IT Officer at the West Africa Power Pool (WAPP)

The West African Power Pool (WAPP) is a specialized institution of ECOWAS that operates in the general interest of the regional power network system in order to ensure a reliable power supply throughout the region (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo). Today, WAPP comprises thirty-five (35) electricity companies that are public and private power generation, transmission, distribution and commercialisation entities involved in the operation of the power network system in West Africa.

We are recruiting to fill the vacant position below:

Job Title: IT Officer

Location: PMU Head Office, Abuja, Nigeria
Project Name: WAPP North Core/Projet Dorsale Nord Interconnection Project
Employing Institution: Project Management Unit (PMU) of the North Core Project
Reports to: Administration, Protocol and Logistics Officer
Subordinates: N/A
Appointment: Full time, approximately 36 months
Language required: Proficiency in English and/or French with a good knowledge of the second language

Project Background

• The West Africa Power Pool (WAPP) is a specialized institution of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) which, among others, ensures regional power system integration and the realization of a regional electricity market.
• Within the framework of the West African Power Pool (WAPP), the Governments of Nigeria, Niger, Benin, Togo and Burkina are collaborating to develop a sub-regional interconnection project referred to as the 330 kV WAPP North Core Project. The project involves the construction of approximately 875 km of 330 kV transmission lines from Nigeria to Burkina Faso, through Niger, and Benin.
• The project will also involve the electrification of rural communities located within a 5 km radius on both sides of the line, and the implementation of several environmental and social mitigation measures. These include, among others, the implementation of Resettlement Action Plans (RAPs) to provide for persons and communities affected by project implementation activities.
• The project is being financed by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the European Union (EU) and the World Bank (WB).
• Given the regional dimension of the project, and in order to enhance its coordination, Energy Ministers of the North Core countries agreed to put in place an institutional framework which includes the establishment of a Project Management Unit (PMU) to, among others, assist in the preparation and physical implementation of the North Core project.
• Within the PMU, an information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure needs to be put in place to support project activities. This IT infrastructure will provide services to the six (6) project management unit offices as follows: Nigeria (Abuja central PMU & Birnin Kebbi local PMU); Niger (Niamey local PMU & Zabori local branch); Burkina Faso (Ouagadougou local PMU) and Benin (Malanville local PMU). This infrastructure will benefit not less than 70 end-users.

Job Purpose

• The IT Officer will provide customer centric support to the Project Management Unit (PMU) and will be responsible for the implementation and daily management of all IT processes and systems, developing standard documentation and methodologies for an easy to manage infrastructure, fit for purpose.
• S/he will work with PMU management to determine the PMU’s business and information requirements, specify IT priorities, establish capacity and acquisition parameters, and draft ICT specifications; install, modify, maintain and make minor repairs to personal computers, hardware and software systems ; design, implement network and provide technical advice and support to system users at headquarters and as well as field offices across the North Core countries.

Duties and Responsibilities

The IT officer’s key tasks will include but not be limited to the following:

