Chief, Infrastructure Management Section - P-4 at United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON)

Position Overview:

• This role is situated within the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON), specifically in the Division of Administrative Services (DAS), under the Information and Communication Technology Service (ICTS), in the Infrastructure Management Section (IMS). The successful candidate will directly report to the Chief of Infrastructure and Conference Support, who serves as the Deputy Chief of ICT Services.
• Tasked with both strategic and operational leadership, the Chief of the Infrastructure Management Section will oversee the planning, management, and execution of infrastructure services tailored to the needs of UNON's diverse clientele, including UN agencies, governmental bodies, and various other partners. The Chief is endowed with delegated authority to ensure the delivery of these critical functions.

Your Role Will Include (not limited to):

• Manage the operation and maintenance of large-scale and complex ICT Infrastructure to achieve high reliability and continuous availability services for clients accessing cloud-based services, and local systems in a secured environment, including infrastructure hosting services for UN collocated Agencies Funds and Programmes.
• Plan and direct major projects related to ICT infrastructure including the consolidation of dispersed data centres into a Primary Technology Centre (PTC) and a Secondary Technology Centre (STC), ensure the successful operation of voice and video communications infrastructure, Wi-Fi, 5G mobile technology and Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery.
• Provide expert advice on complex networks analysis and design; identify the need for new solutions (or modifications to existing solutions) and respond to requests from users for new or enhanced services, including virtualization; develop plans for technological feasibility. Innovate towards Green ICT initiatives & disability inclusion solutions.
• Formulate Request for Proposals (RFPs) for central infrastructure equipment (network, telecommunications, servers, and data storage), systems and services; provide technical specifications and standards for the procurement of equipment and services; evaluate proposals from vendors; perform tests and recommend selection of equipment and services in the most expedient manner.
• Develop costing proposals for outgoing services and cost estimates for incoming services; oversee the technical evaluation of incoming proposals and technically manage contractual service.
• Develop infrastructure solutions for clients of the Kenya Common Back Office (CBO).
• Track and monitor project progress against plans, implement quality assurance measures, and standard processes; liaise with users on all aspects of project services during all phases of planning and implementation.
• Remain actively involved in service reviews and monitoring, to improve infrastructure security; undertake regular programmes of self-audit and baselining by utilizing appropriate tools and support formal audits conducted by both Internal and External Auditors.
• Act as a Change Manager for all request for change related to ICT services, and coordinate the implementation of changes.
• Ensure that the team maintains a Configuration Management Database for all component items related to UNON Infrastructure, and the Network Operating Centre is fully functional to monitor key infrastructure components and make sure that critical alerts are addressed immediately.
• Develop, implement and monitor ICT infrastructure standards and guidelines, and ensure that any changes take place in a controlled and auditable manner; contribute to defining ICT policy and follow up with its implementation.
• Lead ongoing efforts to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of UN ICT infrastructure supporting ICT hosting and data centers, including by examining the current hosting landscape, assessing business continuity and disaster recovery requirements, available capacities and technologies, and by formulating an optimized adaptive hosting strategy aligned with emerging AI capabilities.
• Provide professional leadership and direction to the Unit; mentor and supervise the work of the staff and other personnel; participate in planning and preparation of the budget, work programme and spending plan.
• Prepare and make presentations on communications topics, networks, and equipment to staff; ensure effective coordination with other UN agencies in order to maximize possibilities of inter-agency collaboration.
• Collect and analyze data to identify trends or patterns and provide insights through graphs, charts, tables and reports using data visualization methods to enable data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation and reporting.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Do You Fulfill the Fundamental Requirements?

Education:

• Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in computer science, information systems, telecommunication, or other related fields is required. A first level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• Successful completion of both degree and non-degree programs in data analytics, business analytics or data science programs is desirable.

Work Experience:

• A minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible work experience in planning, design, development, implementation and maintenance of large-scale network and data centers technologies are required.
• Experience in implementing and managing enterprise ICT networks with multi-tenancy is required.
• Experience in Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Virtual Machine Ware (VMWare) is required.
• Experience in implementing of Unified Communications solutions, business continuity management, Office 365, and project management is desirable.
• Experience in the operations of large-medium video conferencing, voice, and data communications technology aligned with emerging AI capabilities is desirable.
• Two (2) years or more of experience in data analytics or related area is desirable.

Languages:

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is desirable.