Job Description

Deadline for Applications

February 8, 2026

Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)

A (least hardship)

Family Type (not applicable for home-based)

Family

Staff Member / Affiliate Type

CONTR Local Senior Level Support

Target Start Date

2026-02-23

Terms of Reference

During the past 60 years, UNHCR and the Government of Türkiye have been working together in close partnership. In 2013, Türkiye adopted a new legislation, the Law on Foreigners and International Protection (LFIP) and established a central civilian authority in charge of procedures for foreigners. As the main partner of the Turkish State in the field of international protection, UNHCR Türkiye provides support to the Presidency of Migration Management (PMM) and the relevant national institutions.
UNHCR Representation in Türkiye operates through a Country Office based in Ankara, and through sub-offices and field offices in Gaziantep, Istanbul, Izmir, and Ankara, as well as field units.

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations
To view occupational safety and health considerations for specific duty stations, please visit this link: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel

The Software Specialist position will work in the context of support activities for the national asylum institution and under the EU-funded project, “Supporting Türkiye’s International and Temporary Protection Processes,” where UNHCR is engaged in various activities, including capacity-building activities and the provision of technical and operational support to enhance Türkiye’s international and temporary protection processes with improved access to protection and services. To achieve this, besides a number of activities aiming to strengthen the capacity of PMM staff, the project also offers operational and human resources support to enhance capacity in international and temporary protection procedures.

To this end, PMM’s internal country of origin information database, KURE, will have its technical infrastructure revised in order to increase the capacity of PMM and PDMMs to access relevant and up-to-date country of origin
information. For this purpose, within the framework of the project, a technical software specialist (frontend and backend) will be recruited and employed full-time at PMM for a duration of 12 months.

Required qualifications, language(s) and work experience:
University Degree from relevant departments of universities (Computer engineering, software engineering, computer programming etc.)

Field of expertise, competencies:

Required/mandatory:

• Experience in developing backend software in at least 2 projects (to be able to present previous work as a reference)
• Experience in developing an application integrated with at least one of MSSQL, Oracle, and PostgreSQL databases.
• Experience in developing applications with ASP.NET, ASP.NET MVC, ASP.NET CORE MVC, C#, .NET, ADO.NET, IIS 8.0 and above technologies.
• Knowledge and experience in web technologies such as JQuery, Bootstrap, AJAX, CSS, XML, Javascript, HTML, HTML5,
• Knowledge and experience in web services, SOAP, RESTful, WCF, Web API, and Windows Services.
• Knowledge and experience in ORM (Entity Framework, vs.) and ADO.NET.
• Knowledge and experience in writing Stored Procedures, Functions, and Triggers in databases.
• Experience in at least one of the versioning systems (Team Foundation Server-TFS, Azure DevOps, Git, Subversion-SVN, etc.).
• Knowledge of modern JavaScript frameworks and experience in developing applications using at least one of them (such as ReactJS, Angular, VueJS, etc.)

Desirable:
• Holding a Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD): Web Applications certification.
• Knowledge of unit testing.
• Knowledge and experience in using distributed caching architectures (such as Redis, Memcached, etc.).
• Experience in software paradigms such as Design Patterns, Clean Code, and SOLID.•
• Knowledge and experience in ELK Stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana) and full-text search technologies.
• Knowledge and experience in microservices.
• Experience in mobile application software development.
• Knowledge and experience in OCR, image processing libraries, and their integrations.
• Experience in IT projects for public institutions.
• Experience in working collaboratively with UI, UX, and Backend developers.
• Experience in converting designs into pixel-perfect HTML.
• Knowledge of web standards.
• Experience in cross-browser and responsive coding.
• Experience with CSS frameworks (Bootstrap, Foundation, Flex, Tailwind, etc.).
• Knowledge and experience with HTML5, CSS3 (Less, Sass, etc.), and TypeScript.

In addition, the technical/software consultant should have the following qualifications:
• Problem Solving Skills: The candidate should have problem solving skills to troubleshoot and debug the issues in complex applications. The candidate should be able to analyse, identify and solve complex technical problems.
• Communication Skills: Good oral and written communication skills are essential. The candidate must be able to communicate effectively with team members, stakeholders and customers. The candidate should possess working efficiency in English and Turkish.
• Collaboration and Teamwork: The candidate should have experience working in a team environment to achieve project goals.
• Adaptability: The candidate should be willing to adapt to new technologies, frameworks and programming languages as required by the project, and possess analytical thinking and system development skills.

