innovation (PPI) Division. This merger will address duplications and locate decision-making one place. This merger will also provide a clear reference point for regional, country and liaison offices. The PPI Division will maintain responsibility for: i) global humanitarian and development dialogue and advocacy; ii) the development, and where necessary supporting the implementation of, functional training; iii) developing programme design learning tools; and iv) innovating, developing, identifying, piloting and supporting initiatives for reducing hunger and malnutrition. Performance Monitoring and Reporting Accountability and accurate reporting on performance has become increasingly important for all business units in WFP. COs acknowledge that it is now a critical process issue that demands a single streamlined system with guidance and support mechanisms. However, the functions related to performance monitoring and reporting are currently located both in the Programme Division and the Performance and Accountability Management Division. The new organizational design will include one Performance Management and Monitoring Division reporting to the AED for Resource Management and Accountability. 6
My commitment to improving performance monitoring and reporting is absolute significant improvements can and will be made with respect to monitoring, reporting and evaluation, and to the systems supporting performance management results and accountability. In the future we will integrate the corporate monitoring and reporting system, supported by a field-based evaluation function. In accordance with WFP s performance management system as well as the monitoring and evaluation strategy, this functional integration will lead to a more harmonized approach between the development of standards and guidelines. Human Resources Management We need a culture change in the way we manage our most important asset our people. A strategic reorientation of the HR function is required to more closely align the workforce capabilities to the organization s strategic direction. This means that the HR function must become a strategic adviser to the ED and EMG and must become a trusted business partner to line managers throughout WFP. This requires a major shift from the traditional personnel functions to a significant focus on the management of the workforce: developing long-term workforce strategies; managing the workforce planning process in an integrated way with the strategizing and budgeting processes; and developing the workforce so that it can respond to current and future requirements of WFP. It means a radically different approach to talent management, contracting, re-assignments and promotions as well as staff development and training, and support to career development. This must also include a complete rethink of our employee and family support functions. While traditional transactional activities will continue to require that we ensure staff and other employees are recruited, deployed, and paid on time, HR must become more efficient in streamlining and automating these administrative processes to achieve a better balance of HR s priorities and resources. We will explore opportunities for co-locating dependent transactional services into an end-to-end process chain though a shared service model both for international staffing through a corporate shared service centre, as well a national staff payroll processing through regional service centres. Interagency and NGO Partnerships The organizational redesign reaffirms the central role of partnerships. Establishing and maintaining sound partnerships with UN agencies, NGOs, universities, research institutions and think tanks must be a daily activity for all units. This function must mark a new era in WFP s approach to partnerships, from COs working with United Nations Country Teams in support of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee s Transformative Agenda and managing field-level agreements with cooperating partners, to RBs developing and implementing regional partnership strategies, and to Rome coordinating regional, country and liaison office partnerships with global actors. Recognizing that what gets measured gets done, we will include a new indicator in the annual performance evaluations to measure how at every level WFP fosters partnerships and collaboration in the field. Functional networks We must create and where necessary refine our functional networks across the organization. These networks should bind the organization together and build staff skills and competencies while ensuring adherence to strategic priorities and policies that will complement the new organizational structure. Take one example logistics. Many COs have logistics officers who are managed, directly or indirectly, by the CD. But these COs remain part of the logistics network in a dotted line 7
reporting relationship to the Director of Logistics. WFP s policies on logistics are a core part of our Strategic Plan and other documents approved by the Board and the Executive Director. The Director of Logistics provides strategic direction and technical guidance and develops tools for logistics staff in the RBs and their COs. The Director of Logistics facilitates learning and the development of new ideas and approaches, and helps in the continuous improvement that we want to see at all levels and at all times. This flow of guidance and support from HQ complements the line of authority from the Executive Director to regional and country directors and the managers of field operations. Some technical networks are well established; others are not. We expect that all will flourish by the end of 2014. Organizational Architecture The outcomes of this analysis resulted in the high-level organizational design which is outlined below. As I noted at the Annual Executive Board Session in June, the high-level organization of HQ will consist of the Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer (DED and COO) and three AEDs covering operations services, resource management and accountability, and