UNDP Jobs - 109489- Full-Stack Developer

Full-Stack Developer

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

IPSA (Regular)

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

17-Oct-22 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

IPSA-10

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The following documents shall be required from the applicants:

Personal CV or P11, indicating all past positions held and their main underlying functions, their durations (month/year), the qualifications, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate, and at least three (3) the most recent professional references of previous supervisors. References may also include peers.
A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page) indicating why the candidate considers him-/herself to be suitable for the position.
Managers may ask (ad hoc) for any other materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of their experience, such as reports, presentations, publications, campaigns or other materials.

Background:

The UNDP Accelerator Labs Network is the largest learning network in the world. It includes 91 public innovation labs and a global curation team, all embedded within UNDP’s global architecture and country platforms. Lab methodologies build on the latest thinking from the fields of complex systems, and lead user innovation, and collective intelligence to accelerate development impact.

The network of UNDP Accelerator Labs surfaces and reinforces locally sourced solutions at scale while mobilizing a wide and dynamic range of partners who contribute knowledge, resources, and experience. The idea is to transform traditional development approaches by introducing new protocols, backed by evidence and practice, to accelerate the testing and dissemination of solutions within, and across countries, while at the same time enabling the global community to collectively learn from local knowledge and ingenuity at a speed and scale that our societies and planet require.

To support these learning outcomes, the UNDP Accelerator Labs global team has designed and built a suite of online reflective tools and platforms that help the network see itself, learn from itself, and amplify its knowledge. The suite currently has an active user base of 400 UNDP staff, which is expected to grow as access is progressively being opened to outside audiences. The volume of content on the platforms is reaching a tipping point that requires setting up more effective and efficient backup mechanisms and consolidating the backend architecture across the entire suite. The international personnel will work on this directly with the Lead Data Scientist of the UNDP Accelerator Labs global team.

Institutional Arrangement:

For purposes of this assignment, the Lead Data Scientist of the UNDP Accelerator Labs global team will supervise the contract and the performance of the Full-stack developer.

The Full-stack developer will engage with other relevant UNDP staff as needed. Detailed work plans, including a timeline, external organizations, and individuals to engage and consult with will be developed at the beginning of the assignment.

Duties and Responsibilities

Design and build a more comprehensive and unified backend architecture for the suite of UNDP Accelerator Labs tools and platforms on MS Azure, using PostgreSQL, Node.js, and Express.js.
Build a robust backup strategy on MS Azure for the different PostgreSQL databases and media libraries.
Improve system authentication across the entire suite and enhance backend security.
Build new features for the different tools and platforms in the suite, mainly in Node.js and Express.js, based on user input and feedback.
Integrate analytic features, mostly written in Python, developed by colleagues in the global team.

Competencies

Core

Achieve Results:

LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact

Think Innovatively:

LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems

Learn Continuously:

LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences

Adapt with Agility:

LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands

Act with Determination:

LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results

Engage and Partner:

LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration

Enable Diversity and Inclusion:

LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

*Thematic Area*	*Name*	*Definition*
Digital & Innovation	Data engineering	Ability in programming languages such as SQL, Python, and R, be adept at finding warehousing solutions, and using ETL (Extract, Transfer, Load) tools, and understanding basic machine learning and algorithms.
Digital & Innovation	Programming, Web and App Development	Ability to build websites, platforms and apps that are effective and intuitive to use.
Digital & Innovation	Digital product design	Ability to design digital products which are user-centered, intuitive, functional and achieve desired outcomes
Digital & Innovation	Digital product management	Ability to design and lead digital product development including testing, ongoing product iteration, product strategy and delivery.
Cross-functional competency	Customer Satisfaction/Client Management	Ability to respond timely and appropriately with a sense of urgency, provide consistent solutions, and deliver timely and quality results and/or solutions to fulfill and understand the real customers' needs. Provide inputs to the development of customer service strategy. Look for ways to add value beyond clients' immediate requests. Ability to anticipate client's upcoming needs and concerns.
Cross-functional competency	System thinking	Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system
Cross-functional competency	Strategic thinking	Ability to leverage learning from a variety of sources to anticipate and respond to future trends; to demonstrate foresight in order to model what future developments and possible ways forward look like for UNDP

Required Skills and Experience

Minimum Qualifications of the Successful IPSA

Min. Education requirements	Master’s degree or higher in Computer Science, Information Technology, Human Computer Interaction, Engineering, or any related field with strong computational elements is required
Min. years of relevant work experience	A minimum of five years of experience in full stack web design and development, including responsive web design is required. A minimum of three years of experience in database development and management, including data security protocols and certifications is required. A minimum of two years of experience with PostgreSQL is required. A minimum of two years of experience with Node.js is required. A minimum of two years of experience with Express.js is required. A minimum of two years of experience with MS Azure or other cloud services is required. Familiarity with Sass/ SCSS is highly desirable. Ability to write clean code and documentation is highly desirable. Experience working with nonprofit organizations is desirable.
Required skills	Comfortable working with cloud computing services, as well as diverse programming languages, frameworks, libraries, and platforms—most importantly MS Azure, PostgreSQL, Node.js, and Express.js; knowledge of PHP is also desirable. Passionate about software engineering, architecture design, and application development. Passionate about open source/ free software movements. Passionate about the use of data for human and social development. Ability to work effectively as part of a team, but also independently with little supervision. Ability and confidence to work directly with partners or clients to define requirements. Ability to work with people from around the world, with different backgrounds, motivations, and competencies.
Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section	Planning and organization: Ability to meet deadlines, work under pressure, manage workflows, and operate as part of a distributed team with members across all world time zones, including a minimum 4-hour overlap with NYC Ability to prioritize activities and assignments. Possesses good organizational skills. Knowledge management and learnings: Motivation to continuously learn new things, and ability to put them to use. Motivation to share personal knowledge and experience with others. Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively, with a particular attention for the audience. Demonstrates openness in sharing information. Listens to others.
Required Language(s)	Fluency in English (written and oral) is required. Working knowledge of French is desirable.
Professional Certificates	Computer Science certificate desirable