Minimum years of work experience
At least 3 years of work experience in the development, support, maintenance and frontend and backend software development of websites.
Language: Required: Proficiency in working in English and Turkish

Monitoring and Progress Controls
Regular and timely performance updates including concrete deliverables produced and progress achieved by the specialist, along with how much time spent on each deliverable will be expected on a monthly basis.

Individual Contractor Agreements

Definition:
Individual contractor is an individual engaged by UNHCR under a contract of limited duration to provide skills or knowledge for the performance of a specific task or piece of work and engaged under an individual contract issued directly by UNHCR. They are neither staff members of UNHCR under the Staff Regulations and Rules, nor Officials for the purpose of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations of 13 February 1946.

Contract Duration/Renewal:
Any extension of an individual contract is subject to operational needs, satisfactory service, and availability of funds. There is no expectation of renewal or conversion of the individual contract beyond its expiry date.

Working Hours:
40 hours per week, inclusive of mandatory night shifts, possibility of work on weekends and official holidays as part of the assigned schedule.

Leave Entitlements:
Annual leave at the rate of two and a half working days per month.
Sick leave at the rate of two working days for each month of service.

Medical Coverage:
The Individual Contractor is fully responsible for arranging medical insurance covering the entire contract period (including any extended period, if applicable). UNHCR accepts no responsibility for any costs connected to medical insurance. A copy of proof of a valid medical insurance covering the entire period of the contract is required by UNHCR.

Remuneration:
Remuneration at the level of the vacancy is 3,521USD per month payable in Turkish Lira (TRY) at the applicable monthly United Nations exchange rate.

Legal Requirements:
Individual Contractors must comply with relevant local legislation, including but not limited to those relating to taxation, social security requirements, licenses, work permits and visas, and other details stipulated in the terms of their contract. UNHCR undertakes no liability for taxes and social security contributions, duties or other contributions payable by the individual contract holder on payments made under the individual contract. The individual contract holders will not be reimbursed such taxes or granted any other benefit, payment or subsidy which is not expressly provided for in the contract under which they are engaged. UNHCR may require the individual contract holder to provide evidence within a reasonable time that they have registered for and are paying applicable taxation and social security to the relevant national authorities
Important to note: The Individual Contractor shall be responsible for paying any tax levied by his/her Government or other entities on his/her UNHCR earnings. Under no circumstances shall UNHCR be responsible for paying or reimbursing such taxes.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Clearances and ID Cards:
Applications of non-Turkish candidates are subject to MFA clearance before any offer can be made. For cleared candidates who are recruited, MFA ID card applications will be processed while the issuance lies within the authority of the MFA.

Important to note: Once the MFA ID is issued, the time spent under an Individual Contract no longer counts toward eligibility for Turkish citizenship.

Application Requirements:

Applicants must ensure:

• To apply for the vacancies timely through Workday. No late applications are accepted.
• To reflect their previous experience, language skills (including the mother tongue) and other assets in their Workday applicant profiles duly. Shortlisting is done based on the information provided in the applications only.
• To attach their valid residence permits (both sides visible) in case they are non-Turkish nationals.

PLEASE DO NOT USE TURKISH CHARACTERS IN YOUR NAME & SURNAME INFORMATION.

Recruitment as a UNHCR staff member and engagement under a UNHCR affiliate scheme or as an intern is subject to successful reference checks and integrity clearance.

Only short-listed candidates will be notified. The recruitment process might include written test and/or oral interview for this job opening. No late applications will be accepted.

External candidates should be legally present in Türkiye at the time of application, recruitment and hire.

Non-Turkish citizens are required to upload their residence permits or relevant documents under the ‘Certifications’ section, by selecting the type as ‘Personnel Administration – Other’, in order to be considered for this job opening.

Applications by non-Turkish citizens will NOT be considered if a valid residence permit is not attached to the application.

For further information on how to apply, please visit ‘UNHCR - Application and Selection’ page, at https://www.unhcr.org/how-to-apply.html.