ILRI Vacancy: ICT Customer Services Officer

Vacancy Number: A/010/2014
Division/Unit: Corporate Services/ICT
Duration: Two years contract

General:  The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) works at the crossroads of livestock and poverty, bringing high-quality livestock science, communications and capacity building to bear on poverty reduction and sustainable development. ILRI has campuses in Kenya (headquarters) and Ethiopia, with other offices located in Africa (Botswana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Uganda) as well as Asia (China, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Sri Lanka).

The position: ILRI is recruiting an ICT Customer Services Officer position exists on the Addis Ababa campus of ILRI to provide a high level ICT Customer Service support to the power users and to assist the Infrastructure Specialist and Business Systems specialist Addis Ababa to manage the infrastructure and applications. The position is central to ensuring the efficient use of ICT equipment, applications and resources on the campuses through the resolution of high-end problems and passing-on of their knowledge and experience.

Main Duties:

• Provides high level technical support to the “power users” and “non-core application users” on the campus by diagnoses and resolution of ICT problems.
• Provides specialized support for one or more non-core applications that the customers have asked the Department to help support.
• Takes over the resolution of problems that have been escalated by the ICT Customer Service technicians when they have been unable to resolve a problem within the assigned timeframe.
• Leads ICT projects that are implemented by the ICT Customer Service team, including the roll-out of new applications and equipment.
• Provides the main link between ICT Customer Service team and the Infrastructure team to ensure that essential tasks are carried out and do not fall between the two teams.
• Keeps the helpdesk status for requests up-to-date, attempt to resolve the problem as soon as possible but definitely within the timeframe set by the priority level and close the call as soon as the problem has been resolved to the satisfaction of the customer.
• Provides guidance and mentoring to the ICT Customer Service helpdesk/support technicians.
• Supervises students that are on attachment to the ICT Department.
• Monitor the implementation of policies, procedures and standards on the campus and make the necessary corrections where necessary.
• Identifies commonly recurring requests for assistance and provide advice on how these can be prevented or minimized, through training, user awareness, changes in configuration etc.
• Research into finding more effective ways of using and configuring applications that can then be rolled out across the campuses or posted to the intranet and communicated to staff for their use.
• Provides “tips of the week” that will help staff work more efficiently or provide them with options when working with commonly used problems.
• Keeps up-to-date with changes and advancements in ICT Customer Services and the type of applications that are supported and make suggestions for improvements to the services provided.
• Provides 2nd level support in Addis Ababa to ensure availability and efficient operation and use of infrastructure, assist and ensure the systems are well maintained and can be quickly repaired or replaced in the event of problems through the management of a service.

Education:
•    First Degree in Computer Science or related field

Experience:     
•    A minimum of 3 years related experience

• Training:    
• Certification as a Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician (MCDST) or Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) or Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) or Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)
• Skills:
• Good communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to pass on information clearly to users and to grasp difficulties perceived by users.
• Strong customer service orientation that establishes a good working relationship with customers, with the attitude of wanting to assist people and pass-on their knowledge and experience to others.
• Organized, dynamic self-starter who sees the position as a step in their career development.
• Good logical diagnostic skills and ability to exercise good judgment in the resolution of problems.
• Ability to multi-task in dealing with several different problems at a time.
• Advanced proficiency in the core applications used at ILRI including MS Office Suite, and at least one of the non-core applications supported by the ICT Department.
• Ability to meet deadlines, monitor and follow-up on pending matters under minimum supervision.
• Ability to work under high pressure to tight deadlines.
• Ability to communicate fluently in English.

Experience:     

•    A minimum of 3 years related experience

Duty Station:  Addis Ababa

Job level
•    This position is job Grade 2C.

Monthly Base Salary:     Birr 11,871 (Negotiable, depending on experience, skill and salary history of the candidate)

Terms of appointment:  This is Nationally Recruited Staff (NRS) position based at ILRI’s Addis Ababa campus.  Initial appointment is fixed term for two years with the possibility of renewal, contingent upon individual performance and the availability of funding. The ILRI remuneration package for nationally recruited staff in Ethiopia includes very competitive salary and benefits such as life and medical insurance, offshore pension plan, etc.
The ILRI campus is set in a secure, attractive campus on the outskirts of Addis Ababa.  Dining and sports facilities are located on site.

Applications
Applicants should send a cover letter and CV (3 pages maximum) explaining their interest in the position, relevant documents and testimonials and the names and addresses (telephone and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience to the Human Resources Office, ILRI, P.O.Box 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Telephone: (251-11)-617-20-00; Fax (251-11) 646 46-45 or 617 20-01 name and reference number of the position for which the application is made A/010/2014 should be clearly marked on the envelopes if mailed or fax applications.  Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Closing date:    February 22, 2014.