UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, A fair chance

Under the general guidance of the Chief, Operational Analysis and Technology Centre (OATC), the ICT Manager (Digital Applications) is responsible for the technical implementation of the Digital Supply Chain strategic plan, which requires the intensive use of robust, modern, and well-supported business applications. This post is based in Copenhagen, a headquarters duty station, and is part of the Supply Division (SD), OATC. The Centre manages and supports the analysis of business requirements for applications, the identification or development, the implementation, as well as the operation of business application solutions.

How can you make a difference?

Based on the business strategies and work plans, established policies, guidelines, and service level agreements, the incumbent is responsible for managing, coordinating, and supporting the integration of large-scale and complex web-based systems that support SD’s digital business processes, collaboration, and management information objectives.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: [attach JD/TOR here]

Key functions, accountabilities, and related duties/tasks:

The incumbent’s key functions, accountabilities and related duties or tasks include:

1. Responsible for the management and support of SD’s digital business applications lifecycle and their integration points

• Provide support to the large-scale and complex UNICEF business applications and information systems pillars used by Supply Division (SD) outside of SAP Vision. This includes being accountable for business application analysis and establishing integration requirements with other SD and non-SD systems as appropriate, paying particular attention to system redundancies and compatibility with the global Enterprise Architecture standards.
• Lead the provision of insights on the analysis of business needs and elaboration of functional requirements and quality attributes of the digital solutions.
• Direct the team in charge of the technical implementation of web tools, enabling collaboration and knowledge management through Enterprise Content Management, Team sites, Office365 and custom web applications.
• Be accountable for project governance on ICT Manager (Digital applications)’ development lifecycle and work with vendors to implement the solutions.
• Coordinate the development and validation of integration requirements and integration plans.
• Manage the planning, quality assurance and implementation, as well as documentation of the integration plans and specifications.
• Ensure that organization standards as well as industry best practices are considered in the vendor and tool selection, information structure, information security, metadata, and system architecture.
• Plan and direct maintenance activities for digital business applications to ensure ongoing ‘fit for purpose’ compatibility while reviewing technical debt and operational risks.
• Monitor and produce reports and insights on the web application performance and perform usage statistics analysis.
• Manage and maintain the integration technology components, monitor system capacity and performance, and ensure flow of information across applications.
• Coordinate the management of changes and upgrades, and the communication plan to support these changes.
• Manage compliance and escalate exceptions (proactive) and deviations (reactive) on project management and change management.
• Develop and maintain a change management culture with business owners and adopt change request processes for planned enhancements.
• Undertake continuous improvement efforts to maintain business applications performance, business process, knowledge base, and training materials.
• Maintain and share knowledge and awareness of best practices and development trends in cloud services and web technologies and standards and apply these to recommend options for continuous improvement.

2. Foster the collaboration with Supply Division’s (SD) business owners and strategic partners

• Lead and direct ‘DevOps’ concepts internally within OATC, evangelizing and influencing peers in the team by defining digital deployment plans and adoption strategies, and building support baselines.
• Manage digital communication materials and applications documentation internally, including liaison with key resources and SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) in ICTD;
• Establish and maintain business channels with key resources across SD and more widely in UNICEF’s ICT community, including field-based digital professionals.

3. Lead the promotion and fostering of innovation through digital technology

• Lead by example by providing creativity and innovative thinking to re-engineer work processes and make the best use of digital technology within SD;
• Working with SD colleagues, engage with SD partners and stakeholders to define and develop innovative solutions to meet broader supply chain objectives beyond the boundaries of UNICEF’s system landscape; this shall include donors and country representatives.
• Undertake productivity gap analysis with SD colleagues to identify potential opportunities and risks to improve efficiency and effectiveness and advocate for appropriate digital change solutions with business owners, senior management and ICTD.
• Coordinate with the Chief of OATC for the formal review and assessment of local innovation initiatives to the Digital Strategy Board (DSB).
• Ensure existing strategies are incorporated in all innovation initiatives prior to approval.
• Support counterparts and implementing partners to implement approved innovation initiatives.

4. Lead the Platform and Application Development Unit (PADU)

• Lead a cross-functional applications support team (PADU), and develop and maintain skills, capacity, and performance of the team.
• Develop and maintain capability and service delivery maturity of the support team.
• The PADU team is composed of two Project Officers (P-2), one IT Associate (GS-6) and the off-shore web development team. The offshore team is typically composed of three external resources (augmented staff) but will change in accordance with project demands and the progress of the Digital Supply Chain portfolio.
• Management responsibilities includes short-term hiring of contractors as part of project resourcing and ongoing contract management of the offshore development team, including escalations, renewals, performance management and commercial engagement across the contract lifecycle.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Minimum requirements:

• Education:• Advanced university degree in computer science, information systems, or other relevant disciplines, with specialized training or appropriate experience in the fields broadly applicable to the job.

  • 2 additional years of relevant experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced university degree.

  Theoretical foundation studies in Information Management with practical applications of:

  • Business Analysis
  • Database Management
  • System and Technology Integration
  • Applications Development
  • Cloud Computing
  • Information Systems Design
  • Project Management
  • Digital Innovation

• Work Experience: A minimum of eight years of professional experience in information technology management and business operations in a large international organization and/or corporation is required, including:

  Required
  • Experience in systems integration techniques and tools, as well as experience in information architecture development, is required.
  • Experience with business analysis techniques and tools, as well as experience in managing ICT projects and with vendors, is required.

• Language Requirements:
• Fluency in English is required.
• Fluency in another UN language(s) is an asset.

Desirables:

• Experience in supply chain management, warehousing, distribution activities, and SRM processes in the non-profit sector is an asset.
• Experience in documenting digital software requirements specifications and design descriptions is an asset.
• Experience in a UN Common System organization is an asset including knowledge of UN/UNICEF’s rules, regulations, and procedures.
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness

(3) Drive to achieve results for impact

(4) Innovates and embraces change

(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity

(6) Thinks and acts strategically

(7) Works collaboratively with others

[add the 8^th competency (Nurtures, leads and manages people) for a supervisory role].

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of measures to include a more diverse workforce, such as paid parental leave, time off for breastfeeding purposes, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable underrepresented are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

In this role, you will collaborate with colleagues across multiple locations. For effective collaboration, we encourage flexible working hours that accommodate different time zones while prioritizing staff wellbeing.

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

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.