Individual Consultant - IT Expert / Full Stack Developer

Reference No. (TH-RIMES-420719-CS-INDV)

Objective

The objective of this consulting service is to support the CARE Component 1 Pakistan Team in effectively completing and deploying the climate-informed DSSs for the Ministry of Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives (MoPDSI), and Agriculture Departments of Punjab and Balochistan, and their stakeholders. 

Scope of Work 

The IT Expert– Full Stack Developer– Pakistan will report to the CARE Component 1 Project Director, through the Country Program Lead– Pakistan, and shall have the following specific tasks in working with the Systems Development Team:

● Develop front-end applications with selected frameworks

● Manage IT issues and concerns relevant to CARE Component 1 implementation in Pakistan including, but not limited to, software/hardware configuration, dashboards customization, integration of analytics/modeling tools, DSSs testing, and DSSs deployment

● Monitor the progress of the DSSs development and report, to the CARE Component 1 Project Director/Country Program Lead- Pakistan, bottlenecks and challenges in systems development, for immediate resolution

● In coordination with relevant project staff and stakeholders in Pakistan, consolidate feedbacks from stakeholders and ensure the effective communication thereof to the CARE Component 1 Project Director/Country Program Lead– Pakistan and the System Development Team, so that stakeholders’ feedbacks are addressed

● In consultation with relevant project staff, coordinate with other Stack Developers in Pakistan, in ensuring the integration of users/stakeholders’ requirements into the DSSs

● As needed, assist other Full Stack Developers in Pakistan to:

● Develop front-end applications with selected frameworks

● Implement a robust set of functional features and services to power the frontend of the web application

● Build highly complex user interface applications and back-end databases integration using expert-level skills in various web development tools, programming languages, and scripting languages

● Build/develop required modules, for generating climate-informed products for various stakeholders in MoPDSI and Agriculture Departments of Punjab and Balochistan

● Establish linkage of other DSSs developed in Pakistan, as part of CARE, into the DSS for MoPDSI

● Mine data relevant to the required DSSs modules from openly available research hubs

● Integrate required visualizations using web GIS-based technologies

● Develop APIs and Microservices for the DSSs

● Actively address non-functional requirements such as performance, security, scalability, continuous integration, migration, and compatibility

● Implement security and data protection measures

● Optimize the application for maximum speed and scalability

● Translate UI wireframes to frontend visual elements

● Extend the UI interface as and when need arises and integrate it with backend microservices or ETL/ELT processes

● Handle data in different formats (XLS, CSV, XML, NetCDF, HDF5, etc.) and use these data in the tool’s development

● Meet the system design and performance, as required by the project

● Maintain consistent, high-quality, stakeholder-focused approach in completing the DSSs

● Support RDASand its development, including but not limited to, provision/integration of metadata and/or modules, linking of RDAS and DSSs, and facilitating increased access to/use of RDAS and DSSs among stakeholder ministries and departments

● Support the convening of the Communities of Practice and other relevant activities, for driving user-relevant tools development processes

● Establish and maintain a virtual helpdesk support, as necessary, in completing the DSSs and linking them to RDAS

● Generate and maintain a detailed technical document on the activities completed, issues addressed, good practices established, and others relevant

● Perform other duties as may be required by the Project

Qualifications

Knowledge

● Atleast Master’s Degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Management

 Information Systems, or other related fields

Experience

● Minimum experience of 5 years in software development and management, with proven track record in full system development

● Minimum experience of 3 years in developing data analytics/data visualization applications

● Demonstrable experience in data processing, enterprise software applications, modern computer hardware, software, connectivity, and online services, and in server/network setup and configuration, troubleshooting, and maintenance support

● Demonstrable experience in setting up and working in a Linux operating system environment

● Demonstrable experience in developing REST APIs and microservices architectures

● Demonstrable experience in working with geospatial datasets and timeseries datasets

● Demonstrated experience in using Angular and React JS, with strong knowledge of R, Python, MATLAB, Javascript, HTML, and/or CSS

● Demonstrable experience in the development of interactive visualization dashboards, portals, and mobile applications based on online/cloud services

● Demonstrable experience in IT design and cybersecurity

● Knowledge of/experience in server management and platforms

● Having DevOps experience is an advantage

Skills and abilities

● Backend: Competence in using Python (Django), Node (Express), or PHP (Laravel)

● Frontend: Competence in using Angular/any other framework based on JS

● Database: Competence in using MySQL/PostgreSQL and various Linux/Unix platforms

● OS: Competence in using Linux

● Strong skill in integrating in to systems visualization/mapping libraries, ETL applications

 And GIS databases, and cloud deployment requirements

 ● Skillful in statistical analysis and predictive modeling

● Strong written and verbal command of English

Personal qualities

Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills; demonstrated ability to plan and organize work independently; excellent interpersonal and communication skills; high commitment to responsibility and work quality; ability to work effectively and efficiently independently and/or within a multi-cultural team; openness/receptiveness to critique for enhancing work and outputs.

Contract Duration

The contract will be for 1 year subject to a 4-month probationary period.

Reporting

The IT Expert – Full Stack Developer – Pakistan, based in Islamabad, will report to the CARE Component 1 Project Director, through the Country Program Lead – Pakistan.