Context of the position 

Established in 1949, SOS Children's Villages International (CVI) is a dynamic, international social development organization working globally to meet the needs and protect the interests and rights of children without parental care and those who are at the risk of losing it.

Within the Eastern and Southern Africa region, SOS CV International is headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and has member associations in Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia/Somaliland, Djibouti, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, Mauritius, Angola and Madagascar.

Mission of the position:

The Regional ICT advisor (RA-ICT) provides strategic and operational support to the regional functions and member associations (MAs) of SOS Children's Villages International (SOS CVI) in the areas of technology and digitalization. In accordance to the global and regional ICT policies, she/he guide and advise the functions and the MAs to reach the optimum digital maturity level, and realise the technology impact across the programmes and operations. As part of the regional office ICT team, the RA-ICT have rotating responsibility to co-manage and support the regional office(s) ICT services and end users.

Main Clients:

1.     Regional ICT Director (D-ICT)

2.     Regional Functions

3.     National ICT Managers/Coordinators (NITCs)

4.     National Directors (NDs)

A.    ICT Strategy and Governance

• Support the rollout of the global and regional ICT policies and guidelines across the region.
• In full alignment with the federation policies, develop/support the development of regional ICT policies, guidelines and tools to ensure professional ICT performance in the region.
• Provide regional-view input on the development/revision of global ICT policies and guidelines.

B.    Digital Maturity

• Conduct Digital Maturity assessment –in accordance to ESAF standard- for the targeted MAs, and provide strategic and operational recommendations to progress their Digital Maturity level.
• Support the MAs on planning, budgeting and executing the Digital Maturity alignment measures/activities to achieve the optimum level.
• Conduct regular follow-up with the NITCs on the digital maturity alignment progress and budget execution. Report the progress and challenges to the D-ICT.
• Conduct ICT audits for the targeted MAs of the region as mandated by the D-ICT.
• Provide input to the National ICT Managers Individual Work Plan and Performance Appraisal Talk as requested by the NDs and mandated by the D-ICT.

C.    Connectivity and Infrastructure

• Support the MAs on the rollout and implementation of the global and regional C&I polices.
• Provide the MAs with strategic and technical guidance on the C&I setup and troubleshooting.
• Conduct regular C&I performance checks and standard review of the existing/new C&I technologies and report to the D-ICT on potential revisions/new solutions.
• Develop, C&I projects plans. Execute, monitor and report the progress, challenges and learnings.
• Maintain comprehensive C&I projects documentation including training library and user manuals.

D.    Software Projects, ICT4D, Research and Innovation

• Provide technical and strategic guidance for the MAs and IOR functions project leads on planning and rolling out global and regional Software/ICT4D projects.
• Provide strategic input on technology integration for programme planning and IPD proposals.
• Engage on knowledge sharing and exchange activities with the IO, other regions and Net Hope. 
• Conduct regular research on new technology trends and report on potential new solutions.

E.    IOR ICT Services

• Ensure professional setup, performance and documentation of the IOR ICT services.
• Provide technical support for the IOR end users and organise trainings and refresher workshops for core ICT policies and tools.
• Support the procurement process of the ICT equipment, software and services as mandated by the D-ICT

F.    Others

• Serve as active member of the IOR ICT team and ensure the necessary tasks are fulfilled in time and quality.
• Provide input to further improve and strengthening the regional ICT team.
• Execute any other assignments in link of his/her areas of expertise, or wider IOR-team assignment as assigned by the D-ICT.

Requirements

• Advanced university degree in Computer Science/ Information Technology Management.
• 4-6 years’ experience in senior/leadership positions in the field of ICT management preferably in the NGOs sector.
• Microsoft infrastructure/servers/productivity/cloud certification.
• Cisco networking and security certification (CCNP, CCNA Security).
• Excellent knowledge and hands on experience on Microsoft IT systems/infrastructure solutions, Microsoft Cloud Infrastructure & Services, Cisco and SD Networking Platforms and Devices.
• Experience in ICT and ICT4D projects’ design and management.
• PMP or ITIL Certifications. GVF is a plus.
• Excellent command of written and spoken English. French is a plus.

Functional Competences

• Experience in people management.
• Exposure in Working in a multi-location/matrix organization
• Ability to work in stressful situations.
• Self-motivated and managed, service and result oriented and innovative.
• A team player with excellent communication, negotiation and presentation skills.
• A strong strategic and business mind-set.