About UN University (UNU)

The United Nations University (UNU) is an international community of scholars engaged in policy-oriented research, capacity development and dissemination of knowledge, furthering the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. UNU’s mission is to contribute, through research and capacity building, to efforts to resolve the pressing global problems that are the concern of the United Nations and its Member States.

For the past four decades, United Nations University (UNU) has been a go-to think tank for impartial research on human survival, conflict prevention, sustainable development and welfare. With more than 400 researchers in 12 countries, UNU’s work spans the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, generating policy-relevant knowledge to effect positive global change. UNU maintains more than 200 collaborations with UN agencies and leading universities and research institutions across the globe. For more information, please visit http://unu.edu

The United Nations University Vice-Rectorate in Europe (UNU-ViE) is one of 14 research and training Institutes that comprise the think tanks in the UNU system. UNU-ViE, established in 2007, is one of two Vice-Rectorates and the only one located outside Japan. UNU-ViE seeks to strengthen the presence of UNU in Europe and supports the worldwide institutional development of UNU by facilitating collaboration across UNU and the UN, and sharing knowledge and expertise through the development of joint activities and projects. In addition to its core mandate, it administers the central units providing service to both UNU-ViE and UNU-EHS. For more information, please visit: http://vie.unu.edu/

The Pan African Cooperation and Educational Technologies (PACET) Program at UNU-ViE aims to strengthen research, educational, and institutional capacities of UNU-EHS in global South with a focus on Africa. Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) play a key role in the activity at PACET with regard to eLearning/distance education, collaborative and cooperative systems and new media in context WEB 2.0 technologies to facilitate communication and knowledge sharing, to enhance project work, and to design and deliver learning materials. Educational technologies at PACET aims to support the knowledge acquisition, skills development, and capacity building. Considering the limited resources and availability of experts and the global mandate of the institute, educational technologies is contributing to reaching a broader (studying anytime and anywhere) and more varied audience (students, practitioners, policy makers, etc.) in term of capacity building on the topics covered at the institute.

Responsibilities

Under the overall authority of the Director of UNU-EHS and the direct supervision of the Head of the PACET section, the appointee will principally be responsible for the following:

1. Coordinate the design and development of IT platforms and online courses

• Coordinate the development of IT platforms for innovative learning approaches in the context of capacity building, entrepreneurial education, communication and collaboration;
• Support the coordination of eLearning activities and projects;
• Support the collaboration with the education and other scientific sections at EHS to enhance eLearning at the institutional level;
• Contribute to UNU wide eLearning activities;
• Assist the program support staff in monitoring finance and budgetary status of projects and provide responsible officers with information as required; Support the preparation of activities and financial reports in accordance with the terms and conditions of donor contracts and UNU policies;
• Use Pelikan and other project management software to accurately report on the progress of the projects internally and externally;
• Contribute to the development of proposals for acquisition of third-party funding on the themes of educational technologies and digitalization in the context of the water, energy and food (WEF) nexus.

2. Design, development and administration of IT systems for educational, research and cooperation purposes

• Design, development and administration of the architecture as well as modules/components of digital learning environments (learning management system, social and professional networking platform, lecture capture system, etc.);
• Ensure the Use of online conferencing systems, mobile applications and collaboration tools as part of education and communication strategies;
• Configuration and administration of virtual machines, containerized applications and web application stacks (VirtualBox, Docker, LAMP, etc.) for the deployment of digital learning environments.

3. Design and development of eLearning resources

• Support the design and development of electronic courses (e-Courses), templates for e-Courses and Training of Trainers (ToT) manuals;
• Support the design and development of web based and multimedia content for educational purposes.

4. Contribute to capacity building and to the delivery of online training programs

• Support the design and delivery of web based educational content;
• Support the planning, organization and post documentation of events and curation of application, communication and dissemination of these events, e.g. webinars and online lectures, semester and block courses, seminars, workshops, etc..