partnership and governance services (Figure 3). Figure 3 Overall Architecture Executive Management Executive management is a broad concept in the organizational design that includes the DED and COO, AEDs, OED, the EMG, other senior management teams and those organizational units that report directly to me. Under the overall authority of the Executive Board, executive management ensures strategic and policy direction, executive decision-making and corporate oversight and accountability (Figure 4). The Inspector General & Oversight, Directors of Evaluation, HR, Legal, Ethics Office and the Ombudsman will continue to have a direct reporting line to me (Figure 4). As already announced, Communications, Public Policy and Private Partnership will be divided. Under the new design, Communications will report directly to me and Private Partnerships will report to the AED, Partnerships and Governance. I view the EMG as an essential part of the organizational design to ensure strategic thinking, cohesion and integration across the organization. I have already tasked the Chief of Staff to carry out a management review of the OED and EMG, which will take place in the autumn. As part of this 8
review, he will examine how communication flows from the EMG through management teams at different levels to the staff and how the staff can engage in on-going dialogue with management. Figure 4 Executive Management Deputy Executive Director and Regional Bureaux The RBs serve as an extension of HQ. They must operate nimbly, providing value to their COs. The RBs must maintain responsive capacity to meet the diverse and ever-changing the needs of their COs. These responsibilities require a single line of accountability from Headquarters, with the DED and COO overseeing the Regional Directors (Figure 5). Field Security remains a major issue for country and regional offices; as such, Field Security will report to the DED and COO. Gender is a cross-cutting theme requiring the highest level of attention across the entire WFP organization. The gender unit will report directly to the DED and COO and it will receive the resources necessary to carry out its functional responsibilities. In my absence and whenever necessary, the DED and COO will represent me. Figure 5 Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer Operations Services 9
With the exception of the RDs, I have decided to maintain the current grouping of those functions that are most closely linked to WFP operations under the AED for Operations Services. This will include the integrated Policy, Programme and Innovation (PPI) Division as well as Logistics, Procurement, Emergency Preparedness, and Information Technology (Figure 6). The Dubai Office will also maintain a direct reporting line, considering the close operating link between this office and other functions overseen by this AED. The PPI Division will focus on our programmes and the substance of all our work. One aspect of the current Policy Division s responsibilities is supporting the Strategic Plan development process. During the WFP Strategic Plan development process, because of the crosscutting and periodic nature of this process, we will create a small secretariat, the Strategic Planning Office, reporting to the AED. This office will draw on the expertise of PPI Division and other units for the substantive thinking. The lead members of this team will permanently reside in the PPI Division. The PPI Division will support the RBs and COs in the development of the regional and country-level strategies, including but not limited to, providing expertise in design and facilitating strategic planning processes and document preparation support. We will move the existing unit tasked with NGO relations to Operation Services. I have moved this function from its traditional position in external relations to emphasize the shift in our focus regarding operational partnerships and capacity-building. This revamped office will focus on NGOs as our cooperating partners, with particular emphasis on partnership capacity building, managing operational field-level agreements, and strengthening the organization s NGO engagement activities all of which are critical to the successful implementation of WFP programmes and the functioning of food security and logistics clusters. Because of WFP s strategic partnerships in, and the cross-cutting nature of, nutrition, we will appoint a Nutrition Senior Advisor. This Senior Advisor will provide nutrition-specific advice for WFP procurement and programmes while managing WFP s interactions with initiatives such as Scaling Up Nutrition movement, the REACH partnership and the United Nations Standing Committee on Nutrition. We will incorporate Nutrition programmatic aspects including, but not limited to, RB and CO programme support in the PPI Division. Figure 6 Operations Services 10
Resource Management and Accountability The AED for Resource Management and Accountability and the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) will retain the same basic structure as at present (Figure 7). The design reinforces the strategic role of the CFO in maintaining a separation of duties between, on the one hand, budgetary approval and financial oversight and, on the other hand, expenditure management. It also ensures that a single senior manager represents WFP to external stakeholders for accountability purposes budget preparation, financial reporting and the annual performance and accountability report. By placing management services under this AED, the design brings together services such as finance and administration which are frequently combined in our COs, and it facilitates oversight of corporate processes such as travel. A revamped Performance Management and Monitoring division will report to this AED, thus enhancing monitoring and reporting on WFP outcomes and impact. The division will also develop a corporate monitoring and reporting system that is focussed, resourced, and implementable at field level. Figure 7 Resource Management and Accountability Partnership and Governance Services In view