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The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency dedicated to eradicating rural poverty and hunger. It does so by investing in rural people. IFAD finances programmes and projects that increase agricultural productivity and raise rural incomes, and advocates at the local, national and international level for policies that contribute to rural transformation.ย
The Corporate Services Department (CSD), led by the Associate Vice-President, CSD, provides IFAD with the human resources, administrative services, safety and security, information technology resources ย and medical support services required to allow IFAD to meet its objectives of enabling rural people overcome poverty. The work of the CSD is undertaken by three divisions (i) Human Resources Division (HRD) (ii) Administrative Services Division (ADM) and (iii) Information and Communication Technology Division (ICT) and two units: (a) Field Support Unit and (b) Medical Services Unit.
The Information & Communications Technology Division (ICT) delivers secure, reliable, and integrated technology solutions which enable delivery of business value and provide IFAD with a strategic advantage through technical innovation and agile ICT services, and by streamlining corporate processes using effective ICT solutions. It facilitates access to information, ensures reliable and secure availability of information and communication means, provides a sustainable and secure digital environment and offer standard ICT services.ย
The incumbent works under the overall strategic, policy and management guidance of the Director, Information and Communications Technology Division (ICT) and under the direct supervision of a Team Lead, ICT.ย
Job Role ย
Senior Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Specialists at this level are senior specialists assigned leadership and management of technology design, development and maintenance work that involves interface with users and coordination of other ICT specialists. The role of ICT Senior ICT Specialist is a key role within ICT. The incumbent is required to understand technical requirements and develop in-depth knowledge of IFAD processes, systems and infrastructure. They are typically accountable for unit work plan establishment and supervision of a team of ICT Specialists, Associates and/or Assistants.
Position specific:ย Senior ICT Specialist (Application Services)
1.ย ย ย Leads on the management of ICT projects in cooperation with IFAD divisions as required to deliver requirements in line with timeline and quality expectations and within the given budget.ย
2.ย ย ย Plans and implements DevOps best practices in line with security and resiliency guidelines.
3. Proactively Identifies new ย solutions ย or ย approaches ย for ย solving ย business ย needs: ย including ย integration ย technologies, automation solutions, open source and low/no code options, cloud solutions; Leads on the follow up of matching needs with commensurate technology solutions, to resource and plan, obtain buy-in from ICT and business leaders to develop and implement working solutions.ย
4. Investigates new and emerging technology available on the market and explore their potential toย
meet IFAD challenges or add value to IFAD operations. ย
5. Provides leadership on questions of technology within ICT, in particular in terms of existing platforms and infrastructure, emerging technologies, trends in the industry and within the UN/IFI network and how technology
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Key Functions and Results ย
ICT PRACTICE LEADER: Senior ICT Specialists at this level are typically accountable for technical leadership in their occupational area at the corporate level with accountability for conceptualization, design, development, implementation and maintenance of major and complex information systems and applications to meet the evolving needs of the Fund. They typically accomplish the assigned activities through supervision of an ICT unit comprised of other Professional (P) and General Service (GS) staff and through technical guidance and work product validation of external ICT consultants. ICT BUSINESS PARTNER: Senior ICT Specialists are credible, trusted partners to client offices served and the Division where assigned, serving as responsive and constructive service providers with a focus on results. They contribute directly to the development of the Fundโs ICT strategy and plans as well as model a commitment to data and systems integrity. Senior ICT Specialists provide authoritative advice and guidance to ICT colleagues and the Division Director on cross-division systems / applications interfaces as well as on the requirement for modifications or enhancements / extensions. ICT MANAGEMENT: Senior ICT Specialists are accountable for conceptual work and technical leadership in the development, design, implementation and management of original systems/applications and ensures their interface with existing applications and/or major ICT systems. Representative accountabilities/key results include: identifying the need for new applications/systems, conducting feasibility studies and translating user needs into systems and applications that can be integrated with existing systems/technology; conducting and/or leading systems analysis, determining costs of development and eventual operations of the system(s)/applications; defining application/system requirements and developing technical and functional specifications; overseeing the development of file and database architecture, configuration and record formats ensuring relevant internal control and security mechanisms are established; planning, scheduling and launching implementation work and systems testing; identifying, testing, assessing and evaluating new products and technologies and proposing strategies and implementation plans; collaborating on defining and resolving problems of the Fundโs systems integration (intra/inter- organizational); and leading the preparation of technical and user documentation for entire systems and interdependent applications as well as training materials and detailed technical presentations; conduct courses for users.ยย AGENT OF CHANGE: Senior ICT Specialists understand and apply the principles of change management and proactively serves as a role model for transformation and capacity for acceptance of change. They use a seasoned knowledge of information technology to develop, analyze and promote acceptance of new methods of work and automated workflows. Senior Specialists manage change through technical leadership in identifying systems/applications that support change and outreach to client offices to build understanding of and to ensure open and regular communications pertaining to current and planned changes in the Fundโs information and communication technology strategy, standards, regulations and rules.
