HEAD OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY : - Ref: No. HOICT11/09

VACANCY:HEAD OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

The KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme is a partnership between the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Oxford University and the Wellcome Trust. The programme is well known internationally for its work tackling malaria and other infectious diseases among children and has a broad scope in medical research, carrying out basic laboratory-based research, clinical and community based studies, health systems and health policy research. The twin overriding aims of the programme are to conduct research to the highest international scientific and ethical standards on health problems which are major causes of morbidity and mortality in Africa, and to build strong and sustainable national and regional research capacity.

The Programme has its headquarters in the KEMRI Centre for Geographic Medicine Research- Coast (CGMRC) in Kilifi and a research grouping in Nairobi. It is led by a management team consisting of a KEMRI-Centre Director, a Programme Director, a Chief Operating Officer and a group of senior researchers, each leading a major research group. The Programme has approximately 750 staff.

The Programme is now looking to recruit a highly experienced professional for the position of Head of Information And Communication Technology (ICT).

ICT is a key support service to the Programme’s research activities and the ICT department is responsible for providing strategic direction and organizational alignment to directly support implementation of the Programme’s strategy and goals. Currently the ICT Department has four sections – Infrastructure, Data Management, Physical Records Administration and Helpdesk – with 12 full time core staff and supervision over approximately 45 project-funded Data Management staff (Data Managers, Programmers and Data Entry Clerks). The ICT Department has a small number of additional staff based in its offices in Nairobi and at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The department is closely linked to the Programme’s Statistics Unit.

JOB PURPOSE:

The key objective of the position is to manage and develop an ICT function that is appropriate within the context of an international, not-for-profit research organisation working in multiple sites in Africa. The Head of ICT will collaborate closely with the ICT Steering Group to ensure that the strategy, and associated processes and policies are recognised as in the best interests of the Programme by the programme staff.

Following is the full job description and application procedure for the post:

JOB TITLE:  HEAD OF ICT

DEPARTMENT: ICT

LOCATION: KILIFI WITH FREQUENT TRAVEL TO NAIROBI

SALARY: A competitive salary will be paid to the successful candidate

REPORTING LINES:

The post will report to the Chief Operating Officer. The Head of ICT will have direct line management of the Managers for Infrastructure, Data Management, Physical Records Administration and Helpdesk

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

1.    Overall management of staff within ICT, including recruitment, managing staff by performance objectives, staff learning and development. Line manage the Department’s four sections - Infrastructure, Data Management, Physical Records Administration and Helpdesk - ensuring effective delivery of service in support of the Programme’s mission.

2.    Develop a strategic plan that ensures the efficient operations of all ICT functions within the Programme

3.    Overall responsible for ICT projects coordination, ICT security and contingency planning

4.    Recruit, train and re-train current staff as required to successfully implement the strategic plan

5.    Collaborate with the scientific leadership of the Programme through active membership of the Programme Management Committee

6.    Review of all hardware, software and operating systems and procedures within the programme, in collaboration with the ICT Steering Group and other stakeholders and ensure that these are appropriate to support the needs of the Programme.

7.    Responsible for developing the ICT department’s core budget proposals and the management of the ICT department’s budget, to ensure that resources are deployed to best effect and provide value for money.

8.    Ensure effective and proactive communication across the Programme on ICT performance, policies, procedures and services.

9.    Development of service level agreements for ICT at the Programme, in consultation with stakeholders.

10.  Be a part of the senior management headed by the Chief Operating Officer and other support units (including Finance, HR, Transport) to support better use of office automation to ensure the smooth operations of the programme.

11.  Preparation of the Programme ICT budget; ICT Expenditure execution and control

SKILLS AND COMPETENCE:

Essential Criteria:

1.    First degree in an area related to ICT or a scientific discipline, with at least 10 years experience working with ICT and evidence of progressively more responsibility over this period, including as a senior ICT manager

2.    Demonstrable experience of effective ICT change management

3.    Technical background in ICT that includes a minimum of two of the following: network design and management, employment as a developer of software based solutions, creation and maintenance of database management based systems or web based applications

4.    Previous experience of leading an ICT group that encompasses program developers, database developers/administrators, network engineers and hardware and software support personnel.

5.    Experience in developing and managing budgets

6.    Demonstrable ability to negotiate and manage outsourced ICT projects or service contracts

Desirable Criteria:

1.    A postgraduate level qualification in management of ICT

2.    Experience with a wide variety of DBMS systems especially Filemaker, MySQL, MS-SQL and Postgresql

3.    Proficiency with a variety of operation systems and applications software include PC, Mac and Linux platforms

4.    Ability to interact with skilled scientists and comprehend technical requirements of scientific projects and apply ICT resources accordingly

5.    Interest in developing the technical competencies of the ICT team

6.    Interest in the wider deployment of hand held field based data collection methods using a variety of platform including handhelds PCs, Ipods and netbooks.

7.    Ability to work closely with the statistical support group and scientists to provide documented data sources that enable rapid and secured use of existing scientific data as well as to better use administrative data to better manage the Programme as a whole

8.    Interest in widening the effective use of Open Source technologies where it clearly benefits the programme 

Application Procedure:

To apply for this post you must be a registered user. Log into your account then go to Vacancies, view the post and click on the button: Apply Online. DO NOT SEND A SEPARATE CV.

Candidates must supply an email and telephone contact that will be used when offering interviews. The application closing date is 1^st December, 2009. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interviews.