IT Operations Officer NOA, Lebanon Country Office, Beirut

Assisting more than 90 million people in 83 countries each year, the World Food Programme (WFP) is the leading humanitarian organization saving lives and changing lives, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. As the international community has committed to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition by 2030, one in nine people worldwide still do not have enough to eat. Food and food-related assistance lie at the heart of the struggle to break the cycle of hunger and poverty.

In Lebanon, WFP works to support approximately 700,000 people with regular assistance using e-cards. WFP also supports Lebanese schools with school meals, and has run over 300 development activities which include supporting rural infrastructure, as well as education and training opportunities for vulnerable individuals in families. WFP also supports Lebanon’s National Poverty Targeting Programme. 

The purpose of the job is to support the delivery of efficient and effective IT and Telecommunications services by partnering with the business to identify challenges and providing ideal technology solutions that enable WFP Lebanon achieve its mission and objectives.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT:
This post is based in Beirut CO and the incumbent is to report to the Head of IT. The incumbent will actively participate in the rollout, maintenance and delivery of efficient and effective IT systems and services.

JOB PURPOSE:     
Support the delivery of efficient and effective IT and Telecommunications services by partnering with the business to identify challenges and providing ideal technology solutions that enable WFP Lebanon achieve its mission and objectives.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Under the supervision of Head of IT, the incumbent will perform the following tasks:

1. Support the budgeting, planning and deployment of IT and Telecommunications systems that are aligned with business needs, in accordance with WFP corporate standards.
2. Provide support to maintain IT and Telecommunications systems and networks, ensuring appropriate data security and access controls considering both local and wide area network issues; and supporting users to get maximum benefits from them.
3. Install and configure new computer hardware for improving and upgrading system performance; support any technology upgrades as required.
4. Provide data and documentation to support the procurement of TC/IT equipment and services at and in line with WFP rules and regulations.
5. Collate data and contribute to the preparation of accurate reports on IT/TC investments and costs, providing information to inform decision-making by stakeholders.
6. Develop technical skills and knowledge, and build awareness of industry developments.
7. Coordinate the in Country service desk and ensure incidents are resolved in timely manner.
8. Respond to queries from users, understanding and resolving issues, providing advice and ensuring IT policies, procedures, systems and tools are correctly applied to support them.
9. Guide junior staff, acting as a point of referral and supporting them with analysis and queries.
10. Support the capability building of staff through the organisation and/or review of training programs aimed at developing skills/knowledge in IT and TC.
11. Provide clear technical systems documentation rolled out infrastructure covering servers (including virtualization) Networks and backup systems.
12. Monitor IT service delivery metrics and report on the same.
13. Monitor IT performance metrics to identify possible problems and resolve before they affect business.
14. Define systems and infrastructure for decommissioning with coordination with Head of IT and procedure for decommissioning.
15. Coordinate with other UN agencies in order to network, align activities and support possibilities of inter-agency collaboration in the field of IT and Telecommunications.
16. Interact effectively with colleagues and user groups to understand their needs and provide appropriate technical support.
17. Follow standard emergency preparedness and contingency planning practices to ensure WFP is able to maintain basic IT services and/or quickly respond and deploy resources to affected areas at the onset of a crisis.
18. Follow operational plans and deliver resource requirements at the onset of an emergency.
19. Other accountabilities, as required.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Education: Advanced University degree in Computer Science or other relevant field, or First University degree with additional years of related work experience.

Experience: At least 2 years post graduate experience in IT field if holding an advanced degree (Masters) or 4 years post graduate if holding bachelor’s degree. Experience in similar position is added advantage.

Language: Fluency in both oral and written communication in English. Knowledge of French language is added advantage.

DESIRED EXPERIENCES & COMPETENCIES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE:

• Knowledgeable in the area of IT Governance
• Has been part of the design and implementation of ITIL service management systems for handling customer requests.
•  Has performed user support activities resulting in timely, high-quality delivery of services to user community, including the emergency operations user community.
• Supervised a service/ help desk
•  Has supervised a team of junior IT staff
• ITIL Certification is an added advantage
• Cisco certification in area of routing and switching is an added advantage
• Knowledge of Microsoft server technologies is required.
• Knowledge of Virtualization is required
• Knowledge of VSAT Technology is an added advantage