Mission and objectives

UNDP works in 170 countries and territories to eradicate poverty while protecting the planet. We help countries develop strong policies, skills, partnerships and institutions so they can sustain their progress The primary and overarching objective of United Nations Development Programme in Kenya is the eradication of poverty in the context of sustainable development, including the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals, and promotion of United Nations fundamental principles. A core dimension to the work of UNDP in Kenya is on Democratic Governance given the national focus on governance reforms. UNDP supports the country’s efforts towards achieving the Vision 2030 Political Pillar, which envisions a democratic system that is issue-based, people-centered, results oriented and accountable to the public. This Political Pillar gears to transform the country’s political governance across five strategic areas; The Rule of Law, Electoral and Political Processes, Democracy and Public Service Delivery, Transparency and Accountability, Security Peace Building and Conflict Management. These strategic areas are anchored in the Constitution, promulgated in August 2010 marking a major milestone in the democratic journey of Kenya and set a new threshold in terms of people-centred development.

Context

As the NextGen platform enters its pilot phase and moves towards sustained operations, its launch in Kenya means that, when internship applications open and links are shared widely, the platform can face thousands of simultaneous users within a short period. It must handle these traffic spikes reliably to maintain credibility with applicants and with stakeholders. The platform also holds sensitive personal data, including national identification and academic certificates, which must be protected against breaches and managed in full compliance with Kenya's Data Protection Act, 2019. To support safety, continuous updates and keep the system online, fast, and secure, the programme requires a dedicated DevOps and Cloud Infrastructure Technician, engaged as a Community UN Volunteer. The objective of the DevOps and Cloud Infrastructure Technician is to keep the platform online, fast, and secure, regardless of traffic volume or the frequency of updates. The role focuses on infrastructure stability, data security, and safe deployment environments, so that continuous development does not disrupt the live platform.

Task Description

Under the direct supervision of the Project Manager for NEXTGen, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following duties: • Infrastructure Management: Set up and maintain cloud infrastructure capable of auto-scaling to absorb sudden traffic spikes without failure. • Security and Compliance: Build robust security layers ensuring that personal data is encrypted, protected, inaccessible to unauthorized parties, and fully compliant with Kenya's Data Protection Act, 2019. • Deployment Pipelines: Create and manage safe continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines so that new features go live smoothly without breaking existing functionality. • Environment Management: Maintain separate testing environments so that new features are thoroughly tested before reaching live users. • Monitoring and Alerting: Implement continuous monitoring and automated alerts to address downtime or performance issues promptly. • Data Backup: Manage reliable and frequent backups so that candidate and platform data is never lost. Expected Deliverables • Scalable Cloud Infrastructure: A fully operational, auto-scaling cloud environment ready for the pilot launch. • Security and Compliance: Encryption and security layers implemented and documented for stakeholder review. • Deployment Pipelines: Automated pipelines for safe, zero-downtime deployments. • Monitoring and Backup: Functional monitoring dashboards, alerting systems, and automated daily database backups.

Competencies and values

• Accountability • Adaptability and flexibility • Creativity • Judgement and decision-making • Planning and organising • Professionalism • Self-management

Living conditions and remarks

The contract lasts for the period indicated above with possibility of extensions subject to availability of funding, operational necessity and satisfactory performance. However, there is no expectation of renewal of the assignment. A UN Volunteer receives a Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) per month and is paid at the end of each month to cover housing, utilities, transportation, communications and other basic needs. The VLA can be computed by applying the Post-Adjustment Multiplier (PAM) to the VLA base rate of US$1,602. The VLA base rate is a global rate, while the PAM is country-specific and fluctuates on a monthly basis according to the cost of living. This method ensures that international UN Volunteers have comparable purchasing power at all duty stations irrespective of varying costs of living. The PAM is established by the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) and is published at the beginning of every month on the ICSC website http://icsc.un.org. For example, kindly enter the link Calculator. In non-family duty stations that belong to hardship categories D or E, as classified by the ICSC, international UN Volunteers receive a Well-Being Differential (WBD) on a monthly basis. Furthermore, UN Volunteers are provided a settling-in-grant (SIG) at the start of the assignment (if the volunteer did not reside in the duty station for at least 6 months prior to taking up the assignment) and also in the event of a permanent reassignment to another duty station. UNV provides life, health, permanent disability insurances as well as assignment travel, annual leave, full integration in the UN security framework (including residential security reimbursements). UN Volunteers are paid Daily Subsistence Allowance at the UN rate for official travels, flight tickets for the final repatriation travel (if applicable). A resettlement allowance is paid for satisfactory service at the end of the assignment. UNV will provide, together with the offer of assignment, a copy of the Conditions of Service, including Code of conduct, to the successful candidate. Disclaimer The United Nations Volunteers programme (UNV) is an equal opportunity programme which welcomes applications from qualified professionals. We are committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture.