The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is developing the ISA Academy – a globally accessible, AI-enabled Learning and Knowledge Sharing Platform designed to strengthen solar energy capabilities across governments, financial institutions, academia, industry, and civil society in ISA member countries and beyond. This platform will support learners across Member Countries in acquiring the skills necessary to thrive in a clean energy economy, particularly in the solar sector. We are looking to on-board a consultant to lead and oversee the end-to-end deployment of the ISA Academy platform. The Consultant will serve as ISA’s primary technical oversight authority, working in close coordination with the platform development vendor team to ensure that the platform is delivered on time, within scope, and to the highest standards of quality, security, and performance. The individual will be a crucial contributor to the ISA’s KMID Unit and will work closely to drive the creation and delivery of high-quality deliverables for ISA’s stakeholders.
Objective
To support design, development, and deployment of ISA Academy platform that enables the delivery of a modular, multilingual, and industry-driven learning content, with tracking and certification capabilities.
Roles & responsibilities
The consultant will be responsible for:
1. Platform Deployment Oversight:
a. Serve as ISA’s primary technical representative in all interactions with the vendor team
b. Monitor and oversee the full lifecycle of platform deployment – from inception and design through development, testing, staging, and go-live
c. Review and validate all key deliverables submitted by the vendor
d. Ensure that all deliverables conform to ISA’s approved technical architecture, quality standards, and the milestones set out in the contract timeline / FRS/ project timelines
e. Identify and escalate risks, delays, or deviations from the approved plan in a timely manner
f. Review and finalize on phase-wise platform releases prior to User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and go-live
2. Vendor Coordination & Governance
a. Coordinate regular review meetings, technical discussions, and governance meetings with the vendor team, maintaining the action points tracker
b. Review and validate the vendor’s Weekly Progress Reports, and flag issues or blockers requiring ISA intervention
c. Maintain and oversee project governance registers including Change Request Register, Risk Register, Issue & Ticket Register, and Scope Management Register
d. Manage scope creep by reviewing and recommending decisions on change requests raised by the vendor
e. Coordinate with ISA’s internal IT team (SPOC) to align on infrastructure provisioning, cloud setup on AWS, and integration requirements
f. Validate API integration points, data exchange mechanisms, and third-party tool integrations (e.g., Zoom, MS Teams, WhatsApp, blockchain credentialing) proposed or implemented by the vendor
3. Quality Assurance & Testing Oversight:
a. Oversee the vendor’s quality assurance process, including unit testing, integration testing, regression testing, performance testing, and security testing
b. Coordinate and manage UAT with ISA stakeholders and ensure timely resolution of issues before each phase launch
c. Validate platform performance benchmarks, including system uptime (99.99%), concurrent user load capacity, latency, and auto-scaling capabilities.
d. Review security assessments and ensure compliance with cybersecurity policies
e. Validate compliance across all platform training modules as pre agreed standards
4. Technical Documentation & Reporting:
a. Review all platform development documentation submitted by the vendor, and prepare periodic technical progress reports
b. Maintain a consolidated deployment dashboard tracking milestones, payment schedules, risks, and open issues
c. Ensure complete documentation of all integration touchpoints, third-party licenses, and configuration settings
5. Platform Operations & Handover:
a. Oversee the transition and handover of platform operational ownership to ISA, including asset licenses, third-party contracts, and data export processes
b. Validate the O&M Plan and Responsibility Assignment Matrix submitted by the vendor
c. Ensure adequate capacity building and handholding support is delivered to ISA’s internal team throughout and at the conclusion of the deployment phase
d. Support ISA in evaluating the optional 1-year technical support extension with the selected vendor
6. Any other related task as assigned by the reporting manager
Functional requirements
1. 7+ years of experience in platform development, or digital solutions delivery, with at least 3 years in edtech, LMS, or large-scale learning platform deployments
2. Bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field
3. Demonstrated experience in overseeing and managing third-party technology vendors through complex, multi-phase digital deployments.
4. Hands-on experience with Learning Management Systems (LMS) / Learning Experience Platforms (LXP), preferably open-source platforms such as Open edX or Moodle
5. Experience in AI/ML-enabled platform deployments is an added advantage
6. Prior experience working with international organisations, multilateral bodies, or government agencies is an advantage