Background

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is administered by UNDP and follows all UNDP rules and regulations. UNV is the UN system’s common service that promotes volunteerism to support peace and development worldwide. Volunteerism can transform the pace and nature of development, benefiting both society at large and the individual volunteer. UNV contributes to peace and development by advocating for volunteerism globally, encouraging partners to integrate volunteerism into development programming, and mobilizing volunteers. UNV’s Management Services hold responsibility for strategic planning, managerial leadership, oversight, and quality control of an integrated platform of operational services, ensuring timely and effective delivery in compliance with UN regulations and UNDP’s accountability framework.

Within UNV, the Information and Communication Technology Section (ICTS) is responsible for the operation of all ICT on-premises and cloud datacenters, cloud platforms and services, business applications, corporate websites, helpdesk support, video conferencing, security services, hardware, software, network, and telecommunications services. This includes application system analysis, design, development and maintenance, management of local and cloud networks, software installation and operations at both desktop and network levels, internet and email services. ICTS also provides ICT network and support services to other UN agencies on the UN Bonn campus, in close collaboration with UNDP’s Information Management & Technology (IMT) department.

The Systems Development Associate (Cloud) position is part of the ICTS Cloud Services and DevOps team. The incumbent’s work will directly contribute to the stability, scalability, and efficiency of UNV’s cloud-based systems and development operations, supporting the organization’s digital platforms and services.

Scope of Work

A. Azure Cloud and DevOps

• Cloud Infrastructure & Kubernetes Management: Support in the management of applications deployed in Kubernetes environments, ensuring their stability, scalability, replication, and modular design. Support in the oversight of the deployment and management of Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) clusters and adjust the scale of components based on demand and performance needs. Support the preparation and maintenance of various environments (development, testing, staging, production) to facilitate smooth deployment cycles.
• CI/CD Pipeline Administration: Support in the design, implementation, and maintenance of continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines using Azure DevOps. Automate build, test, and deployment processes to ensure efficient and reliable application releases across all environments.
• Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Utilize Infrastructure-as-Code tools (e.g., Terraform) to provision and contribute to management of cloud infrastructure to ensure that environment configurations are version-controlled and reproducible, enabling consistent setups and easier scalability or recovery.
• Monitoring & Performance Optimization: Monitor the performance and health of Azure-based infrastructure components such as databases, Azure Service Bus, storage containers, and search services (Azure Cognitive Search), ensuring optimal utilization and service continuity. Contribute to system metrics analysis and logs to identify trends or issues; proactively address common performance bottlenecks.
• Automated Alerting Systems: Recognize opportunities for automation in system monitoring and assist in establishing a robust monitoring and alert notification system. Configure alerts (using Azure Monitor, Application Insights, or similar tools) based on severity levels to promptly notify the team of critical issues.
• Issue Analysis & Troubleshooting: Analyze commonly occurring issues within the cloud infrastructure and document root causes for escalation or future reference. Identify immediate resolutions in collaboration with the development team and external vendors when needed, minimizing downtime.
• Continuous Improvement: Run regular routines for maintenance of data across subsystems and suggest improvements. Where possible, script or automate repetitive maintenance tasks (using tools like PowerShell or CLI scripts) to improve efficiency.

B. Service Desk Support

• Tier-3 Support & Root Cause Analysis: Provide L3 level support for infrastructure-related issues escalated from the service desk. Investigate and diagnose complex issues in the Azure cloud and DevOps environment, and coordinate with other technical teams to formulate resolutions. Support root cause analysis for major incidents to prevent recurrence.
• Incident Documentation & Follow-up: Log and document incidents and their resolution steps in the corporate task or ticketing system (e.g., create detailed problem reports or user stories in the UNV corporate task management platform such as ClickUp) for development team and vendor follow-up. Ensure that issues are tracked to closure with proper documentation and lessons noted.
• Infrastructure Change Requests: Contribute to proposals and implement improvements or reconfigurations in the system setup based on recurring service desk inquiries and observed pain points. For example, if certain configurations frequently cause issues, recommend changes to optimize reliability and user experience.
• Knowledge Transfer & Article Creation: Work closely with the Service Desk team to identify areas where end-user documentation or knowledge articles can reduce support load. Draft and update knowledge base articles and standard operating procedures for common L1/L2 issues, with the goal of reducing the number of cases that need to be escalated to L3.

C. Knowledge Building and Sharing

• Documentation and Guides: Contribute to the development of standard user documentation, technical guidelines, and operational manuals related to cloud systems and DevOps processes. Ensure that all documentation is clear, accessible, and up-to-date for both technical teams and end-users.
• Lessons Learned & Best Practices: Continuously capture lessons learned from operations, deployments, and support incidents. Synthesize and disseminate best practices and insights to team members and relevant stakeholders to improve overall system management and team performance. This may involve presenting findings in team meetings or creating summary reports.
• Community Engagement: Actively participate in relevant knowledge networks and communities of practice within UNV/UNDP. Share experiences and solutions related to cloud infrastructure, DevOps, and system management, and stay informed about new trends and technologies that could be applied to UNV’s context.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Institutional Arrangement

The IPSA will work under the direct supervision of the Azure & Development Operations Specialist.

Competencies
Core

Achieve Results:

• Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline

Think Innovatively:

• ​Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements

Learn Continuously:

• Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback

Adapt with Agility:

• Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible

Act with Determination:

• Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident​

Engage and Partner:

• Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships​​

Enable Diversity and Inclusion:

• Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination ​

People Management

UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site.

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

System Thinking

• Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system

IT Service Delivery & Operations

• Ability to deliver the IT products and services to customers at the right level of Quality and Costs, taking into account user experience.
• Certifications in Azure cloud administration and Azure devops or comparable other hyper scalers are desirable.

IT Customer Support

• Ability to support l customers on IT related issues and generate and contribute to continuous improvement processes to deliver a great user experience.
• Knowledge of ISO 9001 desirable. ITIL certification or similar is desirable.

Configuration Management / Business analysis, requirement

• Knowledge of configuration management changes, ability to manage and control the configuration change management process.

Programming

• Knowledge in programming concept, developing software program and management of application lifecycle.

Machine learning

• Experience with development, deployment and operations of machine learning model is a plus.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Information Technology, Computer Science or related discipline is required. OR
• A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree) in the areas mentioned above, in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• Applicants with Master’s degree (or equivalent) in a relevant field of study are not required to have professional work experience. Applicants with a Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) are required to have a minimum of two (2) years of relevant professional experience at the national or international level in managing Azure-based mission-critical business applications

Required skills:

• Knowledge of how to monitor Azure related services to ensure service continuity
• Knowledge of Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) monitoring, and management
• Knowledge of Azure App Insights and problem identification based on log analysis
• Knowledge in maintenance of Azure DevOps and monitoring automations and GIT source code deployment

Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section:

• Familiarity of Docker containerization and infrastructure-as-code (e.g., Terraform), PowerShell scripting
• Familiarity in setup of complex web architectures and their structure (CDN, WAF, load balancing and DNS)
• Familiarity with hosting environment for .NET web applications
• Familiarity with deployment and monitoring of python serverless functions

Required Languages:

• Excellent writing and oral communication skills in English

Other:

Candidate to be located within reasonable (max 3 hours) time difference with Central European Time Zone.

Equal opportunity

As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination.

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles.

Right to select multiple candidates

UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

Scam alert

UNDP does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process. For further information, please see www.undp.org/scam-alert.