Senior ICT Program Officer

 

Position Title:Senior ICT Program Officer
Position Type:Regular Employment -full Time
Location: Gaza Office
Duration:Nine months
Department:ICT & iYouth Program

 

Download PDF version Senior ICT Program Officer
 

PROGRAM/DEPARTMENT SUMMARY:
Building on four years of experience supporting ICT sector and youth development in West Bank and Gaza, Mercy Corps, working in strategic partnership with Google, and other local and international partners aims to spur innovation and catalyze income generation opportunities for Palestinian youth software developers and entrepreneurs.  Arab Developer Network Initiative funded by Google.org works to provide the following: 1) Technical and business training for developers and entrepreneurs; 2) mentoring and international support for entrepreneurs and developers with the most promising applications and business concepts; 3) Seed investments for commercially viable applications and new business ventures.

GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY:
The Senior ICT Program Officer (SPO) will be responsible for all aspects of implementation of the ADNI program in Gaza as mentioned above. The Senior ICT PO will work with the Mission Director and program staff in Gaza to plan and organize programs activities (including meetings, workshops, travel logistics, permits, and information dissemination); to coordinate administrative and logistics support; to ensure quality monitoring and evaluation, reporting and information management. The Senior ICT SPO will liaise with partners, including education institutions and non-governmental organizations, donors, international organizations, and governmental agencies.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:
Program Development and Implementation
-Participate in the ICT program management meetings to discuss, plan and decide upon overall strategies and implementation plans and follow through the implementation;
-Coordinate and oversee identification and selection process of beneficiaries in line with program objectives and Mercy Corps practices;
-Organize, oversee and monitor the implementation of technical and business training and capacity buildings activities for Palestinian developers and entrepreneurs;
-Prepare and oversee scopes of work, contracts and agreements with contractors, including companies, consultants, organizations and education institutions;
-Identify and formalize relationship with local, regional and international mentors and advisers to provide support for Palestinian developers and entrepreneurs with most promising applications and business concepts;
-Create and maintain a network of program beneficiaries, mentors, and supporters including local, regional and international ICT developers, entrepreneurs and professionals;
-Identify and evaluate promising applications and business concepts to be recommended for seed fund support;
-Contribute to the establishment of the local venture capital funding vehicle through accessing relevant technical assistance and advice, investors, and partners;
-Assist in fundraising activities including setting up meetings with donors and international representative offices and contribute to proposal development and maintaining correspondence with relevant parties;
-Build and maintain productive working relations with program partners and stakeholders, including local and international governmental and non-governmental, education and private sector organizations;
-Create and maintain Mercy Corps ICT social media presence.

Monitoring and Evaluation
-Plan, develop and implement monitoring and evaluation efforts and tools to measure relevancy, effectiveness and impact of program activities;
-Prepare progress and semi-annual reports for the Mission Director, Mercy Corps headquarters and donors;
-Document and disseminate success stories, best practices and lessons learned within and outside Mercy Corps.

Administration and Coordination
-Follow up with suppliers on procurement and purchase of products and services related to the implementation of the ADNI program;
-Maintain relevant program, monitoring and evaluation files and documentation;
-Work closely with finance, procurement and admin teams in Gaza, Ramallah and Jerusalem, and Portland to ensure compliance with Mercy Corps and donor regulations;
-Conduct him/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and to not jeopardize its humanitarian, recovery and development mission;
-Other duties as assigned.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY: ICT Coordiantors
ACCOUNTABILITY: Mercy Corps Personnel Manual, Mercy Corps Conflict of Interest policy.
REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: Mission Director, Gaza.
WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: Senior ICT Program Officer in West Bank; Program teams in Gaza/Jerusalem; Admin, Finance and Procurement in Gaza.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
-Degree in a computer science, business management, international development or other relevant field;
-3-4 year experience working in international development and/or working for profit in IT world. Solid experience working on entrepreneurship and business development, investment, capacity building and training;
-Familiarity with Palestinian technology sector, context and main players;
-Excellent oral and written English and Arabic skills;
-Strong computer skills and understanding of social media and mobile applications;
-Demonstrated attention to detail and ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work both independently and cooperatively with team members.

SUCCESS FACTORS:
-Flexibility and creativity in planning and problem solving;
-Ability to learn quickly, take initiative and be accountable for results;
-Willingness and ability to work effectively with a wide variety of people.


Qualified persons with disability are highly encouraged to apply.

Interested candidates are encouraged to submit a one page cover letter and their CV by e-mail
to                  

no later than Tuesday, August 07, 2012.
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Please indicate in the email subject; Senior ICT Program Officer
No application will be accepted if the email subject is not mentioned in the email subject line.
Please apply separate application for each position you are interested in.