Senior ICT Specialist (Infrastructure and IT Operations) – Rome, Italy

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency dedicated to eradicating rural poverty and hunger. It does so by investing in rural people. IFAD finances programmes and projects that increase agricultural productivity and raise rural incomes, and advocates at the local, national and international level for policies that contribute to rural transformation. 

The Corporate Services Department (CSD), led by the Associate Vice-President, CSD, provides IFAD with the human resources, administrative services, safety and security, information technology resources  and medical support services required to allow IFAD to meet its objectives of enabling rural people overcome poverty. The work of the CSD is undertaken by three divisions (i) Human Resources Division (HRD) (ii) Administrative Services Division (ADM) and (iii) Information and Communication Technology Division (ICT) and two units: (a) Field Support Unit and (b) Medical Services Unit.
The Information & Communications Technology Division (ICT) delivers secure, reliable, and integrated technology solutions which enable delivery of business value and provide IFAD with a strategic advantage through technical innovation and agile ICT services, and by streamlining corporate processes using effective ICT solutions. It facilitates access to information, ensures reliable and secure availability of information and communication means, provides a sustainable and secure digital environment and offer standard ICT services. 
Senior ICT Specialists work under the overall strategic, policy and management guidance as well as direct supervision of the Director or Manager, Information and Communications Technology Division (ICT). They are typically accountable for unit work plan establishment and supervision of a team of ICT Specialists, Associates and/or Assistants.

Senior Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Specialists at this level are senior specialists assigned leadership and management of technology design, development and maintenance work that involves interface with users and coordination of other ICT specialists. The role of ICT Senior ICT Specialist is a key role within ICT. The incumbent is required to understand technical requirements and develop in-depth knowledge of IFAD processes, systems and infrastructure. They are typically accountable for unit work plan establishment and supervision of a team of ICT Specialists, Associates and/or Assistants.

Position specific:
In particular, the Senior ICT Specialist (Infrastructure and IT Operations) is responsible for the management, monitoring, support and continuous improvement of several elements of IT Infrastructure and operations, including but not limited to Datacenter, Networking, and Audiovisual equipment; for the technical management of procurement process of infrastructural components; for the architectural planning and technology choices for ICT Infrastructure.

1. ICT PRACTICE LEADER: Senior ICT Specialists at this level are typically accountable for technical leadership in their occupational area at the corporate level with accountability for conceptualization, design, development, implementation and maintenance of major and complex information systems and applications to meet the evolving needs of the Fund. They typically accomplish the assigned activities through supervision of an ICT unit comprised of other professional (P) and general service (GS) staff and through technical guidance and work product validation of external ICT consultants.

2. ICT BUSINESS PARTNER: Senior ICT Specialists are credible, trusted partners to client offices served and the Division where assigned, serving as responsive and constructive service providers with a focus on results. They contribute directly to the development of the Fund’s ICT strategy and plans as well as model a commitment to data and systems integrity. Senior ICT Specialists provide authoritative advice and guidance to ICT colleagues and the Division Director on cross-division systems / applications interfaces as well as on the requirement for modifications or enhancements / extensions.

3. ICT MANAGEMENT: Senior ICT Specialists are accountable for conceptual work and technical leadership in the development, design, implementation and management of original systems/applications and ensures their interface with existing applications and/or major ICT systems. Representative accountabilities/key results include (a) identifying the need for new applications/systems, conducting feasibility studies and translating user needs into systems and applications that can be integrated with existing systems/technology; (b) conducting and/or leading systems analysis, determining costs of development and eventual operations of the system(s)/applications; (c) defining application/system requirements and developing technical and functional specifications; (d) overseeing the development of file and database architecture, configuration and record formats ensuring relevant internal control and security mechanisms are established; (e) planning, scheduling and launching implementation work and systems testing; (f) identifying, testing, assessing and evaluating new products and technologies and proposing strategies and implementation plans; (g) collaborating on defining and resolving problems of the Fund’s systems integration (intra/inter- organizational); and (h) leading the preparation of technical and user documentation for entire systems and interdependent applications as well as training materials and detailed technical presentations; conduct courses for users. 

