ICT Business Systems Coordinator

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 05:58 AM PDT Vacancy Number: BSC/ ICT/08/12 Location: Nairobi, Kenya Duration: 2-year contract renewable The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) works at the crossroads of livestock and poverty, bringing high-quality livestock science, communications and capacity building to bear on poverty reduction and sustainable development. ILRI is one of 15 centres supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). ILRI has campuses in Kenya (headquarters) and Ethiopia, with other offices located in other regions of Africa (Mali, Mozambique, and Nigeria) as well as in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka), Southeast Asia (Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam) and East Asia (China). ILRI will be working on a number of CGIAR Research Programs (CRP) that brings together CGIAR centers and partners from the research, development and private sector communities around the world. ILRI seeks to recruit an ICT Business Systems Coordinator. This position exists to manage and develop ILRI’s business systems, specifically systems dealing with finance, human resources, operations and research/project management. The jobholder will play a key role in the transition of the financial and business systems from the various systems into the fully integrated enterprise resource planning system – Agresso Route 66, the One Corporate System (OCS) for the CGIAR Centres. The jobholder shall spearhead the localisation of the ILRI Agresso client in the OCS, be first among equal users to comprehend the system and play a significant catalytic role in managing ILRI’s transition to the OCS. Once the OCS is implemented, the jobholder shall be expected to play a key role in providing the link between ILRI and the global OCS Support Unit. They shall continuously scan for improvements and learning that enhance the usage of the system and use this to build internal capacity of users on a continuous basis, offering solutions to present and emerging user needs. Key responsibilities a)    Systems administration Work with the OCS Support Unit to manage and administer the OCS and manage the ILRI Agresso client and other business systems such as the payroll and facilities management systems. In liaison with the users, lead in ensuring accuracy of the information coming out of the business systems. Provide training to Corporate Service and other staff in the use of the business systems to ensure a continuous presence of a skilled user base. Work with the ICT Department to ensure all regional, country and project offices have access to business systems and are able to use them. Ensure all required documentation; including training materials, user and ILRI procedure manuals are available and up-to-date. b)    System development and upgrades Liaise with the OCS Support Unit to plan and implement upgrades to the OCS and plan and implement upgrades to other business systems as and when required or become available. Lead development of desired extensions to existing business systems to make them more effective for use at ILRI. Develop customised reports for the business systems to aid management decision making. Provide advice and assistance to staff on developing and making the best use of the business systems. Implement appropriate local solutions where necessary and ensure that they can be used to update central business systems. Research into finding more effective ways of using and configuring systems that can then be rolled out across the campuses or posted to the intranet and communicated to staff for their use. Keeping up-to-date with changes and advancements in ICT and upgrades to Agresso and recommending improvements to the deployed business systems to take advantage of the advancements. Continuous study of finance and other business processes and recommending ways of using ICT to improve them. c)    Disaster recovery and support: Implement and manage the ILRI Agresso client and other business systems user roles, security and system backups. Ensure that disaster recovery and business continuity plans are developed and implemented for all the business systems being managed. Carry out regular risk assessments and implement mechanisms to mitigate the identified risks. This will include regular reviews with Business Managers and ICT supervisors of access rights and critical systems definitions. Liaise with the OCS Support Unit, partners, service providers and suppliers to troubleshoot and resolve problems with their systems and to implement their service and maintenance contracts. Requirements First Degree in Computer Science or equivalent. A minimum of 5 years experience in an ICT database, Management Information Systems (MIS) and business systems environment with at least 3 years supporting ERP and other MIS and Business systems Relevant training in ERP and other business systems. Training in Agresso, MS SQL database preferably MSDBA certification, Object oriented programming in environments such as MS Visual studio, Web development (ASP, JSP, JavaScript, CSS and (X) HTML5) and standard report Writers. Additional advantage for those with Agresso and Excellerator reporting skills. Other competencies Well organised to manage projects in several locations. Good communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to pass on information clearly to users and to grasp difficulties perceived by users. Strong customer service orientation that establishes a good working relationship with customers, with the attitude of wanting to assist people and pass-on their knowledge and experience to others. Excellent technical knowledge of computer applications and systems, including Agresso, MS SQL, and languages and environments such as Visual Studio, asp, JSP, .net, Java. Good logical diagnostic skills and ability to exercise good judgement in the resolution of problems. Ability to multi-task in dealing with several different problems at a time. Ability to work under high pressure, meet deadlines, monitor and follow-up on pending matters under minimum supervision. Ability to communicate fluently in written and verbal English. Terms of Appointment: This is a Nationally Recruited Staff (NRS) position based at ILRI’s Nairobi campus and is open to Kenyan nationals only.  The position is on a 2-year contract renewable subject to satisfactory performance and availability of funding. ILRI will offer a competitive salary to the successful candidate. The benefits package includes pension, medical and insurances. Location: The position will be based at the ILRI campus in Nairobi, Kenya. Applicants should send a cover letter and CV combined as one document explaining their interest in the position, what they can bring to the job and the names and addresses (including telephone and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience. Applications should be submitted online to the Human Resources Director at: http://www.myjobsinkenya.com/ilri_jobs. Closing date for Applications is 12 September 2012. The position title and reference number REF: BSC/ICT/08/12 should be clearly marked on the subject line of the email applications.  Only applications sent via email to the indicated address will be considered, and only short listed candidates will be contacted. To find more about ILRI, visit our Website at www.ilri.org  To find out more about working at ILRI visit our website at http://www.ilri.org/ilricrowd/ ILRI is an equal opportunity employer.