IDEA (Identification, Delivery and Empowerment Application) Software Developer

IMPORTANT NOTICE\: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device

• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture.
• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply;
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAO's values
• FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination　　
• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality

FAO’s commitment to environmental sustainability is integral to our strategic objectives and operations.

Organizational Setting

The Office of Emergencies and Resilience is responsible for ensuring FAO's efforts to support countries and partners in preparing for and effectively responding to food and agricultural threats and crises by i) increasing the numbers of people reached in the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification IPC 3 and above and ii) increasing the numbers of people supported to move out of IPC 3 and above from a humanitarian caseload onto pathways of resilience and development. FAO has mainstreamed a humanitarian, development, peace nexus approach and a localization agenda throughout its strategic positioning and programmatic design and implementation at country and regional levels. In this organizational setting, The Office of Emergencies and Resilience OER is responsible for coordinating the development and maintenance of corporate tools and standards to enable Decentralized Offices (DOs) to assist member countries to prepare for, and respond to emergencies as well as strengthen capacities of national and sub-national institutions and partners for resilience and risk-informed development. OER ensures humanitarian policy coordination and knowledge, liaison with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee as well as with humanitarian resource partners, co-leadership with World Food Programme of the global Food Security Cluster, organizational preparedness, surge capacity and response to large-scale emergencies. OER supports food and nutrition security and sectoral/systems assessments, early warning activities related to emergency and humanitarian analysis and responses. OER plays a major role in the development and leadership of the Organization's programme to increase the resilience of livelihoods to food and agriculture threats and crises of the Organization's programme in areas such as risk governance and coordination, anticipatory actions, disaster risk reduction, early warning and response in agriculture and food chain crises.

The Identification, Delivery and Empowerment Application (IDEA) is a FAO-developed digital system of applications that facilitates secured beneficiary registration, identity verification at the point of distribution, entitlements delivery and tracking, data reporting and visualization. IDEA is managed by OER and since 2020, has been adopted by 14 decentralized offices and supported the implementation of 86 projects.

Reporting Lines

The Consultant will work under the overall supervision of the Emergency and Rehabilitation Officer (CVA), OER and the direct supervision of the IDEA Unit Coordinator.

Technical Focus

The incumbent will contribute to application development in OER, developing solutions as part of IDEA system of applications,
using the latest technologies and mainstreaming their adoption, working in one of the following roles\:
• Frontend Developer (REACT)
• QA Engineer
• Backend Developer (PHP)
• Android Developer

The incumbent will have experience in one or more of the following specializations and/or technologies\:

