Analytics and Application Solutions Unit Head

1. Lead and manage a team of business/functional analysts, technical leads, developers and project managers to deliver fit for purpose, quality IT application, analytic and visualization solutions. Manage the financial and human resources effectively to achieve timely and successful delivery of organizational priorities with a team oriented and harmonious knowledge sharing culture. 

2. Develop and/or implement custom and off-the-shelf solutions to meet organizational needs. Ensure work practices are efficient, follow auditable processes and adhere to industry and ILO standards for software development and implementation. Evaluate new solution requirements and releases of software/versions to determine impact on existing application and technology footprint. Lead and conduct activities to design processes, automate manual processes, configure applications and implement customizations to ensure integrated, effective and efficient stable solutions meet ILO needs. 

3. Oversee software/solution design, usability and integration across application and technology platforms. Ensure self-service and user focused applications are intuitive, work seamlessly and data/information is singularly maintained where possible. 

4. Establish and manage strategic partnerships with a global network of service providers according to organizational procurement practices to provide a range of capabilities and capacities in different modalities (onshore, offshore, near shore). Administers vendor contracts to ensure funds are appropriately allocated, controlled and tracked to ensure deliverables and expected service levels are met. Monitor and take actions as needed to ensure value for money is realized for services being provided by third-party vendors. Ensure vendor service level agreements (SLA) and key performance indicators (KPI) are implemented, monitored and reported on. 

5. Act as a trusted advisor by building and maintaining relationships with business unit leaders. Foster collaboration and works closely with ILO departments and offices to understand their core objectives and processes and helps to identify, define and document areas of digital strength, weakness, opportunity and threat. Work with key stakeholders to develop and implement project communication and change management strategies to weave digital technologies and new ways of working into the culture of the Office. Take the necessary steps to remove barriers and/or accelerate the pace of change in accordance with established deadlines. 
 

6. Contribute towards the development of Information Technology Strategy and effectively enable the implementation of solutions and projects within the ILO IT governance framework. Lead or prepare business cases, project management documents, resource estimates, TCOs, etc. in accordance with ILO, project management, ITIL and other applicable standards. 

7. Define quality metrics and controls, risk management strategies and issue resolution procedures. Analyse, assess, document, monitor and manage any potential risk to overall organizational objectives and notify management of risk events requiring escalation and mitigation. 

8. Keep abreast of technological advances and initiatives and makes appropriate recommendations to management with regards to strategic direction. Initiate innovative technical solutions to exceed business requirements and add value to the overall strategic and operational objectives of the ILO. Demonstrate continuous effort to improve operations, decrease turnaround times, streamline work processes, and work cooperatively and jointly to provide quality seamless support and service. 

9. Perform other relevant duties as assigned. 

These specific duties are aligned with the relevant ILO generic job description, which includes the following generic duties:

1. Manage the appropriate elements of the unit’s budget as requested by higher level Chief.

2. Participate in working groups where office-wide information technology involves and affects the unit’s organization or duties.

3. Represent the organization in inter-organizational bodies where technical policies are to be defined which are important for the organization’s IT strategy update.

4. Provide expert advice and guidance on managing change in the work environment resulting from the introduction of new technologies.

5. Develops and determines a course of action in the following ERP and application areas: solutions scoping, requirements analysis, gap analysis, feasibility, functional design, application configuration, integration testing, user acceptance testing, production deployment, support and training.

6. Define standards and procedures for validating the integrity and operational viability of existing business processes. Ensure all associated procedures and documentation are being maintained according to evolving business requirements.

7. Perform strategic impact analysis of existing processes, systems and structures requiring change and provides estimates of effort. Evaluate the design, quality, stability and maintainability of custom code developed to fill gaps between standard ERP functionality and business requirements. Review design and development efforts that will support future enhancements.

8. Perform and oversee troubleshooting of functional issues; determine if functional requirements are met by existing software and develops action plans to correct deficiencies; support the Office during cutover and transition to new software releases.

9. Lead and coordinate investigations of reported application problems and work with functional/business analysts to test, diagnose and isolate the root cause of problems. Review incident reports for further investigation by technical operations and development experts. Coordinate further diagnosis and tests as necessary to assist with and recommend workarounds where appropriate.

10. Work to develop client relationships by listening, understanding and anticipating needs, and suggesting appropriate solutions to ensure client satisfaction and continuous alignment with the client's business needs.

Advanced university degree in Information Technology Management, Computer Science, Business Management/Administration or other related field that is relevant to the scope of the assignment. A combination of a relevant first-level university degree and four years of experience in addition to the ten years’ experience mentioned below may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree. 
Project management certification such as Prince 2 Practitioner or PMI PMP certificate would be an advantage. 

At least ten years of experience within application technology areas such as architecture, application development, enterprise solution operation and management with a minimum of five years of direct experience with ERP applications. 

• A minimum of five years of relevant experience should be at the international level. 
• A minimum of five years of experience leading application development teams or leading implementations of enterprise applications/solutions. 
• Must have proven experience in project management, change management, performance management, customer and vendor relationship management, risk management and business process modeling/reengineering. 

Excellent command of one official language (English, French, Spanish) of the Organization and a working knowledge of a second official language. One of them must be English. 

In addition to the ILO core competencies, this position requires:

The incumbent should have strong analytical and critical thinking skills, and a thorough understanding of project management principles, implementation methodologies and best business practices. A mixture of management/leadership and technical development skills are required for the role. 
Exposure to multiple, diverse technologies and processing environments within an international or United Nations (UN) family organization. 
Effective time management skills and multi-tasking capabilities including meeting deadlines; ability to work independently and effectively at all levels of a collaborative team environment; strong leadership, administrative and organizational skills. 
Ability to solve complex business and technology issues which cross organizational boundaries and technologies; ability to document problems, impacts and resolution options in a clear and concise manner; ability to liaise and negotiate with the organization to develop solutions. 
Sound understanding of administrative application implementation methodologies and best practices. 
Sufficient understanding of relevant business operations, policies and procedures within the UN environment; capability to gather, document and analyze information; ability to draw conclusions, define strategies and suggest solutions; discern criticality of issues and appropriately escalate to resolve within needed timelines. 
Verbal and written communication skills including the ability to structure and develop case studies, solution proposals, presentations, project plans, etc. 
Knowledge of business process re-engineering principles and processes and application development and implementation methodologies 
Ability to understand the long-term ("big picture") and short-term perspectives of situations including the ability to translate business needs into solution architecture requirements. 
Ability to estimate the resource impact of solution architecture alternatives. 
Extensive knowledge in the following technical areas: 
Application Solution Architecture, Design and Implementation 
Systems analysis, development, planning, and documentation methods and standards 
Software development tools, methodologies and coding best practices 
Application Development Tools 

Ability to work in a multicultural environment and to demonstrate gender-sensitive and non-discriminatory behaviour and attitudes.