Giga Country Deployment Specialist

Volunteering Teaching & Training IT & Telecom

Overview

Provide end-to-end support in the implementation of Giga's support in South Africa.

You have:

• Minimum 5 years of progressive professional experience in project management, technology implementation, or digital transformation, preferably within government, the UN system, or international development organizations.
• Experience managing multi-stakeholder projects, including planning, coordination, and delivery of technology solutions aligned with national priorities is essential.
• Experience supporting the deployment and operationalization of digital platforms, data solutions or tools for public sector use, including capacity building and user adoption activities, is highly desirable.
• Strong understanding of the cultural and political landscape of South Africa and a track record of effective collaboration with government ministries and local partners.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Strong analytical ability to drive insights from data.

Contract

This is a UNV National Specialist contract. This kind of contract is known as National UN Volunteer. It is normally only for nationals. More about UNV National Specialist contracts.

Launched in 2019 as a joint initiative of UNICEF and ITU, Giga aims to connect every school in the world to the internet. By addressing the digital divide, Giga ensures children and young people have access to information, learning opportunities, and digital skills essential for thriving in today’s economy. Schools act as anchor points for surrounding communities, enabling connectivity for local businesses and services, creating sustainable impact. Giga provides governments with technical support, connectivity solutions, open-source tools for school mapping, real-time monitoring, infrastructure planning, and cost modeling. Currently, 44 countries are engaged globally. Giga has been active in South Africa since 2023, working closely with the Department of Basic Education (DBE), the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT), and other stakeholders. Key milestones include: • High-level engagement: DBE signed a Letter of Interest in March 2023, followed by DCDT in 2025. A national steering committee Terms f Reference (ToR) is currently being finalized. • School mapping: In 2024, DBE shared school location data, enabling Giga to successfully map 24,751 of the country’s 24,981 schools on Project Connect. Connectivity data for 15,905 schools has since been integrated into Giga Maps. • Real-time monitoring: DBE has expressed strong interest in deploying the Real-Time Monitoring (RTM) app. Deployment is ongoing, with approximately 20 schools already using the Giga Meter, and a broader rollout plan under development with DBE and UNICEF South Africa. • Innovative pilots: South Africa is a pilot country for Connectivity Credits. • Market insights: In 2023, Giga and Deloitte conducted a regional market assessment covering South Africa to better understand the connectivity solutions landscape and identify barriers to expansion. These efforts reflect strong government commitment and provide a foundation for accelerating school connectivity and digital inclusion across the country. In addition to duty station specific vaccine requirements, appointments are subject to confirmation of fully vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the appointment. It does not apply to UN Volunteers who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their contracts.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for UN Volunteers with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the recruitment process and afterwards in your assignment.

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of the Giga Programme Manager (Country Engagement) or their designated representative(s), the UN Volunteer will work within the Giga South Africa team, embedded at the DBE and in collaboration with UNICEF South Africa Country Office and national stakeholders.

The specialist will provide end-to-end support in the implementation of Giga's support in South Africa. This role will be responsible for the successful planning, implementation, and adoption of Giga’s products and solutions, as well as national stakeholder coordination required at the country level. The role combines strong project management, stakeholder coordination, user focused execution, and customer success expertise to ensure Giga tools are effectively rolled out, utilized, and continuously improved based on feedback from end-users.

Regular check-ins and coordination meetings with UNICEF South Africa Country Office and the Giga HQ team will be required to provide progress updates, ensure alignment with global strategy, and escalate any risks or issues as needed.

1. Account Management (15%) • Build and maintain trusted relationships with government and non-government in-country stakeholders. • Serve as the primary point of contact for in-country users and counterparts, chairing regular coordination meetings, supporting onboarding, adoption, and long-term success of Giga tools and platforms. • Coordinate work planning activities in collaboration with government counterparts, UNICEF Country Office, Giga HQ, and partners—ensuring alignment with national priorities, realistic timelines, and clear roles and responsibilities. • Draft and deliver clear, targeted communication materials for project stakeholders including concept notes, proposals, budgets, presentations, and timely written updates. • Lead knowledge and risk management: maintain institutional and delivery history, capture lessons learned, proactively identify, mitigate and escalate project risks to Giga HQ. • Support the development of targeted external materials to promote visibility of project milestones and success stories.

2. Opportunity Identification (Sales) (10%) • Provide rapid project-management scoping for new Giga-related requests from in-country stakeholders, map out effort, timelines and resources. • Surface unmet needs and emerging use cases relevant to Giga from daily engagements and communicate them to Giga’s technology and country engagement teams.

3. Delivery (Project Management) (50%) • Co-design delivery strategies for Giga’s product and services that are context-appropriate, viable and technically feasible. • Lead end-to-end project management for all in-country activities, including onboarding, adoption, use and handover. • Manage and respond to all country-level requests and queries. • Ensure timely progress against deployment milestones and KPIs, identifying and addressing risks or bottlenecks proactively. • Proactively communicate with the relevant Giga HQ teams on the roll-outs progress ensuring that local insights and learnings inform continuous product discovery, development and improvements. • Coordinate additional implementing partners in the country, if applicable. • Plan and implement monitoring and evaluation activities; document and surface impact of implementation.

4. Customer Success (25%) • Provide training and ongoing support to local government and UNICEF CO staff, building local capacity for sustained use and expansion. • Lead user acquisition and retention efforts, ensuring Giga tools are integrated into existing government workflows and deliver measurable value. • Oversee quality assurance and user monitoring to ensure consistent performance and relevance. • Document lessons learned and contribute to the continuous improvement of Giga’s delivery playbook, templates and support materials.

Professionalism; Integrity, Teamwork and respect for diversity; Commitment to continuous learning; Planning and organizing; Communication; Flexibility; Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement

progressive professional experience in project management, technology implementation, or digital transformation, preferably within government, the UN system, or international development organizations, is required. • Candidates with 5 years of the above experience will also be considered. • Experience managing multi-stakeholder projects, including planning, coordination, and delivery of technology solutions aligned with national priorities, is essential. • Experience supporting the deployment and operationalization of digital platforms, data solutions or tools for public sector use, including capacity building and user adoption activities, is highly desirable. • Technical fluency in data and software is desirable. • Strong understanding of the cultural and political landscape of the country and a track record of effective collaboration with government ministries and local partners. • Knowledge of the national internet connectivity landscape, including key stakeholders, infrastructure challenges, and opportunities for expanding digital access, is a plus. • Excellent oral and written skills. • Strong analytical ability. • Proactive, creative and pragmatic.

National UN Volunteers typically serve within their home country, with living conditions varying by duty station. Urban areas offer access to amenities like housing and healthcare, while rural locations may require adaptability. Volunteers are responsible for their own accommodation, with guidance from the host entity, and receive safety and security support through the UN system. Allowances cover basic needs, and volunteers benefit from unique opportunities to engage with local cultures and communities.

UN Volunteers receives the below entitlements: • A Monthly Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA): ZAR 23820.16 per month; • A once off entry lumpsum of $400 at the start of the assignment; • Medical insurance; Life cover, and annual leave; • Access to all learning platforms; • A once off exit lumpsum at the end of the assignment.

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Potential interview questions

Added 7 months ago - Updated 6 months ago - Source: unv.org