5. Perform other duties as assigned by supervisor

Key performance indicators

• Identify areas for streamlining or improvement of processes within a reasonable time frame
• Provide training and hand-off solutions to end-users in a timely manner
• Test solutions internally and with end-users to ensure they work properly
• Manage available resources such as hardware, data, and personnel to ensure timely and quality delivery of tools

• Quality and high level of engagement with end users to listen, observe, and understand their business needs

Competencies

Values:

• Inclusion — take action to create an environment of dignity and respect for all, regardless of age, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, gender expression, geography, grade, language, nationality, racial identity, religion, sex, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, social origin or any other aspect of identity
• Integrity — act ethically, demonstrating the standards of conduct of the United Nations and taking prompt action in case of witnessing unprofessional or unethical behaviour, or any other breach of UN standards
• Humility — demonstrate self-awareness and willingness to learn from others
• Humanity — act according to the purposes of the United Nations: peace, dignity and equality on a healthy planet

Behaviours:

• Connect and collaborate — build positive relationships with others to advance the work of the United Nations and work coherently as One UN
• Analyse and plan — seek out and use data from a wide range of sources to understand problems, inform decision-making, propose evidence-based solutions and plan action
• Deliver results with positive impact — hold oneself and others accountable for delivering results and making a positive difference to the people and causes that the United Nations serves
• Learn and develop — pursue own learning and development and contribute to the learning and development of others
• Adapt and innovate — demonstrate flexibility, agility and the ability to think and act in novel ways

1) Education and certification

Completed Bachelor’s degree and/or Completed Master’s degree or equivalent in computer science, Multimedia, Educational Technologies, Natural Science or other relevant field.

2) Required skills and experience

• A minimum of three (3) years of working experience with Bachelor’s degree or one (1) year of working experience with Master’s degree in a relevant field, preferably in an international and multi-cultural environment;
• Proven experience in database, web programming (PHP, JavaScript, HTML5, AJAX, CSS, SQL, Java, Ruby, etc.);
• Proven experience in configuration and management of Linux web servers, virtual machines, containers and web application stacks (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PhP, etc.). Excellent knowledge in management and administration of open source content/learning management frameworks and tools (Moodle, Social Engine, WordPress, Drupal, Typo3, OpenCast, etc.);
• Experience in the design of eLearning systems and components and good experience in agile/scrum software development methodology;

• Experience in the design and development of eLearning based educational material. Instructional design experience will be considered as an asset;
• Good knowledge in educational technologies and authoring software and tools for eLearning course development (Articulate, Adobe Captivate, Adobe Presenter, Course Labs, Camtasia Studio, etc.).

Desired:

• Strong team player with strong interpersonal skills committed to working in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity;

• Ability to communicate clearly and efficiently with high level stakeholders;

• Experience in management and administration of online Communities of Practice will be considered an asset.

3) Language Requirements

• Excellent writing, presentation and communication skills with a fluency in spoken and written English;

• Additional languages such as German and French, Spanish or further UN languages are an asset.

Remuneration

UNU offers an attractive, tax exempt compensation package including an annual net salary (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance), 30 days annual leave, dependency benefits, pension plan and health insurance scheme. For more information please see: https://careers.un.org/lbw/home.aspx?viewtype=SAL

Duration of contract

This is a full-time, fixed-term appointment. The initial appointment will be for one (1) year with the possibility of renewal on a fixed-term appointment basis, subject to satisfactory work performance.

For academic positions, the combined duration of fixed-term appointments with UNU may not exceed six (6) years. The mandatory age of retirement for United Nations staff is 65 years.

Expected start date:

As soon as possible

How to Apply

To apply to UNU, you will not need an account. Instead, we ask that you:

• Apply via the apply link;
• fill out the UNU P11 Form (please avoid using similar forms provided by other United Nations organisations);
• provide a motivation statement (in the P11 form); and
• answer a few questions that are tailored to the position.

You may wish to refer to the UN Values and Behaviours Framework for more information.

Application Deadline

06 August 2024

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by a competency-based interview, background checks and references.

Special notice

Staff members of the United Nations University are international civil servants subject to the Rector’s authority. They may be assigned to any of the activities or offices of the United Nations University. The Rector reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a level below that advertised.

UNU 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 and become part of the organisation. Applications from developing countries, and from women are strongly encouraged. Eligible internal applicants are also encouraged to apply.

UNU has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNU, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination.

If you have supervisory function you need to have awareness on gender related issues.

Information about UNU rosters

UNU reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNU.

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