Job: Systems Developer, CMS (Liferay)

Location: Rome 
Deadline: Thursday, 31 October 2013 

Description

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is an International Financial Institution and a specialized United Nations Agency whose mission is enabling poor rural people to improve their food security and nutrition, raise their incomes, and strengthen their resilience. To achieve these goals. IFAD develops and finances programs and projects aimed at increasing agricultural productivity and incomes and reducing rural poverty. IFAD's headquarters is in Rome, Italy, but has offices in 40 countries and finances programs and projects in more than 90 countries.

The Information and Communications Technology Division (ICT) is part of the Corporate Services Department of IFAD. Its stated objective is to be a strategic partner and a responsive service and support provider, delivering state-of-the-art information and communications technology and expertise to the workforce, its representatives and the leadership of IFAD.

Purpose of Position

Under the general supervision and technical coordination of the ICT Solutions Coordinator, and as part of the ICT Solutions team, the incumbent provides system development and technical support to IFAD's corporate systems specifically but not limited to IFAD's Content Management Systems (CMS).

Duties and responsibilities

The incumbent will:

1. Design, develop, maintain, document and deploy corporate application systems, including commercial software packages; interface custom software with commercial packages and productivity tools;
2. Develop and maintain business (process) and technical models of new and existing application systems.
3. Coordinate development work of external vendors; package development work to be outsourced, monitor and control progress to ensure timely delivery and expected quality;
4. Provide on-going and technical support to IFAD's corporate systems including problem resolution and bug fixing, application changes and enhancement, patch installation and testing, and system upgrades; resolve system configuration and performance problems.
5. Manage change requests for IFAD's corporate systems, including the evaluation, execution, testing, verification, acceptance and deployment of the requested solution;
6. Help users use the systems functionality effectively and provide coaching; promote business process integration and help users identify process improvements;
7. Support users in the testing and acceptance of new corporate systems functionality implemented;
8. Perform other related duties as required.

Education and Experience

• University degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Business Administration, Communications or related field.
• Minimum of five years of professional work experience in the analysis, implementation and support of enterprise-wide IT systems. Minimum of 3 years using Liferay Portal modules. Participation in open source projects and the publishing of technology articles or ownership of a technology blog is highly desirable.

Technical and functional competencies

Effective problem solving approach; demonstrated success in the analysis, design, implementation and quality control of corporate solutions; ability to work in a cross-cultural team and develop and maintain a positive relationship with end users.

Technical Skills:

The candidate should have experience with information architecture, knowledge management and metadata, and demonstrable experience of the following technologies :

Required

• Liferay Portal
• J2EE
• Web development (HTML, CSS)
• XML document manipulation (XSLT)
• SQL

Desirable

• Knowledge of Versioning Software Systems (particularly Git and Svn)
• Knowledge of .NET
• Knowledge of Ruby
• Java certification
• Experience in UML

Languages

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, including the ability to set out a coherent analysis in presentations.

Other information

Applicants should note that IFAD staff members are international civil servants subject to the authority of the President of IFAD, and they may be assigned by him/her to any of the activities of IFAD, including field assignments and/or rotation within IFAD.

IFAD is committed to achieving diversity and is seeking a balanced workforce from IFAD's Member States. Women are, in particular, encouraged to apply.

IFAD reserves the right to appoint a candidate at the appropriate grade commensurate with experience and knowledge.

Interested candidates are requested to apply by completing IFAD's Personal History Form (PHF) in English. A separate CV may be attached if you so desire, only as a supplement and NOT a substitute to the PHF. The application should be made through the online system only. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY the instructions in 'How to Apply' before you start.In the interest of making most cost effective use of funds and resources, we are only able to respond to applicants who are short-listed for interview. Candidates who do not receive any feedback within three months should consider their application unsuccessful.Candidates may be required to take a written test and to deliver a presentation as well as participate in interviews.

More Info and Application