Senior Business Relationships Manager (Emergency Programmes and Humanitarian Response), P5, Fixed-Term, post no. 101886, ICTD Digital Core, Valencia, Spain

UNICEF is going through an exciting digital transformation that will influence the work of the entire organization. UNICEF is looking for dynamic, innovative leaders to drive the transformation and play a key role in shaping the way forward. The Senior Business Relationships Manager provides leadership, technical support, oversight and stewardship for ICT related humanitarian and emergency responses. This includes representing the division in UN interagency ICT bodies and in public and private sector partnerships to enable optimal humanitarian response. This role partners with the Office of Emergency Programmes (EMOPS) to enhance UNICEF’s emergency programmes. Additionally, the scope of this role is expanding to include digital solutions in emergency.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, a connected world.

The overarching strategic goal of UNICEF’s Information and Communication Technology Division (ICTD) is to transform and build partnerships with our stakeholders to successfully implement UNICEF programmes globally through innovative technology-enabled solutions.

How can you make a difference?

UNICEF is going through an exciting digital transformation that will influence the work of the entire organization. UNICEF is looking for dynamic, innovative leaders to drive the transformation and play a key role in shaping the way forward.

The Senior Business Relationships Manager provides leadership, technical support, oversight and stewardship for ICT related humanitarian and emergency responses. This includes representing the division in UN interagency ICT bodies and in public and private sector partnerships to enable optimal humanitarian response. This role partners with the Office of Emergency Programmes (EMOPS) to enhance UNICEF’s emergency programmes. Additionally, the scope of this role is expanding to include digital solutions in emergency.

As a member of the Global ICT management team, the incumbent plays a key role in shaping and implementing ICT strategy, ensuring standards, capacity building, and global response capabilities, while boosting regional cohesion and alignment.

This position reports to the Chief Information Officer and supervises two Business Analysts.

Key responsibilities:

Business Demands and Objectives

• Identify, develop, manage, and prioritize ICT business demands, strategic technologies, and investments for the Office of Emergency Programmes and the humanitarian cluster, providing thought leadership on innovative solutions driving the technology strategies.
• Understand business needs and business capability requirements and collaborate with other Business Relationships Managers, the Solution Center and IT leadership to develop and execute technology strategy in alignment with product roadmaps to achieve ICT strategy and drive reduced overall technology platform operating costs.
• Identify opportunities where technology can provide game-changing innovation and ability to support continual cost optimization, as well as effectiveness and efficiency. Participate in planning sessions with the cluster to identify ICT enabling solutions that support short and long-term strategic goals. Guide the creation and delivery of the strategic ICT plan for assigned business partners
• As a member of the ICT governance process, prioritize and rationalize demands and be accountable for the success of the projects portfolio of the cluster. Manage and support established governance processes to ensure all demands for IT are presented to the board for consideration. Provide oversight of the business unit's investment project portfolio.

Strategic Partner and Trusted Advisor

• Build and maintain strong strategic relationships with the assigned cluster and serve as the interface between the Office of Emergency Programmes and ICT Division, ensuring coordinated delivery of services by IT.
• Create improvement opportunities through the effective use of technology, ensuring that the functional requirements are fully met by the proposed solution. Advise on options, risks, costs versus benefits, and impacts on end-user products and services, business processes and systems.
• Analyze technology trends to determine the impact on the achievement of strategic goals.

Business Case Design, Service Management and Value Realization

• Lead the resolution of complex ICT-enabled business cases in the cluster. Evaluate demands and guide the assigned organizational group in developing business cases in terms of architectural and portfolio fit, resource estimation, time planning and value. Ensure the alignment of projects with the technology that provides maximum effectiveness and efficiency.
• Prepare cost benefit analyses for projects, and guide business units in the cluster in prioritizing projects. Identify and leverage IT synergy potentials across business units. Develop recommendation for joint or coordinated application project delivery across business units/cIient divisions in collaboration with other Business Relationships Managers.
• Manage internal customer expectations with respect to IT services. Identify gaps between customer needs and IT capabilities, and work to find innovative solutions to those gaps.
• Develop guidelines for the evaluation and oversight of providers and third parties of ICT-related services and products while ensuring good governance and adherence to standards, policies, and guidelines. Research, review, and analyze the effectiveness and efficiency of requirements gathering processes and develop strategies for enhancing or further leveraging these processes.
• Establish a Service Catalog to identify and assess opportunities. Provide recommendations based on business relevance, appropriate timing, technology, implementation, and deployment. Ensure value realization through benefit realization plans, total cost of ownership and value for money analyses. Monitor in partnership with the business owners.

Lead Advisor on UNICEF on Emergency Telecommunications Strategy

• Provide authoritative technical and policy advice to the Chief Information Officer on issues of significant impact on humanitarian, emergency relief and disaster response management efforts.
• Advise on a wide range of complex issues and problems, including national and international partnerships. Develop strategies to deal with emergencies in humanitarian affairs and related issues.
• Lead the headquarters-based ICT Emergency and Humanitarian coordination team. Manage ICTD/Emergency Telecommunications annual budget.
• Build and maintain strong strategic relationships with the emergency response unit, field offices and regional offices during complex emergencies. Serve as the technical lead for the Emergency Telecommunications (ETC) cluster which works to provide shared services during humanitarian emergencies
• Participate in inter-agency crisis coordination and management. Provide emergency ICT oversight, coordination and support as required in cluster emergency response. Prepare standby agreements, incorporating UNICEF's emergency telecom response and supply contracts into normal operations protocol to ensure fast, efficient and adequate delivery of equipment and services.
• Coordinate with the Chief Information Officer and other key staff to increase UNICEF ETC profile, within the ETC partners.
• Lead regular reviews of ICTD Emergency Response Guidelines in coordination with global ICTD Management Team to ensure they are up to date and reflect learning and practice.
• Oversee the continuous upgrade, design and build of rapid-deployment ICT/ETC kits for UNICEF offices in emergencies. Oversee in-house and external pre-stocking of essential ETC equipment (satellite, LAN, WiFi, radio) required to support timely, effective and predictable delivery during humanitarian emergencies.

