Job at WFP - Italy: Technology Lead (P-3)

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Organization: World Food Programme
Country: Italy
Closing date: 29 Jul 2016
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the world's largest humanitarian agency, fighting hunger worldwide. Due to an internal reassignment at our Communications Division, we are seeking to fill the position of Technology Lead (internally named Information & Knowledge Management Officer) at the P-3 level, based at our Headquarters in Rome, Italy.
Are you a highly skilled Tech Lead with extensive hands-on experience working on Drupal-based web solutions? Are you fluent in the #digital language (LAMP, HTML, CSS, JS, GIT, OOP, etc.) and know how to innovate, iterate and scale to deliver outstanding products? Do you have a proven record of accomplishment leading and motivating developers, and delivering digital solutions on time and within budget? Join our team and work in an exciting, collaborative, and fast-paced environment, surrounded by talented people of different cultures and nationalities. Help us build the most innovative and effective digital engagement platform to ensure the urgent need to end hunger and malnutrition is high on government agendas, and the World Food Programme is recognized as a solution provider in the struggle to end acute hunger and malnutrition particularly for its work to reach the furthest behind first, the most food insecure, and the malnourished.
Reporting to the Chief of Strategic Communications at the Communications Division, the Technology Lead is responsible for all aspects of the web technology strategy that will enable the implementation of WFP’s Communications Strategy in a secure, well-documented and scalable manner.
Key duties include:
Web development and maintenance
· Customer orientation: Acquire and maintain a thorough understanding of the business processes of supported products and applications, including the three main platforms managed by the Communications Division: the Intranet (WFPgo), the corporate website (WFP.ORG), and the online donation infrastructure (DonateAPI). Aim for technical solutions which satisfy the needs of internal customers and which also maintain the integrity of the digital strategy.
· Development: Identify the need for, prepare, prioritize and produce web experiences (including static landing pages, conversion pages, interactive presentations, data visualization, and WFP.ORG sections). Guide web development both in-house and outsourced. Develop new features and functionalities. Ensure solutions are properly designed, developed, implemented, tested, maintainable, and cost-effective.
· Maintenance: Keep code repositories up-to-date and commits clearly commented. Write and keep up-to-date comprehensive documentation. Keep platforms secure by receiving and acting on vulnerabilities advisories. Ensure backup and recovery processes are in place and respected. Ensure all project environments are correctly configured and maintained. Ensure integrations with other platforms (e.g. data feeds) remain in good working order.
· Quality control: Carry out code-reviews for quality assurance and quality control. Ensure adherence to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Ensure that web solutions adhere to procurement, legal and technological guidelines and related administrative procedures.
· Passwords: Define and implement a password rotation strategy to ensure online properties remain secure.
Leadership, strategy and governance:
· Lead: Supervise a team of in-house and off-site web developers; define Terms of Reference (TORs), establish priorities and work plans, monitor progress, and provide coaching, training and guidance to ensure appropriate skills and capabilities development and enable high performance and motivation. Ensure that team members have clear objectives and receive meaningful feedback on their performance. Drive continuous improvement of web technology processes and tools to improve code quality and team efficiency.
· Strategy: Develop and execute the web technology strategy and master plan, outlining milestones, staffing and funding options and requirements, based upon a careful assessment of needs and opportunities. This includes the definition of web technology standards and processes to support the execution of the overall Communications strategy.
· Governance: Define and communicate standards and processes to support the implementation of the web technology strategy. Establish and enforce web development, PHP and Drupal programming and technology standards covering code quality, process, development, and deployment. Develop and share expertise in problem definition, requirements analysis and the general design of systems. Maintain strong coordination with the Information Technology Division (RMT) on all issues pertaining to technology standard, information and data exchange between web platforms and enterprise systems. Reinforce and bring to life the strength of WFP’s brand in a clear and consistent manner, and ensure compliance with WFP’s Global Branding Guidelines.
