ICT Specialist

UNOPS -Somalia Country Office (SOCO) is recruiting for ICT Specialist (Software Development) through an Emergency Recruitment process (EPP) for a Home-Based Assignment:

Background Information

SOCO is largely focused on assisting partners with the implementation of physical infrastructure projects including construction and rehabilitation of rule-of-law infrastructure, transport infrastructure (roads, airports), and public administration infrastructure. UNOPS also plays a leading role in supporting the Somali Government and the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia in Rule of Law Programming, including through the delivery of Military - and police stipends, procurement of non-lethal supplies, and logistics through the Joint Police Programme (JPP).

Stabilization and the International Donor Context

• Regular salary payments to the security forces are essential for creating stability in the government and in ensuring improvements in the security situation within the country.

• To strengthen peacebuilding, the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK), European Commission (EC), Italy, Japan, and several other donors over the past years have been supporting the stipend payments of the Somali Security forces through independent mechanisms.

• However, financial support to the security forces is coming under increasingly greater scrutiny based on concerns raised around accountability of high-value equipment and financial systems to address corruption and duplication concerns.

UNOPS' Role.

UNOPS own engineered and built biometric registration and verification software for police and military personnel to be able to record, store and match data of recruits for purposes of identification and verifying eligibility for stipend payment.

The registration software completes this verification by first recording details such as a police officer's biometric data including finger imprints, certificate of appointment, national identity card details, Somali Revenue Authority PIN, family background, academic qualifications, rank, and service history.

Once personnel details are entered into the system, their details are updated to reflect any incidents of attrition, disciplinary suspension or investigation, and other details, which may enact a payment suspension or cessation.

Trained to keep this system up to date, police and military human resource personnel are able to then ensure an accurate and complete record of all payments to be made for personnel, and further generate a report of all payments disbursed at the end of each stipend cycle.

The information on verification and payment is then transferred to the main human recognition system database and will be maintained in perpetuity as a record of stipend history.

Objective and Scope of Assignment

The main purpose of the assignment is to modify/re-develop the Human Resource Application for biometric registration and verification (UNHRS-19) that supports Neurotechnologies Software Development Kit (SDK).

Under the guidance and supervision of the MIS Specialist, the ICT Specialist (Software Development) will provide support to the respective projects ensuring high quality of work, accurate and timely delivery.

S/he will be responsible for the following duties and responsibilities to support the UNOPS project team as follows:

• Review the data structure of the current UNHRS-19 system and understand all the required functionalities and develop a draft data structure for the new/modified system.
• Modify/Re-develop the UNHRS-19 system which should be a windows desktop application for biometric registration, verification, and reporting using Dot Net Framework, which supports the current UNHRS-19 biometric image data and Neurotechnologies biometric kit.
• Modify/Re-develop the Admin portal (Web-Application) for UNHRS-19 to be deployed on the server.
• Implement Multi-Factor authentication in the new system that includes SMS-based security token approval and rejection.
• Add Somali language support to the current/re-developed UNHRS-19 system.
• Incorporate Neurotechnologies Software Development Kit (SDK) in the system to support all the fingerprint devices supported by Neurotechnologies.
• Develop Technical documentation for the newly built/modified system.
• Test and deploy the system on the provided servers and Kits (Toughbook).
• Import existing UNHRS-19 biometric image data to the new/modified system and test the system with the data imported.

Impact of Results

The position has a major role that directly affects the ability of the FGS and FMS (military and police) to effectively and efficiently disburse stipend payments in a timely fashion, which will have a direct impact on the delivery of safety and security services to the broader Somalia.

Qualifications and Experience

1. Education

• Master's Degree preferably in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology or other relevant disciplines is required

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, or other relevant disciplines with a combination of two (2) additional years of relevant professional experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university Degree.

1. Work Experience

• Minimum five (5) years experience in Software development in an International Development Cooperation and/or a Government, Consultancy, or International Development Agency context is required

• Experience in Javascript, JQuery, Ajax, and other Web-programming components is required.

• Experience in the development and implementation of Biometric Identity systems and Installing and Supporting Network segments for both LAN & WAN is required.

• Knowledge of incorporating Neurotechnologies Software Development Kit (SDK) in the windows desktop application is required.

• Strong knowledge and proficiency in Dot-Net environment and SQL server databases including programme language C# is required

• Database management including timely back-ups and sync of data is desirable.
• Experience in working with Government, United Nations, or aid agencies in conflict and/or post-conflict situations is desired

• Experience/knowledge of Google Suite products, especially google forms, sheets, docs, and slides is an asset.

1. Language Requirement

• Fluency in written and spoken English Language is required.

1. Contract type, level, and duration

• Contract type: Individual Contract Agreement (ICA)
• Contract level: LICA 10/ICS-10
• Contract duration: Short-Term Assignment (5 months with a possibility of an extension where applicable)

1. Additional Considerations

• Please note that the closing date June 30, 2021
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for the Desk Review process/interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Work-Life Harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types.
• Home-Based Assignment
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans, and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.