Business Solutions Specialist

OBJECTIVE OF THE OFFICE/DEPARTMENT

This requisition is for employment at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/Regional Office of the World Health Organization (WHO)

Information Technology Services (ITS) provides leadership and direction in the deployment of information and communication technologies and systems to support the Pan American Health Organization/Regional Office of the Americas of the World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) in carrying out its mandate. Furthermore, ITS establishes and maintains strategies, policies, standards, and procedures to ensure the effective and efficient provision of information and communication services in a geographically dispersed environment.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Under the general supervision of the Director, Information Technology Services (ITS), and the direct supervision of the Senior Advisor, Applications Development and Support (ITS/AT), the incumbent is responsible for, but not necessarily limited to, the following duties:

1. Design, develop, configure, and lead the deployment of projects, IT solutions, systems integrations and enhancements, in collaboration with functional areas and external providers; provide support to business applications, as required;
2. Liaise with business area representatives to understand the business needs; assess systems architecture currently in place and work with technical professionals to recommend and design solution architecture that meets business needs and follows Enterprise Architecture (EA) principles;
3. Provide technical support for the efficient functioning of the PASB Management Information System (PMIS), by providing solutions to business areas; document business processes, identify goals and gaps, and translate this into technical requirements and solutions for PMIS enhancements and revisions, in close collaboration with business process experts;
4. Provide technical support to PMIS integrations, data analytics, Workday security and business process administration; use IT tools to develop interfaces and integrations between all components of PMIS; develop reports, KPIs and dashboards using PAHO’s corporate tools;
5. Provide technical lead to external vendors that develop business solutions and applications for PAHO;
6. Leverage business knowledge and expertise in the analysis of technology trends and current vendor updates to identify opportunities for process improvements, keep functional areas informed, and assist with the deployment of vendor updates;
7. Participate in IT related change management activities and go live support processes;
8. Facilitate collaboration sessions with respective business owners, business process experts, vendors and end-user representatives;
9. Review and evaluate proposals for Information Technology projects at PAHO; make recommendations to ensure cost effective implementation of solutions that would add value to PAHO operations;
10. Collaborate with the information security team to ensure platforms and solutions are in alignment with information security standards and policies;
11. Identify and mitigate risks in business processes and technology;
12. Advocate, implement and document information technology standards, best practices and innovation trends;
13. Perform other related duties, as assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

Essential: A bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, systems engineering or in any other field related to the functions of the position, from an accredited institution.

Desirable: Workday training or certification would be an asset.

In the event that your candidature is retained for an interview, you will be required to provide, in advance, a scanned copy of the degree(s)/diploma(s)/certificate(s) required for this position. WHO, only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed through the link: http://www.whed.net/. PAHO will also use the databases of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation http://www.chea.org and College Navigator, found on the website of the National Centre for Educational Statistics, https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator to support the validation process.

Experience:

Essential: Seven years of combined national and international progressively responsible experience in the management and support of enterprise business processes and information technology services.

Desirable: Experience in ERP implementation would be an asset.

SKILLS:

PAHO Competencies:

