Reports to: Director of Finance

Location: Cairo, Egypt

Main purpose of position

The Information Technology Unit (ITU) Head sets the direction, purpose, plan, and rules for the ITU function at ICARDA, and guides the ITU team to accomplish its objectives. The ITU Head will manage ICARDA technology operations, and policies implementation, and ensure that systems and people are efficient and effective within the constraints of time, budget, and ICARDA policies. The ITU Head will act as a contact point between ICARDA and CGIAR-related Digital and Data teams to ensure alignment and consistency in strategy and standards and implement global policies, standards, and processes. This position leads a team of 5-7 members and may require national and international travel around 30 % FTE per year.

About ICARDA

The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) is a treaty-based international non-profit research organization supported by CGIAR.ICARDA’s mission is to reduce poverty, enhance food, water, and nutritional security, as well as environmental health in the face of global challenges including climate change. We do this through innovative science, strategic partnerships, linking research to development and capacity development that take into account gender equality and the role of youth in transforming the dry areas. ICARDA works in partnership with governments, universities, civil society, national agricultural research organization, other CGIAR Research Centers, and the private sector. With its temporary Headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, ICARDA operates in regional and country offices across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. For more information: www.icarda.org

All CGIAR Centers are currently engaged into a reform process (“One CGIAR’”) that will help ICARDA and CGIAR achieve better impact through more strategically integrated research, unified governance, an integrated structure, and new research modalities across participating Research Centers. This transformation is supported by CGIAR donors who have committed to increased funding as a result of these reforms.

Main responsibilities

Managing Governance, Strategy, and Risk

• Convene and support the ITU Governance and Steering Committees.
• Design and lead implementation ITU strategy in alignment with ICARDA strategy.
• Design and enforce ITU policies, and standards.
• Manage ITU risk in compliance with ICARDA risk management policy.
• Ensure long-term and short-term team plans are developed, monitored, and regularly reviewed.

Managing the function

• Continuously review and recommend improvements and investments in ITU infrastructures, platforms, systems, and services in support of ongoing business operations and future requirements.
• Ensure meeting legal and contractual obligations relating to ITU services and complying with legal requirements (e.g. data protection, safeguarding, and licensing requirements).
• Implement a disaster recovery plan and ensure appropriate backup, information security, and control procedures are in place.
• Ensure that external providers are contracted appropriately and that their performance is monitored and assessed.
• Build relationships within other CGIAR Centers to take advantage of shared ITU services and innovations made at One CGIAR level.
• Align policies, technology options, and application choices to CG-wide standards.
• Ensure that users receive the necessary training and guidance.
• Facilitate periodic reviews of the ITU function, including those conducted by Internal Audit.
• Represent the ITU function internally and externally, including with other CG Centers.

Delivering the service

• Manage and oversee ITU services, including helpdesk, network and system operations, support requests, and incident management, and ensure high quality and performing services are provided.
• Manage and contribute to the development, maintenance, and upgrades of the organization’s corporate systems and applications.
• The ITU head will be responsible for designing, delivering and overseeing regular training for staff on topics such as cyber security, system integration and use, and other relevant IT resources that the staff may need.
• Manage the telecommunications solutions across the organization.
• Ensure the appropriate ITU assets, resources and services are allocated to users to satisfy their needs.
• Monitor client satisfaction level regularly and provide corrective recommendations.

Managing the team

• Manage and provide leadership to the team across locations.
• Organize the unit and update job descriptions accordingly.
• Set objectives, supervise and coach accordingly, and appraise performance.
• Establish work plans, schedules, and activities, assign and delegate responsibilities and prioritize workload.
• Ensure individual objectives are set, monitor and regularly review performance, and take corrective action where necessary.
• Identify opportunities for development and recommend training as necessary.

Financial Management

• Recommend chargeback costing models for the ITU service offerings.
• Prepare a long-term budget for ITU capital and services.
• Prepare the annual budget, manage, monitor, and control expenditures.
• Manage the service maintenance contracts, monitor and control costs and expenditures.
• Ensure that the needs of the department are met in terms of staff and resources requirements.

Requirements

Education, qualifications, and experience Education

Education

• Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) from an accredited educational institution with specialization in information technology or related discipline and additional coursework in business administration and management.

Work Experience

• A minimum of 10 years of professional ITU experience, including 5 years of progressive experience with a successful track record of leading and managing complex ITU projects and operations in large international or commercial organizations.
• Excellent experience in information systems and applications for enterprise resource planning.
• Excellent experience in ITU cloud infrastructures, platforms and services (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, etc.).
• Project management experience in managing geographically dispersed teams and projects in a matrixed environment.
• Experience in monitoring and analyzing security risks, implementing multi-layer security architectures, and assisting in monitoring network security.
• Experience in the development and implementation of ITU Strategy, Risks, Policies, Processes, and Procedures.
• Certification or knowledge of COBIT, ITIL, NIST or similar frameworks is a plus.

Required Competencies

• Vision, planning, and organizing: Strong strategic abilities, ability to plan and work to tight deadlines and handle multiple concurrent activities.
• Innovation: Demonstrated proficiency in introducing new initiatives and change in the workplace to enhance capacity and effectiveness.
• Leadership, management and administration: Demonstrated leadership, supervisory and management skills; wide-ranging expertise at the strategic and operational level including change management experience.
• Strong organizational skills to manage multiple priorities in a time sensitive manner.
• Managing budgets and resources including contractors and consultants.
• Attention to details and handling sensitive information properly.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with ability to interact culturally, linguistically, and diplomatically with diverse internal and external individuals.
• Initiative, self-motivated, resourceful, detail oriented, dependability, strong attention to detail.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office suite including OneDrive and MS Teams with demonstrated experience and working knowledge of PowerPoint.
• Communication: Highly developed communication (spoken, written and presentation) skills and effectively communicate issues and resolutions to all levels in the organization.
• Excellent writing, editing, and verbal communication skills especially in writing and delivering training materials.
• Confidentiality: Maintain confidentiality with sensitive organizational information.
• Teamwork: Strong interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective working relations with people in multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.

Benefits

Terms of appointment, salary, and benefits

This is an internationally recruited position. ICARDA offers an attractive compensation package to the successful applicant, including a competitive salary, housing allowance, non-contributory retirement plan, medical insurance, 30 days of annual leave, five months of maternity leave, and 15 days of paternity leave. All benefits are denominated and paid in US Dollars.

ICARDA will offer the successful candidate an initial contract of three years, renewable, subject to a continued need for the position, availability of funds and satisfactory performance. The first year will be a probationary period.

ICARDA is committed to increasing women representation in its workforce and strongly encourages applications from women.

Applications will be acknowledged, but we apologize in advance as due to the large number of applications only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.