Jobs - 57447- National Information Management Officer

National Information Management Officer

Location :

Freetown, SIERRA LEONE

Type of Contract :

Service Contract

Starting Date :

15-Jul-2015

Application Deadline :

03-Jul-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

SB-4

Duration of Initial Contract :

Until 31 December 2015

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 Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is the part of the United Nations Secretariat responsible for bringing together humanitarian actors to ensure a coherent response to emergencies. Its mission is to mobilize and coordinate humanitarian action effectively in partnership with national and international actors to intervene consistently in emergency situations, to alleviate human suffering, advocate for rights of people in need, promote preparedness and prevention of disasters and facilitate the development of sustainable solutions.

In 2014, Sierra Leone became the second country to contract Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) from neighboring Guinea. Since then, Sierra Leone has registered the second highest cases of EVD. Experts warn that the outbreak of Ebola virus disease in parts of West Africa is now the largest, longest, most severe and most complex in nearly four-decade history of this disease.

Ebola crisis has had a negative and unprecedented impact on the social, economic and political situation in Sierra Leone: the health service is under tremendous strain with serious consequences to delivery of other essential services; livelihoods are lost with closure of companies, agricultural fields have been abandoned - people have fallen deeper into poverty; closure and/or controls at border points disrupted local markets due to interruptions in trade flows affecting prices of commodities. The EVD outbreak has also a) strained government finances, b) increased the national deficit and resulted in substantial shortfalls in domestic revenue, c) highlighted the countries’ weaknesses in terms of infrastructure generally, such as lack of access to health facilities; improved sources of water, sanitation and electricity and d) poor roads and bridges with limited maintenance.

OCHA has set up a presence in Sierra Leone to support coordination activities from response to recovery. OCHA Sierra Leone is involved in the coordination of an effective Ebola response through continued engagement of needs analysis to identify priorities and enable timely decision making.

The National Information Management Officer is therefore needed to supplement the work of the office in ensuring a seamless and coordinated action.

Duties and Responsibilities

The National Information Management Officer will work under the supervision of the International Information Management Officer in OCHA-Sierra Leone.

Related functions will include:

Assist in the updating and assimilation of global information management standards, policies and procedures to guide related activities within the OCHA office;
Assist in determining and supporting recommendations made by OCHA on primary data and information elements that are required internally and externally to support humanitarian decision-making;
Support and maintain a client-oriented approach with all relevant stakeholders to help identify their information requirements and support activities to ensure that the information needed to support humanitarian operations (and the coordination role of the RC) is submitted/collected, organized and made available n timely manner to all humanitarian stakeholders in-country;
Assist in strategic and operational decision-making by coordination the processing and analysis of data and information and presenting it in the format most useful for analysis (e.g. reports, info graphics, maps);
Under the supervision of senior staff, develop, design and implement a structured dissemination plan for all information products and services (i.e. reports, data, info graphics, maps) through, for example, hard copy, standalone executable programmes, CD-ROMs and websites;
Assist in the collection and management of data entry and the use of standardized systems and tools to support humanitarian operations. Under supervision of International Information Management Officer, the incumbent will produce and give training to counterpart focal points on Information Management Tools and Products, such as: Who Does What Where, Contact Directory, Meeting Calendar, and Website Management;
Support the advocacy functions of the office by assisting in the collection, processing, storage and retrieval of documents, including images, of emergencies and vulnerability, as well as relief operations. hare and participate on the IM Network group or GEO-IM technical group to continue promoting exchanging of datasets with standards;
Perform other duties, as assigned by the International IM Officer;
Assist in the collection and management of data entry and the use of standardized leaning and entry of updated and new data into all databases.

Competencies

Professionalism

Comprehensive knowledge of and exposure to a wide range of humanitarian issues, emergency relief and related human rights issues;
Conceptual and strategic analytical capacity;
Demonstrated problem-solving skills; very good knowledge of the region/country of assignment, including the political, economic and social dimensions;
Strong negotiating skills and ability to influence others to reach agreement;
Ability to work under extreme pressure, on occasion in a highly stressful environment (e.g. civil strife, natural disasters and human misery);
Very good knowledge of institutional mandates, policies and guidelines pertaining to humanitarian protection and knowledge of the institutions of the UN system;
Demonstrated ability to complete in-depth studies and to formulate conclusions/recommendations;
Ability to relate humanitarian protection issues and perspectives, including gender issues, to political, economic, social and human rights programmes in affected region.

Client orientation

Ability to identify client’s needs and match them to appropriate solutions; ability to establish and maintain effective and productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect;
Capacity to keep clients informed of progress or setbacks in ongoing projects;
Ability to monitor ongoing developments inside the client’s environment to keep informed and anticipate potential problems

Communication

Good communication (spoken and written) skills, including the ability to convey complex concepts and recommendations to staff at senior levels, both orally and in writing, in a clear, concise style

Teamwork

Good interpersonal skills, including ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries;
Ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.

Commitment to Continuous Learning

Willingness to keep abreast of new developments in the field of information technology and Geographic Information Systems.

Planning & Organizing

Ability to plan own work and to coordinate the work of others, work to tight deadlines and handle multiple projects/activities.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s Degree preferably in Computer or Information Systems, Geographic Information Systems or other relevant fields is requir

Experience:

2 years of relevant progressively professional responsible experience, prior in Information Management and progressively responsible experience in the area of IM and GIS or other related areas, either with a UN organization or an NGO will be given a priority;
A first-level university degree in combination with 3 additional of relevant and qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree;'
Familiarity with ArcGIS/ArcInfo, GPS systems will be an added advantage;
Strong background knowledge in advanced Excel functionalities will be an added advantage.

Language Requirements

Fluency in written and spoken English is required;
Knowledge of national languages is an asset.

Other Requirements:

Qualifications and/or Industry certification and/or demonstrable experience in the following applications: Microsoft Office (advance user certification or MS Access, MS Excel and MS Word desirable) and Lotus Notes;
Knowledge of Content Management Systems;
Basic understanding of organization’s information management infrastructure and how it relates to user area;
Availability for constant trips in the country;
Good knowledge of the UN is an asset;
To be of Sierra Leonean nationality is mandatory.