Job Post: ICT Program Officer

By NDI Tech | June 02, 2011

An experienced veteran of  technology in politics or development? The NDItech team is looking for you!

We are recruiting for a senior position on our team - ICT Program Officer. NDItech program officers juggle the strategy and implementation of appropriate technology on multiple NDI democracy programs concurrently. In one day you may advising DC's regional experts on  inserting language for IVR systems in a grant proposal, joining a Skype call with software developers in a field office working to design a custom app for an upcoming election, and playing with the newest release of FrontlineSMS to see how it might work in NDI's programming.

We also get time to think, write and discuss this exciting field with our counterparts in DC and around the world. For the right candidate, there's a lot of field work involved, assessing what tech is the right fit for new programs or helping with on-the-ground implementation.

For this job we're looking for someone with significant experience (say, five years) in tech for development or politics. If you're a bit newer to the field, you should try for the Program Assistant job discussed below.

To apply, check the Washington-DC based job link in the current openings section of NDI's website. Job description after the jump.

The National Democratic Institute ( NDI)  seeks an ICT Program Officer to integrate appropriate and sustainable technologies into NDI’s global democracy strengthening programs. The ICT Program Officer will assist NDI program teams to best utilize technology to meet program goals in all aspects, from program design through implementation and evaluation. The position requires demonstrated political and technology aptitude and expertise. The position is based in Washington, D.C. and requires international travel.

Additional information on NDI’s ICT Programs team can be found on the NDI website, here: bit.ly/ict4dem

Required Skills
  • Serves as an in-house resource on political technology; provides guidance to NDI program teams on integrating appropriate and sustainable technologies into legislative, civic, political party and elections programs.
  • Contributes to the planning, design and implementation of NDI's ICT projects for various countries in collaboration with local partners, in-house experts and external experts and advisors.
  • Manages internal software development projects in support of NDI programs.
  • Writes and edits program proposals, concept papers, and program reports.
  • Participates in in-country trainings, assessments and consultation on political applications of technology in various democratic institutions.
  • Synthesizes, drafts and distributes program recommendations and best practices; documents key project information on internal knowledge management systems.
  • Cultivates relationships with international democratic development practitioners, politicians, local activists, vendors and political technologists and raises NDI's profile as an international development organization with innovative approaches to ICT programming.
  • Conducts outreach activities to educate NDI staff on various aspects of ICT programming.
  • Identifies, researches and reports on promising, innovative technologies that support NDI's democracy development work, such as:  mapping and data visualization,  information analysis using Open Data tools, creative uses of mobile and a variety of other technologies and concepts adapted for difficult political and/or low infrastructure environments.
Required Experience
  • Bachelors Degree in Political Science or related subject; or Computer Science or related subject, graduate degree preferred. A technical degree with political science or international graduate studies is ideal.
  • Minimum four (4) years experience working on technology in a political environment; preferably in international development, community organizing, elections or political campaigns, organizational development, and/or legislative affairs 
  • Political, campaign or organizing experience highly desired
  • Experience working or consulting on large technology projects highly desired
  • Experience developing web technologies highly desired
  • Experience with mobile technology and/or mapping technology preferred
  • Relational database experience preferred, especially MySQL, Microsoft SQL and Microsoft Access
  • Living/working experience outside of the US, developing countries preferred
  • Ability to work with government politicians and officials, non-governmental leaders and computer vendors and to work in a politically charged environment
  • Advanced problem solving skills; must be able to analyze political work, think innovatively and introduce new concepts
  • Ability to provide technical and political advice on IT usage to partners and politicians in various cultural environments
  • Excellent writing skills, especially for non-technical audiences
  • Excellent communication skills, verbal, written and via online mediums (such as IM)
  • Smooth multi-tasking among four or more responsibilities
  • Fluency in written and spoken English. Additional language skills preferred

 NDI is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, marital status or any other characteristic protected by law.

To apply, check the Washington-DC based job link in the current openings section of NDI's website.

Share