• Overall attitude at work: Maintains integrity and takes a clear ethical approach and stance; demonstrates commitment to the Organization’s mandate and promotes the values of the Organization in daily work and behavior; is accountable for work carried out in line with own role and responsibilities; is respectful towards, and trusted by, colleagues and counterparts.
• Teamwork: Collaborate and cooperate with others/Deal effectively with conflict - Creates team spirit; promotes collaboration and open communication in the team; proactively supports others; welcomes team responsibilities and drives team results; promotes knowledge sharing in the team. Proactively identifies conflicts and facilitates their resolution in a respectful manner; tactfully resolves conflicts between or with others and takes action to reduce any possible tension; effectively builds a rapport with individuals and teams, establishing good personal and professional relationships, as well as minimizing risk of potential conflict.
• Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences: Relate well to diversity in others and capitalize on such diversity - Treats all people with dignity and respect. Relates well to people with different cultures, gender, orientations, backgrounds and/or positions; examines own behavior to avoid stereotypical responses; considers issues from the perspective of others and values their diversity.
• Communication: Express oneself clearly when speaking/Listen/Write effectively/Share knowledge - Foresees communication needs of audience and targets message accordingly. Facilitates open communication; encourages others to share their views openly and takes time to understand and consider their views. Writes down ideas in a clear, structured, logical and credible way; drafts and supports the development of guidelines, policies and procedures. Shares relevant information openly and ensures that the shared information is understood; considers knowledge sharing as a constructive working method and demonstrates awareness of the Organization.
• Producing Results: Work efficiently and independently/Deliver quality results/Take responsibility - Prioritizes work, monitors own progress against objectives and adapts plans as required; communicates adjustments as necessary. Acts proactively and stimulates action as needed; handles problems effectively and constructively. Produces high-quality results and workable solutions that meet clients’ needs. Works independently to produce new results and sets own time lines effectively and efficiently. Shows awareness of own role and clarifies roles of team members in relation to project’s expected results. Makes proposals for improving processes as required and takes responsibility for own work and/or actions, as necessary. Demonstrates positive attitude in working on new projects and initiatives. Demonstrates accountability for own success, as well as for errors; learns from experience.
• Moving forward in a changing environment: Propose change/Adapt to change - Actively supports Organizational change initiatives and demonstrates personal commitment to them, including when faced with new demands; proposes workable solutions to challenging situations. Engages in positive responses to a changing environment and promotes workable solutions to achieve own and team’s results. Welcomes, and actively seeks to apply, new ideas, approaches and working methods and technologies in order to improve own and/or team’s work processes and results; demonstrates commitment to Organizational change initiatives.

Technical Expertise:

• Theoretical and proven technical and analytical skills in systems analysis and design, application development and configuration, systems documentation, and management of systems development projects. Good knowledge of the software development life cycle using the Agile methodology.
• Ability to review and accurately evaluate new technology and systems options available to the Organization to be used in advancing the objectives defined for information systems and be able to translate system requirements into functional systems.
• Significant experience in IT project management including initiatives with multiple platforms, processes, and cross–functional teams including external team members.
• Thorough understanding of administrative business processes such as Budget, Accounting, Payroll, Finance, Human Resources, and Procurement. Skills in specific products should include Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) such as Workday, SAP, Oracle or similar. In addition: Business process analysis, MS Office 365 and cloud technologies.
• Strong professional oral and writing skills, including the development of reports, oral presentations, and technical/persuasive documents for consideration at the highest levels of the Organization.
• A thorough knowledge of Windows operating systems, Internet Information Services, Web and API Services Standards, Object Oriented Models, MS SQL databases and modern development technologies.

Languages:

Very good knowledge of English or Spanish with a working knowledge of the other language. Knowledge of French and/or Portuguese would be an asset.

IT Skills:

• Demonstrated ability and skills using MS Windows and office 365 applications including SharePoint, Power BI and DevOps. Demonstrated abilities with cloud solutions involving serverless applications/compute, cloud software architecture and Software as a Service (SaaS). Knowledge in Azure environment would be an asset.
• Knowledge of Business Intelligence and Data Analytics technical architectures. Design and implementation of reporting and analytical solutions. Business Processes analysis and modeling. Ability to engineer and design solutions across the enterprise architecture and across diverse technologies.
• Knowledge of applications and data integration technologies, including APIs, middleware, and data gateways.

REMUNERATION

Annual Salary: (Net of taxes)

US $62,120.00 post adjustment

Post Adjustment: 49.6% of the above figure(s). This percentage is to be considered as indicative since variations may occur each month either upwards or downwards due to currency exchange rate fluctuations or inflation.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This vacancy notice may be used to fill other similar positions at the same grade level.

Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.

A written test may be used as a form of screening.

Any appointment/extension of appointment is subject to PAHO Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and e-Manual.

For information on PAHO please visit: http://www.paho.org

PAHO/WHO is committed to workforce diversity.

PAHO/WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.

PAHO/WHO offers an attractive compensation package including an annual net salary and post adjustment, which reflects the cost of living in a particular duty station and exchange rates (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance). Other benefits include: 30 days annual leave, dependency benefits, pension plan and health insurance scheme. Benefits for internationally recruited staff may include home leave, travel and removal expenses on appointment and separation, education grant for dependent children, assignment grant and rental subsidy.

Candidates appointed to an international post with PAHO are subject to mobility and may be assigned to any activity or duty station of the Organization throughout the world.

All applicants are required to complete an on-line profile to be considered for this post.

Candidates will be contacted only if they are under serious consideration. A written test and/or interview will be held for this post. The post description is the official documentation for organization purposes.