🇸🇱 Job Vacancies @ The British High Commission – 2 positions

Main Purpose Of The Role

The Deputy IT Support Officer (ITSO) will provide efficient, high-quality support to the British High Commission’s IT Manager, helping to ensure the smooth running of the IT services across the High Commission platform.

They will act as first point of contact with all staff providing guidance and support on problem resolution e.g. through the FCDO’s central IT help desk; continue the development and management of the IT inventory; monitor and process payments on all communications bills (mobile phone and internet), liaising with the various Service Providers as necessary. They will help by ensure the availability and reliability of the IT infrastructure i.e. PCs, laptops, printers, e-mail, data communication links, cabling infrastructure, UPS and telephony.

The Deputy ITSO will be a confident self-starter, with excellent problem solving and customer service skills, and can multitask effectively and meet tight deadlines.

Roles And Responsibilities

• Provide 1st line support for IT requests to the British High Commission in Freetown by liaising with the Service Now desk.
• Maintain a database to record users’ requests for assistance.
• Assist in the diagnosis of faults on the LAN in the British High Commission.
• Assist the IT Manager in the rollout and implementation of various hardware & software upgrades.
• Be responsible for the rebuilding of laptops as required.
• Be responsible for carrying out basic computer house-keeping tasks, including tracking of loaned equipment.
• Be responsible for the sanitisation (deleting hard-drive information) of old/obsolete local ICT equipment prior to timely disposal according to disposal guidelines.
• Carry out ad-hoc support tasks such as network cabling and termination of patch leads.
• Be responsible for the printer and photocopier maintenance and ensure that there is always an adequate supply of toner cartridges.
• Follow up on outstanding IT related issues with the service desk to job ticket closure.
• Manage routine Servicing / maintenance of all PCs, Printers, Servers and UPSs
• Be responsible for the updating of the IT records inventory in the British High Commission.
• Be responsible for setting up desktops and workstations for training sessions.
• Be responsible for setting up external VC sessions and the projectors for presentations in the various meeting rooms.
• Escalate major IT related issues to the IT Manager as required.
• Attend to any other IT related issues as directed by the IT Manager or the local office senior management.
• Manage local IT related service contract, monitor SLA of the fibre optic and VSAT bandwidth network services and escalate violations accordingly.
• Undertake systems monitoring, upgrades and development as required by Service Desk.

IT Security

• Manage the integrity of the network by ensuring the physical security of data through planned backup and recovery procedures as advised by HQ.
• Implement and maintain strict password procedures to guarantee privacy and security of data. .
• Ensure contingency procedures are in place for the recovery of data.
• Ensure that the IT component of the Business continuity plan office is fully functional.

Budget monitoring, Procurement

• The candidate will act as the first point of contact on the provision of appropriate specification for purchasing new IT equipment.
• The successful candidate will monitor and process payments on all communications bills (mobile phone and internet)

Inventory Management

• Maintain an up-to-date inventory of all IT hardware.
• Monitor and report on the performance of the existing IT infrastructure to ensure that it is within the agreed service level agreement targets.

The British High Commission (BHC) Freetown is looking to recruit a passionate and motivated Senior Programme Manager (SPM) to support high quality programme, people and portfolio management. The role sits within BHC Freetown’s Economic Growth Team (EGT) with cross-cutting responsibilities for 6 programmes, direct responsibility for delivery of least one programme (as a Programme Responsible Officer (PRO)) and line management of (up to) two staff. This is a fantastic opportunity to ensure our programmes deliver results for Sierra Leoneans through excellence in programme, financial, risk and commercial management. The post requires the ability to build trusted and influential relationships with suppliers and partners to deliver effectively. It also requires a team player, that is willing to take on tasks/responsibilities beyond their own day job, to contribute to the overall priorities and objectives of the BHC.

EGT is a busy and friendly team of nine people, with a mixture of UK and Sierra Leonean staff. The team’s core objective is to contribute to long-term sustainable economic growth, and increase Sierra Leone’s ability to self-finance development. EGT works to deliver this objective through policy, influencing and programming that diversifies the economy, creates jobs and addresses barriers to growth. Programmes include championing private sector development (including trade and investment), developing sustainable electricity infrastructure and improving public financial management.

