Back-end development Consultant

Result of Service The Back-end Development Consultant will be responsible for improving websites related to the project, adapting the code of the existing sites, creating functionalities, and maintaining the related documentation updated. The professional will also work closely with the data and programme teams to collect requirements and create technical solutions, aiming to enhance the Public Policy Observatory of Alagoas, whose purpose is to support the state government and municipalities in monitoring & impact evaluation of their policies, considering the achievement of the 2030 Agenda.

The Consultant will work in close collaboration with the operational and technical teams of UN-Habitat offices in Alagoas and Rio de Janeiro.

Work Location Home based

Expected duration The consultancy has an expected duration of three (3) months.

Duties and Responsibilities Background

The main mandate of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is to promote sustainable development of human settlements and policies conducive to adequate housing for all. Within this framework, UN-Habitat supports central and state governments, as well as local authorities and other partners for the implementation of the Habitat Agenda, the 2030 Agenda with the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda.

UN-Habitat helps the urban poor by transforming cities into safer, more inclusive, compact, integrated, resilient and connected places with better opportunities where everyone can live with dignity. It works with organizations at every level, including all spheres of government, civil society and the private sector to help build, manage, plan and finance sustainable urban development.

The Regional Office for Latin American and the Caribbean – ROLAC – is based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Agency puts emphasis in developing and managing activities in the host country. Indeed, for the past years, UN-Habitat has expanded its portfolio in Brazil by working with the three tiers of government in order to support the formulation and implementation of more effective, sustainable, participative and socially fairer urban economic, social and environmental policies.

Through a partnership with the Government of the State of Alagoas to improve institutional and technical capacities of State and municipal stakeholders on sustainable territorial and urban development, UN-Habitat is now setting up the second phase of the project named “Sustainable and inclusive urban prosperity in the State of Alagoas”. This second phase shall lead to enhance State of Alagoas engagement toward sustainable and inclusive urban prosperity, through a better understanding of the urban setting, and the establishment or improvement of its public policies, plans, and actions.

In order to properly implement this project, a Back-end Development Consultant is required to ensure a good execution of the work programme.

Report to UN-Habitat Manager

The Back-end Development Consultant will report to the National Officer for Brazil, who will evaluate him/her.

Outputs/Work Assignment

The Back-end Development Consultant shall support and advise the implementation of the project according to the responsibilities indicated below.

Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the National Officer for Brazil, the Back-end Development Consultant will: a) Accomplish systems development activities. b) Develop new functionalities with integration to the various government databases and partners. c) Analyse and optimise the performance and interfaces of the systems. d) Manage, update, and produce content for systems related to project activities. e) Develop alternatives for performance gain for solutions and structures already developed. f) Apply good practices to the interfaces of the systems addressed. g) Active documentation of the products. h) Participate in team meetings and with other stakeholders. i) Review and document the written codes and relevant parts of the systems. j) Perform other tasks as required by the designated supervisor.

The consultant will be responsible for completing all courses and training activities that are indicated to him/her by his/her supervisor. The security course BSAFE is required to be accredited during the first month of employment.

The Consultant will be responsible for his/her own security, so the person should get familiarized with United Nations security mechanisms and comply with them according to the Framework of Accountability for the United Nations Security Management System.

Qualifications/special skills Academic Qualifications:

Required - A first-level university degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or related fields is required, or additional 3 (three) years of relevant experience to the post beyond the requirement.

Desirable - Complementary studies (technical course, specialization, or certification) in related areas.

Experience:

• A minimum of five (5) years of experience in Information Technology, preferably as a Back-end Development Consultant.
• Relevant experience in WordPress, MySQL database, Javascript, CSS, HTML, and PHP is required.
• Experience with map platforms (OpenLayers, Leaflet, Mapbox, etc.) would be an asset.
• Experience with open and connected data (RDF) and data visualization dashboards would also be an advantage.
• Experience in project management, preferably in public projects or development systems, is desirable.
• Previous experience within the UN System would be an asset.

Skills:

• Good handling of technological tools, such as Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office, is required.
• Database experience is required.
• Relevant experience in data analysis, formulation of performance indicators, and iReport;
• Experience in Java development with MySQL.
• Knowledge of Git, and GitHub is desirable.
• Knowledge of Information Technology Project Standards is desirable.
• Knowledge of performance analysis of interfaces to maintain site responsiveness is desirable.
• Knowledge of web security standards is desirable.
• Knowledge of testing tools (Selenium, Puppeteer, etc.) is desirable.
• Desirable knowledge of test automation (TDD, JUnit, etc.).
• Knowledge of PWA (Progressive Web Apps) is desirable.

Knowledge Management

• The person must know the processes, procedures, and norms of UN-Habitat, in order to guarantee an adequate quality of the activities described above, following the standards of the organization.
• The person will propose formats and procedures that allow the efficient implementation of the activities related to the project development.
• The person must know the files of the Office, work with it and ensure its proper maintenance, accessibility for all staff and due updating.
• The person will prepare databases related to the project.
• The person will make sure that all relevant technical information will be adequately shared with the correspondent staff.
• The person will ensure that all produced material will be fit-for-purpose and delivered, in an organized way, for posterior consultation and use of the Agency.

Competencies

• Professionalism: Experience working in inter-institutional environment, project management, monitoring-evaluation; approaches and strategies regarding to good urban governance and local and regional development.
• Planning and organization: Professional approach to work, strong sense of responsibility, operate with minimal supervision; proven organizational skills and ability to manage a workload efficiently and within set deadlines.
• Communication: Ability to write clearly and effectively; listen to others, interpret messages correctly and respond appropriately; show openness in information sharing and keep everyone informed; solid abstract reasoning skills together with a proven capacity to write documents for diverse audiences.

• Teamwork: Ability to work with teams, demonstrate leadership, conflict management and consensus facilitation skills; ability to work in a multicultural and multi-ethnic environment, and to respect diversity; sensitivity to the mainstreaming of vulnerability; willingness and ability to work in difficult environments.

  Languages - Fluency in Portuguese is required.

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat, and Spanish is the working language of the Regional Office. Good command in oral and written Spanish and English will be considered as an added advantage.

  Additional Information Remuneration

(SB-3/4): BRL 6.639,42 (net amount)

Travel details

The consultant must be available to travel to the places related to the activities in the country, if requested by the National Officer for Brazil and/or the International Officer. Travels will be coordinated and financed by UN-Habitat, according to the United Nations travel rules and guidelines.

Notes

Applicants may have the nationals from Brazil or external candidates who hold a permanent visa in Brazil.

It is required for all the curricular information to be inserted in the system, which may take a few hours. Only complete applications in English will be considered.

All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. Due to the volume of applications received, receipt of applications cannot be acknowledged individually. Only short-listed applicants will be contacted.

Applications should be submitted through INSPIRA and must include all documents required at the system, please be ready to include the following information at the “Candidate Profile” at Inspira:

1. Cover memo (maximum 1 page) 2. Educational Background (incl. dates) 3. Professional Experience (assignments, tasks, achievements, duration by years/ months) 4. Expertise and preferences regarding location of potential assignments 5. Other Experience and Expertise (e.g. Internships/ voluntary work, etc.)* * Please note that Internships, self-employment and part-time count as 50%. In addition to it, note experience not relevant to the position will not be considered.

All applications should be submitted to: Inspira Deadline for applications: UN-HABITAT does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process. If you have any questions concerning persons or companies claiming to be recruiting on behalf of these offices and requesting the payment of a fee, please contact: [email protected]

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.