Job Title: Product Administrator, Signpost – IRC
Sector: Information Technology
Employment Category: Fixed Term
Employment Type: Full-Time
Open to Expatriates: No
Location: Nairobi, IHUB, Kenya
Job Description
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. The IRCs Emergencies and Humanitarian Action Unit (EHAU) leads and supervises IRCs global emergency preparedness and response activities. The mission of the EHAU is to help meet people’s immediate survival needs and reduce suffering during the acute phase of an emergency. The EHAU also works in protracted emergencies, where the risk to life may be reduced but the population is still subjected to rights abuses and a lack of basic services.
Housed within the EHAU, the Signpost Project is a rapidly scaling community-led information service that empowers its clients in times of crisis. Signpost delivers critical information through staff equipped with digital tools, digital channels and social media — providing communities with timely and actionable information to make critical decisions on the issues that matter most to them. The Signpost project is at a critical point of inflection where its proven success is fueling a global expansion into 10 more countries, furthering our vision is to install a Signpost project at the heart of every major humanitarian context worldwide and make community-led, responsive information a public good for the aid sector. This position will be a part of the 10 person Signpost technology team which supports technology that has reached 48 million people to date and continuously engages over 300 customers (Signpost programming staff) in over 20 countries.
The Product Admin, Signpost will be a crucial component of the deployment of new Signpost projects and provide ongoing product support to existing programs. The Product Officer will govern, administer, and implement Signpost products, including Zendesk Support, Twilio, Zendesk Guide, Google Cloud, Azure, Transifex, and Mapbox. The incumbent will establish and maintain operating procedures and guidance for the administration of the Signpost’s products that are consistent with overall company practices. The Product Officer will work directly with project leadership in each country to design and implement new projects on quick timelines in the midst of crises. This position requires strong technical problem-solving skills, excellent interpersonal skills, a high level of independence, an interest in the use of technology for emergency response, and the ability to work well in a multicultural, dynamic environment.
Major Responsibilities:
Product Administration (40%)
● Coordinates with external Technology Partners on discrete project or troubleshooting tasks
● Monitor automated integrations with other systems and resolve any failures and/or escalate issues to the appropriate support
● Lead bug fixing, product testing, and troubleshooting requests for users on short timelines
● Maintain relationship with IRC IT and Zendesk Services team to solve problems as they arise
● Train new users on the use of Signpost tools and create user guidance
● Report and analyze product data and analytics on a weekly and monthly basis
● Supports billing and tool administration
Product Implementation (30%)
● Coordinate with Signpost project teams and partners to set up new instances of Signpost
● Works alongside the Product Manager and technology team to design and build new features
● Meet regularly with programs teams to understand ongoing needs and requests
● Design system workflows and processes alongside project teams
● Lead the integration and migration of Signpost tools with partner tools
● Set timelines and expectations for the delivery of new features with project teams
● Help manage pro bono support, volunteers, and fellows from partner organizations
Technology Strategy (15%)
● Contribute to the build out and execution of Signpost’s technology roadmap
● Elicit and collect insights from the field teams regarding product needs, improvements, problems, and suggestions to help the product team prioritize improvements in the Signpost technology roadmap.
● Contribute to discussions with Signpost tech partners and potential collaborators about new features
Technical Project Management Support (15%)
● Add new tickets and tasks for software development teams
● Prioritize ongoing development work alongside the Product Manager and Technical Project Manager
● Participate in sprint planning and task management with the product team
Key Working Relationships:
Reports to: Product Specialist, Signpost
Essential Qualifications:
● 2-4 years’ work experience in the humanitarian sector, product administration or management, systems engineering or technology consulting
● Experience training individuals and groups and/or other client facing experience within a complex stakeholder environment
● Experience administering Zendesk and/or other CRM’s, working with Zapier integrations, using Jira or other product management tools
● Experience writing user stories and technical tasks for developers, data analysts, and cloud engineers
● Experience troubleshooting and coordinating with management, Quality Assurance teams, and end users
● Highly proficient in Social Media tools, Web Analytics, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Tools, and SharePoint.
● Strong organizational and time-management skills; proven ability to prioritize and deliver on time
● Ability to respond enthusiastically and positively to ambiguity
● Fluency in English
● Bachelor’s in computer science and/or systems engineering
Desired Qualifications:
● Knowledge of Python, CSS, R, Javascript
● Knowledge of Geospatial mapping tools such as ArcGIS, Mapbox SDKs, etc.
● Knowledge of Data Analysis tools and principles (PowerBI)
● Knowledge of Figma and basic User Experience Design principles
● Experience in a humanitarian or development organization, or similar
Working Environment:
This role may require working describe mode of working remotely across multiple time zones. Applicants must have a home or alternate workspace they can effectively complete their work from during regularly scheduled hours.
DEI Commitment:
At the IRC, we seek to build a welcoming, inclusive environment not only for our refugee clients, but for all of our employees. As an equal opportunity employer, we value the strength found in the diversity of voices, experiences, and backgrounds who join us in our work. Fostering an inclusive culture with equitable practices is everyone’s responsibility, and we regularly offer trainings and opportunities to learn more and find ways to do better. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, socioeconomic status, or disability status. We are dedicated to ensuring that disabled individuals are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation. In your application, please feel free to indicate your pronouns.
Studies have demonstrated that women and BIPOC applicants are less likely to apply to jobs where they may not meet 100% of the requirements. We recognize that few applicants may “check all the boxes,” but that each person has their own unique strengths that they would bring to the table. In our commitment to building a diverse and authentic work culture, we invite you to apply anyway. You belong here.
The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Equality, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.