ย MANAGERIAL FUNCTIONS: Senior ICT Specialists are typically team leaders with accountability for integrity, transparency, and equity in the management of IFAD technology. This includes: People Management through work plan development, recruitment, performance and career management of P and GS staff as well as learning management establishing learning plans and ensuring staff supervised meet their development needs while meeting the needs of IFAD; Resource Management by providing strategic and data inputs into the divisional budget preparation exercises; Knowledge and Content Management by ensuring: knowledge content within functional area is continuously updated and available to colleagues and clients, best practices are continuously identified, documented and distributed, and appropriate and up-to-date information and learning tools are available to the Fundโs managers, supervisors and staff; and Information Technology Management through leveraging ERP functionality for improved business results, simplification of transaction and reporting processes and improved client services.
Position specific functions and resultsย
1.ย ย ย Technology lead:ย
a.ย ย ย Manages and directs work in specific technology areas, including but not limited to Microsoft enterprise solutions, Liferay, Oracle, Ruby on Rails and Cloud technologies including Azure and AWS, Oracle and Postgres database, Windows and Linux OS. Work in this area includes alignment of configuration and architecture to support business applications. ย
b.ย ย ย Plans and manages upgrades and patching schedules of related infrastructure, operating systems and applications, in line with IFAD cyber security and resiliency principles and guidelines. ย ย ย
c.ย ย ย Implement DevOps best practice. Setup and maintain CI/CD pipelines and ensure a secure and coherent release life cycle for applications. ย
d.ย ย ย Support the design and optimization of integration technologies, including the configuration of dedicated integration tools within a hybrid environment of on-premises, externally hosted and Cloud solutions.ย
e.ย ย ย Setup and manage automated monitoring to track system availability and performance with robust notification processes in the case of failures or incidents.
f.ย ย ย Lead on incident management including major incidents impacting IFADโs infrastructure or applications. Ensure lessons learned from such incidents are embedded in process and technology improvement and that all such incidents and lessons are fully documented and shared within the division.
g.ย ย ย Support the augmentation and adoption of horizontal technology areas such as identity and access management processes and systems and other similar initiatives.ย
h.ย ย ย Ensure the identification, monitoring and updating all software and hareware IT assets , including their detailed configuration and attributes in order to ensure a seamless application and services landscape across the organizationย
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2.ย ย ย RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT -WITHIN ICT AND EXTERNALLY Within ICT foster strong relationships to ensure effective exchange of information and knowledge, frictionless collaboration for holistic technology solutions (infrastructure, application, integrations, security, change management) and issue resolution. Within IFAD, build relationships with counterparts to deepen the understanding of IFADโs work, be a trusted and credible IT partner to assess needs, review the pipeline of work, ideate on future projects and co-ordinate, and manage the IT needs of the business counterpart. ย The Senior ICT Specialist will be assigned at least one business areas to which they will be the primary IT contact. ย ย
3.ย ย ย VENDOR MANAGEMENT: the Senior ICT specialist will remain current and informed of vendor trends aware of IT market trends and changes for technology vendors. They will lead on ensuring that IFAD has an adequate and appropriate level and number of agreed key vendors in their area of responsibility. They will schedule regular interactions with key vendors to ensure full awareness of services, resources and other conditions to plan for pipeline needs. ย
Key Performance Indicators ย
The work of Senior ICT Specialists involves leading the design, configure, implement, maintain and improve critical technology operations of the Fund, adapting processes as necessary to achieve full functionality and interface with existing systems. Thus work at this level impacts on the overall design and continuity of major systems/applications and indirectly impact the accomplishment of the Fundโs objectives, goals and functions. ย as a foundation for the Fundโs administrative and programme operations. Technical decisions are taken on the feasibility of technology proposals and specifications for systems / applications. They provide authoritative advice to the Division Director and senior IFAD management, which leads to both technical decisions as well as resource commitments.
