Org. Setting and Reporting

UNRWA, the largest United Nations operation in the Middle East with over 30,000 staff working across five areas of operation, is looking for highly committed personnel wishing to make a change.

If you are looking for a rewarding opportunity to make a tangible difference for one of the most vulnerable communities in the world, UNRWA would like to hear from you.

Under the direct supervision of the Chief, Business Engagement Division, the Head, Enterprise Business Solutions Section, plays a strategic role in liaising between the Information Management and Technology Department (IMTD) and UNRWA functional Departments and Field Offices in relation to ensuring sound business and technology management practices and supporting business transformation by enabling new capabilities. The Head ensures Product Line Teams deliver services with an enablement and business value-centric mindset, working closely with business partners to understand their requirements and ensure alignment between their plans/operations and information technology initiatives. The Head leads Product Line Managers who are accountable for respective product line strategy, design, development, enhancement delivery, and cost, and s/he contributes to the associated processes of change management, quality assurance, and verification of benefit delivery and realization. The Head is also the custodian (product owner) of an Agency-wide ERP System.

Responsibilities

– Manages the identification, analysis and documentation of business needs related to process improvement, process automation and data management through working closely with customers to understand their business needs and through the study and assessment of best practices, processes, standard operating procedures, organizational change initiatives and Departmental/Field plans.

– Manages and contributes to the translation of the above analysis and assessment into user/system requirements and solution conceptualizations; develops tangible/specific project documents; and plans and manages projects for creating new business solutions or amending existing applications to fulfil customer requirements and needs and to deliver anticipated benefits.

– Works, coordinates and liaises closely with customers, other Information Management and Technology Department (IMTD) divisions, sections, and units, external vendors and other stakeholders to develop and deliver long-term strategy and technology roadmaps for Product Lines and associated project and product management undertakings; ensures compliance with developed applications to high-quality standards and transition of developed solutions to operations; helps in the associated change management process; and provides strong user support meeting service level agreements.

– Supports the Chief, Business Engagement Division in leading IT customer relationship management; maintains strong relationships with customers (i.e., program and support department heads) to identify business solutions development and enhancement opportunities; keeps abreast of recent relevant technologies and trends; provides professional advice to customers; and conducts reviews with customers periodically to address customers issues/concerns with present solutions in an accurate and timely manner.

– Participates in the formulation of IMTD strategies, plans, policies and standards. In close collaboration with the Enterprise Architecture and Business Intelligence Unit and other IMTD functional units, contributes to the definition of UNRWA’s Enterprise IT Architecture in terms of business, application, data and technology layers and the formulation of plans for its implementation.

– Acts as the custodian/product owner of an ERP System. Manages the development, strategic expansion and leverage of the ERP portfolio of the Agency; works closely with the architecture team, operations team and the ERP vendor to define and prioritize product development plans; coordinates and manages ERP support; in conjunction with Product Line Managers and Business Analysts, coordinates testing efforts and facilitates testing of major system upgrades; seeks input from and coordinates system improvements with a diverse user community and serves as a liaison with decentralized users; works with the Enterprise Architect to do market research in new versions of the existing ERP solution and new ERP systems and proposes a roadmap for the Agency ERP solution.

Competencies

UN Core Values of Integrity, Professionalism and Respect for Diversity, and Core Competencies of Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results apply by default.

Leading and Supervising
Adapting and Responding to Change
Planning and Organizing
Delivering Results
Engaging and Nurturing

For guidance on how to prepare for competency-based interviews: https://careers.un.org/lbw/home.aspx?viewtype=AYI

Education

Advanced university degree from an accredited educational institution in information systems management, computer science or other related disciplines.

Job – Specific Qualification

Project management certification (PMP, PRINCE2), ITIL certification is required.

Additional certification/knowledge in Business Analysis (CCBA, CBAP), IT Governance/Management (COBIT5), and/or Product Management is desirable.

Work Experience

A minimum of eight years of progressively responsible and relevant professional experience in the implementation and management of application systems in public or private sector and leading high-performing teams is required.

Four years of relevant work experience in roles related to stakeholder management, product management, requirements and process analysis, organizational change management and quality management, is required.

Unless already serving as an international staff member in the UN Common System, a candidate for an international post must have at least two continuous years of relevant international experience outside UNRWA, and outside the country(s) of which the candidate is a national or holds citizenship, a passport, or a national identity number, is required.

Work experience in modern application development platforms in large implementations in public or semi-public organizations, is required.

Work experience in ERP systems management and support, is required.

Experience in System Development Lifecycle (SDLC) methodologies is required.

Experience managing external IT service providers is required.

Experience in using Agile development methodologies is required.

Work experience in delivering SaaS solutions, and work experience with public sector (education, health, registration, and social services management systems), are desirable.

Knowledge of the mandate and mission of UNRWA as well as the cultural, political and social environment in which it operates, and work experience in an international context, are desirable.

Languages

Excellent command of spoken and written English.

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.

Special Notice

Type of Contract and duration: 2 years, with the possibility of further extension.

The Head, Enterprise Business Solutions Section will be required to travel throughout the Agency’s area of operations in the Middle East.

Applicants have to complete the Personal History Profile (PHP) in Inspira in order to be considered. The PHP should be completed with full relevant work experience as per the requirements in the Job Opening, in order to be considered.

UNRWA welcomes applications from qualified candidates with disabilities.

A roster may be created from the selection exercise, and successful candidates may become eligible for appointment to the same post or a similar post.

Join our eco-friendly organization dedicated to environment sustainability and targeting to be plastic free by 2025.

Equivalency:
A first level university degree in combination with additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.
NB: work experience alone or formal qualifications with no relevant work experience are not considered an acceptable combination.

UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN member states, regional bodies, business foundations and individual contributions. The mission of UNRWA is to help Palestine refugees achieve their full potential in human development under the difficult circumstances in which they live.

For more details on UNRWA, please visit: https://www.unrwa.org/

United Nations Considerations

Staff members are subject to the authority of the Commissioner-General of UNRWA and to assignment by him or her.

UNRWA is committed to achieving gender parity at all levels of staffing under the current UN-wide gender agenda and strongly encourages applications from qualified applicants from under-represented groups.

At UNRWA, the paramount consideration in the recruitment and employment of staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, with due regard to geographic diversity. All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and organizational needs. UNRWA is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. Reasonable accommodation for applicants with disabilities may be provided to support participation in the recruitment process when requested and indicated in the application.

UNRWA Considerations
UNRWA staff are expected to uphold the highest standards of efficiency, competence, neutrality, impartiality and integrity. This includes respect for and commitment to human rights, diversity and non-violent means of dealing with all kinds of conflict. Only persons who fully and unconditionally commit to these values should consider applying for UNRWA jobs. Candidates will not be considered for employment with UNRWA if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment. The Agency may disqualify applicants who have separated for reason of misconduct, who left a UN Agency while misconduct processes were pending, or who appear on the UN Sanctions List.
UNRWA is a non-smoking work environment.

Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the Manual for the Applicant, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of the inspira account-holder homepage.

The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.

Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.