Software Developer and Researcher

Software Developer and Researcher – Short Term Consultancy

for the Quality Instruction towards Access and Basic Education Improvement” QITABI Program

Background  

QITABI is a five-year $46.2 million USAID-funded project, that will improve both access to education and learning outcomes in primary schools, in addition to supporting institutional effectiveness across MEHE (Ministry of Education and Higher Education) in Lebanon. QITABI aims to improve outcomes in reading at the primary level, under the assumption that increased literacy directly correlates to increased academic and professional achievement. Improved facilities, services, and teaching – along with more effectively engaged communities and school councils – will not only improve learning outcomes, but also increase the chances of youth remaining in the formal education system. The project has three components:

• Component 1: Improving reading outcomes for primary level public school students
• Component 2: Expanding access to safe and relevant education for vulnerable public-school students
• Component 3: Strengthening management (resilience) in the education system to better direct and monitor education

World Learning, under its QITABI project, has an immediate vacancy for a short-term consultant “Software Developer and Researcher – Short Term Consultancy” for 66-days. This position is open for a person who has previous experience in this field and Lebanon’s public sector.

Scope and Responsibilities

Under Component 3 “Strengthening management (resilience) in the education system to better direct and monitor education” the project is providing support to the Center for Educational Research and Development (CERD) in in Documentary Informatics, Process Automation and Web Development.

The purpose of this assignment is to provide Technical Support & Assistance at the Center for Educational Research and Development. The Software Developer ‘s mission is to design, implement, and maintain a Digital Institutional Repository for the preservation of various CRDP publications and digital resources (Texts, illustrations, Images, Audios, Videos ...). In particular, he/she will be responsible for:

• The analysis of the CRDP requirements and organizational structure in order to propose an appropriate structure for the Digital Institutional Repository.
• The installation and deployment of the latest version of DSpace Open Source Repository Software Package in addition to all of its dependency software.
• The implementation of the CRDP Digital Institutional Repository in DSpace.
• The customization of the structure of the CRDP Digital Institutional Repository to reflect the needs of CERD, its organizational structure, and workflow processes.
• The customization of digital object Metadata schema.
• The development and customization of the various Web Interfaces.
• The configuration of User Authentication, Groups, and Access Control.
• The implementation of a Submission Workflow.
• The maintenance and technical support for the Digital Institutional Repository.
• The training of the CERD staff to use the Digital Institutional Repository.
• The candidate is expected to respond to any additional activities related to the assignment and or Dspace application as requested by CRDP.

Expected deliverables

The candidate is expected to deliver:

• A fully functional Digital Institutional Repository as specified by the CRDP requirements including:
  • Submission Module, Metadata Management, Import/Export Functionalities,
  • Discovery Module (Search and Browsing), Authentication System, Administration Module, Reporting Module, English, French, and Arabic Infrastructure
  • Bug-Free application
  • Full Source Code
  • Proper Software documentation
  • System User documentation

Requirements

• Master’s in computer science with specialization in Web Development or equivalent, a Ph.D. in Computer Science is a plus
• Research experience and publications in the field of Computer Science
• Experience in Documentary Informatics and Process Automation.
• Experience in Web Development and Programming.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in Arabic, English and French.
• Knowledge and experience in Programming Languages including:  Java, .net, C#, and C++.
• Knowledge and experience in Web Technologies including: PHP, Asp.net, HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript.
• Knowledge and experience in Database design and technologies, including Structured Query Language (SQL)
• Knowledge and experience in Apache Tomcat Server
• Strong communication skills
• Good organizational skills
• Good time management

“World Learning is an equal employment opportunity committed to increasing the diversity of its workforce.”