The Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) forms part of the United Nations Secretariat and, like the other regional commissions, operates under the supervision of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. ESCWA comprises 21 Arab countries in Western Asia and North Africa. ESCWA provides a framework for the formulation and harmonisation of sectoral policies for member countries, a platform for congress and coordination, a home for expertise and knowledge, and an information observatory. ESCWA activities are coordinated with the divisions and main offices of the Headquarters of the United Nations, specialised agencies, and international and regional organizations, including the League of Arab States and its subsidiary bodies, and the Gulf Cooperation Council. This post is located within the ICT Section (ICTS), Resource Management and Service Development Division (RMSDD) of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). The Information Systems Assistant reports directly to the Team Leader, and will be under the general supervision of the unit lead, Applications Support and Development unit, and of the Chief, ICTS.
Responsibilities
Within delegated authority, the Information Systems Assistant will be responsible for the following duties:
Develops websites and applications as per the UNICT strategy and ESCWA’s needs applying UX/UI concepts and principles, UN established standards for web design, technologies and tools and following security and data protection schemes.
Provides basic technical support on relevant hardware and software systems applications in assigned area.
Installs application systems software and hardware according to specifications.
Provides basic support in the planning, specification, design, development, implementation and maintenance of customized application software systems; works with senior IT staff on the definition and specification of requirements; builds, tests and modifies prototype application software based on detailed instructions; installs and maintains software systems.
Supports senior staff in the creation and maintenance of application software within Lotus Notes, Microsoft Access and web-based architectures, etc.; assists in the preparation of technical and user documentation, as well as in the production of training materials.
Provides support on software development matters, including security, data integrity and recovery; assists with needs assessment for new systems (including modifications to existing systems); performs ongoing reviews with users and developers and responds to requirements; requests, implements, provides operational support and maintains various applications.
Conducts research on new technologies as requested; keeps abreast of developments in the field; assists in testing and evaluating new products and technologies.
Assists with the collection and analysis of data as well as preparation of data presentations and reports for information sharing, responding to queries, knowledge management, planning and decision making.
Assists with visualizations and updating information material such as web pages or brochures.
Performs other related duties as required.
Education
High school diploma or equivalent is required.
Work Experience
A minimum of five (5) years of experience in information systems analysis and programming, systems administration and maintenance, software development, or related area, is required. The minimum years of relevant experience is reduced to three (3) for candidates who possess a first-level university degree or higher. A minimum of two (2) years of experience in multi-developer environments using technologies such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Drupal CMS and LAMP stack, and ASP.NET Core development is required.
Languages
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. In addition, Arabic is a working language at ESCWA. For this position, fluency in English is required; fluency in Arabic is desirable. Note: “Fluency” equals a rating of ‘fluent’ in all four areas (speak, read, write, and understand) and “Knowledge of” equals a rating of ‘confident’ in two of the four areas.
