Data Infrastructure Engineer At Pacific Community

Description

The Pacific Community(SPC) is the principal scientific and technical organisation in the Pacific region, supporting development since 1947. We are an international development organisation owned and governed by our 27 country and territory members. In pursuit of sustainable development to benefit Pacific people, our unique organisation works across more than 25 sectors. We are known for our knowledge and innovation in such areas as fisheries science, public health surveillance, geoscience, and conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.

The Statistics for Development Division (SDD) is based in SPC’s headquarters in Noumea, New Caledonia. The division employs approximately 20 staff, all of whom are all based in Noumea. SDD’s goal is to help the Pacific Island Countries and Territories achieve “highly competent and sustainable national statistics systems that meet national and international statistics needs for evidence-based policy, planning and monitoring.” SDD has a regional statistical system leadership and coordination role; and also supports the region directly in data infrastructure, collection, statistical methodology, analysis and dissemination.

The role – This appointment will be made at either the band 10 or the band 11level, depending on the skills and experience of the successful candidate. The Data Infrastructure Engineer will manage and further develop the infrastructure, software ecosystem, and data ingestion tools supporting the Pacific Data Hub .STAT platform. The role also involves collaborating with internal and external stakeholders, providing technical support, documentation, and knowledge sharing.

The key responsibilities of the role include the following:

Ways of working

• Ensure a demonstrable contribution as an individual and team-member to the organisational objectives in the division business plan.

Infrastructure management, development and monitoring

• Manage the infrastructure supporting the Pacific Data Hub .STAT platform.
• Ensure access rights are managed, security audits conducted, and appropriate security measures implemented to safeguard the Pacific Data Hub .STAT data and software ecosystem.
• Develop and maintain monitoring systems and tools to track availability, performance, resources, content evolution and usage of the .STAT platform.
• Deploy and test proactively new versions of the .Stat Suite with minimal disruption and comprehensive testing plans.

Development and support of the software ecosystem for inflow, processing and outflow of data and metadata

• Support and develop data collection templates, enabling data validation, version comparison, and uploading to internal and public .STAT environments.
• Develop and maintain data harvesting capabilities to acquire data from diverse sources.
• Manage PostgreSQL reference database used upstream to the Pacific Data Hub .STAT.
• Develop and maintain internal .STAT toolbox that encompasses basic SDMX metadata and data management.
• Maintain and support plugins facilitating access to Pacific Data Hub .STAT data using office applications and statistical analysis software.
• Provide support to Web developers in accessing .STAT data through the SDMX API.
• Support Connectivity and interoperability with other components of the Pacific Data Hub.
• Develop and maintain software components used to publish SDMX metadata stored in .STAT in human-readable formats.

External support and partnership

• Establish strong relationships and collaborations with external stakeholders.
• Provide expert guidance and support member NSOs in leveraging the Pacific Data Hub .STAT platform and related software ecosystem for data management and dissemination.

Documentation, collaboration, and knowledge management

• Develop a comprehensive documentation covering infrastructure setup, configuration guidelines, tool usage, security protocols, and other relevant aspects of the PDH .STAT software ecosystem.
• Maintain user documentation for Pacific Data Hub .STAT components.
• Participate actively in meetings, discussions, and relevant forums to exchange knowledge, contribute insights, and influence the development roadmap of the software ecosystem.

For a more detailed account of the key responsibilities, please refer to the online job description.

Key selection criteria

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree for the band 10 level, and a master’s degree for the band 11 level, in computer science, information technology, statistics, or a related field, or equivalent combination of degree and work experience.

Technical expertise

• At least 7 years is desirable for the band 10 level, and 10 years is desirable for the band 11 level, of working experience in infrastructure management, including servers, networks, and Docker.
• Experience with cloud-based infrastructure management and deployment.
• Proficiency in monitoring tools and techniques for ensuring system availability and performance.
• Experience in security management, access rights, and implementing security measures.
• Familiarity with scripting languages (e.g. Python) for automation and monitoring tasks.

Language skills

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.

Interpersonal skills and cultural awareness

• A team player, with the ability to work in a multi-diverse and multi-cultural environment.
• Knowledge of Pacific Island countries and territories is an advantage.

Salary, terms and conditions

Contract Duration – This vacant position is budgeted for 3 years and is subject to renewal depending on performance and funding.

Remuneration – Appointment for the Data Infrastructure Engineer will be made at either the level band 11 level in SPC’s 2023 salary scale, with a starting salary range of SDR (special drawing rights) 4,206-5,161 per month which converts to approximately XPF 637,132-781,844 (USD 5,636-6,916; EUR 5,339-6,552) ; or at the band 10 level position in SPC’s 2023 salary scale, with a starting salary range of 3,568–4,364 SDR (special drawing rights) per month, which currently converts to approximately XPF 540,472–660,991 (USD 4,781–5,847; EUR 4,529–5,539). An offer of appointment for an initial contract will normally be made in the lower half of this range, with due consideration being given to experience and qualifications. Progression within the salary scale is based on annual performance reviews. SPC salaries are not presently subject to income tax in New Caledonia.

Benefits for international staff employees based in New Caledonia – SPC provides subsidised housing in Noumea. Establishment and repatriation grant, removal expenses, airfares, home leave travel, health and life and disability insurances and education allowances are available for eligible employees and their eligible dependents. Employees are entitled to 25 working days of annual leave per annum and other types of leave, and access to SPC’s Provident Fund (contributing 8 % of salary, to which SPC adds a matching contribution).

Languages – SPC’s working languages are English and French.

Recruitment principles – SPC’s recruitment is based on merit and fairness, and candidates are competing in a selection process that is fair, transparent and non-discriminatory. SPC is an equal-opportunity employer, and is committed to cultural and gender diversity, including bilinguism, and will seek to attract and appoint candidates who respect these values. Due attention is given to gender equity and the maintenance of strong representation from Pacific Island professionals. If two interviewed candidates are ranked equal by the selection panel, preference will begiven to the Pacific Islander. Applicants will be assured of complete confidentiality in line with SPC’s private policy.