INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) MANAGER

Org. Setting and Reporting

This position is located in the Communications and Information Technology Unit (CITU) within the Office of Administrative Services (OAS) at the International Seabed Authority Secretariat in Kingston, Jamaica. The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is an international organization established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 1994 Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The ISA is the organization through which States Parties to UNCLOS shall, in accordance with the regime for the seabed and ocean floor and subsoil thereof beyond the limits of national jurisdiction (the Area) established in Part XI and the 1994 Agreement, organize and control activities in the Area, particularly with a view to administering the resources of the Area.

Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the Deputy to the Secretary General and Chef de Cabinet and the direct supervision of the Chief, OAS and within delegated authority, the IT Manager will be responsible for the following duties: CIT Operations Management • Supervise CIT team, manage team members’ performance. • Implement, manage, and monitor the overall IT operations and the cyber security measures of the Secretariat’s data, systems and networks. • Implement CIT policies and standard operating procedures (SOP) as needed. • Manage CIT service contracts; manage hardware, software and application license subscriptions across the organization. • Manage system maintenance, update, upgrade, and enhancement in close collaboration with the service provider and developers using industrial best practices, and chain management principles to ensure continuous service provision, including ERP system. • Plan the CIT budget and expenditures, select and purchasing new and replacement hardware and software, and maintain inventory records of all CIT assets. • Monitor day-to-day technical support and plan of all aspects of the IT network infrastructure (LAN/WAN/Wireless network) including VMware vSphere-based server environment. • Conduct information security awareness to the Secretariat staff by conducting cyber security training and sharing relevant materials. • Provide CIT support to the annual session of the Authority and other on-site and off-site meetings, workshops and events. • Establish and maintain good working relationship with relevant partners and stakeholders. CIT Governance • Act as Ex Officio to Communication and Information Technology Steering Committee (CITSC), present current CIT portfolio trend analysis, propose short/long term recommendations for technological solutions, and propose budget. Cyber Security, IT Security & Information Security • Conduct penetration test, identity network and vulnerabilities, mitigate risk to ensure Secretariat’s IT network environment is secure. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity (DR&BC) • Assess CIT operational risk, analyse impact, develop mitigation measures for defined disaster scenarios. • Maintain Business Continuity Plan (BCP) in all relevant aspects involving the provisioning of CIT services. • Plan, design, establish, and maintain Disaster Recovery (DR) site. • Conduct awareness workshops and trainings, preparedness campaign to the Secretariat staff, CIT team members, and all involving stakeholders. Innovation and Contemporary Solutions (I&T) • Create pathways for innovation adopting Artificial Intelligence in reporting, recording and analysing ISA Objectives, which is not limited to deploying acceptable industry standard tools such as Ollama for Local Solutions for offline LLM use. • Advice on the good and acceptable use of AI in workplace i.e. Be a leader in advocacy, in training and in monitoring the consumption of AI (Co-Pilot) and notable AI/LLM tools in the workplace. ERP System • Liaise with other offices within the Secretariat, consolidate business process workflows to support for further development of the Secretariat’s ERP system. • Advise the external service provider (and if any) and 3rd party developers, act as technical focal person to ensure the Secretariat’s operational needs within the scope are addressed and implemented as expected. • Develop, and maintain ERP operational framework including operational policies, standard operating procedures (SOP), clear boundaries of responsibilities and rights between the stakeholders. Technical Coordination and Advisory • Closely liaise with the Secretariat’s database manager and Knowledge Management Officer and provide necessary IT support and ensuring that adequate cybersecurity measures are in place. • Communicate with heads of substantive offices to provide CIT support to the development and implementation of the business plan. Web Application Technical Oversight: • Provide strategic ownership of the organization’s web presence, including the architecture, deployment, and maintenance of WordPress sites and custom web applications. • Harden and optimize infrastructure on AWS (EC2, RDS, S3) and OpenLiteSpeed servers to ensure maximum uptime, security, and performance. • Implement proactive maintenance regimens using version control (e.g., Git), CI/CD pipelines, and monitoring tools. • Diagnose and resolve technical issues across the LEMP/LLMP stack (Linux, Nginx/OpenLiteSpeed, MySQL/MariaDB, PHP). • Partner with Development, Design, and Content teams to securely integrate and launch new features and updates. Perform other duties as required by the Chief, Office of Administrative Services and or the Deputy to the Secretary General and Chief de Cabinet.

