Assistant Manager, Application Developer at Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA)

Department:     Corporate Support Services

Division:          Information and Communication Technology

Location /Work Station:          Nairobi, Times Tower

Job Summary 

The job holder is responsible for;

• Co-ordination and supervision of systems development teams
• Providing continual improvements to existing DTD business systems and supporting systems by ensuring that solutions designed to address business needs meet the required quality standards.
• Development or enhancements of new systems as per the Requests for Change(RFC’s) and in line with procedures and standards

Key Responsibilities  

• Leads development team in hand-on application development work
• Reviews application development tasks allocated to staff to ensure that they are accomplished within the set requirements and that they meet highest standards of quality.
• Monitors development of applications assigned to the section to ensure that they are delivered within the set timelines and that they conform to the approved designs
• Ensures that solutions which have been build and are ready for release   have the requisite documentation (User manuals, technical manuals, deployment plans, roll back plans) before they are packaged for submission.
• Reviews Change requests for completeness/clarity and liaises with stakeholders to address identified inadequacies
• Reviews Development and Maintenance procedure manuals to guarantee continued relevance and forwards to the Manager for approval
• Plans for system demonstrations (demos) for new solutions/enhancements developed, by coordinating with the relevant sections
• Reviews Quality Assurance(QA) test results, and ensure issues arising from QA are addressed by the developer
• Reviews unit and modular based test results and maintains the documentation
• Reviews Application development coding standards and seeks the requisite approvals
• Forms and coordinates the peer review teams within the unit and maintains review report
• Prepares and submits reports as required including providing stakeholders with regular progress/ status reports
• Monitors performance of business systems architecture components, evaluates their effectiveness and advises the manager on areas requiring review/improvement
• Reviews business automation work plans and associated activity schedules
• Develops the unit’s Annual Work Plan and draft budget and coordinates their implementation;
• Prepares monthly, quarterly, annual and ad hoc reports for the unit;
• Develops, mentors and coaches staff in the unit;
• Conducts performance management in the unit;
• Coordinates implementation of the work plans for the following corporate initiatives in the unit: Audit, Integrity, QMS and Risk Management.
• Ensure conformity to ISO (9001/2015 and 27001/2013) and data security requirements.

Academic and  Professional Qualifications   

Academic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Management Information Systems, Information Technology, Electrical / Electronic Engineering, Telecommunications or any other IT related field.
• Master’s Degree in the relevant field is an added advantage.

Required Certifications/Trainings

• Professional Certification or Training in any one of the following areas is required:
• Systems Development i.e. Java Programming, Web Design and Development, Oracle Developer etc.
• Business Systems Analysis i.e. CBAP Certification / Training
• Systems Modelling and Design Techniques
• Process Modelling and Design Techniques

Desired Certifications

Certification or training in any of the following areas will be an added advantage:

• Training in middle level management / Supervisory Skills courses.
• IT Governance i.e. ITIL or COBIT 4/5
• Project Management i.e. PMP or Prince 2
• Training or Certification in Database Administration i.e. Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL or Microsoft SQL Server.
• Training in operating systems i.e. Windows, Linux or Unix.

Technical Skills Required:     

The Job holder must have:

• Proven skills in database management tools
• Proficiency in Java programming language and PL/SQL
• Expert knowledge of scripting languages (PHP, ASP, CSS, JAVASCRIPT, etc.)
• Working knowledge of structured programming and database design concepts
• Expert knowledge of web based technologies (HTML, XML, XHTML, DHTML, SOAP, JSON, etc.)
• Working knowledge of internet and messaging protocols i.e. HTTP, FTP, SOAP and REST
• Working knowledge of web development tools (Dreamweaver, Microsoft.NET, Drupal, Joomla, etc.)
• Working knowledge of Linux/Unix and Windows operating system platforms
• Working experience with relational databases (Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server)
• Knowledge of system design and modelling techniques
• Working knowledge of systems design and modelling tools (Enterprise Architect, TraceCloud, etc.)
• Basic knowledge of the following tools: process modelling (MS Visio, etc.), Project Management i.e. MS Project and Presentation i.e. MS PowerPoint

Relevant Work Experience Required

• Proven experience in design, development and implementation of enterprise business systems. Experience in design and development of systems for tax administration will be an added advantage.
• Proven experience in integration of business systems in a similar large organization.
• At least four (4) years’ demonstrable post qualification experience, of which one (1) should be at Supervisory level or equivalent in developing and leading a team in development of large enterprise applications.

Competencies

The Job holder must:

• Have good understanding of the KRA’s goals and objectives.
• Be resilient, focused, results oriented and a team player.
• Have strong analytical, diagnostic, decision making and problem solving skills.
• Have strong abilities to conduct research-affecting business and propose suitable solutions/products.
• Have ability to pay attention to details and work under minimum supervision and for long hours within constraints.
• Have strong interpersonal, written and oral communication skills.
• Have good negotiation skills.
• Be able to build and maintain strong relationships with contracted parties, third party organizations, users and staff.
• Have Change management skills.
• Ability to interact confidently with users to establish what the problem is and explain the solution
• Ability to prioritize competing work commitments and deliver on time
• Passion for innovation and creativity
• High levels of integrity
• Ability to work under minimum supervision