Development, Management and Facilitation of ICT Partnerships and Advocacy

• Identify, develop, manage, and prioritize key strategic partnerships with UN Agencies, NGOs, and corporate partners in support of UNICEF's ICT portfolio and strategy. Collaborate with UN agencies, NGOs and stand-by partners in emergency preparedness and response. Ensure UNICEF requirements are reflected in interagency ICT collaboration.
• Represent UNICEF in building private sector and tech sector partnerships for ICT in humanitarian response. Represent UNICEF and serve as primary liaison with other UN agencies and non-UN entities, including donor representatives, NGOs, and other humanitarian partners, through interagency mechanisms and communities of practice about emergency situations.
• Organize and chair inter-agency and other international meetings, conferences, task forces, presenting UNICEF ICTD views and policies.
• Establish effective collaboration with UNICEF field offices, regional offices and external partners to provide ICT assistance to emergency countries.
• Represent the ICT function by sharing vision and promoting services and capabilities. Advocate on behalf of business units to ensure services meet their business priorities and needs.
• Lead and champion change management activities. Ensure frequent communication to staff and clients about changes and the impact. Advocate, coach and minimize disruption to achieve desired results from ICT projects and initiatives that are triggered or enabled by technology. Ensure business and divisional clients understand the technology solution, overall solution delivery, and compliance to governance processes. Develop and communicate IT innovation and awareness programs.

Global ICT Emergency Capacity Building

• Lead Global Emergency Response and Preparedness trainings for UNICEF country offices and partners in the field, including development of training modules.
• Identify current and future capacity requirements, especially for skilled UNICEF staff globally and standby partner emergency ICT responders in all regions. Work closely with global and local partners to implement high quality emergency responses and seek opportunities to strengthen ICT emergency operational capacity.

Innovation in Emergency Preparedness

• Provide strategic leadership on innovation within ETC emergency programmes. Lead and manage internal ETC innovation initiatives and programmes to demonstrate innovation value add for field impact.
• Coordinate and manage processes to enhance effectiveness, visibility, and scalability of internal emergency related innovations in UNICEF and ICT at various levels (headquarters, regional offices and field offices).
• Explore innovative technology to enhance preparedness and effective response through new data sources, analysis and delivery tools. Coordinate with appropriate sections in headquarters for introduction into the infrastructure.

Leadership and People Management
 
• Strategically lead, supervise, develop, and empower staff under supervision, including 2 Business Analysts.
• Promote culture of performance management, providing timely guidance, feedback and support to team.
• Monitor work progress and ensure results are achieved according to schedule and performance standards.
• Promote a team environment of staff well-being, accessibility and inclusion.
• Develop work plans and targets based on strategic division and organizational priorities.

To qualify as a champion for every child you will have…

Academic Degrees Required:
• An advanced university degree (Master’s Degree or higher) in management information systems, computer science, business administration, information technology management or a related field. A first University Degree (Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent) in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.

Professional Experience:
• A minimum of 10 years of professional work experience in an international development context is required, as outlined below:
 -Senior level experience in business analyses, web/mobile solutions, data management and business intelligence solutions, customer relationship management solutions, customer support technologies, technical architecture, IT applications, IT operations or emergency telecommunications
 -Experience successfully leading large, complex projects or in IT consulting/management roles
 -Experience managing major custom or packaged implementation projects with delivery to a large or remote user base
 -Experience managing multiple stakeholders in a large context and geographically dispersed organization
 -Experience with building external partnerships
 -Experience with the UN system, including working understanding of policy development and the Sustainable Development Goals as they relate to ICT
 -International Humanitarian experience
 -Strong managerial and leadership experience
 -Experience in ICT international development and Technology for Development in Emergencies (cash transfer, civil registration, etc) is strongly desired.

Other Skills and Qualifications:
• Knowledge of business process analysis and design. Ability to translate business needs into technical requirements
• Clear understanding of software development lifecycle and application support
• Working knowledge of networking and systems design or familiarity with system development methodologies (software product engineering preferred)
• Ability to foster excellent work relationships and build alliances with key stakeholders
• Ability to manage and prioritize multiple projects and resources concurrently, developing budgets and managing forecasts for IT investments, including ability to assess benefits, risks, and costs
• Ability to learn the business unit's functions and understand the strategic business goals to identify opportunities for technology innovation and to analyze and propose technical strategies for the business units
• Ability to stay abreast of new technologies and their ability to support UNICEF innovation projects to improve efficiency and effectiveness of business units
• Ability to seize accountability and utilize skills, experience and business knowledge to identify business needs and translate them into solutions
• Fluency in English is required with advanced written and oral proficiency. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and the core competencies as follows:

• Builds and maintains partnerships
• Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
• Drive to achieve results for impact
• Innovates and embraces change
• Manages ambiguity and complexity
• Thinks and acts strategically
• Works collaboratively with others
• Nurtures, leads and manages people
View our competency framework here.

Remarks:

UNICEF is committed to achieving gender balance at the P5 level by end of 2021 and will prioritize eligible and suitable female candidates. Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

This is a re-advertisement. Candidates who applied previously will be included in consideration and do not need to re-appy.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

UNICEF 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 at http://www.whed.net/

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.