Closing date: Friday, 30 January 2015

ICT Specialist (Infrastructure & Cloud Services Architect), P-3, ITSS, New York

Vacancy No: E-VN-2014-003429

Duty Station: New York

Country: United States of America

Region: NY HQ

Job Level: P-3

Position: 00053159

Application Close: 30-Jan-15

Contract Type: Long-term Staff (FT)

Purpose of the Position

The incumbent of this post will provide continual technical expertise and support in areas of Infrastructure and Platforms as well as Cloud based IaaS & PaaS services and will assist the Senior Architect, Infrastructure and Platforms in designing, developing, testing and documenting global IT solutions in the domain.

The incumbent will be the source of knowledge, technique, and expertise in the IT infrastructure and platforms technology domain. Function as the section technical focal point for the respective knowledge area, and apply the expertise to support the overall sectional/divisional vision and strategic direction. The incumbent of this post will understand industry best practices and monitors the market for emerging technologies relevant to the domain of expertise and is responsible for design and implementation of the technology.

The incumbent of this post will act as a technical lead and project manager for number of organizational IT projects related to the domain of expertise and ensure their completion in terms of scope, budget and time-lines. Responsible, during project assignments for identifying business requirements and recommending a technical approach to meet those needs and generate design specifications for technology development.

The incumbent will ensure that appropriate action is taken to investigate and resolve complex incidents and problems as 3rd level support in systems and services; and coordinate the implementation of agreed remedies and preventative measures.

The incumbent of this post will work mainly with the Senior Architect Infrastructure and Platforms as well as other section's architects as required.

Key Expected Results

1. Designing and Developing IT Architecture Solutions

• Work under the guidance of the Senior Architect, Infrastructure and Platforms functions as the section technical focal point for the IT Infrastructure and Platforms knowledge area as well as IT solutions related to Cloud based IaaS, PaaS and SaaS.
• Is the source of knowledge, technique and expertise in the IT infrastructure and platforms technology domain mainly in the areas of Client and Server Computing, Virtualization, Storage Area Networks, Enterprise Level Active Directory, Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), Private, Public and Hybrid Cloud deployments related to IaaS, PaaS as well as some areas of Networking. Apply this expertise to support the overall sectional/divisional vision and strategic direction.
• Understand, articulate and implement industry best practices related to the domain of expertise. Monitor the market for emerging technologies and responsible for design and implementation of the technology. Provide guidance on how their domain of expertise can resolve an organizational need and actively participate in all phases of the technology life cycle. Monitor the market to gain knowledge and understanding of currently emerging technologies.
• Develop, test and implement technical solutions and validate the final product. Develop and review technical documentation, such as user guides, training manuals and system specifications, prior to distribution to end-users and to ensure their subject area is accurately represented.
• Lead activities in reviewing existing standards and procedures within the context of the enterprise IT architecture, recommend new solutions as appropriate. Participate in the 'applied research and development' efforts of the Technical Architecture section, including 'proof of concept' setups of systems under serious consideration or hands-on evaluation.
• Develop new organizational hardware and software IT standards by analysing and understanding potential impact of competing technologies, assess their strategic significance, define their strategic role and scope, roadmap, relationship to existing standards and periodically review the entire IT estate in the context of those standards.
• Develop tools, scripts and automation utilities to assist in the oversight and maintenance of various systems used within the Section or within other sections of the Division.

2. IT Project Management

• Under the guidance of the Senior Architect, act as a Project Manager and/or Technical Supplier for number of small and large IT projects initiated by Technical Architecture or other IT section.
• Prepare project plans, scope and delivery of the assigned projects and ensure that all solutions are delivered on time, budget and aimed at realizing business value by applying best practices and techniques in project and change management.
• Responsible, during project assignments, for identifying business requirements and recommending a technical approach to meet those needs and generate design specifications for technology development.
• From time to time, lead a strategic incubator project that will involve a strategically significant, new or innovative technology or architectural approach. Such projects will create the foundations for organizational strategic platforms on which future critical business systems may/will depend.

3. Third Level Support

• Ensure that appropriate action is taken to investigate and resolve complex incidents and problems as 3rd level support (SME) in systems and services. Coordinate the implementation of agreed remedies and preventative measures.
• Assist other section Senior Architects in areas of Enterprise System Integration and Unified Communications/Connectivity with regards to overall coordination, development and maintenance of related systems.
• Participate in the design of new applications and tools to ensure that it follows the IT architecture framework and contributes to IT strategy by providing inputs on matters relating to enterprise architecture and standards.
• Cultivate and maintain effective working relationships with a variety of stakeholders, including end-users, section senior architects, project managers and section Chiefs. Participate and influence IT infrastructure and platforms technologies across different organizational levels i.e. field offices and HQ.
• Perform demonstrations of developed solutions and conduct knowledge sharing sessions on the domain of expertise to other IT sections as well as field and regional offices.
• Any other duties assigned by the Senior Architect - Infrastructure and Platforms or Chief, Technical Architecture.

Qualifications of Successful Candidate

• An advanced university degree (Master's) in in Computer Science and Information Systems or a directly-related technical field(s) is required.
• A minimum of five (5) years of relevant work experience in systems design, analysis, architecture, development and implementation is required.
• Previous hands-on work experience with cloud services, including IaaS, PaaS and SaaS is considered an asset.
• Prior hands on experience in client/server computing, Windows Operating Systems (Server and Client), OS Management tools (e.g. Microsoft System Center stack), Virtualization technologies, Public Key Infrastructure, Public/Hybrid/Private Cloud, scripting and application development, Storage Area Networks, Directory Services (Active Directory, LDAP etc.), OS imaging processes, application testing and documentation writing, messaging, network-centric applications and advanced networking is highly desirable.
• Fluency in English (written & verbal) is required. Knowledge of an additional UN Language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish) is considered an asset.

Competencies of Successful Candidate

• Communicates effectively to varied audiences, including during formal public speaking.
• Consistently achieves high-level results, managing and delivering projects on-time and on-budget.
• Able to work effectively in a multi-cultural environment.
• Analyzes and integrates potentially conflicting numerical, verbal and other data from a number of sources.
• Demonstrates and shares detailed technical knowledge and expertise.
• Translates strategic direction into plans and objectives.
• Has good leadership and supervisory skills; co-ordinates group activities, ensuring that roles within the team are clear.
• Sets clearly defined objectives and plans activities for self, own team or department.