4. AGENT OF CHANGE: Senior ICT Specialists understand and apply the principles of change management and proactively serves as a role model for transformation and capacity for acceptance of change. They use a seasoned knowledge of information technology to develop, analyze and promote acceptance of new methods of work and automated workflows. Senior Specialists manage change through technical leadership in identifying systems/applications that support change and outreach to client offices to build understanding of and to ensure open and regular communications pertaining to current and planned changes in the Fund’s information and communication technology strategy, standards, regulations and rules.

5. MANAGERIAL FUNCTIONS: Senior ICT Specialists are typically team leaders with accountability for integrity, transparency, and equity in the management of IFAD technology. This includes: (a) People Management through work plan development, recruitment, performance and career management of P and GS staff as well as learning management establishing learning plans and ensuring staff supervised meet their development needs while meeting the needs of IFAD; (b) Resource Management by providing strategic and data inputs into the divisional budget preparation exercises; (c) Knowledge and Content Management by ensuring (i) knowledge content within functional area is continuously updated and available to colleagues and clients (ii) best practices are continuously identified, documented and distributed and (iii) appropriate and up-to-date information and learning tools are available to the Fund’s managers, supervisors and staff; and Information Technology Management through leveraging ERP functionality for improved business results, simplification of transaction and reporting processes and improved client services.

Position specific: The Senior ICT Specialist’s (Infrastructure and IT Operations) key functions are to:

• Supervise and coordinate design and technical implementation of ICT networking solutions globally,  in coordination with external vendors and partners, to ensure optimal choices in terms of performance and cost.
• Lead and coordinate in line with the evolving architecture infrastructure services including  datacentre as well as cloud and 3rd party hosting solutions options, ensuring service performance, continuity and site reliability, through monitoring and constant evaluation of servers and appliances; ensure smooth integration of new solutions and technologies, with minimal disruption to the services
• Supervise digital collaboration and related conferences activities, in conjunction with external partners, ensuring A/V support for smooth performance of institutional meetings and related activities
• Coordinate second and third level support to IFAD ICT systems by the Infrastructure Team, and third-party vendors, to promptly manage issue escalation and resolution to ensure resiliency
• Coordinate monitoring and reports on ICT Infrastructure, including Cloud and 3rd party hosting, in coordination with the business, to ensure availability and prompt delivery of needed information, along with capacity planning and trend analysis.
• Coordinate deployment and support to vertical applications, in line with IFAD’s evolving architecture to enable a consistent and efficient approach with a fit-for-purpose enabling infrastructure.
• Provide technical advice during Infrastructure-related procurement processes, overseeing the whole procedure to ensure maximum benefit to the house, and ensuring correct capacity and impact analysis as well as transparent and timely resource planning and management of related vendors.

The work of Senior ICT Specialists involves leading the design, configure, implement, maintain and improve critical technology operations of the Fund, adapting processes as necessary to achieve full functionality and interface with existing systems. Thus work at this level impacts on the overall design and continuity of major systems/applications and indirectly impact the accomplishment of the Fund’s objectives, goals and functions.  as a foundation for the Fund’s administrative and programme operations. Technical decisions are taken on the feasibility of technology proposals and specifications for systems / applications. They provide authoritative advice to the Division Director and senior IFAD management, which leads to both technical decisions as well as resource commitments.
The key performance indicators for Senior ICT Specialists include leadership, both technical excellence and team management leadership.

Position specific:

In addition to the above, they develop, implement and enforce policies and procedures that promote consistency, reliability, and compliance across the IT infrastructure. They champion modern approaches such as DevOps and Agile to streamline operations, improve service delivery, and facilitate continuous improvement by utilizing modern monitoring and observability tools to ensure high availability, performance, and proactive issue resolution within the infrastructure. They focus on continuous performance tuning, capacity planning, and resource optimization to maintain optimal infrastructure performance as the organization moves towards containerized applications.

