Job Description
UNDP is the leading United Nations organization in fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, we help nations to build integrated, lasting solutions for people and the planet. UNDP has been working in Afghanistan for more than 50 years on climate change and resilience, gender, governance, health, livelihoods, and rule of law. Under the broader framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and in close coordination with other UN agencies, UNDP is supporting the Afghan people’s aspiration for peace, prosperity, and sustainability. UNDP is currently implementing its flagship crisis response programme, ABADEI (Area Based Approach to Development Emergency Initiatives), as part of the ongoing UN-led response to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe and the breakdown of Afghanistan’s economy following the August 2021 shift in power.
UNDP Afghanistan Operations teams actively supports the delivery of projects throughout the country, providing strategic services across Procurement, Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology, and Administration and Common Services. This includes support to the management of the network of field offices in the regions of the country and therein with extensive support provided by ICT Unit.
The ICT team plays a crucial role in the Country Office (CO) as reliance on digital technology continues to increase in all office operations, projects, and programme delivery. The team drives UNDP’s digital transformation efforts in the CO to better enable, leverage and deploy technology solutions that help the CO implement new ways of doing business to work smarter and more efficiently, and ultimately to improve the way it provides value to UNDP partners, stakeholders, and beneficiaries.
Duties and Responsibilities
Under the overall guidance of the Deputy Resident Representative for Operations, and the direct supervision of the Operations Manager, the ICT Analyst manages ICT services, develops, and implements ICT management systems, provides information management tools and technology infrastructure in the Country Office and the network of field offices in Afghanistan. The ICT Analyst is responsible for review of and advising on the use of new technologies that will enhance the CO productivity. The ICT Analyst promotes a client-oriented approach.
The ICT Analyst heads the ICT Team and supervises the ICT staff, which includes an ICT Helpdesk. The ICT Analyst works in close collaboration with Programme, Operations, and project teams, field offices, UNDP HQ staff, Regional Information Officer (RIO), the Regional Bureau Information Manager (RBIM), and ITM staff to resolve complex ICT- related issues and contribute to CO programme development.
Ensure implementation of ICT strategies as well as introduction and implementation of new technologies for UNDP Afghanistan and network of field offices.
- Ensure full compliance with corporate information management and technology standards, guidelines, and procedures for the CO technology environment. Provide leadership of the ICT team for effective and client-oriented services.
- Analyze the requirement for and elaborate internal policies and procedures on the use of ICT. Initiate CO ICT business process mapping and elaboration/establishment of internal Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in ICT management; and control the workflows in the ICT team. Participate in office business process re-engineering activities and ensure that business needs drive IT solutions related to corporate resource management.
- Conduct market research and analysis and introduce new technology for country office system updating and improvement.
- Provide advice on and assistance in procurement of new ICT equipment for the CO and projects; and provide technical specifications and information on best options in both local and international markets. Review quotations and bids.
- Participate in and provide expert advice and services for the whole duration of ICT procurement/tenders related to software development, hardware. building of data centers, and complex network settings for partners.
- Develop and update the ICT annual work plan; ensure timely reporting on the plan.
- Develop and update the business continuity and disaster recovery plans, and ICT infrastructure and training plans. Follow up on their implementation.
- Provide support to the use of ERP functionality for improved business results and improved client services.
- Develop and implement CO information and documentation management system in accordance with UNDP policy and the country office needs.
- Ensure an effective and efficient ICT Help Desk is operational.
- Ensure participation in the UN ICT Working Group; ensure UNDP contributions to BOS are reflected in a timely manner. In line with UN reform, identify and implement collaborative approaches to realizing resource efficiencies in all operational areas.
- Align ICT solutions for the CO business processes. Propose tools and methods for improving CO’s effectiveness.
- Under supervision of the Operations Manager cooperating with UN agencies, including through the ICT Working Group.
Manage CO hardware and software packages.
- Ensure CO hardware and software platforms meet the UNDP corporate standards and needs of key CO business processes.
- Provide advice on maintenance of equipment and acquisition of hardware supplies.
- Prepare strategy for the upgrades and replacement of the existing office hardware and software infrastructure.
- Supervise the implementation of corporate UNDP systems.
- Supervise replacement of specific hardware components.
- Supervise and advise on procurement or development of specific software systems.
Manage engagement with CO Operations and Programme teams to ensure their automation and digitalization needs are met.
- Supervise development of new software and oversee development of the new software packages (in-house or on the market), as required, for high impact results (e.g. office management system, electronic registry, intranet, etc).
