User Experience Designer

Within the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Assessment, Planning and Monitoring Branch (APMB) is responsible for helping OCHA country offices and humanitarian partners implement the Humanitarian Programme Cycle (HPC). APMB’s Monitoring Platforms and Tools Section (MPTS), in partnership with OCHA’s Information Management Branch (IMB), is currently redeveloping the suite of information services which support the HPC. This project, known as HPC.tools, includes online database applications for the administration of databases such as those for the Financial Tracking Service (FTS) and the Online Projects System (OPS), both of which are being redesigned from the ground up; as well as new online systems to facilitate the creation, management and monitoring of humanitarian response plans (HRPs). These are being built on technologies including PostgreSQL, Node.js and AngularJS.

OCHA is seeking a talented and creative individual to help in the technical development process of these online applications in conjunction with external partners, and subsequently to ensure ongoing iterative development, maintenance and support.

The individual would join an OCHA-wide team of developers, product managers, designers and business analysts with expertise in core technologies used by several different projects throughout the organization, overseen by IMB, with the aim to foster closer structured collaboration and interchange between them. This includes an expectation to provide support and backup to other projects as and when necessary, as well as opportunities for transfer or reassignment in the medium to longer term.

The position is home-based, and ideally should be based in the same or similar time zone as Switzerland as it requires close and continuous collaboration with the team in Geneva. Travel to Geneva may be required on an as-needs basis.

As a user experience designer you will report to the HPC.tools project manager in Geneva and work collaboratively with colleagues in headquarters and the field.

Technical Work

Within a team of product managers, business analysts/technical architects, front-end and back-end developers you'll be working on existing and new applications around the Humanitarian Programme Cycle (HPC). Under the supervision of the project manager, the user experience designer will:

• Understand and fully analyse functional requirements documentation and stakeholder inputs covering all aspects of the user interfaces of online web/database applications providing HPC information services, particularly on response planning & monitoring, project planning, implementation tracking and financial tracking. This includes data entry, management and administration interfaces as well as public-facing websites providing interactive visualisation and access to data.
• Produce professional layout and design plans and proposals that meet any given brief, including alternative approaches and best practice recommendations from other use cases.
• Present plans and designs for feedback to the project team, key clients and other stakeholders as necessary, including in the form of static images and HTML/interactive prototypes.
• Following agreement on selected designs, work with front-end developers to help create the necessary CSS styles and templates and assist with their implementation in the application/website
• Make iterative design adjustments based on user feedback
• Provide comprehensive reviews of existing applications and provide recommendations for UX improvements
• Provide designs and layouts for the production of training documentation and promotional material related to HPC information services
• Other general user experience and design work as required

Other Duties

• Function as a user experience/web designer and an active member of a wider OCHA development team, including reporting to project manager, participation in regular knowledge interchange, meetings, joint events etc.
• As part of this team, completion of other tasks as assigned across OCHA projects beyond HPC information services

Education

• An Advanced-level university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in graphic design, user experience design, visual design, information systems, computer science or related field is required
• A first-level university degree in combination with additional 2 years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree, or
• A technical/professional diploma with additional 4 years in lieu of the university degree.

Required Experience

• At least 5 years of relevant experience in user interface design and development for online business applications and public-facing websites is required.
• Demonstrable experience with wire-framing and prototyping tools, and in portraying complex data-sets and inter-connections between related data.
• Demonstrated experience in web development projects in a consulting or professional services environment, working with cross-functional teams alongside wed developers to implement user interfaces.
• Good understanding of computer applications and data management.
• Experience in supporting coordinated project activities across a large organization and with other international partner organizations.
• Strong managerial, interpersonal, co-ordination, negotiation, presentation and facilitation skills.
• Ability to communicate ideas clearly and concisely.
• Experience working both independently and in collaboration with remote, geographically diverse teams - must be very comfortable working via e-mail, chat, IRC, audio/video conference etc.

Additional Experience

• Experience of designing for Drupal platforms desirable
• Experience of standards compliant HTML5, JavaScript and angular.js framework desirable
• Experience in communicating with senior and non-technical team members to explain technical user experience concepts and justify recommendations;
• Some experience working with the public or not-for-profit sector would be an asset, particularly in the humanitarian sphere.

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• 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.

 UNOPS supports the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to serve people in need by expanding the ability of the United Nations, governments and other partners to manage projects, infrastructure and procurement in a sustainable and efficient manner.

Working in some of the world’s most challenging environments, our vision is to advance sustainable implementation practices, always satisfying or surpassing our partners’ expectations.

With over 7,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical and management knowledge they need, wherever they need it.

A flexible structure and global reach means that we can quickly respond to our partners' needs, while offering the benefits of economies of scale. 

Based in Geneva, the Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECR) supports UNOPS offices throughout the region through: management, financial and programmatic oversight of global and country-specific portfolios, clusters and operations centres, including hosting services; fund and management advisory services; project implementation; procuring goods and services; and managing human resources.

ECR ensures that projects are executed to the highest standards, providing a shared knowledge base and ensuring that best practices and lessons learned are disseminated between business units and projects across the entire region.

ECR strategy is to:

• Strengthen UNOPS role in operationalizing the Sustainable Development Goals with particular emphasis on health, environment and economic development.
• Position UNOPS in the Balkan sub-region, the Caucasus and Central Asia.
• Strengthen the implementation of ECR global and regional programmes, with revitalized partnerships in infrastructure, procurement and project management.

ECR operates global portfolios from offices in Geneva, Brussels and New York, and country-specific programmes from its operations and project centres located in Eastern Europe and Central Asian countries.