• Cloud Platforms\: Hands-on experience with cloud services such as AWS, Azure, or GCP, including infrastructure management, serverless computing, and cloud storage solutions.
• Microservices Architecture\: Experience in designing, developing, and managing microservices architectures, ensuring scalability, resilience, and ease of maintenance.
• Containerization and Orchestration\: Proficiency with container technologies like Docker and orchestration platforms such as Kubernetes to manage and scale applications in cloud environments.
• RESTful API Development\: Expertise in developing, integrating, and maintaining RESTful APIs, ensuring they are secure, scalable, and optimized for high performance.
• Backend Development\: Strong proficiency in backend programming languages such as PHP, Python, or Java, with a focus on building scalable, maintainable, and efficient systems.
• Frontend Technologies\: Experience with modern frontend frameworks like REACTJS, including state management (Redux, Context API), component-based architecture, and optimization techniques for responsiveness and performance.
• Mobile Development\: experience building mobile applications, using frameworks like React Native and Android
• Database Management and Optimization\: Expertise in working with relational databases (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL) and NoSQL databases (e.g., MongoDB, Cassandra), including schema design, query optimization, and performance tuning.
• CI/CD Pipelines\: Experience in implementing continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines using tools like Jenkins, GitLab CI, or CircleCI to automate the development and deployment process.
• DevOps Tools\: Proficiency with tools such as Terraform, Ansible, and CloudFormation for infrastructure automation, along with monitoring and log management tools like Prometheus, Grafana, ELK stack, or Splunk.
• Test Automation\: Familiarity with test automation frameworks and tools, including unit testing (PHPUnit, Jest), integration testing, and performance testing tools like JMeter or LoadRunner.
• Security Best Practices\: In-depth understanding of web security principles, including secure coding practices, vulnerability assessment, and ensuring compliance with industry standards.
• Performance Tuning\: Experience in optimizing the performance of large-scale applications and systems, including optimizing queries, load balancing, and caching mechanisms.
• Version Control\: Proficiency with version control systems such as Git, and experience using GitHub or GitLab for collaborative development and versioning of codebases.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Collaborative Development\: Work closely with senior developers and cross-functional teams to develop and maintain web and mobile applications.
• Frontend/Backend Development\: Assist in developing dynamic, scalable, and high-performance applications, using either REACTJS (frontend) or PHP (backend) technologies. Write clean and maintainable code.
• Mobile Development\: Assist in developing mobile applications, ensuring that they are optimized for performance and user experience.
• Code Reviews and Quality Assurance\: Participate in code reviews, ensuring the codebase adheres to quality standards and follows best practices. Assist in conducting unit and integration testing.
• Bug Fixing and Troubleshooting\: Identify, debug, and fix issues in web applications, ensuring that functionality remains intact and systems are bug-free.
• Database Management\: Work with relational databases (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL) and assist in designing, maintaining, and optimizing database schemas and queries.
• API Integration\: Integrate RESTful APIs into applications, ensuring that interactions between systems are smooth, secure, and efficient.
• Responsive Design\: Work with design teams to ensure that applications are responsive, meeting user experience requirements across multiple devices and screen sizes.
• Testing and Debugging\: Assist with the creation and execution of automated and manual tests to ensure the application is stable and bug-free. Participate in troubleshooting activities and debugging issues.
• Security and Best Practices\: Follow secure coding practices and work to integrate industry-standard security practices into application development.
• Documentation\: Maintain clear and concise documentation for all development work, including code, APIs, and database structures.
• Continuous Learning\: Stay up to date with the latest technologies and trends in web and mobile development, contributing new ideas to enhance product functionality and development practices.
• Performance Monitoring\: Assist in optimizing applications for better performance, scalability, and efficiency by analyzing and acting on performance metrics.
• Internal and External Collaboration\: Engage with both internal and external stakeholders, including suppliers, enumerators, service providers, and developers from UN agencies and international organizations (such as UNICEF, IOM, and WFP), to define the technical development approach and strategy.
• Field support\: Travel to L3 emergency and other countries to support the roll-out of IDEA by FAO country offices.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field.
• At least 3 years of professional experience in software development, working with one or more of the relevant technologies (REACTJS, PHP, Android).
• Working knowledge of English (level C).

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• Experience in Software Development\: Practical experience with frontend and backend technologies (REACTJS, PHP, Android, etc.).
• Cloud Platforms and Development Tools\: Familiarity with cloud services (AWS, Azure, GCP) and development tools like Git, GitHub, Jenkins, etc.
• Frontend/Backend Frameworks\: Experience with frontend (REACTJS) or backend (PHP) frameworks and development best practices.
• Database Management\: Knowledge of database design, schema management, and SQL query optimization.
• API Integration and RESTful Services\: Experience with API integration, particularly RESTful APIs, and ensuring optimal performance.
• Testing Frameworks\: Experience with testing frameworks for unit, integration, and performance testing.
• Security Best Practices\: Understanding of secure coding practices and application security principles.

Selection criteria

• Language proficiency in a second FAO language (French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese or Russian) is an advantage.
• Familiarity with relational databases such as MySQL or PostgreSQL and the ability to work with SQL queries.
• Experience using version control systems such as Git.

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency

HOW TO APPLY

• To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, and language skills
• Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile
• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application
• Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications
• Incomplete applications will not be considered
• Personal information provided on your application may be shared within FAO and with other companies acting on FAO’s behalf to provide employment support services such as pre-screening of applications, assessment tests, background checks and other related services. You will be asked to provide your consent before submitting your application. You may withdraw consent at any time, by withdrawing your application, in such case FAO will no longer be able to consider your application
• Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered
• Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile
• We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.

If you need help or have queries, please create a one-time registration with FAO’s client support team for further assistance\: https\://fao.service-now.com/csp

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