of the central role of partnerships in implementing the Strategic Plan, we will create an AED for Partnership and Governance Services. S/he will oversee government partnerships, private-sector partnerships, inter-agency partnerships and the Executive Board Secretariat, in addition to LOs (Figure 8). Because of the anticipated schedule of New York high-level meetings related to the post-2015 agenda and the post-rio sustainability discussions, we will base the Inter-agency partnerships function in New York, tasked with managing relations with United Nations entities. This is in accordance with the principle of placing decision-making as close as possible to the focus of our work. The Geneva LO will report to New York in order to promote coherence in WFP s approach to our inter-agency partners. The Addis Ababa, Brussels, Tokyo and Washington LOs will report directly to the AED in view of their size and on-going importance. We will continue to review the roles of, and the need for, LOs particularly focused on host country support as a factor in maintaining or opening these offices. We must strengthen the working relationship between the Rome-based Agencies (RBAs). With a view to increasing WFP s commitment to enhancing this collaboration, we will create a Senior Advisor position reporting to the AED, with responsibility for relations with the RBAs, including the Committee on Food Security. 11
Figure 8 Partnership and Governance Services Future Actions We will incorporate all these identified organizational design changes into the Management Plan (2013 2015), which we will present for approval to the Executive Board on 13 November 2012. We can reasonably and quickly implement many of the actions. The more significant structural changes we will begin implementing on 1 February 2013 with a goal of completing the change process over a two-year period. Some may argue that we should more rapidly shift resources, both human and financial, from Rome to the RBs and COs. However, I believe that we must phase this redesign process over a period of time in order to ensure a comprehensive approach to strengthening WFP. We need to build capacity throughout the organization, eliminate systemic obstacles to change and manage risks inherent in the process. I will ensure special attention is given to staffing implications and that procedures for ensuring a fair and transparent transition are in place. As mentioned at the beginning, this paper sets out my vision (as supported by the EMG and informed by the ODT and ODR team) on the high-level organizational design of WFP and the main decisions that have been taken. We will provide much more detail in the Change Management Plan which is being developed by the Business Innovation and Support Office, under the leadership of the Chief of Staff. The Change Management Plan will outline ownership and major milestones and deliverables for each initiative. It will contain more detailed descriptions of the organizational design for COs, RBs, LOs, as well as Rome HQ. We will circulate the plan to staff in September 2012. Thereafter, the Chief of Staff and the Business Innovation and Support Office will help drive forward the process of transformational change by providing analytical support for key initiatives, maintaining a regular progress overview for the EMG, and providing project management advisory support to initiative owners. In the interim, many actions in the FfA are moving forward. These include Business Process Review (theme four of the FfA) and the in-depth review by the HR task force of the roles and responsibilities 12
of the HR function, reassignment and promotion, disciplinary authority and workforce strategy in the context of theme three of the FfA. In addition, I have initiated further analysis and development on the following: A working group to examine the next steps in the merger of the Programme and Policy Divisions; The move of Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Congo Brazzaville from ODN to ODJ; A comprehensive review of WFP s non-operational footprint to determine the best configuration of liaison office and partnership functions; An in-depth functional and policy review of the relationships with private committees such as WFP USA and the Japan Association for WFP; A study of the role and structure of small country offices, including the design of sub-offices, in preparation for the next Strategic Plan; Identification of options for greater innovation in resource management such as more flexible and efficient use of resources in terms of landside transport, storage and handling, other direct operational costs and direct operational costs at the country office level; and Exploration of options for remote administrative and shared service centres. To conclude WFP s shift from food aid to food assistance has entailed major changes for the organization. It enlarged our tool box, led to new initiatives and drove a change in skill sets to implement them. At the same time, the demands on WFP have increased, from responding to the 2008 food crisis to heeding calls for more capacity development, better safety nets, resilience building and stronger partnerships to help governments to address the challenges of hunger and malnutrition. This is the enormous task before us. As the world around us is rapidly changing, it is vital that we change with it. WFP s success in addressing the needs of our beneficiaries depends on our institutional capacity to adapt. It also depends on our ability to improve and innovate: to ensure that lessons are learned and acted upon, not just documented. This requires dedication and a continued willingness to learn from the past in building an organization fit for purpose in the future. As we begin the process of realigning our organizational design around WFP s strategic priorities, focusing on the field to ensure more effective implementation of the Strategic Plan, we will together build a stronger WFP that is better able to deploy more effective tools in meeting the needs and transforming the lives of the hungry poor we serve. 13