ICT Consultant

Background and Justification

The Regional ICT Section is responsible for ICT oversight and innovation functions, and as part of a common services approach, provides support to the UNICEF Kenya Country Office (KCO) and the East and Southern Regional Office (ESARO) in the field of ICT (information and communication technology), including information systems for programmes, internal operations and management.
This position sits within the ESARO Regional ICT Section and reports to the ICT Specialist.

The ESARO ICT Specialist (NOC) has recently accepted an international posting in Angola and will be leaving the ESARO ICT team in August 2015. The departure of the ICT Specialist will significantly impact the ability of the team to deliver on agreed priorities for the year. In order to mitigate this risk, it is envisaged that the incumbent of this NOB ICT Specialist post will temporarily take on the responsibilities of the NOC ICT Specialist for a 6 month period starting July 15 2015. This move will ensure continuity of support to country offices particularly given the increased insecurity and humanitarian activities in the Great Lakes.

In order to provide consistent and continued services to Kenya based users, it is proposed to procure the services of an Individual Consultant to cover the services of the staff member who has been identified to support ESAR country offices.

Scope of Work

Goal and Objective:

Under the supervision of the ICT Specialist, the ICT Consultant is to provide technical, operational and procedural support and end-user services in the implementation, maintenance and improvement of information technology systems, procedures and activities of the office, in accordance with the ICT work plan, consistent with the Country Programme Management Plan. The incumbent will be directly assisting to ensure core and outsourced support services are effectively delivered and all ICT Servers and Local Site Administrator functions are optimally performed and supported by two ICT Assistants.

KEY END-RESULTS

1. Core and outsourced ICT support services are optimally delivered including management of SLAs and accounts;
2. All office Servers including LSA functions for AD / VISION / Approva are performed ensuing confidentiality, integrity and access control;
3. All Virtual Servers hosted are optimally configured, upgraded and managed;
4. Effective customer support and training provided in the areas of ICT;
5. An effective service desk managed with staff and outsourced personnel;
6. All SLAs and contracts are managed for best service delivery;
7. ICT competency gap analyzed and training activities planned for skills development;

1)Provide details/reference to AWP areas covered:This assignment is key to the continued provision of timely and relevant ICT services to Kenya Country office and ESARO as part of the Kenya Common Services Approach

2)Activities and Tasks:

1.Perform Liaison Functions with Outsourcing Partners and Vendors**: Directly liaise and manage outsourced services and including all local and international vendors to ensure all contracted and outsourced services are optimally performed including all SLAs and contracts. Process payments and manage all records.2.Monitor Service Performance** Monitor outsourced services, Virtual Servers, LAN configuration for optimum availability and performance. Review KPIs weekly, monthly and yearly. Conduct customer surveys and supervise the service delivery of the core and outsourced support personnel. Organize regular meetings with accounts managers and key service focal points to ensure services are being delivered as per the agreed SLAs. 3.Effective Customer Support and Training:Ensure effective customer support is provided to all users. Provide orientation and training to all staff in service support in conjunction with core and outsourced service personnel.4.Perform LSA Functions Provide LSA (Local Site Administrator) functions for Active Directory, eSAF, VISION, Video Conference etc. to ensure access control and provide input to overall ICT systems management. 5.Manage ICT Systems as per ICT Security Standards**: Ensure through monitoring the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the ICT systems, LAN and other data security, including user access to computers and telecommunications systems. Monitor and support systems and users.6.ICT competency gap analysis and competency building** Assess the ICT competency requirements and gaps for users. Plan and conduct ICT training programmes based on the gap analysis for all the staff for improving competency with ICT systems and tools. 7.Release Management of UNICEF Systems: Ensure timely release of all ICT hardware and software systems to the users. Liaise with Global Help Desk and other entities, vendors to ensure deadlines are met. Conduct life-cycle analysis and prepare replacement and disposal plans for obsolete ICT equipment.

3)****Work relationships:****ICT colleagues in Kenya including UNICEF Somalia colleagues, Kenya based end users, HQ ICT colleagues

4)Outputs/Deliverables:

Post is mainly office based in Nairobi, but with occasional travel for technical support to sub-offices and/or attending IT meetings/workshops and training within and outside Kenya with potential risks or hazards of the locations as categorized by UNDSS.

