Senior Information Systems Officer (Data Architect)

Org. Setting and ReportingThe United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF) was established in 1949 by the United Nations General Assembly to provide retirement, death, disability, and related benefits for staff of the United Nations and other member organizations of the Fund. The Pension Fund pays benefits in 19 currencies to more than 70,000 beneficiaries who reside in 190 countries, and services more than 150,700 participants who work in the 25 member organizations of the Pension Fund. The Fund has offices in New York (United States) and Geneva (Switzerland) and two liaison offices in Nairobi (Kenya) and Bangkok (Thailand), respectively. The United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund-Pension Administration (UNJSPF-PA) comprises about 250 staff from diverse countries and cultures, based across four prominent duty stations (New York, Geneva, Bangkok, and Nairobi). We are a career employer offering unique opportunities for growth within the United Nations system. Our office is located in the heart of Manhattan, within walking distance from the Grand Central Station hub, in a state-of-the-art facility (the One Dag Hammarskjöld building). Visit www.unjspf.org for more details. This position is located in the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund/Pension Administration/Information Management Systems Service (UNJSPF/PA/IMSS). The incumbent reports to the Chief of UNJSPF/PA/IMSS (Chief Information Officer). ResponsibilitiesWithin delegated authority and depending on location, the Information Systems Officer (Data Architect) will be responsible for the following duties • Conceptualizes, develops a data strategy for the implementation of major systems initiatives concerning system data architecture and design; manages/oversees multiple, concurrent and often disparate tasks for projects that often involve innovative system development in cloud-based environments. • Provides authoritative technical and policy advice to senior managers on efficient and effective Data Architecture design in cloud-based environments to meet a changing business environment and the implications of various alternatives; develops and disseminates best practices. • Leads and directs a team of information systems officers in the Business Intelligence team on the development and maintenance of those systems and is integrated with the Enterprise Application Section annual workplan; plans and allocates work assignments; coaches, mentors, and evaluates staff; participates in recruitment and selection of new staff and in the development of training programs. • Develops and monitors performance measures; ensures that projects meet established time and cost parameters and standards of technical quality. • Prepares and monitors the budget, work program, and spending plan assigned to that team. • Develop innovative data architecture solutions to resolve intricate problems that impact a critical area of the organization’s work. • Ensures the development of standards, procedures and practices to ensure a stable and effective data design standards. • Leads team members efforts to collect and analyze data and provides insight to identify trends or patterns for data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation and reporting. Ensures that everyone can discover, access, integrate and share the data they need. Work implies frequent interaction with the following: User clients, including senior officials and managers and senior officials of organs and agencies of the UN system. Systems Officers and other IT specialists throughout the Secretariat and other UN agencies. Senior technical staff and managers in user offices, including external users (e.g. governments, international organizations, etc. Counterparts in other organizations/businesses are involved in systems strategy and development. Sales and technical personnel of hardware/software vendors, IT consultants, contract staff, etc. Results Expected: Efficiently plans, develops, implements and monitors the work unit’s program to ensure timely and cost-effective delivery of results that best serve the interests of the organization. Effectively utilizes, supervises and develops staff. Provides sound and innovative advice on a wide range of infrastructure systems development related issues and problems, generally in cloud-based environments. Establishes effective collaboration and partnerships with officials at all levels inside and outside the organization. Competencies• Professionalism: Design and maintain enterprise‑level data architecture, including conceptual, logical, and physical data models. Develop scalable data pipelines and integration frameworks. Establish data standards, naming conventions, and best practices. Ability to develop and oversee critical centralized or decentralized institutional data systems; conceptual and strategic analytical capacity to understand information system and business operational issues so as to thoroughly analyze and evaluate critical systems matters. Ability to integrate knowledge with broader strategic, policy and operational objectives. Ability to advise senior management on complex systems data design and development and related matters of significant importance to the institution; conceptual and strategic analytical capacity to understand information system and business operational issues so as to thoroughly analyze and evaluate critical data issues. Ability to improve processes and approaches; demonstrates adaptability to changing priorities. Strong negotiating skills and ability to influence others to reach agreement on difficult issues. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work. Able to analyze and interpret data in support of decision-making and convey resulting information to management. • Planning & Organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently. • Client Orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client. • Technological Awareness: Keeps abreast of available technology; understands applicability and limitation of technology to the work of the office; actively seeks to apply technology to appropriate tasks; shows willingness to learn new technology. Managerial Competencies • Managing performance: Delegates the appropriate responsibility, accountability and decision-making authority. Makes sure that roles, responsibilities and reporting lines are clear to each staff member. Accurately judges the amount of time and resources needed to accomplish a task and matches task to skills. Monitors progress against milestones and deadlines. Regularly discusses performance and provides feedback and coaching to staff. Encourages risk-taking and supports creativity and initiative. Actively supports the development and career aspirations of staff. Appraises performance fairly. EducationAdvanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in computer science, information systems engineering or related field. A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree. Successful completion of both degree and non-degree programs in system development or data architecture in cloud-based environment is an advantage. Job - Specific QualificationNot available. Work ExperienceA minimum of ten years of progressively responsible experience in planning, design, development, implementation and maintenance of complex data architectures is required. A background in BI/analytics platforms (e.g., Power BI, Tableau), is required. Expertise in SQL, data modeling, ETL/ELT, and database design is required. Knowledge of data governance, security, and compliance frameworks is required. Hands‑on experience with cloud data platforms (e.g., Azure, AWS, GCP) is desirable. LanguagesEnglish and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this job opening, English is required. French is desirable. The table below shows the minimum required level for each skill in these languages, according to the UN Language Framework (please consult https://languages.un.org for details).