Chief Information Technology Service, Nairobi

Chief Information Technology Service, Nairobi
Closing Date: Friday, 22 October 2010

Job Title
CHIEF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICE, P5

Department/ Office
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICE
Duty Station
NAIROBI
Posting Period
23 August 2010-22 October 2010

Job Opening number
10-IST-unon ad icts-16314-R-NAIROBI

United Nations Core Values: Integrity, Professionalism, Respect for Diversity

Organizational Setting and Reporting
The United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) is the UN headquarters in Africa and the representative office of the Secretary-General. We support programme implementation of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) globally, as well as other UN offices in Kenya, by providing administrative, conference and information services (www.unon.org). The post is located in the Information and Communications Technology Service (ICTS) at UNON.

Responsibilities
Under the supervision of the Chief, Division of Administrative Services, UNON, the Chief, Information and Communications Technology Service (ICTS) is responsible for the management and administration of Local Area Network (LAN) and Wide Area Network (WAN) including internet services at the United Nations Complex at Gigiri, providing core electronic support services to users including office automation, telecommunications and end-user support for software applications, hardware maintenance and configuration and support for the Integrated Management Information System (IMIS). ICTS is composed of the Office of the Chief, with four sections - Infrastructure Management and Telecommunications; Client Services; Integrated Management Information Systems and Applications Development and Knowledge Management with a complement of 51 staff (12 professionals and 39 general service staff) funded from both regular and extra-budgetary resources. Specifically, the post holder (a) plans and directs the implementation, development and operation of the common IT infrastructure at the UN complex at Gigiri; (b) oversees design and implementation of major systems initiatives, managing multiple, concur
rent and often disparate tasks for projects that often involve innovative applications, dissimilar systems as well as databases and highly complex system integration and linkages (c) leads and directs the ICTS staff, plans and allocates work assignments, coaching, mentoring and evaluating staff, participating in recruitment and selection of new staff and in the development of training programmes; (d) advises management and departments of UN organisations in Nairobi - including acting as focal point and advisor to UNON management on all IT matters - on the effective and strategic use of IT in a changing business environment; develops and disseminates best practices; (e) assists in budget formulation and expenditure control, policy co-ordination, costs analysis and billing; (f) develops standards for the Service in hardware and software, e-Mail, groupware, workflows, methodologies, consulting for IT departmental projects (review of Requests for Proposals (RFPs), Due Diligence Visits, risks assessment, etc), applications support, and special projects.

CompetenciesProfessionalism: Honour commitments and take ownership of responsibilities; deliver outputs within prescribed time, operate in compliance with UN Rules and Regulations. Planning and Organizing: Ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor own work plan and those under his/her supervision; develop clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identify priority activities and assignments; monitor and adjust plans when necessary. Teamwork: Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues, advisers and IT service providers, to achieve organizational goals and solicit input by genuinely valuing others' ideas and expertise; place team agenda before personal agenda; support and act in accordance with final group decision. Client Orientation: Ability to identify client's needs and match them to appropriate solutions as well as establish and maintain productive relationships and partnerships with clients. Leadership: Strong managerial/leadership skills and proven ability to manage a multi-cultural team of internationally and locally recruited staff members. Solid grasp of consultative process and delegation of responsibilities. Sound judgment and excellent decision making skills. Judgment/Decision Making: Ability to identify the key issues in a complex situation, sometimes with limited or imperfect data, and come to heart of the problem quickly; gather relevant information before making a decision; take a decision with a consideration on the impact on others in the organization; check assumptions against facts, make tough decisions when necessary.

Education
Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in information technology , computer science or relevant disciplines. A first university degree may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work ExperienceA minimum of 10 years experience is required, including six years of international and supervisory experience in Information Technology, System Analysis, Information Systems Design and Development, formulating strategic plans design and architectures for addressing business problems and managing implementation of solutions. Experience in leading a development team to problem solution as an advantage. Extensive knowledge in Relational skills, Client Server Programming, and hands-on experience with interactive systems are required. Experience with both large scale general purpose and smaller dedicated systems covering various fields of application and database management is also required. Thorough knowledge is as well required in Windows based technologies Notes/Domino, SYBASE, UNIX, Solaris and Linux. Additional certification in Database design and Administration, Microsoft Products, Lotus Notes, HP-UX, Perl/UNIX shell scripts, e-commerce, UNIX centric LAN, WAN, Satellite communications, Broadband, IMIS maintenance, technical support and administration is required.

Languages
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of a second official UN language is an advantage.

United Nations Considerations
The United Nations shall place no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. (Charter of the United Nations - Chapter 3, article 8). The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.

Special Notice
Staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures.

No Fee
THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, TRAINING OR ANY OTHER FEES). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON BANK ACCOUNTS.