Internally Senior ICT Specialists are responsible for overall coordination with users on all aspects or during all phases of development as well as the provision of authoritative technical guidance to others involved in interrelated technology activities. The acceptance of modification to specifications and work processes is accomplished through negotiations. They provide authoritative technical advice to the ICT Division Director on the design and implementation of technology applications and systems as well as IFAD senior management/decision-makers. 
Externally work relationships require collaboration and coordination to ensure vendors, service providers, collaborators and external ICT consultants meet established contractual terms and conditions, coordination with other organizations to establish compatibility of systems/application interface (Borrowers and Contributing institutions).

Organizational Competencies:

Level 2:

• Building relationships and partnerships – Builds and maintains strategic partnerships internally and externally
• Communicating and negotiating – Acquires & uses a wide range of communication styles & skills
• Demonstrating leadership – Leads by example; initiates and supports change
• Focusing on clients – Contributes to a client-focused culture
• Learning, sharing knowledge and innovating – Challenges, innovates & contributes to learning culture
• Managing performance and developing staff – Manages wider teams with greater impact on others and on the organization
• Managing time, resources and information – Coordinates wider use of time, information and/or resources
• Problem-solving and decision-making – Solves complex problems and makes decisions that have wider corporate impact
• Strategic thinking and organizational development – Staff in management and/or strategic leadership roles
• Team working – Fosters a cohesive team environment

Education:

• Level – Advanced university degree from an accredited institution in a technically relevant area. In lieu of an advanced university degree, a diploma in combination with six years over and above the minimum experience requirement may be considered;
• Areas – Computer science, information technology, mathematics or other job related field
• Degree must be an accredited institution listed on https://www.whed.net/home.php
  (*) Note: For internal candidates, this requirement will be assessed in line with the provisions set forth in the IFAD’s Human Resources Implementing Procedures.
  Position specific: Continuing education and certification – please list all technical certificates and evidence of proven exposure relating to the requirements of this vacancy announcement.

Experience:

• At least eight (8) years of progressively relevant, responsible professional experience in planning, design, development, implementation and maintenance of information technology, in at least two of the following roles: system administration, network administration, security management, DevOps and microservices;
• At least five (5) years in a position leading well-sized infrastructure teams and related services in this context in a global, multi-lateral or international organization providing services on a global scope.
• Position-specific experience: At least five (5) years of proven experience with responsibility managing cloud technologies, container and virtualisation management, Identity and access management (IAM) solutions as well as CI/CD pipelines and new methods including such as Infrastructure as Code; Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively in a diverse organization tailoring language, tone, style and format to match audience.
• Proven record of effectively utilising IT standards methods and frameworks in managing technical ICT operations meetings across infrastructure teams including results management and KPIs; proven experience in incident response coordination as well as root cause analysis and mitigation.

Languages:

• Required English (4 – Excellent)
• Desirable: French, Spanish and/or Arabic

Skills:

