Senior Network Specialist - Solution Engineering

Before submitting an application, UNHCR staff members intending to apply to this Job Opening are requested to consult the Recruitment and Assignments Policy (RAP, UNHCR/HCP/2017/2 and the Recruitment and Assignments Administrative Instruction (RAAI), UNHCR/AI/2017/7 OF 15 August 2017.

Senior Network Specialist

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships

The Senior Networks Specialist is UNHCR¿s expert on enterprise IT networks and designs the technical solutions meeting UNHCR¿s requirements, are cost effective, well-maintained, aligning with the technical direction of the Organization.

The Senior Networks Specialist reports directly to the Chief of Solution Engineering.

The incumbent is expected to interact laterally with the team¿s technical experts to ensure that the Network solutions designed and implemented are in alignment and adherence to the relevant technical standards. As a key member of the DIST team, constant engagement with the other DIST Services, including Business Relationship Management, IT Operations, and Customer Support will be part of the daily role. Oversight of network solution development, implementation and support ¿ as carried out by Managed Service Providers ¿ is key to the role. Also, engagement with stakeholders on the Business side will be critical to ensure a clear understanding of requirements. Finally, the incumbent will also need to maintain close working relationships with technology vendors who provide and support the Organization¿s IT networks.


All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR¿s core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.

Duties
- Provide advice on enterprise IT networks, designing the network solutions that meet the dynamic needs of the Organization.
- Stay current with technical developments from principal networking and VSAT vendors such as Cisco, Microsoft, Ultisat, Starlink and others, including their licensing models and cost-optimization features.
- Design secure, cost-effective, monitored Wide-Area, Local-Area, and cloud network configurations which support DIST¿s cloud-first strategy and allow for hybrid multi-cloud and on-prem environments.
- Design and implement network optimization strategies considering the type of network and priorities of the Organizations.
- Design and support patching and updating strategies for the above in view of UNHCR¿s connectivity landscape.
- Work with technical and business colleagues to understand and document explicit and implicit requirements for networks and connectivity.
- Validate these requirements with development partners and technology vendors to ensure completeness and technical feasibility.
- Prepare or assist in the preparation of comprehensive estimates for the development, licensing and ongoing support of all network solutions.
- Include maintenance and support aspects in the design of any network solution; work with Service Delivery Managers, Bureau IT Leads and Security Operations Centre (SOC) staff to ensure that monitoring and support requirements are well understood and correctly implemented.
- Develop or oversee the development of test plans to comprehensively test all required features of the network solution; ensure test plans are successfully completed before releasing new solutions to production.
- Plan for and facilitate periodic penetration testing of network infrastructure components and applications.
- Develop and maintain clear technical documents to help partners support network devices at all levels.  
- Develop and maintain network and connectivity policies, procedures, guidelines and standards, which are relevant to UNHCR¿s technical and operational landscape.
- Support the Networking and Platform Sections of DIST, as well as the Field Operations Support Service, the SOC and the Business in the maintenance and implementation of the network and connectivity standards.
- Ensure requirements for initial solution development and subsequent changes are clearly documented and maintained over time.
- Ensure that adequate measures/solutions are in place for intrusion-prevention/detection, DDoS attack mitigation, firewalling and in-transit encryption of data.
- Assist the SOC in establishing monitoring capabilities, baselines, responses, vulnerability scans are appropriate for all network devices.
- Assist technical support groups in return-to-green efforts during major network-related incidents.
- Review connectivity-related submissions to the Architecture Review Board (ARB) for adherence to standards and best practices; assist the ARB in understanding potential shortcomings of proposed solutions and suggest remediation measures.
- Ensure that UNHCR¿s Project-Management Life Cycle (PMLC) is understood by our technical partners and followed for all projects.
- Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Education & Professional Work Experience
Years of Experience / Degree Level
For P4 - 9 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 8 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 7 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree

Field(s) of Education
Computer Engineering; Computer Science; Data Science;
Electric Engineering; Engineering; Information and Communication Technology;
Information Systems; Information Technology; Telecommunication;
or other relevant field.
(Field(s) of Education marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Certificates and/or Licenses
ITIL V3 Foundation Level; Microsoft Tech Specialist; Telecommunications;
Satellite Communications; Information Technology; MS Certified Technology Spec;
MS Certified Solutions Expert; Six Sigma; Computer Science;
PBX/VSAT/CISCO Sec/Firewalls; Change/Release/Test Mgmt Trng;
(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience
Essential
At least 9 years (7 years with advanced university degree) of experience in information technology, of which 7 should be in designing and implementing enterprise-grade network solutions. Demonstrated experience driving network technology solutions from design to implementation, leveraging cross-functional teams comprised of staff, vendors, system integrators, outsourced partners, and contractors across multiple locations. Proven success in designing network-architecture blueprints, connectivity and optimization standards for large organizations. Strong familiarity with IDS/IPS solutions, DDoS attack mitigation, firewalling, network optimization, and Quality of Service solutions. Strong familiarity with public cloud technologies, especially AWS and Azure, including Network Security Groups (NSGs), network peering, monitoring and administering cloud networks. Broad knowledge of Microsoft Enterprise products, technologies and services. Deep knowledge of industry-standard networking and network-security solutions from Cisco, Microsoft, F5, and others. Deep knowledge and experience with large Wide Area Networks composed of high-latency, low-bandwidth connections, such as VSAT solutions. Strong familiarity with ITIL concepts. Experience with automated testing tools and techniques, including oversight of test plans and test matrices, project plans and scope and design documents. Proven ability to document business and functional requirements using industry standard and generally accepted modelling methods using standard tools. Experience working with outsourced providers in delivering services based on service level agreements. Experience resolving problems, responding to and completing audit recommendations and actions. Strong verbal communications and executive-level presentation skills.
Desirable
Knowledge of systems and processes within UNHCR, especially WAN and Refugee Systems technologies. Cisco certifications such CCIE, CCNA [Security], CCNP [Security]. Expertise with BI tools for reporting, such as Microsoft Power BI. AWS and Azure Solutions Architect certifications. Familiarity with UNHCR¿s Data Protection Policy and related GDPR concepts.

Functional Skills
*IT-Computer Literacy;
*IT-IT Report & Dashboard Design & Creation;
*IT-IT Network Monitoring & Alerting Tools;
IT-IT Technical Troubleshooting;
*IT-IT Satellite Communications (VSAT);
*IT-Local Area Networks (LAN);
*IT-IT Wireless Communications Technology;
*IT-IT Surveillance Monitoring Systems;
IT-IT Applications Development Lifecycle Methodology;
*IT-IT Systems and Standards;
*IT-IT Solution Engineering;
*IT-Wide Area Networks (WAN);
*IT-IT Security Management;
*IT-IT Support;
(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Language Requirements
For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.
For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.
For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English. C001L3 - Accountability Level 3
C002L3 - Teamwork & Collaboration Level 3
C003L3 - Communication Level 3
C004L3 - Commitment to Continuous Learning Level 3
C005L3 - Client & Result Orientation Level 3
C006L3 - Organizational Awareness Level 3
M001L3 - Empowering and Building Trust Level 3
M003L3 - Judgement and Decision Making Level 3
M004L3 - Strategic Planning and Vision Level 3
X002L3 - Innovation and Creativity Level 3
X003L3 - Technological Awareness Level 3
X009L3 - Change Capability and Adaptability Level 3

The UNHCR workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages and opinions. UNHCR seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.

Please note that UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process (application, interview, meeting, travelling, processing, training or any other fees).

Please note that the closing date for vacancies in this addendum is Thursday 29 October 2020 (midnight Geneva time).