Mis Software Developer

The objective of this consultancy is to develop the No Loss Generation cash transfer pilot Management Information System (MIS). The consultant will be required to work independently on some tasks and with other stakeholders and staff members in UNICEF on other related tasks. S/he will report to the MIS Software Project Manager (MIS SPM). Estimates suggest that about half of the displaced, primary school aged Syrian children currently living in Lebanon do not attend school. Many fear they will become a “lost generation”.[1]Displaced Syrian children are out of school for a combination of reasons. UNICEF Lebanon is working with its partners to prevent a lost generation of Syrian children. It collaborates with the government to ensure that schooling is available for displaced children. With UNICEF, UNHCR, World Bank and donor funds and the support of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE), Lebanese public primary schools provide a second (afternoon) shift for Syrian children. UNICEF is also supporting an accelerated learning program (ALP) for refugee children who have been out of school for a prolonged period or who have language deficiencies to ensure that they can enrol in an appropriate grade for their age. UNICEF’s NGO partners are also providing psycho-social support to support traumatized children, as well as numerous other complementary interventions. There are approximately 282 495 Syrian children 6-14 years old registered with UNHRC, but figures from MEHE[2] indicate that only 146 257 non-Lebanese (not just Syrian refugees) are enrolled as of December 2015. In addition, the number of unregistered Syrian refugee households/children is not known, nor is the number of children enrolled in informal education (including that delivered by organizations with unclear funding sources or affiliations, which is a source of concern for MEHE and donors) After the undertaking of a feasibility study and in consultation with the Government, UNICEF is initiating pilot No-Loss Generation cash related child grant programme for approximately 65,000 Non-Lebanese children between 6-14 years old to facilitate their enrolment and retention in public schools. An operational design has been developed including the operational pilot cycle of targeting, enrolment, attendance monitoring, payment and reconciliation, referral and follow-up, updates and exit. The establishment of a Management Information System (MIS) is the backbone of the operational model of the pilot. The MIS will automate a number of core processes, such as sending SMS reminders to the caregivers of children who do not attend school for more than 10 days, generating the payment list, and comparing the payment list to the reconciliation file which evidences payment. As per the operational design and report of the MIS Scoping Consultant, the software developer shall be responsible for the development (September - October 2016) and testing of software applications (October 2016- June 2017) required to support the day to day operations of the cash transfer pilot. The Software Developer shall be responsible for the following deliverable:   Develop web based software applications including (registration, attendance monitoring and SMS follow-up, payments and reconciliation, household visits, updates, complaints and reporting); Setup server and client machines/devices for development and operational use; Contribute in developing requirement specifications, based on the business process model specified in the operations manual; Regularly meet with the operations team including any service providers and other stakeholders, to analyse changing operational needs and reflect them in the MIS; Develop a mass registration and on-going registration application for recording enrolment information of children of beneficiary families/households during the school enrolment drive and other wise where applicable. This application will be tablet-based with a paper-based option; Develop an attendance monitoring application for monitoring the daily attendance of registered children of the beneficiary families/households. This application will be tablet-based with a paper-based option; Implement new/integrate existing application/module for SMS communication to the beneficiaries for attendance monitoring of children; Implement payroll processing and reconciliation module which generates electronic payroll file to be shared with the payment service provider and reconciles once payments are made. The system should have built in checks for verifying the payroll and reconciliation files; Develop a comprehensive household visit  system for identifying non-attending children, undertaking household visits, and recording reasons for non-attendance and referral to other services; Develop a comprehensive system for collection, processing and resolution of enrolment data updates and complaints of the beneficiaries; Develop all client applications, database modules and reports in line with the industrial best practices to deliver efficiency of system; Develop user friendly graphical interfaces for all the client applications as per the requirements of operational users; Carry out testing, debugging, upgrading and modifications of software applications; Implement application test requirements and cases, together with the MIS manager and users; Develop comprehensive reports on all aspects of pilot project data by carrying out analysis of data and presenting the information in a structured manner by developing an on-line analysis and reporting tool; Provide on demand specific data analysis and reports to key stakeholders, based on data sharing agreements; Maintain system based logs of activities of all the operational users of the MIS; Ensure that the system and its applications are not accessed by unauthorized users; Implement data security and protection plan for servers and client devices; Ensure that the data stored in the system/servers and processed through client devices is protected through encryption; Implement secure file transfer protocol (SFTP) links with all the agencies identified for data communication; Hold regular meetings with MIS manager to make sure that the development progress is on track; Develop and provide weekly/monthly and quarterly progress reports to MIS Manager; and Any other related task as identified by the MIS SPM or Operation Programme Manager. Experience: -          At least 5 years of working experience as Software Developer in enterprise level projects in reputed organizations; -          Experience of working with Cash Transfer programmes in Social Safety Nets is desirable; -          Excellent command on .NET (C#, ASP.NET), JavaScript, CSS, XML, Web services - WCF, Ajax-Enabled, SOAP, SOAP Extensions - SOA, SMTP; -          Experience with Agile methodologies (Scrum and Extreme Programming); -          Proven database programming with PL SQL (3+ years), SQL / Optimization (expert level), Oracle / SQL Server (Large Scale Systems); -          Ability to quickly analyse, understand, interpret and convey complex scenarios and to define suitable and effective solutions; Skills and personal traits:  -          Highly motivated, with strong initiative and good judgement. Able to contribute innovative and effective ideas, be receptive to new ideas and take calculated decisions; -          Strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to interact professionally with a diverse group of people; -          Sensitivity towards ethics with regards to human and child rights issues, different cultures, local customs, religious beliefs and practices, personal interaction and gender roles, disability, age and ethnicity -          Able to independently conduct training of operational users on the existing and new MIS systems; Fluency in English and Arabic (written and spoken).   [1] “The No Lost Generation initiative was launched by partners in 2013 to focus attention on the plight of children affected by the Syrian crisis. By articulating real concerns about the possible ‘loss’ of a generation of children to the effects of violence and displacement, the initiative put education and child protection at the centre of the response inside Syria and across the 5 main refugee hosting countries (Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt).” http://nolostgeneration.org/about. [2] December 17th,  2015