Open-Source Consultant Roster

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), together with other UN partners are collaborating to advance the maturity of the adoption of Digital Public Goods (DPGs) and Open-Source for digital government services and to enable global, regional and national Open-Source ecosystems through:

1. The development of Open-Source Ecosystem Enablement Framework to guide work that promotes structural changes to accelerate the adoption of Open-Source software and data.
2. Pilot initiatives using the Framework in selected countries to establish Open-Source Technical capabilities to act as focal points to strengthen local Open-Source ecosystem.
3. Share knowledge globally and build skills to replicate models of successful Open-Source ecosystem development through producing relevant knowledge products, trainings, and developing communities of practice which can be further be adopted by governments at different levels.

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Under the direction of the Head of the Digital Services Division, BDT, the consultant will:

• Provide technical expertise to support the “Open-Source Ecosystem Enablement for Public Services Innovation” project in close collaboration with the project main partners, Advisory Board, Steering Committee, and other technical experts to develop an “Open-Source Ecosystem Enablement Framework” and to implement it in at least one country.
• Identify and reach out to relevant stakeholders to include them in project activities.
• Conduct research, interviews with experts and provide technical expertise in one or more of the competency areas listed below.
• Develop written recommendations for one or more of the required competency areas supported by evidence and existing country examples.
• Provide capacity building and orientation to relevant stakeholders on developed recommendations and gather their feedback and lessons learned.
• Support project implementation and the achievement of defined goals, deliverables, KPIs and timelines, focusing on priority activities.
• Prepare progress reports for related activities.
• Engage in country implementation by preparing and delivering needed presentations and documents, work with government officials and experts to conduct necessary assessments, studies and to prepare proposals and agreements as needed.
• Coordinate with stakeholders and engage external partners such as UN Agencies, Donors, Governments and private sector.
• Carry out research and provide feedback on country studies and coordinate with other international and local experts involved.
• Represent the project in global/regional/national events to promote and share progress and deliverables with interested parties and stakeholders.

CONCRETE DELIVERABLES

• Recommendations and best practices related to the use and adoption of Open-Source for Public Services in one or more of the related competency areas.
• Events, presentations, workshops delivered to disseminate the outcomes of research and studies implemented.
• Specific country studies, if applicable, in relation to Open-Source adoption and ecosystem readiness.

COMPETENCIES

Strong understanding of how to adopt Open-Source to implement digital public services particularly in resource-constrained environment. Proven ability to assess capacity building interventions and recommend appropriate activities to develop skills and promote organizational learning and change.

Knowledge in at least ONE of the following subjects is highly desirable:

• Enabling Policies for Open-Source Software (OSS) and Digital Public Goods (DPG), Platform and Whole-of-government approaches adoption.
• Existing DPG for public services and available support structures.
• Institutional frameworks to enable DPG adoption for public services.
• Building secure, interoperable, standards-based digital public infrastructure DPI and whole-of-government government Tech Stack based on re-usable OSS/DPG components/Building Blocks.
• Change management and internal cultural shift.
• OSS project management, DevOps, OSS repository and community management.
• Economic and technical benefits of use of OSS/DPG for public services.
• Capacity building framework for OSS development.
• Licensing options and legal considerations.

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED

Education: University degree in engineering, economics, law, education, management, telecommunications/ICTs or related field. An advanced degree would be an asset.

Experience:

• At least three (3) years of experience in using Open-Source for digital government services in one or more of the expertise domains listed above.
• Comprehensive background and understanding in subjects related to Open-Source, digital governance, and enterprise architecture.
• Experience working at international level advising governments and/or international organizations on Digital government and Digital Transformation matters would be an advantage.
• Experience in drafting and formulating functional requirements and technical guidance for digital government services leveraging Open-Source and best practices and state of the art technologies from different countries that could be implemented also in resource-constrained environment would be an advantage. Expert experience in legal, policy and governance issues pertaining to the development and adoption of Open-Source and how those could be implemented at country level would be an advantage.
• Demonstrated experience and strong understanding of and engagement with Open-Source Software Development would be an advantage.
• Experience in coordinating work of technical expert groups with strong management experience would be an advantage.
• Expert experience in and knowledge of applicable standards and how they can be applied for the designated area of work to ensure interoperability and security by design would be an advantage.

Languages: Knowledge of English at advanced level.

REMUNERATION INFORMATION

Daily rates salary to be defined according to the work experience of the consultant in the field of expertise:
3 to 4 years of experience: US$ 185 / 5 to 6 years of experience: US$ 230 / 7 to 9 years of experience: US$ 280.