Consultant (Database Developer)

Position Title : Consultant (Database Developer)

Duty Station : Homebased

Type of Appointment : Consultancy Contract, 5 months

Estimated Start Date : As soon as possible

Closing Date : 12 July 2024

Established in 1951, IOM is the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration and works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. IOM is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It does so by providing services and advice to governments and migrants.

The IOM Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) in Bangkok, Thailand is covering 40 countries across the Asia and Pacific region. The key responsibility of the ROAP is to formulate regional strategies and plans of action and to provide programmatic and administrative support to the countries within the region.

Context:

The International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) IOM’s Regional Office for Asia-Pacific (ROAP) and its partners use, produce, and monitor migration-related data for planning, policy-making and operational purposes. The Asia-Pacific Regional Data Hub aspires to reference a comprehensive set of such data, including information on migration trends, stocks and flows in the Asia-Pacific region. The regional data hub aims to support evidence- based strategic and policy level discussion on migration through a combined set of initiatives including strengthening of regional primary and secondary data collection and analysis; increasing Information management capacity across countries; providing technical support to ensure harmonization and interoperability of key methodologies and tools used to monitor population mobility; and the engagement of key stakeholders and governmental counterparts in migration dialogue and consultation.

Under the overall supervision of the Regional Data Hub Coordinator, and in close coordination with the RDH Information Management Officer (RDH IMO), the Database Officer – RDH will be mainly responsible for managing the RDH portal and RDH in-house ReAcT (Regional Activity Tracking) System as well as developing different IM Systems for Regional Office Thematic Units and Country Offices (COs) on a need basis.

Core Functions / Responsibilities:

The successful candidate will deliver the following outcomes:

1. In close collaboration with the RDH-IMO, the RDH Analysis and Research unit and Regional DTM support officer, design, develop, implement, and maintain RDH Data Portal, the migration-related knowledge management repository(s) aimed at supporting project implementation and policymaking. Assist in improving data collection procedures and formats and their standardization. Follow-up with stakeholders to facilitate data exchange, as required.
2. Assist in information processing and data analysis. Design data flow processes relevant to the effective collection, storage, processing, analysis and reporting of the data. Provide recommendation for further technological integration possibilities upon the implementation of developed systems.
3. Ensure the implementation of IOM data protection standards and good practices at all stages of systems development.
4. Make an inventory and carry out an assessment of the design and operational features of the currently used systems for collecting, processing, analyzing and disseminating data
5. Conduct tests to check the effectiveness, integrity, relevance, internal – and external consistency, and validity of the database system(s) and its data and ensure compatibility with the GIS system that will be developed in parallel.
6. Conduct technical and information-sharing meetings to develop the capacity of relevant staff and the stakeholders; provide training to the intended users of the database systems.
7. Document, develop and deliver user manuals and training programmes for the developed databases and systems.
8. Ensure the required performance of the developed databases and systems to prevent and minimize downtime or service interruptions, plan for systems (Software/Hardware) upgrades when necessary and ensure daily monitoring and adequate completion of databases and systems backups.
9. As required, provide remote or onsite technical support for all IOM locations in Asia-Pacific as necessary in relation to the implementation of the developed databases and systems.
10. Participate in training, seminar, workshop, and technical meeting to develop the capacity of the staff members and the stakeholders concerned, when necessary and more specifically provide training (including training of trainers) to the intended users of the database and IM systems regarding the design and the application of the database systems.
11. Perform other duties as may be assigned.

Performance indicators for the evaluation of results

1. RDH Portal updated with 2023 data from the Migration Data Report (Regional for Asia Pacific)
2. RDH ReAct system updated and maintained
3. RDH database maintained

Required Qualifications and Experience

Education

• University degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Software Development, or equivalent combination of relevant academic qualifications with four years of relevant experience.

Experience

• Experience with the implementation and management of database solutions using IOM ICT Standard Platforms (e.g. Microsoft Azure, SQL server)
• Extensive knowledge and experience of desktop application programming (VB .Net is an advantage), web programming (combination of ASP .Net/JavaScript/AJAX/HTML5 is an advantage), and database management system (SQL Server/MySQL).
• Familiarity with implementation of different Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) models in cloud computing to analyze and interpret spatial and non-spatial data.

Skills

• Extensive knowledge of contents management system packages, open-source frameworks (JavaScript/AJAX, HTML5, etc), and programming API is an advantage.
• Extensive knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite software and languages (Access, Excel/VBA, Word, etc.) is an advantage.

Languages

Fluency in English language (oral and written) is required.