Call for interest for consultant: Ruby on rails application development

Overview
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) works with poor rural people to enable them to grow and sell more food, increase their incomes, and determine the direction of their own lives. Since 1978, IFAD has invested almost US$14 billion in grants and low-interest loans to developing countries, empowering about 400 million people to break out of poverty. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized UN agency based in Rome – the UN’s food and agricultural hub. It is a unique partnership of 165 members from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), other developing countries and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Main tasks and responsibilities
IFAD is looking for a consultant in Ruby on Rails application development to support the implementation of the Fund’s disclosure policy. Two IFAD divisions (Information Communication Technology (ICT); and Communications (COM) are collaborating on this implementation; therefore the consultant will work under the general supervision and technical coordination of the System Analyst – Enterprise Solutions; and the Manager, Web, Social Media and Internal Communication. 

The consultant  will provide expertise in software development lifecycle phases from design to testing. Specifically, to support the implementation of IFAD’s disclosure policy, the consultant will:

1. Implement a real-time Twitter client that displays tweets matching a set of keywords (hashtags) in a graphical interface, composed of a Web application which will implement the Graphical User Interface and  a server-side component that uses the statuses/filter Twitter API to receive the tweets. (see technical specification)
2. Design and implement a statistics and archival system which stores all tweets and provides statistics on number of re-tweets, reach etc.
3. Provide weekly updates on the development to System Analyst and Manager, Web, Social Media and Internal Communication
4. Update the IT Knowledge Base.
5. Perform any other duties as required.

Required experience
The consultant must have a minimum of 6 years’  experience in enterprise development,  2 years of which experience must be in the Ruby on Rails Development Framework using Behaviour/Test Driven Programming methodology. Participation in open source projects and the publishing of technology articles and/or ownership of an active  technology blog is highly desirable.

Languages
Full command of English, both written and verbal,  is essential.

Competencies

1. Good knowledge of enterprise patterns, object oriented design patterns and programming techniques.
2. Knowledge of major Agile Project Management techniques (Scrums, XP, etc.).
3. Experience in reading and writing main UML diagrams.
4. Knowledge of GIT versioning systems.
5. Knowledge of the most used Web development technologies (CSS, Ajax, javascript frameworks like jQuery or Prototype).
6. Graphic design capabilities.

Successful candidates will have a proven track record with the following technologies :

• Databases: CouchDB, PostgreSQL
• Operating Systems:  Mac OSX, Linux, Windows

Additional information
It must be noted that consultants are not staff of IFAD, and that this consultancy does not carry any expectation of employment with the Fund. Remuneration will be in line with the standards set for UN consultants.  The consultant will work remotely for a duration of not more than 50 days.

IFAD can recruit consultants only among its member states. Applications from women candidates are particularly encouraged. Applications for this assignment must be sent to: r.samii@ifad.org. Only candidates under consideration will be contacted. 

Call for interest for consultant: Ruby on rails application development - extended to 15 October 2012