Senior Officer - Network Infrastructure and Security at World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)

Duties and responsibilities

Network Infrastructure Support:

• Participate in the design, configuration, installation, testing, and management of network hardware (switches, routers, wireless access points, firewalls) and software.
• Participate in Planning, deployment, and maintenance of a scalable and secure network infrastructure.
• Manage and support PBX, video conferencing, and collaboration tools.

Network Monitoring & Performance Optimization:

• Continuously monitor network health.
• Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks to ensure seamless connectivity.
• Assist in the design and implementation of traffic management and Quality of Service (QoS) policies
• Monitor network performance, availability, and security.

Security Operations:

• Review security logs, perform basic vulnerability assessments, implement security policies, and contributing to incident response activities.
• Help enforce network and security policies and best practices across the organization.
• Perform security updates and patches.

Documentation and Training

• Maintain accurate and up-to-date documentation, including network diagrams, inventory lists, and configuration details.
• Log all support activities and resolutions in the ticketing system.
• Contribute to the development of IT knowledge base, technical guidelines, standard operating procedures, and policies.
• Building capacity within the unit and in countries

Collaboration

• Work closely with ICT team members, departments, and external service providers and vendors to ensure efficient operation and resolution of issues.
• Collaborate with the regional offices teams to provide network infrastructure support and resolution of issues.

Troubleshooting & Support

• Provide timely technical support for network and security-related issues reported by end-users or identified through monitoring (e.g., connectivity problems, VPN issues, slow performance, firewall access requests).
• Investigate and resolve network incidents, ensuring rapid restoration of services.

Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery

• Assist in scheduling and managing network routine Preventive Maintenance tasks as per laid down standards.
• Assist in disaster recovery planning and rapid response to network outages.
• Ensure redundancy in infrastructure, including backup links, failover mechanisms.
• Conduct regular backup testing and infrastructure resilience assessments.

Infrastructure and security Projects

• Participate in the delivery of infrastructure-related projects per role assigned
• Work with cross-functional teams to implement network-related projects
• Participate in the supervision of projects and documentation.

Country Offices Support

• Support the establishment, monitoring, maintenance, and support of the country offices' network infrastructure and security.
• Beyond Network Infrastructure and security, extend general ICT and user support as well as training to country offices users whenever they visit the country offices.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Technology, Computer Technology, or a closely related field, combined with 5–6 years of progressively responsible experience in ICT user support, network infrastructure management, and cybersecurity operations.
• Training in IT Service Management, Network infrastructure, and cybersecurity. Desirable areas include: ITIL and CCNA/JNCIA/HCNA/CyberSecurity
• Proven hands-on networking experience
• Network Infrastructure: Strong understanding of network architecture, routing, switching, firewalls, and VPN technologies. In-depth knowledge of dynamic and static routing protocols, QoS strategies. Knowledge of Datacenter architecture is an added advantage.
• Knowledge of network services and protocols including DNS, DHCP,NAT, SNMP, TCP/IP
• Cybersecurity: Proficiency in security frameworks, threat mitigation, intrusion detection, and risk management.
• Monitoring & Incident Response: Experience in real-time network monitoring, performance analysis, and handling security incidents.
• Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery: Knowledge of redundancy planning, failover solutions, and recovery strategies.
• Systems Administration: Familiarity with operating systems (Windows, Linux), cloud platforms, and virtualization technologies.
• Experience in building and documenting Processes and Procedures.