Mis Software Project Consultant

f you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. Purpose of the Assignment The objective of this consultancy is to Lead on MIS system design, planning and implementation activities, in consultation with the Operational Programme Manager and other UNICEF colleagues, of the No Loss Generation Cash Pilot Programme starting from September/October 2016. He/she will supervise 1 software developers to assist in delivering an MIS based on the Operations Manual of the No Loss Generation cash transfer pilot. Assignment Tasks As per the operational design and report of the MIS Scoping Consultant, he/she will be responsible for the design, development, testing and commissioning of MIS by Sept/October 2016 and testing of software applications (between October 2016- April 2017) required to support the day to day operations of the cash transfer pilot and its possible national scale-up. Expected Deliverables The MIS SPM shall be responsible for the following tasks:  Lead on system and software design, planning, and implementation activities in consultation with the operations team; Develop MIS design and implementation strategy, based on the operations manual and aligned with the pilot work plan, which takes care of all the design, development, testing, deployment, commissioning, backup, maintenance, support, risks mitigation and continuous improvement aspects of such systems; Specify system and application level requirements in detail by closely interacting with the No Loss Generation Programme team (Technical Advisor and Operational Programme Manager), other UNICEF colleagues (especially the UNICEF Cash Unit), service providers and other agencies including UNHCR, Caritas and MEHE; Meet as necessary, in coordination with the Operational Programme Manager, with the stakeholders including any service providers, to analyze and resolve issues as part of the day-to-day operations; Develop a realistic implementation plan for the MIS development team to develop, test and commission the MIS Enrolment and Attendance Monitoring application modules before the school enrolment starts in September 2016, and the remaining modules prior to November 2016; Be responsible for managing all aspects of the software development lifecycle, from requirement specifications to design, development, testing, deployment and on-going maintenance and support; Immediately put in place an environment for the developers to develop system applications by setting up an in-house network which includes a web server, a database server, internet, wired LAN, WIFI, firewall, network monitoring application etc. Design web based software applications including (registration, attendance monitoring and SMS follow-up, payments and reconciliation, household visits, updates, and reporting); System design is to consider integration/interfacing needs with other systems for information sharing and verification; Design 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; Design an attendance monitoring application for monitoring the day to day attendance of registered children of the beneficiary families/households. This application will be tablet-based with a paper-based option; Design a new/integrate existing application/module for SMS communication to the beneficiaries for attendance monitoring of attendance of children; Design 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 ; Design a comprehensive household visit system for identifying non-attending children, undertaking household visits, and recording reasons for non-attendance and referral to other services; Design a comprehensive system for collection, processing and resolution of enrolment data updates and complaints of the beneficiaries; Design a comprehensive reporting module 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; Design all client applications, database modules and reports in line with the industrial best practices to deliver efficient system; Ensure development of user friendly graphical interfaces for client applications and application reports as per the needs of operational users of the system; Ensure rigorous testing, debugging, upgrading and modifications of system applications; Provide ongoing evaluations of technology solutions and capabilities to ensure alignment with the organizational objectives; Ensure a single source of truth at all times by synchronizing and accumulating all the data of different sources into one database; Optimize the performance of MIS applications, database etc. on a regular basis by adopting industry best practices; Develop and maintain system/software documentation including user manuals with support from software developers; Provide on-going/day to day technical support to MIS developers throughout the development process; Provide the necessary technical support to operations team on use of software applications; Train operational users of MIS on all applications and provide ongoing technical assistance in using the applications; Manage general IT related administration and maintenance activities; Hold regular meetings with operations team and all other stakeholders to make sure that the development progress is on track and MIS responds to the needs of the operations; Develop and provide weekly/monthly and quarterly progress reports to Operational Team Leader; Manage the development work of two software developers; Any other related task as identified by the Operational Programme Manager Experience: -          At least 8 years of overall experience with at least 3 years of information system management and 3-5 years of software design and development experience in enterprise level projects in reputed organizations;  -          Preferably, 2 years of experience of working with Cash Transfer programmes in Social Safety Nets is a must; -          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 (4+ years), SQL / Optimization (expert level), Oracle / SQL Server (Large Scale Systems); Skills and personal traits:  -          Ability to quickly analyse, understand, interpret and convey complex scenarios and to define suitable and effective solutions; -          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 inter-personal and communication skills and the ability to interact professionally with a diverse group of people; -          Able to independently conduct training of operational users on the existing and new MIS systems; -          Fluent in English, working knowledge of Arabic preferred.