The activities described above are carried out each month and there are expected deliverables from each activity area at the end of each month

DeliverablesDuration

(Estimated # of days or months) Timeline/Deadline Schedule of payment Perform Liaison Functions with Outsourcing Partners and Vendors 1 month, 31 August 2015 Update report on the Last working day of each month Monthly Monitor Service Performance with UNON 1 month, 30 September 2015 Update report on the Last working day of each month Monthly Effective Customer Support and Training 1 month, 31 October 2015 Update report on the Last working day of each month Monthly Perform LSA Functions 1 month, 30 November 2015 Update report on the Last working day of each month Monthly Manage ICT Systems as per ICT Security Standards 1 month, 31 December 2015 Update report on the Last working day of each month Monthly ICT competency gap analysis and competency building 1 month, 31 January 2016 Update report on the Last working day of each month Monthly Release Management of UNICEF Systems 1 month, 29 February 2016 Update report on the Last working day of each month Monthly

Payment Schedule

Payment shall be made at the end of each calendar month.

Desired competencies, technical background and experience

· Educational Qualification

Advanced university degree or equivalent background, in computer science, information systems, or other relevant disciplines, with specialized training or appropriate experience in the fields broadly applicable to the job.

· Work Experience

• Professional work experience

Two years of relevant professional work experience in ICT and Telecommunications area. Developing country work experience or field work experience (for NO).

• Background/familiarity with Emergencies.

Knowledge, Functional Skills and Abilities

· Technical Skills: Demonstrated expertise in all aspects of ICT infrastructure delivery and support, with an extensive knowledge of setup / configuration of components of ICT environments including firewalls, LAN/WAN, phone systems, video, server, virtual environments, storage area networks, backup systems, directory services and other infrastructure services.

· At least 3 years hands-on experience managing a large LAN or WAN connectivity. Within this experience at least 2 years of experience with Active Directory and MS-Exchange, anti-spam systems and anti-virus systems. Relevant experience in TCP/IP and Microsoft Network Operating Systems. Experience with VPN technologies and WLAN equipment and protocols. Experience with VoIP and IP telephony. Experience with direct and support contact with users at junior to senior levels required.

· Management and supervisory skills: Ability to manage staff, providing clear direction and motivation, managing their performance appropriately and fairly, and dealing with possible conflicts.

· Customer relationship skills: Ability and aptitude for proactive and sympathetic engagement with UNICEF staff and other customers and providers of UNICEF computing services.

· Project management skills: Demonstrated ability in handling large projects, including project planning, work assignment and supervision as well as progress review and reporting, using a recognized framework.

· Analytical skills: Ability to analyse complex situations, grasp the critical aspects and make firm decisions based on sound judgment.

Desired Skills:

Ability to:

· Manage and coordinate projects effectively and respect deadlines

· Interact easily, diplomatically and courteously with internal or external counterparts and colleagues at all hierarchical levels

· Research and extract relevant information from multiple sources

· Take initiatives and suggest creative ways of addressing challenges

· Conceptualize quickly high level technological concepts and their application

· Understanding constraints of working with various partners, but also the strengths of representing an international organization

Competencies of Successful Candidate:

· Communicates effectively to varied audiences.

· Sets high standards for quality and aims to achieve project goals.

· Able to work effectively in a multi-cultural environment.

· Demonstrate initiative, shares technical knowledge and expertise.

· Adjusts to team’s approach and embraces changing circumstances.

Administrative issues

Post is mainly office based in Nairobi, but with occasional travel for technical support to sub-offices.

The Supervisor will provide sufficient information, reading material and direction to initiate activities in a guided manner. Work done will be reviewed periodically at agreed upon stages and regular re-alignment, guidance and support will be provided.

The specific nature of tasks to be accomplished will be explained and discussed prior to commencement of duty. Further guidance and support will be provided through regular meetings and sharing of information related to major duties and responsibilities.

The candidate selected will be governed by and subject to UNICEF’s General Terms and Conditions for internships.

Conditions

· Office space and portable computer equipment for the duration of the internship. Access to a fixed telephone line with long distance privileges.

· Authorized access to UNICEF systems and issuance of a UNICEF email address.

· Authorized Badge access to the UNICEF and UNON premises.

As per UNICEF DFAM policy, payment is made against approved deliverables. No advance payment is allowed unless in exceptional circumstances against bank guarantee, subject to amaximum of 30 per cent of the total contract value in cases where advance purchases, for example for supplies or travel, may be necessary”.

The candidate selected will be governed by and subject to UNICEF’s General Terms and Conditions for individual contracts.

HOW TO APPLY:

Interested and suitable candidates should ensure that they forward their applications (a cover letter, CV, and signed P11 form which can be downloaded at http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/P11.doc ), quoting the indicative fee range with reference:ESARO/SSA/ICT/2015-017by cob 06 June 2015 to:

The Human Resources Manager

UNICEF Kenya Country Office

Email address:****kenhrvacanciesE@unicef.org

Applications submitted without a fee/ rate will not be considered. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.