INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION
ITU is the leading United Nations agency for information and communication technologies, with the mission to connect the world. To achieve this, ITU manages the radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits at the international level, works to improve communication infrastructure in the developing world, and establishes global standards that foster seamless interconnection of a vast range of communication systems. ITU also organizes global Telecom events bringing together the most influential representatives of government and the private sector to exchange ideas and knowledge for the benefit of all.
Digital Government Consultant
Vacancy notice no: 959
Sector: BDT
Department:
Country of contract: Remote
Duty station: Home Based
Position number: [[positionNumber]]
Grade: [[PositionGrade]]
Type of contract: Consultant
Duration of contract: Various assignments
Recruitment open to: External
Application deadline (Midnight Geneva Time): 31 December 2024
ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT
The Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) is responsible for the organization and coordination of the work of the Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU-D) of the Union which deals mainly with ICT-focused development policies, strategies and programmes, as well as technical cooperation activities, to promote digital inclusion and drive digital transformation at community, country and regional levels. To effectively and efficiently serve the needs of ITU members, BDT is organized into four functional areas:
- Office of the Deputy to the Director and Field Operations Coordination Department
- Partnerships for Digital Development Department
- Digital Networks & Society Department
- Digital Knowledge Hub Department
The Digital Networks & Society Department is responsible for BDT activities in the areas of spectrum management, network development, cybersecurity and emergency telecommunications. This department is also responsible for supporting ITU Member States in their transition to digital societies by providing tools and guidelines to address environmental challenges (in particular, climate change and e-waste), and for promoting innovation, ICT applications/services, digital inclusion and ecosystems, with the ultimate goal to 'leave no one behind'.
GENERIC TERMS OF REFERENCE
- Technical support at country level.
- Collaborate with GovStack global team in the preparation and delivering of needed presentations and documents related to GovStack to country representatives.
- Work with government officials, GovStack Domain Experts and GovStack global team to conduct the necessary assessments and technical studies to prepare country implementation proposals as needed.
- Share, explain and demonstrate the GovStack specifications and make sure that government officials and use case stakeholders are well acquainted with them.
- Participate in the co-identification of high-priority use cases, assessment of user needs, gathering business requirements, and facilitating co-design workshops for citizen-centric digital government services.
- Collaborate with the country digital teams and GovStack global and regional teams to co-design a Government Services Roadmap whenever needed.
- Develop Building Blocks specifications based on GovStack generic specifications by adapting them to country needs and to existing country national Stack following a whole-of-government platform approach.
- Collaborate with the GovStack System Integrator to assist in building a prototype of the prioritized use cases.
- Provide recommendations on GovStack ecosystem design & development, governance mechanisms and enabling Regulatory and Policy aspects as prerequisite for different Building Blocks.
- Assist in producing any required procurement documents under the scope of the intervention.
- Cooperate with government officials responsible for the preparation of Terms of Reference for the implementation of different Building Blocks under the scope of the collaboration.
- Provide technical support during the evaluation of the country tender processes associated with selected Building Blocks under the scope of the collaboration.
- Support the follow up on project plans and documents, goals, deliverables, KPIs and timelines, agreed with partner countries.
- Assist country digital team in the scaling process of the Building Block approach and the digitization of government services at scale.
- Design the GovStack Syllabus for capacity development of country digital teams considering all stakeholders of the initiative.
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Building Blocks specifications development:
- Work in close collaboration with the project technical advisory group, the steering committee and a group of 5-7 experts to develop functional requirements and technical specifications (including Open API specifications) leveraging best practices and state of the art technologies from different countries for the specific domain Building Block. This building block will be implemented as a component of a “Reference Digital Government Platform” that will be built based on the technical and functional requirements developed.
- Ensure that developed requirements are open, standards-based, secure by design and interoperable that leverage already existing standards or any existing similar requirements.
- Ensure that developed requirements will deliver the functionalities identified in a number of targeted use cases that will be provided to the group.
- Coordinate with the Architecture Working Group to ensure that the building block will integrate and fit with the Reference Architecture to comply with information exchange, security and interoperability needs and standards.