The key performance indicators for Senior ICT Specialists include leadership, both technical and team.
Working Relationships ย
Internally Senior ICT Specialists are responsible for overall coordination with users on all aspects or during all phases of development as well as the provision of authoritative technical guidance to others involved in interrelated technology activities. The acceptance of modification to specifications and work processes is accomplished through negotiations. They provide authoritative technical advice to the ICT Division Director on the design and implementation of technology applications and systems as well as IFAD senior management/decision-makers.ย
Externally work relationships require collaboration and coordination to ensure vendors, service providers, collaborators and external ICT consultants meet established contractual terms and conditions, coordination with other organizations to establish compatibility of systems/application interface (Borrowers and Contributing institutions).
Job Profile Requirements ย
Organizational Competencies:
Level 2:
Building relationships and partnerships - Builds and maintains strategic partnerships internally and externally Communicating and negotiating - Acquires & uses a wide range of communication styles & skills Demonstrating leadership - Leads by example; initiates and supports change Focusing on clients - Contributes to a client-focused culture Learning, sharing knowledge and innovating - Challenges, innovates & contributes to learning culture Managing performance and developing staff - Manages wider teams with greater impact on others and on the organization Managing time, resources and information - Coordinates wider use of time, information and/or resources Problem-solving and decision-making - Solves complex problems and makes decisions that have wider corporate impact Strategic thinking and organizational development - Staff in management and/or strategic leadership roles Team working - Fosters a cohesive team environmentEducation:
Level โ Advanced university degree from an accredited institution in a technically relevant area. In lieu of an advanced university degree, a diploma in combination with six years over and above the minimum experience requirement may be considered; Areas - Computer science, information technology, mathematics or other job-related field Degree must be an accredited institution listed on https://www.whed.net/home.phpยExperience:
At least eight (8) years of progressively responsible professional experience in planning, design, development, implementation and maintenance of information technology, in any of the following roles: infrastructure, system administration, DevOps, network administration, security management or coding and agile development; Twoย (2) yearsโ experience in a multi-lateral or national organization providing support on a global scopePosition-specific experience: ย ย
1.ย ย ย Progressively ย responsible ย professional ย experience ย in ย planning, ย design, development, implementation and maintenance of information technology, in any of the following roles: infrastructure, ย system ย administration, ย network ย administration, ย security ย management ย or ย coding ย and ย agile development; ย
2.ย ย ย At ย least ย five ย (5) ย years ย of ย experience ย of sysadmin, including VM and container management / deployment in Linux and Windows environment, with experience on latest and emerging technologies and trends
3.ย ย ย At ย least ย five ย (5) ย years hands-on experience with managing services from leading cloud providers including install, configure, automate, and monitor various Cloud Services (IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS)
4.ย ย ย At ย least ย five ย (5) ย years hands on experience with DevOps/Automation tools and familiarity with large-scale ICT architectures and automated deployment techniques in virtual environments; Experience in continuous integration and development tools including but not limited to: Jenkins; JIRA; Nexus; GIT-Hub or Bit Bucket; Maven; Gradle; and CI/CD pipelines such as Bitbucket, Jenkins, Artifactory, Ansible, Terraform, and Packer; setting up DevOps infrastructure from scratch
5.ย ย ย Demonstrable experience and knowledge of coding and agile delivery frameworks (e.g. Scrum, TDD/OOP, Ruby on Rails);
6.ย ย ย Demonstrable experience and knowledge experience in SIEM management and planning and deployment of monitoring infrastructure; solid cyber security understanding and monitoring, including but not limited to - Active Directory, Splunk, Nagios, Hardening and penetration test tools
7.ย ย ย At least three (3) years experience in any of the following technologies: ย SharePoint and Sharepoint Online, Power Platform, Ruby on Rails, Postgres and Oracle databases, Linux and Windows OS, Python, Azure Cloud
8.ย ย ย Demonstrated ย ability ย to communicate ย effectively ย in ย a ย diverse ย organization ย tailoring ย language, ย tone, ย style ย and ย format ย to ย match audience.ย
9.ย ย ย At least five (5) years experience of leading technical teams in activities relevant to this position.ย