Information Systems Assistant, Geneva, Closing date: Sunday, 8 March 2015

Closing date: Sunday, 8 March 2015

Posting Title: Information Systems Assistant, G6

Job Code Title: INFORMATION SYSTEMS ASSISTANT

Department/ Office: Chief Executives Board

Duty Station: GENEVA

Posting Period: 6 February 2015-8 March 2015

Job Opening number: 15-IST-CEB-40387-R-GENEVA (R)

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

Special Notice

Recruitment for this position is done on a local basis, whether or not the candidate is a resident of the duty station.

Passing the Administrative Assessment Support Test (ASAT) at Headquarters, ECA, ESCWA, UNOG, UNOV, ICTR, or ICTY or the Global General Service Test (GGST) is a prerequisite for recruitment consideration in the General Service category in the United Nations Secretariat.

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.

Organizational Setting and Reporting

The CEB Secretariat is an inter-agency entity responsible for supporting the work of the CEB, the highest inter-secretariat body for coordination in the UN system. CEB is chaired by the UN Secretary-General and is composed of the chief executives of organizations of the UN system. The secretariat is located in New York and Geneva. In Geneva, it also supports the work of CEB's High-Level Committee on Management). This post of Information Systems Assistant is at G6 level, and is located in the Geneva Office of the CEB Secretariat.

The CEB Secretariat manages several technical environments that each serve specific functions. Microsoft (IIS and SQL) servers are maintained in a UN hosted virtual environment for the execution of annual surveys and the generation of statistics reports. A custom ASP application, which integrates with Microsoft Office applications, is used for data collection, validation and reporting. Linux (Debian and Ubuntu) servers support CEB website development, staging and production processes. Testing and staging servers are hosted remotely and accessed via VPN, while a development environment is maintained locally. CEB Secretariat clients platforms run either Windows, while iOS devices support mobile access needs. Open Source applications for document archiving, sharing and remote access run on a separate Linux system. The maintenance of these environments requires expertise in a variety of platforms and related applications and is the core function of this post.

Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of CEB Webmaster, the Information Systems Assistant will be responsible for the following duties:

Participates in the development, programming, testing, debugging and implementation of new application systems releases, modules and functionalities, including assistance in the monitoring of website functionality, security and performance.
Develops, tests and implements simple computer application systems and programs using established standards for IT technologies, programming languages and tools.
Serves as team member in the planning, specification, design, development, implementation and support of computer application systems; independently liaises with users to define and specify requirements; assists in the execution of annual UN system surveys and the generation of statistics; provides guidance and support to submitting organizations in database administration, data cleaning, error reporting and validation, problem solving, questions/answers, application and data maintenance, final report building and analysis, versioning and publishing.
Installs computer application systems software and hardware according to specifications;
monitorscomputer applications systems using appropriate monitoring tools and produces monitoring reports.
Prepares technical and user documentation for deployed computer application systems, as well as training materials and conducts technical presentations.
Maintains functional specifications for computer application systems, programs and procedures developed and/or modified, including open source evaluation and determination when custom development is required to meet current and future needs.
Provides support for deployed computer application systems including version management, data recovery and deployment to users' offices; performs ongoing reviews with users and developers and responds to users requests.
Drafts correspondence and communications, including work plan revisions and other related issues, as well as prepares unit contributions for a variety of periodic reports.
Serves as focal point for coordination, monitoring and expedition of computer application
systems development projects, involving extensive liaison with diverse organizational units to initiate requests; prepares standard terms of reference; processes and follows-up on administrative actions and resolves issues related to project implementation, e.g. organization of and participation in training, procurement of equipment and services, etc.
Keeps abreast of developments in the field; performs benchmarking and proposes new acquisitions.
Provides guidance to new/junior staff.
Performs other duties as assigned.

Work implies frequent interaction with the following: CEB Web Manager and CEB Secretariat colleagues, located in Geneva and New York offices.

Information Systems Officers and other IT specialists throughout the United Nations System

Sales and technical personnel of hardware/software vendors and contractors

Results Expected

Provide effective computer application systems support and contribute to the development, implementation and maintenance of computer application systems.
Process work and initiate appropriate follow-up actions under minimal supervision.
Demonstrate initiative in the identification and resolution of issues/problems.
Be well organized and produce accurate reports, records and/or data, completed with only general guidance.

Consistently apply appropriate policies, guidelines and procedures.

Effectively and in a timely manner liaise and interact with colleagues, user groups and other concerned parties internally and externally.

Competencies

PROFESSIONALISM

Knowledge of organizational information infrastructure, including hardware, software and application systems.
Knowledge of relevant programming language(s) and ability to use programming skills to develop information systems.
Knowledge of system development workflow and document flow processes, ability to conduct research and gather information from a wide variety of standard and non-standard sources.
Administrator-level knowledge of Windows, Microsoft IIS and SQL Server.
Expertise in Microsoft Office Professional suit.
Sound Knowledge of Visual Basic and ASP.
Ability to respond to changing requirements and assignments, ability to apply good judgment in the context of assignments given.
Shows pride in work and in achievements;
is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results;
is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns;
shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges;
remains calm in stressful situations.
Commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of work.

TEAMWORK

Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals;
solicits input by genuinely valuing others' ideas and expertise;
is willing to learn from others;
places team agenda before personal agenda;
supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position;
shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.

COMMITMENT TO CONTINUOUS LEARNING

Keeps abreast of new developments in own occupation/profession;
actively seeks to develop oneself professionally and personally;
contributes to the learning of colleagues and subordinates;
shows willingness to learn from others;
seeks feedback to learn and improve.

TECHNOLOGICAL AWARENESS

Keeps abreast of available technology;
understands applicability and limitation of technology to the work of the office;
actively seeks to apply technology to appropriate tasks;
shows willingness to learn new technology

Education

High school diploma or equivalent.

Work Experience

At least seven years of experience in information systems analysis and programming, systems administration and maintenance, software development, technical writing or related area are required.
Extensive experience in Drupal CMS and related platforms (including Apache, PHP5, MySQL and related Administrator applications such as phpMyAdmin) is highly desirable.
Admin experience with Ubuntu (or similar Linux platform) an advantage.
Drupal specific experience should be varied and may, for example, include the development of modules supporting back-end functionality (such as user administration, performance and security management) as well as front-end features (configuration, styling and custom theming).
Some experience in social media platforms and practices is a strong asset.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat.
For the post advertised, fluency in oral and written English or French and knowledge of the other is required.

Assessment Method

The assessment process for this position will be conducted by a Recruitment Panel composed of CEB Geneva officials.
Evaluation of qualified candidates may include a written assessment which will take the mixed form of a technical test and an essay to write. Successful candidates will be invited to a competency-based interview.

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.

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.

More jobs tagged:

Computer Applications;

Data Collection;

Development Projects;

Drupal;

Gender Equality;

Information Systems;

Linux;

Periodic Reports;

Procurement;

Programming Languages;

Project Implementation;