Associate Operations Officer - ICT- Nairobi, Kenya

Job #:	112460
Title:	Associate Operations Officer - ICT
Job Stream:	Technical Assistance & Advisory Services
Location:	Nairobi, Kenya
Closing Date:	01/12/2012
Background / General description:
Improving the investment climate in Africa is one of three core priorities of the IFC/World Bank Group strategy in Sub-Saharan Africa. IFC manages the Investment Climate Advisory Services of the World Bank Group, which comprise staff based in the regional hub offices of Nairobi, Dakar and Johannesburg and across the continent, who work with a team of product specialists based in Washington, DC and Istanbul. The Investment Climate Advisory Services have been supporting Sub-Saharan African countries to design and implement investment climate reform programs for nearly a decade, and have scaled up their efforts significantly in recent years. The programs assist client countries to implement a range of investment climate reforms, including economy-wide reforms of aspects of business regulation, supporting international trade and investment, regional integration as well as addressing obstacles to private sector investment in leading industries, such as agribusiness, infrastructure, tourism and health. The team’s objective is to support African countries’ efforts to create a positive investment climate to increase their competitiveness and private sector investment. Increasingly investment climate projects involve the deployment of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solutions as part of a larger reform program. This includes the automation of company and secured asset registries, implementation of informational and transactional business licensing portals, as well as trade and tax-related web applications. To support these various projects, Investment Climate Advisory Services is seeking a well-qualified Associate Operations Officer in ICT to be located in Nairobi, Kenya. The staff member is expected to participate in and contribute to investment climate reform projects by supporting the design and implementation of appropriate technology solutions. S/he is expected to work across the region in close coordination with World Bank and IFC project teams, as well as with investment climate staff in Nairobi, Johannesburg, Dakar, Washington and Istanbul.
Duties and Accountabilities:
The successful candidate will help design and implement ICT applications as an integral part of the investment climate reforms supported by the Africa Investment Climate Team. This work will have three major components: 1.Implementing ICT applications in client organizations: Provide technical support to IC project teams in the design and implementation of ICT components within field projects. This would include, inter alia, performing or supervising consultants engaged in the following tasks: •Defining requirements for ICT applications to support business environment reform; •Assessing client capacity to absorb and independently manage technology; •Identifying appropriate technologies (e.g., package vs custom applications) and deployment approaches e.g., in-house vs outsourcing/Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), to address client needs, capabilities and sustainability requirements; •Assisting in development of Terms of Reference/ Requests for Proposals and assessing vendor proposals; •Assisting in supervision of contractors in software development, configuration/customization, implementation, training and post-implementation support; and •Developing/reviewing system security and disaster recovery plans as well as post-implementation assessments. 2.Developing and maintaining IFC "starter level" software applications for International Development Agency (IDA) countries: Working with the Investment Climate ICT team, support the development, maintenance and deployment of IFC-developed IC software applications developed for African clients (these presently exist for business licensing and construction permit administration), including the following tasks: •Oversee the technical design, development and periodic upgrades of the IFC IC software applications developed for African clients, including language conversions to French and Portuguese for new implementations in Francophone and Lusophone countries; •Ensure that documented source code, operator manuals and other documentation is kept up to date by the vendor; •Assist IC project teams in implementing the applications in their clients, including liaising with and/or supervising local IT vendors hired to localize the application; •Implement information security tests, in cooperation with Operations Information System (OIS)/Information Solutions Group (ISG)/Business Informatics Department (CBI), to ensure these ICT applications are free of vulnerabilities when implemented in the client environment. Supporting knowledge resource development and dissemination, as well as innovation efforts concerning ICT for business environment reform: Participate in developing and mainstreaming knowledge resources relating to the design and implementation of ICT applications to support business environment reforms. Also assist in identifying emerging technologies (e.g., mobile applications) which can reduce costs, increase user access and enhance the effectiveness of government-to-business ICT applications.
Selection Criteria:
•Masters degree or equivalent in information technology or related field. •Minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in implementing development-related ICT applications, particularly Web and database technologies. •Conversant in relevant private sector development issues such as foreign direct investment, regulatory reform to promote economic growth, industry competitiveness and investment climate indicators. •Strong analytical, communications and project management skills. •Experience in effectively managing software developers and ICT vendors. •Ability to multitask and work effectively in multidisciplinary teams. •High degree of self-motivation and proven ability to work under minimum supervision and as part of a team. •Comfortable working in pressured environment with capacity to deliver high-quality outputs and results to tight deadline. •Strong knowledge of World Bank Group operational and procurement procedures is highly desirable. Women are particularly encouraged to apply.
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