Jobs – IT Officer PEAS UK Charity Organisation

Job Title: IT Officer

PEAS is a UK-based charity with a mission ‘to unlock the potential of Africa by expanding access to affordable quality secondary education’. We run the fastest growing network of sustainably financed secondary schools in Africa. We currently have a network of 22 schools across Uganda and Zambia, educating around 8,000 students. PEAS has recently secured a grant from DFID as part of the Girls Education Challenge Fund, the purpose of which is to drive learning and results for marginalised girls. PEAS is supported by major corporate, government and private funders and our innovative financial model is pioneering in the field of public private partnerships in development education.

Job Summary: The IT Officer – Schools will be responsible for all IT related matters across this network of schools. They support the schools in handling all IT-related matters, both hardware and software; this includes training on basic IT software including Microsoft programmes and email use. A key aspect of the role is to help implement, maintain and troubleshoot the new School Information Management System (SIMS), which is currently being developed and rolled out across the schools.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

1. School Support (40%):
2. Data management (40):
3. Training (15):
4. Third-party interaction (5%):

• Act as the first point of contact for PEAS schools seeking technical advice, support and information on IT-related issues (both hardware and software)
• Offer first / second line technical support for schools professionally and efficiently, maintaining a high degree of customer service
• Take ownership of user problems, perform technical diagnosis and fix issues either remotely or on-site
• Update and maintain user security on all systems within the schools’ networks
• Deploy and support the deployment of new equipment if/when required
• Support schools to appropriately maintain and protect their IT infrastructure
• Produce appropriate documentation (policies and implementation guidelines) to maintain the IT infrastructure
• Support assess schools’ IT needs and identify opportunities to improve use
• Offer professional and responsive support services to the schools’ staff, including teaching staff, administration and management
• Actively interact with Projects (Construction and Logistics Manager) to identify IT and technology needs at schools

• Provide support in the implementation, roll-out and upkeep of the School Information Management System, including a student database. This will entail considerable time in the field visiting schools
• Train and support school staff on all areas of School Information System data
• Assist school staff in accurate and timely data entry; conducting regular monitoring of data entry and system use by schools
• Support school staff in producing reports from the system
• Support school staff with data integrity and security
• Train and support PEAS central and regional staff in using and understanding the School Information System
• Oversee data entry from schools

• To provide training and mentoring on an as-needed basis to all staff (concentration on school staff) on basic office software, including Microsoft programmes such as Word, Excel, and email use
• Support the M&E team in delivering staff training relating to data, analysis and interrogation of data.
• Train school leaders on ICT best practice (security measures, safe-internet usage, maintenance of hardware etc)

• To act as the first point of contact with IT providers for PEAS schools
• Work closely with external service providers for additional support in troubleshooting when necessary

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

• The applicant should possess a good Bachelor s Degree in Information technology/Computer science.
• Professional certification in CCNA or CCNP desirable.
• A minimum of two years’ experience working with customer-facing IT support
• Past exposure and experience of implementing IT systems across different networks of users simultaneously
• Excellent data-handling and data-processing skills, including advanced ability to work with Excel
• Prior experience in training users on IT programmes, including ability to produce user-friendly documentation and supporting materials
• Excellent attention to detail
• Ideally, experience with Microsoft Office and other software programmes
• Past experience with non-PC hardware (tablets) and non-Microsoft operating systems e.g. Linux (Ubuntu)
• Experience with working with a school information management system and education related IT software and programmes
• High degree of flexibility, initiative and self-motivation
• Creativity and resilience in problem solving
• Flexibility to travel throughout Uganda
• Possess the ability to interact positively with students and young children
• Ability to work under pressure and manage multiple deadlines

How to Apply for the job:

All suitably qualified candidates should send their applications to: The Human Resource Manager, PEAS Uganda P.O. Box 23308, Kampala Plot 2881, Block 216, Ntinda Kisaasi. Mumbejja Road opposite Ndere Centre. Uganda Or send your application, cover letter and CV to; Email to: info-peasuganda@peas.org.uk

Deadline: 15^th September, 2014 by 5pm