• Budgeting, resource management: Know-how in budget administration and accounting, resource allocation and planning at divisional level
• Procurement: Know-how in the application of the procurement policies, rules and regulations applicable to IFAD HQ and/or Country Programmes/Projects, including for complex individual cases
• Financial data integrity and financial systems: know-how in systems interface control, core banking system management, data mining and analytics
• Analytical skills: Outstanding ability to analyse and synthesize qualitative and/or quantitative information from a variety of sources and filter out key insights and recommendations
• Data management: Data collection, cleaning, transformation and consolidation; data-base architecture & development; data presentation
• Strategy implementation: Ability to lead and manage the development and implementation of medium to longer-term strategies for IFAD / for respective divisions
• HR systems: Know-how in the design and management of HR systems and tools (e.g. learning platforms, performance platforms, etc.)
• Agile ICT services: Use various agile methods, such as daily stand-ups, sprints and hackathons, to generate end products early on
• Basic ICT & digital fluency: Expertise relevant to the specific role (e.g. in-depth, computer information systems, including micro-computer operating systems software, hardware and applications software and other office technology equipment), end-user computing configuration management
• Cyber-security: Expertise specific to cyber-security principles, tools, systems and applications
• Data analysis/architecture: Know-how in the analysis and interpretation of data needs and sources taking into account its operational context, using systems and models to disseminate ensuring integrity, availability to meet reporting and business analytics needs
• Data systems & tools: Expertise in the design, development, deployment, maintenance and management of Data Warehouse, data visualization, data analysis, data mining and reporting tools
• DevOps: Expertise in continuous integration, configuration management, deployment automation, infrastructure orchestration and monitoring and analytics
• Emerging technologies: Expertise to evaluate and identify business and technical opportunities in emerging technologies including methodologies, tools, systems and applications (including Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Predictive Analytics and Machine Learning, Virtual Reality, Robotics, GIS Analytics, etc.)
• Network and Infrastructure Administration: Expertise in the provisioning, configuration, management, tuning and performance monitoring of the IFAD network and the infrastructure of the IFAD datacentre
• Project/Programme management: Identification of key-priorities, ability to structure work to meet deadlines and adjustment of workplan/resource allocation when needed Programme management: overall management of portfolio of work (including PMO interaction) with expertise to identify dependencies or bottlenecks between projects, managing changes and risks
• System and Database Administration: Expertise in the provisioning, configuration, management, tuning and performance monitoring of systems and databases
• User experience: Strong focus on the delivery of a positive and intuitive user experience, building on a proactive clarification of user needs and requirements
• User technology enablement and support: Advanced configuration and endpoint management, digital mobile communication, seam IT monitoring and backup, incident response and endpoint management
• Planning: Know-how in the planning of human, financial and material management of IFAD resources
• Change management: Role modelling, anticipation of key risks & conflicts and formulation of contingency plans/solutions, action-oriented
• Client orientation: Strong critical thinking combined with communication skills to liaise between the business and technologies to understand business problems and needs, document requirements and identify solutions
• Leadership: Group thought leader, sought out by others and providing mentorship and effective guidance to others; Ability to build trust, inside and outside the organization by acting as a role model for IFAD’s core values and competencies, and to provide a clear sense of direction, mentorship and effective guidance to the team, strategizing the IFAD’s goals, giving the vision, empowering the team and ensuring a positive environment for all.

Applicants should note that IFAD staff members are international civil servants subject to the authority of the President of IFAD. In accordance with IFAD’s Human Resources Policy, the President can decide to assign them to any of the activities of the Fund. All International Professional staff members are required to be geographically mobile and positions in the professional category are subject to changes in location at any time in line with strategic priorities and reform initiatives in IFAD.

In accordance with IFAD’s provisions, all new staff members will normally be placed at the first step in the grade level for which they have been selected. For information on IFAD’s remuneration package, please visit IFAD’s compensation and benefits page on our website. Applicants are invited to use the ICSC compensation calculator to estimate the salary and benefit entitlements.  See here.

Candidates may be required to take a written test and to deliver a presentation as well as participate in interviews.

In the interest of making most cost-effective use of funds and resources, we are only able to respond to applicants who are short-listed for interview. Candidates who do not receive any feedback within three months should consider their application unsuccessful.

IFAD is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of ethnic, social or political background, colour, nationality, religion, age, gender, disability, marital status, family size or sexual orientation in line with its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Strategy and the Policy to prevent and respond to sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse.

Please be aware of fraudulent job offers. IFAD does not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process. Official communication from IFAD will always come from e-mails ending in @ifad.org

This position is also included in the pool of positions made available to IFAD staff members in the context of the 2024 reassignment exercise. Priority will be given to internal staff in reassignment who are deemed appointable for positions at the same grade level.