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The African Academy of Sciences (AAS) is a non-aligned, non-political, not-for-profit pan African organisation headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, whose vision is to see transformed lives on the African continent through science. Our tripartite mandate is recognising excellence through the AAS’s highly prestigious fellowship and award schemes, providing advisory and think tank functions for shaping Africa’s Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) strategies and policies and implementing key STI programmes addressing Africa’s developmental challenges. The current strategy for the AAS focuses on five strategic focus areas: Environment and climate change, health and wellbeing, natural sciences, policy and governance and social sciences and humanities. The AAS’s mission is to leverage resources through excellence and thought leadership for sustainable development.

Role overview

AAS seeks an  ICT Assistant  to join the ICT department, the team responsible for ensuring technology works across all units and minimal interruptions to workflow. The incumbent will support the design, development, and maintenance of computer software to suit a range of AAS needs.

Duties and responsibilities

• Maintain and upgrade existing systems within the Academy.
• Developing quality assurance procedures

• Enhance the AAS website ensuring operational practicality.

• Training users

• Programme, test and evaluate tasks according to AAS requirements

• Contribute to planning meetings and respond to development suggestions as appropriate

• Write and test program code to a specific design brief

• Find and correct errors through a systematic program of testing conventions

• Assist in the production and updating of operation and procedure guidelines

• Remain up to date with the latest trends in software development
•   Provide ICT helpdesk support and ensuring timely and responsive operational support meeting prescribed SLA’s
• Continuous updating of the ICT asset and software inventory
• Assist with conducting general user awareness and training geared towards improving adoption of ICT across the organization.
• Standardization of all software installed on all AAS machines.

• Continuous monitoring and weekly reporting of the network services
•   Evaluation and implementation of a suitable help desk system to track all user issues and all ICT fixed assets movement.
• Maintain, monitor, analyse system components and make recommendations computer systems security, monitor network, computer, servers, and disk utilization.
• Install new software releases, system upgrades, evaluate and install patches and resolve software related problems.
• Performing and coordinating effective installation and performance of advanced operating system hardware and software on servers.
• Support, monitor, test and troubleshoot hardware and software problems.
•   Perform any other duties that may be assigned by the ICT Officer from time to time.

Key Deliverables

• ICT help desk support services meeting prescribed SLA’s.
• Servers virtualization
• Working Cloud Disaster Recovery Site
•   Up-to-date website

Qualifications and Experience

• BSc in Computer Science or related field with extensive experience.
• Good understanding of programming languages (JavaScript (React and nextJS), PHP, C++/Java, kotlin/flutter/ react-native)

• MCSE/MCP certified preferred.

• Experience with Microsoft Windows Administration, Office 365, Active directory, and Azure

• Experience with network firewalls
•   Outstanding helpdesk support skills, as well as excellent verbal and written communications skills.
•   Demonstrated ability to be a team player and a willingness to lend a hand with any project.
• Good programming skills
•   The ability to learn new technologies quickly
•   An analytical mind- critical thinking skills
•   Attention to detail and desire to probe further into data
•   Work ethics

Professional Qualifications

• A member of  Information  Communication Technology Association of Kenya (ICTAK)would be an added advantage

Experience and Knowledge

• At least 2-3 years’ relevant experience in a busy ICT office
• Demonstrate a high degree of sensitivity, confidentiality when dealing with internal and external customers.
• Ability to work with internal and external stakeholders and build long term competitive relationships.

Key Competencies

• Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and concisely.
• Teamwork: Works collaboratively in a team environment to achieve set goals
• Achieving results: Demonstrates a sense of urgency and delivers on set goals in a timely and efficient manner.
• Planning and organizing: Plans own work and prioritizes tasks of different relative importance.
• Judgement and decision making: Gathers facts and information to inform decisions.
• Commitment to continuous process improvement: Effectively administers resources allocated and proposes identifies areas of process improvement.
• Persuasion and influencing: Uses rational arguments, information, and clear communication to influence others.
• Resilience: Remains calm under pressure and deals with setbacks in a constructive manner
• Analytical thinking: Understands the relationship between data variables and then diagnoses situations or problems.

Additional information

This is a fixed term engagement. The successful candidate will be engaged full time (40 hours/ week) for a period of 1 year working at the AAS offices in Nairobi, Kenya.

How to Apply

Interested candidates are encouraged to submit their application and include: one-page cover letter, curriculum vitae/ resume and two samples of projects worked on relevant to the role.

Applications should be sent to   [email protected]   with the subject  ICT Systems

Assistant (Software Developer)  by  28 February 2023 17:00HRS EAT . Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Website:  www.aasciences.africa