ICT Business Solutions Specialist

BACKGROUND

The Joint Operations for UNDP Country Office (CO) and Regional Service Centre for Africa (RSCA) in Ethiopia is undergoing a re-configuration with an aim to remain ‘fit-for-purpose’ as a key and trusted service provider of the growing CO Programme, the RSCA, the implementing partners, as well as UN agency clients in an increasingly complex operating context, and to substantially raise performance in terms of the service quality, client satisfaction, and business growth, gearing at the achievement of ISO9000 certification for service quality.

To this end, UNDP Ethiopia is undertaking a digital business transformation to upscale country office operations capacity by digitizing its business processes, introducing a user-centric application, and exploring the utilization of advanced technologies to support UNDP Ethiopia programmes and operations.

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Deputy Resident Representative Operations, the ICT Business Solutions Specialist performs the role of Head of the ICT Unit and manages the implementation of Country Office Digital Transformation. H/she oversees the ICT services and resources, the development and implementation of ICT management systems, provides information management tools and ensures the technology infrastructure runs smoothly. The ICT Business Solutions Specialist is responsible for reviewing and advising on the use of new technologies that improve office productivity. S/he promotes a client-oriented approach.

Position Purpose

The ICT Business Solutions Specialist is responsible for the design and implementation of activities related to the development of digital solutions including the integration and maintenance of CO Intranet, CRM, Business Intelligence platform, other O365 applications, and other business platforms supporting CO core functions and processes. The incumbent will work in close collaboration with the CO management, other operations units, projects and programme teams in the CO and Regional Services Centre for Africa, UNDP HQs staff, UN agencies and partners to successfully implement transformational technology solutions and introduce new capabilities to achieve higher efficiencies and more effectiveness in delivering the services to internal clients, partners, agencies and the UN System in Ethiopia, through automating all paper-based/email-based business procedures with optimized processes, establishing cloud-based central archiving repositories, and ensuring the security and business continuity of all locally managed business solutions and platforms.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Implementing ICT strategies and introducing new technologies, focusing on achieving the following results:

Effective application of the management of business information and standards, guidelines, and procedures for the local environment.
Development of internal policies and procedures on the use of ICT/Digital infrastructure and solutions.
Mapping business processes, developing/implementing standard operating procedures (Standard Operating Procedures SOPs) on ICT/Digital matters and monitoring work processes in the ICT team.
Introducing innovative and efficient ICT/Digital solutions.
Participation in the office's business re-engineering processes by ensuring that ICT/Digital needs are in line with the management of business resources.
Assessing Technological Options to modernize the Country Office and Regional Service Center Information System.
Assessing the ICT ecosystem of the Country Offices of the RBA region and recommend solutions and best practices.
Support/Advise in the purchase of new equipment for offices and projects, provision of technical specifications on the best options in local and international markets.
Development and updating of an annual workplan, training plan, procurement plan and ICT/Digital roadmap.
Development and update of a business continuity plan, disaster recovery plan for ICT infrastructure and Monitoring their implementation.
Leadership of the ICT/Digital activities for RBA region in achieving key client-oriented outcomes.
Compliance of ICT/Digital Systems with UNDP rules, regulations and policies, implementation of corporate ICT/Digital strategies, establishment of targets and monitoring achievement of results.
Provision of advice on strategies, policies and plans affecting the ICT/Digital ecosystem, delivery of practice advisory, knowledge and learning services.
Establishment of collaborative arrangements with potential partners, a Client Relationship Management System for quality service delivery and appropriate partnership arrangements.
Constant monitoring and analysis of the ICT/Digital ecosystem, quick readjustment during crisis, advise on legal considerations and risk assessment.
Knowledge building and sharing with regards to ICT/Digital matters aligned with the operation in the CO of the RBA region and RSCA, organization of the ICT staff trainings, synthesis of lessons learnt/best practices

Conduct business analysis, design and implementation:

Interact with Operations team and end users within CO and RSCA to understand business needs
Conduct business analysis, process mapping, root-cause analysis and requirements elicitation;
Engage in conceptualization of new products and solutions, using innovation, design thinking and prototyping
Based on the analysis of business requirements, draft the technical design of business solutions; Document technical specifications;
Instruct external technology partners and contractors in the implementation of the agreed specifications;
Implement core modules within the current technology stack of UNDP (SharePoint and O365 Suite) and integrated with UNDP Corporate PeopleSoft ERP System (ATLAS), Salesforce, ServiceNow , and Oracle ERP
Manage small to medium scale projects, ensuring projects are clearly defined and ensuring timely progress in projects.
Maintains effective communications with stakeholders