- Supervise development of new automation tools using UNDP corporately developed platforms.
- Develop Terms of Reference (TOR) for software products and provide monitoring and evaluation support to Programme teams during the development life cycle.
- Provide in-house development of tools for programme and operations when needed.
- Identify opportunities and ways of converting business processes into web-based systems to address the issues of efficiency (e.g. office management systems, donor profile software, knowledge management systems).
- Provide technical advice on web applications, development, management, hosting, publication, and maintenance.
Ensure efficient network administration.
- Monitor computing resources to provide a stable and responsive environment.
- Review reports on the network performance and issues and take corrective actions.
- Operate network utility procedures, define network users and security attributes, establish directories, menus and drive-mappings, configure network printers and provide user access.
- Ensure UNDP desktop and network resources are protected from malicious virus attacks and deploy countermeasures in the event of the attacks.
- Monitor cloud-based backup and restoration procedures and compliance for both server and local drives.
- Ensure timely upgrade of LAN infrastructure and Internet connectivity to meet UNDP requirements.
- Provide technical advice on network administration to other agencies as required.
- Regularly review parameters of information for the network clients and electronic mail.
- Trouble-shoot and monitor network problems.
- Prepare cost recovery methodology and calculations in order to provide transparent, timely and precise cost recovery of ICT services. Monitor the preparation of cost recovery bills, and ensure timely reconciliation of UN Agency Portal data.
Ensure facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing in the CO.
- Identify and promote different systems and applications for optimal content management, knowledge management and sharing, and information provision.
- Organize training for the operations/projects staff on ICT issues.
- Synthesize lessons learned and best practices directly linked to ICT management.
- Provide sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice.
The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.
Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: Supervise staff in the ICT unit.
Competencies
Core Competencies:
- Achieve Results: LEVEL 2: Scale up solutions and simplifies processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work
- Think Innovatively: LEVEL 2: Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking
- Learn Continuously: LEVEL 2: Go outside comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning
- Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 2: Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process
- Act with Determination: LEVEL 2: Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously
- Engage and Partner: LEVEL 2: Is facilitator/integrator, bring people together, build/maintain coalitions/partnerships
- Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 2: Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, considers in decision making
People Management Competencies:
- UNDP People Management Competencies can be found on the dedicated site.
Cross-Functional & Technical Competencies:
Business Direction & Strategy – System Thinking
- Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system.
Business Management – Portfolio Management
- Ability to select, prioritize and control the organization as programmes and projects, in line with its strategic objectives and capacity.
- Ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives and the maintenance of business-as-usual, while optimizing return on investment.
Business Management – Working with Evidence and Data
- Ability to inspect, cleanse, transform and model data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions, and supporting decision-making.
Business Management – Digital Awareness and Literacy
- Ability and inclination to rapidly adopt new technologies, either through skillfully grasping their usage or through understanding their impact and empowering others to use them as needed.
Information Management & Technology – IT Customer Support
- Ability to support customers on IT related issues and generate and contribute to continuous improvement processes to deliver a great user experience. Knowledge of ISO 9001 desirable. ITIL certification or similar is desirable.
Information Management & Technology – User Experience and Business Analyst
- Capacity to translate efficiently users’ needs into IT requirements around human-centered design.
Information Management & Technology – Network, Communication and Infrastructure Management
- Ability to develop/integrate/operate/manage IT network, communications, Cloud or on-premise infrastructure, and new technologies like IoT. Cisco CCIE CCNP or similar is desirable
- Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Information Systems, Information Management, Computer Science or Software Development is required.
- Certifications in CCNP, MSCA, MSCE or MCP are an asset.
- A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.
- Minimum of two years (with master’s degree) or four years (with bachelor’s degree) of relevant experience that includes development and implementation of ICT strategies; web design and development of web-based office applications; working with hardware and software platforms, and telecommunications facilities; providing technical support for Cloud ERP environments; and applying advanced knowledge of database applications, web-based and cloud infrastructure management systems.
- Experience working with user-centered designs and conducting user research and testing is required.
- Demonstrated experience in implementation of digital solutions would be an asset.
- Experience working with UNDP, or another UN agency would be an asset.
- Experience in large-scale operations would be an asset.
- Experience in leading a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural team is required, with management and supervision of ICT teams being an advantage.
- Strong interpersonal and written and oral communication skills.
- Fluency in English and local languages of duty station Dari and/or Pashto is required.