Job Summary

The Senior Systems Engineer will be a key resource person in the process of identifying requirement identification, design, execution, management, feedback and sustaining of the envisaged learning management system and SIS (Student Information System). S/he will closely work with experts from Arizona State University, Public Universities in Ethiopia and a key member of the Ministry of Education EthERNet directorate.  The position requires key technical and management competencies that include but are not limited to hands on experience in e-learning management system, cloud management system, university ICT system administration, information security and work with diverse and cross- cultural team of experts. The ideal candidate is one who demonstrates fast understanding of user requirements and interpret that into system solutions. The Senior Systems Engineer will be responsible for supporting the LMS and SIS system hosted on the cloud for public higher education institutions. The Senior Systems Engineer will also be responsible for the administration of the overall computing infrastructure (server and storages), virtualized infrastructure, cloud management systems, mainly on- premises and in public cloud.

Role and responsibilities

E-Learning Management System

• Responsible for undertaking LMS (based on OpenEdX) + SIS (Salesforce-base) design, discover, deploy, maintain, train and administration for Ethiopian Higher Education institutions in collaboration with other experts.
• Responsible for  devising  appropriate  implementation  strategies  and  preparing  the  design blueprint to translate user’s needs into the OpenEdx requirements and LMS/SIS solutions.
• Provide service, maintenance, and training A multi-site Open EdX for all public universities in collaboration with ASU
• Responsible for  closely  coordinating  preparation  of  universities  to  meet  human  resource, network architecture, computer, and software systems infrastructures for the new LMS and SIS.
• Serve as a key resource person towards ASU in provision of all relevant data and information in the process of customization and design to fit the local context.

• Responsible for realization of the envisaged LMS at target universities as per ASU guidelines and protocols. Oversee key processes of adaptation, configuration, user testing, and feedback, go-live and scale-up for the LMS.
• Contribute towards the procurement, installation, operationalization, and management of five resource centers and cluster based remote access.

System Utilization, Access, and Functioning

• Responsible for designing and establishing appropriate access protocol and infrastructure for the different user groups (students, instructors, administrators, and registrars).
• Undertake a series of action research on appropriate access modalities (personal vs shared access) for students and propose solutions to the university management team, ASU and MoE.
• Participate in a series of university capacity building for System administrators, instructors, and students to ensure appropriate inhouse capabilities are built to operate and utilize the LMS.
• Ensure the necessary networks and systems administration and management settings are in place to meet the Institutions (site university where the system is to be deployed) security and efficiency standards
• Provide help desk support for university system administrators in relation to the new LMS and SIS through remote access or in person as and when needed.
• Support relevant university wide system integration (various server and user-level applications) with the new E-learning management system and SIS.
• Responsible for coordination of system performance reviews (analytics) and data reports in coordination with technical team at the specific sites and produce frequent reports as required to the MoE and ASU.

Information Security

• Develop and  adopt  appropriate  security  protocol  for  smooth  functioning  of  the  envisaged learning management system and SIS.
• Responsible for establishing multiple layer access for different users including but not limited to system administrators, instructors, students, and registrars as per ASU guidelines and protocols adapted to local context.
• Regularly engage with university IT specialists to ensure preventive maintenance activities are carried on the ICT network infrastructure in general and the resource center in particular.
• Closely work with university IT specialists and ASU to support and devise recommendations for computer  systems   and   networks   for   viruses,   malfunctions,   and   errors,   troubleshooting technical issues and devise effective solutions
• Liaise with appropriate national agencies (i.e., INSA (Ethiopian information network security agency)) to ensure compliance with national information security protocols.
• Analyzes security risks and threats with respect to the new E-learning management system and SIS; propose mitigation strategies and plans to be incorporated into the national E-learning policy.
• Ensure end users of digital platform maintain ethical and legal guidelines set at the national and/or international level.

Additional Roles

• Actively participate in the development of a national e-learning policy.
• Responsible for capacity building of the relevant MoE and university team and ensuring full teamwork and integration of project work within the mainstream functions of the ministry and universities.
• Undertake other related roles from MoE as and when needed and ensure complementarity with the new e-learning program.

Job Requirement

Competence

Technical competencies

• Outstanding  knowledge   and   hands-on   experience   in   e-learning   platforms,   SIS,   cloud management, associated infrastructure, skills, and organizations needed to manage.
• Proficiency in key system design, administration, and implementation competencies such as user requirement identification/analyses, design architecture and developing implementation blueprint.
• Thorough understanding of Cloud Computing: virtualization technologies, Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service and Software as a Service Cloud delivery models and the current competitive landscape.
• Profound understanding  of  infrastructure  (firewalls,  load  balancers,  hypervisors,  storage, monitoring, security etc) and have experience with orchestration to develop a cloud solution.
• Requires strong scripting / automation and Linux operating system management Experience with configuring, managing, solutioning, and architecting cloud solutions.
• Profound knowledge of the technical foundations behind networking, operating systems, and application: Linux, Windows, Web technologies, Cloud solutions (AWS, Azure, GCP), TCP/IP and other networking protocols – Traffic and packet analysis.
• Hands on  experience  in  cloud  system  administration,  server  applications  (Windows,  OS  X, Linux, Unix, etc.); access control; encryption; firewalls; secure proxies; networking; database and application security; security log analysis; virus prevention and remediation; and custom programming/scripting.
• Hands-on    experience    and    knowledge    in    complex    firewall    and    information    security
• environments in relation of user, server and telecommunication hardware’s and applications.Basic to advanced knowledge of network and TCP/IP protocols

Leadership and management competencies

• Hands-on and pro-active approach with demonstrated adaptability and flexibility
• Excellent communication and relationship management skills.
• Outstanding skills in planning, organizing, and reporting
• Mastery in demonstrating personal effectiveness and delivering results in teamwork
• Value differences and diversities while demonstrating constructive assertiveness in leading people towards the result.
• Fast learner, decision maker and problem solver
• Ability to perform under pressure with minimal supervision and able to handle multiple tasks at a time in an organized manner.

Education, Experience, and language

• BSc in Computer Science, Information Technology, Electrical /Computer /Software Engineering, or related technical field.
• Professional systems administration training and industry certification (e.g. Linux, Microsoft, Amazon cloud, Google cloud) is a plus.
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in administrating enterprise-wide information system and/or system administration, preferably in a large-scale production environment for Cloud and on-premises solutions.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English language is a must.
• Experience in using agile project management system

Benefit and compensation : Highly attractive with possible career development opportunities

Type of employment :  Project (2022 – 2027)

Duration : One Year with possible extension up to five years

Duty station:  Addis Ababa with frequent travel to regions