Business Solutions development and maintenance

Develop and maintain CO corporate business applications;
Develop and maintain end to end Business Intelligence (ETL, Data Modelling, Report and dashboard design, predictive analysis, AI, big data)
Perform impact analysis and change control and manages implementation of the changes, in liaison with internal and external stakeholders;
Develop and maintain interface modules between different CO business applications management information database;
Design and maintain interface modules between different CO business applications and UNDP Corporate ERP system;
Provide support in design and development of Information Management platform including tools and systems, resources, and training, GIS, infographic and spatial analysis.
Design CO MIS information system model (Database structure and information flow); and MIS hardware network or cloud infrastructure
Coordinate with local and regional technology partners and contractors about the requirements to the system changes/ development, discussing technical issues and getting the solution as per agreed contracts.
Organize and perform unit, regression and integrated testing, designing and utilizing test bases; assists users in acceptance testing;
Ensure optimum technical performance of CO Business Solutions, upgrade or enhance existing functionalities, troubleshoot and provide continuing user support, including resolving problems (Tier III applications support).
Implement optimum agile release management process

Development of information management systems with a focus on:

Advice on development and implementation of Local Information and Documentation Management System of the Country Office and the Regional Service Center, in line with UNDP policies and procedures, and specific needs of the offices.
Identifying opportunities and coordinating conversion of business processes into automated systems (e.g. desktop management systems, donor profile tracking software, knowledge management systems, etc.).
Support/advice on local web application management at country offices, regional service center or other on-demand organizations.

Oversees the management of the local infrastructure of ICT, focusing on achieving the following results:

Maintain a secure, reliable infrastructure environment for ICT and adequately plans for disasters and recoveries
Ensure hardware and software platform compliance with UNDP corporate ICT/Digital policies and strategies.
Ensure local network infrastructure complies with UNDP standards and adequate technological environment for achieving local objectives. This includes Internet connectivity, local network, backups.
Advise on equipment maintenance and equipment acquisition.
Oversight of the implementation of UNDP's standard systems.
Advise and oversight development of new software solutions to achieve high-impact results in the CO and RSCA business processes.

Develops and implements UNDP standards, focusing on achieving the following results:

Contribution to discussions on policies and initiatives in the area of ICT/Digital infrastructure and solutions management.
Assistance on setting standards for network configurations and topology, centralized services, servers, connectivity, and office equipment; the implementation of optimized solutions and digital solutions implementation.
Development/consolidation of best practice models for UNDP's ICT community network.
Support/advise in the analysis of business needs, planning, design and implementation of ICT/Digital projects with a focus on connectivity (increased bandwidth performance), cloud computing and unified communication management.
Ensure compliance with ICT standards and standards in country offices, including hardware, software, connectivity solutions, operations and policies, by providing action plans.
Management of cost-recovery system for the services provided by the ICT Team to projects, other UN Agencies and institutions. Managing cost-recovery of the HQ Managed ICT Services.
Developing Documents, such as, Manuals, ToRs, ICT equipment specifications, SOPs, SoWs and related technical documents.
Participate in evaluation of technical proposals and ICT officer recruitment for country offices of the RBA region and RSCA.

COMPETENCIES

Core Competencies:

Achieve Results: Level 3 :Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact
Think Innovatively: Level 3 : Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems
Learn Continuously: Level 3 : Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands
Adapt with Agility: Level 3 : Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process
Act with Determination: Level 3 :Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results
Engage and Partner: Level 3 :Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration
Enable Diversity and Inclusion: Level 3 : Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity

Functional & Technical competencies:

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 Service Delivery & Operations: Ability to deliver the IT products and services to customers at the right level of Quality and Costs, taking into account user experience. ISO 20000 knowledge. ITIL certification or similar desirable
Business Development - Integration within the UN: Ability to identity, and integrate capacity and assets of the UN system, and engage in joint work; knowledge of the UN System and ability to apply this knowledge to strategic and/or practical situations
Information Management & Technology - Applications Management : Ability to set-up, develop, support, and maintain applications. Expertise in Oracle Cloud, ServiceNow, SalesForce.com and Microsoft technology and assets.
Information Management & Technology - IT Project Management: Capacity to manage ICT projects, using IT methodologies and approaches such as agile deployment and/or waterfall system development methods. PMP and PRINCE2 certification or equivalent desirable.
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

REQUIREMENTS:

Education

Master's degree or equivalent in Computer Science or Information Systems, Mathematics, or related area;
Additional certification related to Information and Communication Technology/ Project Management is desirable. Additional certifications in SharePoint, CRM, Database/SQL, PowerApps, Power Automate, and PowerBI are desirable

Experience

5 years of relevant experience in developing Business Solutions and Applications and software development projects, with the ability to manage technical projects involving internal and external (outsourced) teams.
5 years of experience developing applications using O365 tools including SharePoint, PowerApp , Power Automate flows and Power BI
Experience of leading process mapping sessions and ability to produce standard process maps using MS Visio
Experience in data modeling with ability to anticipate current and future needs and requirements to ensure scalability while insuring smooth user experience
Information / Knowledge management skills
Additional experience in the following areas is desirable:
Managing the full software development life cycle (SDLC) using agile methodologies.
Knowledge about the latest mobile technologies
Knowledge about MS Azure services
Knowledge and experience in ArcGIS and infographics
Microsoft O365 applications suite
Knowledge about Oracle ERP, Salesforce, and ServiceNow CRM

Language Requirements

Proficiency in both English and Amharic