- Ensure that developed requirements could be implemented in resource-constrained environments to deliver prioritized use cases and digital government and other sectoral services at national level in developing countries. Adapt and adopt best practices and lessons learned from different countries that could be implemented in resource-constrained environment.
CONCRETE DELIVERABLES
- Capacity Development Plans.
- GovStack workshops materials (PPTs, Sandbox Guidelines for use case configuration as part of the training activities).
- Orientation and awareness raising workshops reports.
- Business requirements for prioritized use cases.
- Ecosystem development design and recommendations.
- Selected Building Block policy guidelines and recommendations.
- Selected Building Block procurement recommendations.
- Building Blocks technical requirements and specifications.
COMPETENCIES
Strong understanding of how to implement digital services in resource-constrained environment and how to take into consideration that in technical requirements setting. Proven ability to assess capacity building interventions and recommend appropriate activities to develop skills and promote organizational learning and change.
Knowledge in at least ONE of the following subjects is desirable:
- Digital registries.
- Identification and Verification.
- Information mediation.
- Digital Payments.
- e-Registration
- Security
- Enterprise Architecture.
- UI/UX
- GIS
- eMarketplace
- Cloud Hosting
- e-Signature
Current stage of the technical specifications developed for each Building Blocks under the GovStack global initiative can be found here: https://www.govstack.global/govstack-release-1-1-0
QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED
Education: University degree in engineering, economics, law, education, management, telecommunications/ICTs or a related field OR education from a reputed college of advanced education with a diploma of equivalent standard to that of an advanced university degree in one of the fields above. An advanced degree would be an asset.
Experience: At least three (3) years of experience in digital government services in one or more of the expertise domains listed above. Experience as technical expert in designing and implementing digital government or other sectoral services at national level.
Experience in ICT architectural approaches, methods, and frameworks and how those could be implemented at country level. Demonstrated experience with an Open-Source Software Development. Expert experience with applicable standards and how they can be applied for the designated area of work to ensure interoperability and security by design. Experience in developing and running the capacity development programs. Comprehensive background and understanding in subjects related to e-governance and enterprise architecture.
Experience in the implementation of one or more of the domains currently covered under the GovStack Global is necessary.
Languages: Knowledge of English at advanced level.
REMUNERATION INFORMATION
Daily rates salary to be defined according to the minimum requirements and the candidate's years of experience in the field of expertise (3 to 4 years of experience: US$ 185 / 5 to 6 years of experience: US$ 230 / 7 to 9 years of experience: US$ 280)This is a Generic Vacancy Notice - Candidates selected will be added in a Roster.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia (MFA Estonia), The Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of the Federal Republic of Germany (BMZ), and the Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL) at the UN Foundation are collaborating to accelerate digital transformation and digitalization of government services for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) particularly in low-resource settings.
The collaboration has launched the "GovStack" project to assist countries in learning and implementing scalable digital services and applications in a cost efficient, accelerated, and integrated manner and that are built applying best software development principles and leveraging countries' experiences and practises based on reusable Building Blocks. The initiative will support countries for scaling up of digital services that are cashless, paperless, presence-less, frictionless, personalised and consent-based leading to speeding up digital government transformation processes. Country technical assistance will be provided to create digital government solutions that empower individuals and businesses while improving social well-being. As an eGov expert, you will have the opportunity to work with an interdisciplinary team assisting different countries around the world.
INFORMATION ON RECRUITMENT PROCESS
Please note that all candidates must complete an on-line application and provide complete and accurate information. To apply, please visit the ITU Careers website. The evaluation of candidates is based on the criteria in the vacancy notice, and may include tests and/or assessments, as well as a competency-based interview. ITU uses communication technologies such as video or teleconference, e-mail correspondence, etc. for the assessment and evaluation of candidates. Please note that only selected candidates will be further contacted and candidates in the final selection step will be subject to reference checks based on the information provided. Messages originating from a non ITU e-mail account - @itu.int - should be disregarded. ITU does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process.
ITU applies a zero-tolerance policy against all forms of harassment. ITU is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. Achieving gender balance is a high priority for ITU.
