IT Operations Officer at United Nations

This position is open to qualified Kenyan candidates only. Female candidates in particular, are encouraged to apply.

Duties for the Operations Officer Job

• Participate in the development of plans, budgets and policies, and lead the deployment of Information Technology/Telecommunications (IT/TC) systems, in accordance with WFP corporate standards;
• Develop and maintain IT/TC systems and networks, ensuring appropriate data security and access controls have been put in place;
• Implement and test new hardware for improving and upgrading system performance; install any technology upgrades as required;
• Develop technical specifications, tender documents, and manage contracts with service providers. Facilitate procurement of IT/TC equipment and services at minimum cost, in line with WFP rules and regulations;
• Coordinate and prepare reports on IT/TC activities, investments and costs, identifying trends/issues and proposing solutions to increase cost-efficiency;
• Maintain technical expertise and knowledge of industry developments, and develop skills within specific areas of competence.
• Provide advice to managers and users to resolve complex issues, understanding their needs and ensuring IT policies, procedures, systems and tools are correctly applied to support them.
• Lead and motivate the ICT team, monitoring performance, providing coaching, training and guidance to ensure appropriate development and enable high performance.
• Build capability of staff, collaborating with colleagues in the IT division to design and deliver corporate training policies and programmes aimed at developing skills/knowledge in IT/TC;
• Coordinate with other UN agencies in order to align activities and maximise possibilities of inter-agency collaboration in the field of ICT (ICT Working Group and Emergency Telecoms Cluster).
• Maintain effective partnerships with colleagues and external partners, to foster information exchange and support to meet service requirements.
• Contribute to emergency preparedness and contingency planning, providing technical recommendations and monitoring the management of risks, to ensure basic IT services are maintained, and quickly respond and deploy resources to affected areas at the onset of a crisis;
• Prepare operational plans and manage resource requirements at the onset of an emergency;
• Perform other related duties as required.

Operations Officer Job Qualifications

• Advanced university degree in Computer Science or other relevant field, or First University degree with additional years of related work experience or trainings/courses.
• Atleast three or more years of postgraduate professional experience in the development of IT governance strategies, policies and system architecture. Experience in acting in an IT advisory capacity to Country/Sub Office leadership, coordinating and managing small or medium size projects, assisting in change management procedures, activities and processes, and successful installation or testing of new hardware for improving or upgrading ICT systems performance. Candidates should have ground-level experience implementing IT/TC systems in emergencies, proven experience analyzing ICT service management results and developing service enhancement recommendations and has participated in the negotiation, evaluation and management of IT contracts with service providers at HQ and field office.
• Language: Fluency in both oral and written communication in English is a requirement.
• IT industry skills such in CCNA, ITIL, COBIT, Project Management and Information Security is desirable.
• In depth knowledge of WFP corporate policies and guidelines in the related field would be an added advantage.