• Develop, implement and maintain well-documented standards and policies for IT use for the North Core project, detailing all technical specifications including diagrams and inventories;
• Develop, install and administer appropriate security procedures and systems to safeguard the PMU’s IT infrastructure from physical harm and viruses, unauthorized users, and damage to data;
• Implement a Local Area Network (LAN) for the PMU including all security parameters required; Administer local area network, define network privileges and network management;
• Deploy and manage VPN and specific secured IT channels or ensuring remote access to a centralized data base;
• Deploy and maintain all users’ hardware, wifi, software and related communication equipment required including printers, tablets and smart phones meant for the North Core work program;
• Support the adoption and deployment of IT solutions (programs, storage options such as cloud based or others) to increase inter-office efficiency with documentation;
• Manage the PMU’s Voice communication system and provide regular expert support for the daily operation of the infrastructure including operating systems, antiviruses, root cause analysis of pertinent issues;
• Provide customer centric, first level IT support to project staff and develop a roadmap for the acquisition of all required ICT equipment necessary for the project;
• Support the PMU in the implementation of all IT infrastructure projects and initiatives;
• Identify, install, maintain, and train personnel in the use of telecommunications resources deployed throughout PMU offices, including analog fax/data circuits, voice/PBX systems and circuits, voice mail, voice recorder, cell phones, interpretation equipment, video and audio-conferencing systems;
• Identify external vendors to address major hardware problems and monitor their contract and performance;
• Support the Communication Officer to create, design and maintain the North Core project’s website, social media portals and prepare periodic reports based on available statistics. Periodically update the website and provide content management support;
• Support the Senior Technical Officer and his team to include on the website timely (including real-time maps) reporting on the project progress, and other project information that could be used to inform on the progress of the project.
• Test and evaluate new technology which is relevant to the work of the North Core Project;
• Protect the systems by defining access privileges, control structures, and resources;
• Conduct regular audits to identify flaws on all systems and perform vulnerability remediation to isolate security issues; Determine security violations and inefficiencies by conducting periodic audits;
• Develop an IT Disaster Recovery system, and conduct periodic update and testing ; Develop an automatic back-up system to ensure data security, ;Perform other duties as will be assigned by the Administration, Protocol and Logistics Officer .

Qualification and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Technology or related field;
• At least 5 years of professional experience in a similar role;
• Internationally recognized IT Professional certification ie. Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), Network+, Apple Certified Associate (ACA) or other relevant certification;
• Experience in performing incident management with a platform and familiarity with Service level Agreements (SLA) will be an advantage.

Knowledge Requirements:

• Good knowledge of network communication including wired and wireless Local Area Network and VPN technologies;
• Sound knowledge of network phone system (PBX, VoIP, etc.);
• Good knowledge of systems hardware maintenance;
• Excellent troubleshooting skills with good understanding of OSI model;
• Familiarity with virtual meeting tools such as Cisco WebEx, Jabber and Zoom;
• Solid knowledge and understanding of IT infrastructure required to run a regular office with experience in corporate desktop support environment; E-mail systems, Windows operating systems and Microsoft office package;
• Good understanding of services such as DNS, DHCP, network and security access control and file sharing;
• Knowledge of security features such as Port Security.

Desirable Qualities, Skills and Competencies:

• Advanced skills in deploying and supporting Windows Servers/desktops.
• Advanced skills in supporting Microsoft suite products, e.g., Office 365, OneDrive for Business, Outlook on Mobile devices and PC.
• Advanced skills in deploying Unified Communications including Video Conferencing system and mobile devices.
• Knowledge of planning and project management software (MS Project or similar) and familiarity with content management systems, asset management and a variety of software (including finance and accounting like TOMPRO, document tracking, procurement software, GIS software, among others).
• Ability to take initiative and work independently with very little or no supervision
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Strong writing, proof-reading skills.
• Possess excellent information gathering and reporting skills.
• Have critical thinking skills to identify permanent solutions to recurrent issues.
• Ability to innovate and find solutions to problems.

Languages:

• It is required that the IT Officer is proficient in English or/and French (read, write, speak) with a good knowledge of the other language.

Contract Duration

• The contract is for a period of 36 months with a probation period of 6 months.

Reporting Requirements:

• The IT Officer will be required to prepare weekly, monthly and quarterly reports as required by the Administration, Protocol and Logistics Officer.
• These reports will be validated by Administration, Protocol and Logistics Officer and approved by the PMU Director.

Performance Assessment:

• The performance of the IT Officer will be evaluated annually by the Administration, Protocol and Logistics Officer and validated by the PMU Director. Key performance indicators derived from the duties and responsibilities above and agreed upon between the jobholder and the Administration, Protocol and Logistics Officer, would be used as the basis for measuring the performance of the jobholder.

Application Closing Date
15th May, 2020; 18h00 GMT