Roles And Responsibilities

The postholder will be expected to have a solid understanding of best-practice programme oversight, extensive implementation experience and to be able to provide expert advice and guidance on complex programme delivery and compliance issues. The right candidate will demonstrate a commitment to working collaboratively, transparently and accountably with colleagues in their team and across the office. We are looking for people with a pro-active attitude, the willingness to work responsively across several issues simultaneously and the ability to work with a range of different stakeholders.

The postholder will be expected to deliver improved programme management, not just in terms of compliance, but also in terms of practice, norms and ways of working. You will need to understand the links between effective programming, policy and influencing, and be adept at working not only with programme staff but also political officers, technical advisers, and policy counterparts across the office and in the UK. A key performance indicator will be the extent to which EGT’s PROs and Senior Responsible Officers (SROs) are further grounded the demands of the organisation’s Programme Operating Framework (PrOF); that they are seen regularly challenging themselves by checking their own understanding before acting or giving advice across the team; and that overall capability in programme leadership and proactivity increases.

Key Responsibilities Include

• Portfolio oversight: ensure high quality programme management is practiced across EGT’s programme portfolio (currently 6 multimillion programmes): work in a forward leaning and supportive manner with the PROs and SROs that make up EGT to ensure:
• All programmes are compliant with the PrOF. This will require creativity and ideas generation to improve day to day behaviours and practices, as well as meeting requirements on paper
• There is an open-door policy for EGT colleagues to ask for your guidance, advice and input on any programme-related queries or concerns
• Gaps in understanding and compliance are identified, fed-back within the team, guidance and improvement suggested and actions followed up
• The team regularly discusses and challenges each other on risks, fraud, safeguarding, financial management, results and sustainability, with you providing advice and guidance to ensure the significant financial resources within the EGT portfolio is well managed
• Information is stored and managed in a way that means it is easily accessible and provides a clear audit trail for key programme decisions
• Regular (at least quarterly) cross-portfolio health-checks take place to assist PROs and SROs in managing their programmes
• EGT data (availability and quality) is present on the organisation’s internal reporting systems (AMP, HERA, Teams)
• Direction is set so that the programme portfolio continues to improve and develop its approach to monitoring, and particularly evaluating, programmes based on the creation of evidence and scrutiny of results
• Ensuring the effective financial management of programmes to ensure agreed programme and departmental spending targets are met, variances are minimised and Value for Money is achieved. Working collaboratively with EGT’s finance lead, you will be responsible for working collaboratively with the Team Leader to effectively plan and make decisions about programme spend between and across EGT’s programmes through the provision of regular, robust financial information (including on variances). You will play a critical role in determining financial allocations for EGT, including through any forthcoming Spending Review process. You will need to be comfortable reading, understanding and interpreting complex financial information at both programme and portfolio levels. This will include a) reviewing the spending plans of each programme, working with the information provided by the finance lead b) cross-checking this with PROs and SROs through monthly meetings and c) communicating this with cross-mission leadership at month-end finance meetings. You will also support the Team Leader during periods of budget negotiations with UK headquarters, quality assure PRO and SRO’s spending forecasts and be the first point of contact for queries on financial management within programmes (e.g. invoices, liquidity, paying in advance, KPIs etc).
• Line management of key programme staff: over the course of the performance year, coach and manage (up-to) 2x Programme Officers supporting them to maximise their contribution in line with BHC’s Country Business Plan, deliver expectations, and to fulfil their potential. Ensure clear objectives are in place, hold weekly conversations, formal quarterly check-ins and ensure that these are recorded, and action points are noted and completed on reporting systems. Identify learning needs, support opportunities for development and promotion and tackle any dips/ poor performance quickly.

Resources Managed (staff And Expenditure)

• Programme Responsible Officer for at least one multimillion FCDO programme
• Line management of (up to) two staff and responsibility for capability development of broader programme team