Competencies

PROFESSIONALISM: Extensive knowledge in current nature of cyberthreats and methodologies; experience in using IT network monitoring, IDS/IPS systems, tools, techniques, and cyber security protection measures. Extensive knowledge in Application development with the latest UN approved Power Platforms using SharePoint lists, Power Apps and Power Automate. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines, and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work. CREATIVITY: Actively seeks to improve programmes or services; offers new and different options to solve problems or meet client needs; promotes and persuades others to consider new ideas; takes calculated risks on new and unusual ideas; thinks “outside the box”; takes an interest in new ideas and new ways of doing things; is not bound by current thinking or traditional approaches. PLANNING & ORGANIZING: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently. MANAGING PERFORMANCE: Delegates the appropriate responsibility, accountability and decision- making authority; Makes sure that roles, responsibilities and reporting lines are clear to each staff member; Accurately judges the amount of time and resources needed to accomplish a task and matches task to skills; Monitors progress against milestones and deadlines; Regularly discusses performance and provides feedback and coaching to staff; Encourages risk-taking and supports creativity and initiative; Actively supports the development and career aspirations of staff; Appraises performance fairly.

Education

An advanced university degree (master’s degree) in computer science, information systems. A relevant first-level university degree in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience in the above-mentioned fields may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Job – Specific Qualification

Certification in PRINCE2 Practitioner or PMP is required. Certification in ITIL 4 Foundation or certification is desirable. Certification in Information Systems Management is desirable.

Work Experience

• A minimum of five (5) years of progressive experience planning, design, development, implementation and maintenance of CIT infrastructure and computer information systems is required. • At least five (5) years of progressive experience in the areas of CIT operations management, CIT Risk Management & Migration, Business Continuity Plan (BCP), including planning, proposal and reporting on budget especially in UN Field Missions or Similar international organizations is required. • Experience in identifying organizational needs, business process re-engineering, and contributing as technical specialist in planning, development, operations management of enterprise ERP system is required. • Experience in the application of the latest AI/Machine learning tools with a bias for python libraries like Streamlit, and RAG/Vector database systems is required. • Experience in providing strategic technical oversight for web applications, including hardening AWS infrastructure (EC2, RDS, S3), implementing CI/CD pipelines, and diagnosing issues across the LEMP/LLMP stack to ensure maximum uptime, security, and performance is desirable. • Experience in data analytics, scripting JavaScript/VBScript, PHP/ASP scripting, Power BI, Microsoft PowerAutomate, and solid understanding of computer programming principles is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this job opening, English is required. The table below shows the minimum required level for each skill in these languages, according to the UN Language Framework (please consult https://languages.un.org for details).

Required Languages

LanguageReadingWritingListeningSpeaking

English

UN Level III

UN Level III

UN Level III

UN Level III

Assessment

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

Special Notice

The appointment is available for a fixed period of 2 years and renewal thereof is subject to the availability of the post, funds and satisfactory performance in the role. ISA reserves the right to not make any appointment to the vacancy, and/or to make an appointment at a lower level from the one advertised. At the ISA/ United Nations, 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. The ISA/United Nations is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The ISA/United Nations recruits and employs staff regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds or disabilities. The ISA/United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance and geographical diversity in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position. Only nationals of ISA Member States are eligible for consideration.

United Nations Considerations

According to 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. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations 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. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment. Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. By accepting a letter of appointment, staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). Further, staff members in the Professional and higher category up to and including the D-2 level and the Field Service category are normally required to move periodically to discharge functions in different duty stations under conditions established in ST/AI/2023/3 on Mobility, as may be amended or revised. This condition of service applies to all position specific job openings and does not apply to temporary positions. Applicants are urged to carefully follow all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira, and to refer to the Applicant Guide by clicking on “Manuals” in the “Help” tile 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.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.

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