· Innovation: Provide expert advice and guidance to senior staff on strategic use of the web to strengthen the organisation's outreach and fundraising efforts. Bring new ideas to the table on how to do things better, suggesting emerging solutions or trends WFP could benefit from and staying abreast of the latest developments in the web technology arenas.
· Collaboration: Establish and maintain effective working relationships and communication channels with internal and external focal points to achieve the best possible cooperation. In collaboration with the Private Partnerships Division (PGP), maintain an overview of web solutions implemented by private partners, identifying potential synergies and maximising WFP's return-on-investment.
Vendor management
· Talent pool: Maintain and broaden the pool of talent at WFP’s disposal by carrying out Request for Proposals (RFPs) and establishing Long Term Agreements (LTAs) for web technology, with terms and conditions that ensure the highest quality deliverables for WFP.
· Deliverables: Ensure vendors have clear work plans and deliverables and are monitored appropriately.
· Administration: Carry out all procurement processes related to web technology (Tenders, Long Term Agreements, Purchase Orders, and approval of invoices, etcetera).
Qualifications & Experience Required
Education:
  • Advanced University degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Mathematics, or other related fields obtained from a reputable Institution; or First University Degree with additional years of related work experience and/or training/courses.
Experience:
  • At least 5 years (of which 3 international) of postgraduate progressively responsible professional experience and a proven track record for developing web technology strategies and leading teams responsible for implementing strategies; designing and developing procedures; overseeing web developers; and managing and implementing related projects;
Technical Skills & Knowledge:
  • In-depth knowledge of Drupal development best practices and delivery, front-end and back-end web development tools and techniques and software security;
· Establishing software development guidelines and performing code reviews;
  • Ability to integrate large-scale systems and third party services;
  • Strong analytical, debugging, and testing skills;
  • Knowledge and hands-on experience with:
  • Drupal 8 and/or Symfony2, Twig, Composer, Drush, Docker and containerisation of environments;
  • Behat for Behaviour-driven development, and PHPUnit for unit tests;
  • Drupal module development; good knowledge of core API and contributed modules;
  • Front-end technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, SCSS, etc.);
  • Full LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP5+);
  • Object Orientated Programming (OOP) principles;
  • High-traffic Drupal platforms and optimisation techniques;
  • Git and branch management techniques (such as Gitflow);
  • Drupal and PHP debugging tools (Devel, XDebug);
  • Performing peer code reviews and feedback;
  • Accessibility (WCAG);
  • Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) implementation.
Competencies:
  • Management and leadership skills, showing vision, empowering, building trust;
  • Excellent communication, presentation skills;
  • Well organized and detail oriented with strong judgement/decision-making skills;
· A passion for new technology tools and usage of those tools;
· Ability to effectively coordinate multiple responsibilities simultaneously.
· Able to articulate complex application concepts in non-technical language;
· Ability to plan and organize work and communicate effectively;
· Ability to handle a large volume of work and to meet strict deadlines;
· Ability to supervise staff, be resourceful, take initiative and use mature judgment;
· Ability to deal patiently and tactfully with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
Language:
  • Fluency in oral and written English with an intermediate knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish) or Portuguese (one of WFP’s working languages).
Non-Rotational Nature
Mobility is and continues to be a core contractual requirement in WFP. This position is however classified as “non-rotational” which means the incumbent shall not be subject to the regular reassignment process unless the position is reclassified as rotational.
Terms and Conditions
Selected candidate will be employed on a fixed-term contract with a probationary period of one year and eligible for the Rest and Recuperation (R&R) scheme. He/she will be required to travel abroad sometime to remote and difficult locations.
WFP offers an attractive compensation and benefits package, including basic salary, post adjustment, relocation entitlement, travel and shipment allowances, 30 days’ annual leave, home leave, an education grant for dependent children, pension plan and medical insurance. For more details please visit icsc.un.org

How to apply:
Application Procedures:
Step 1: Register and create your online CV.
Step 2: Click on “Description” to read the position requirements and “Apply” to submit your application.
NOTE: You must complete Step 1 and 2 in order for your application to be considered for this vacancy.
Deadline for applications: Friday 29 July 2016