Senior Information Technology Officer (IT Services, Platforms And Operations)

Organizational Setting

The Information Technology Division (CSI) is responsible for all IT activities within the Organization.

The IT Division performs on behalf of the Organization the following critical roles: defining FAO IT policies and providing strategic advice on IT architecture and standards, governance, policy and operational matters while monitoring organizational compliance; defining the mechanisms for managing FAO's information and data; protecting FAO's information assets and ensuring confidentiality, integrity and availability; ensuring provision of IT services that are core for the Organization's global operations and supporting the information and business processes; coordinating organization-wide IT activities in order to reduce duplication and fragmentation and to increase integration of information data, systems and platforms, mobilizing IT resources from across the Organization

The post of Senior Information Technology Officer is located in the Information Technology Division.

Reporting Lines

The Senior Information Technology Officer reports to the Director, Information Technology Division, and within work-planning and resource-allocation coordination provided by the Deputy Director.

Technical Focus

Develop and implement a global infrastructure roadmap aligned with CSI strategy. Lead ICT initiatives to deliver secure, robust and evolving infrastructure services. Define and oversee the management of FAO global ICT support mechanisms, IT infrastructure operations, and underlying platforms. Manage strategic relationships with key ICT product and service providers.

Key Results

Leading strategies and provision of advice as well as IT projects and activities to ensure that the Organization's requirements for Information Systems (IS) and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) are effectively met.

Key Functions

• Leads specialised activities carried out by the CSI;

• Prepares work plans and monitors progress to ensure delivery of Operations and/or Projects outputs as per Organizational needs and agreed priorities;

• Manages the financial and human resources assigned;

• Participates in planning, coordinating and setting policies for the development and implementation of an Organization-wide IT strategy/roadmap and for the development of supporting standards, procedures and practices according to agreed work plans;

• Develops, monitors and reports on key performance indicators of the assigned functions;

• Advises senior management on IT matters including the implications of various functional and technological alternatives and on IS/ICT strategies, governance and standards including their impact on the Organization's ability to deliver its programs;

• Leads the planning, coordination and setting of policies for the development and implementation of an Organization-wide IS/ICT strategy and for the development of supporting standards, procedures and practices according to the agreed work plans;

• Leads special projects and supervises staff, including external service providers and consultants;

• Represents the Organization and the Division in formal meetings, negotiations, and/or mediation/problem resolution meetings to reach agreement on various IT issues and/or to resolve difficult or contentious problems

Specific Functions

• Leads and directs the IT Infrastructure team, to deliver timely, cost effective global IT Infrastructure services to the organization. Establish and maintain agreed service levels in the delivery of IT Infrastructure services, ensure resilience and sustainable 'steady state' of existing core platforms, infrastructure, networks, telephony and cloud services, through continuous maintenance and enhancements in support of FAO globally.

• Defines global infrastructure services vision, enables innovation and leverage ICT trends that meet the organization's requirements and expectations; recommends opportunities and solutions that can drive the achievement of FAO core objectives; develops global enterprise standards and technology architecture, as well as the IT operations governance process.

• Ensures that systems and capability solutions align with all relevant Architecture, Infrastructure, Project Methodology and other critical frameworks and governance.

• Leads initiatives and projects, including Continuous Improvement of Service Delivery globally; provides leadership to ensure delivery of 24/7 service operations and KPI compliance.

• Liaises with the CSI to influence the technical aspects of strategic decisions regarding IT infrastructure and enterprise architecture.

• Engages and advises in platform/solution evaluations, selections, and integration approach; drives the standardization and rationalization of the FAO global IT infrastructure to a clearly defined, optimized, and enhanced end-state infrastructure.

• Drives the direction, management, and delivery of timely and efficient IT services delivery to customers and users (12,000 ), including global ServiceDesk, Regional and Field office Coordination, and the related processes: Incident Management, Change Management, Problem Management; leads the implementation and operation of all technology infrastructure deployed across FAO offices, which includes data center, network and server services, telephony, service monitoring, user support, servers, storage and related software.

• Collaborates with other agencies on the development of cost-effective IT Infrastructure, i.e. to facilitate implementation of Deliver as One initiatives in countries where multiple agencies and funds operate.

• Develops and leads technology infrastructure strategy and execution. Ensure alignment of the infrastructure strategy, and priorities, with FAO solutions requirements and the global IT strategy

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CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Information Systems, Software Engineering, Mathematics/Statistics, or related field

• Ten years of relevant experience in the area of IT Operations and Service Delivery

• Working knowledge of English and limited knowledge of another FAO official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish)

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Competencies

• Results Focus

• Leading, Engaging and Empowering

• Communication

• Partnering and Advocating

• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

• Strategic Thinking

Technical/Functional Skills

• Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions is essential

• Extent and relevance of experience in supporting infrastructure and leading teams in global service delivery context, in particular delivering in the field

• Extent and relevance of experience within a solutions oriented technical environment, preferably with a software development and/or architecture background.

• Extent and relevance of experience in managing and leading complex infrastructure in a geographically dispersed organization with 10,000 users, with comprehensive disaster recovery architecture and operations, including cloud, and highly-available services.

• Extent and relevance of experience in leading large-scale, cross-functional complex teams of technical and non-technical professionals

• Solid understanding of IT Infrastructure lifecycle: Architecture, Design and Operations and working knowledge of networking, IT security and systems design

• Demonstrated strategic Ability to translate business needs into technical requirements

• Demonstrated ability to seize accountability, manage and prioritize multiple projects and resources concurrently, developing budgets and managing forecasts for IT investments.