SEEDS Database and Application ICT Security Specialist

Since 1995, Ethiopia has adopted a multiparty parliamentary system and a federal structure devolving power to nine regions and two city administrations. The Constitution established a bi-cameral parliamentary form of government with two houses. The framework of governance includes a system of political representation based on the holding of local (every 2.5 years) and nation-wide elections (every 5 years), and formation of a set of legislative institutions at all levels including, at the apex`, the two houses of the national parliament (the House of Peoples Representatives (HoPR) and the House of Federation (HoF).

Under the current constitution, the country held five general elections, the last being in May 2015.  Among all elections, only the 2005 election was characterized by improved political space and competition between political parties.

Ethiopia has embarked on a path of reforms and political renewal.  With the new leadership of Dr. Abiy Ahmed, the government has systematically invested in the opening of the political space and has lifted many of the restrictions that were placed on political participation.  The most notable development was the lifting of ‘terror labels’ of several previously outlawed political parties.  The return of opposition parties has enriched the political debate and has been a clear indication of the Government and the Ruling Coalition to engage in open and more inclusive political process.  This is expected to have direct bearing on the upcoming general elections planned for 2020.

The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) has recently seen its leadership changed.  Former Judge Birtukan Midekssa was appointed in November 2018 as the new Chairwoman of NEBE.  The change of NEBE’s leadership reconfirmed the Government’s commitment to reform the institution and enhance its credibility within the political sphere but also among the general public.  NEBE has faced reputational challenges and was heavily criticized for being biased and partial in conducting previous elections.  Investment in the Board’s integrity, professionalism and effectiveness has been included in the policy priority areas that were captured in the ‘New Horizon of Hope’ document, issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) following the most recent Cabinet reshuffle.   

In response to the request by the Government of Ethiopia and with the view to support the reforms and general elections, the United Nations has performed a Needs Assessment Mission (NAM), which confirms that conditions were favorable for the United Nations to design and activate an elections programme/project of support.  UNDP supported the development of the ‘Supporting Elections for Ethiopia’s Democratic Strengthening (SEEDS)’, which was established in June 2019. 

Specific Duties: Database and Application ICT Security Specialist (CMS, VRS, CRS and RMS):

In line with architecting stringent security measures and implementing sound practices for the systems being developed for NEBE, a specialized database and application ICT development security specialist who has worked on the current NEBE election systems. The incumbent must have a thorough understanding of the current networking and architecture systems in NEBE in order to provide immediate solutions. The overall scope of work will be to ensure that developed code is in line with acceptable standards as seen across the various technology application platforms that form the basis of election systems. The incumbent will also be required to assist the overall team in developing a security strategy and define methodologies that meet the NEBE’s requirements. Furthermore, skills in development are required in order to ensure that RMS developmental architecture shortfalls are met.  

• Review and analyze all the systems in line with the Systems Requirements Specification;
• Assist in providing a technical review of the required Field Operations system in line with ICT security best practices
• Review the Early Warning System which will be deployed as part of the JEOC’s in line with the UNICC business scope of work and in line with ICT security best practices
• Review the Asset Management System based on the alignment to MOFID workflows and assess the security requirements for the system which will be used to track sensitive materials
• Provide input into the System and Functional Requirements documents;
• Provide input into the overall system development and production system requirements;
• Develop a security methodology in line with the requirements;
• Integrate the security measures into all the applications, databases, and networking architecture;
• Assist the ICT team with system architecture and development in line with project requirements;
• Provide assistance for the testing of the systems
• Follow an Agile approach to security architecture/methodology under the guidance of the UNDP ICT International System Developer Advisor;
• Assist with the design of security testing parameters;
• Assist in defining a medium-term strategy in line with a fully integrated and interactive training system which is modular based;
• Making use of IT standard practices assist in developing the Agile SDLC with guidance from the UNDP ICT International Advisor and
• Share and participate in JAD sessions and provide sound advice to all relevant stakeholders including NEBE.
• In addition to formulating the security methodology, the incumbent must assist in reviewing the developed code. This must be in line with best practices and formulated code reviews.

Deliverables:

• Review of all security features for the infield data collection system for field operations, Including full security testing of the entire network and system
• Review of security technical manuals
• Training of NEBE ICT security staff member to manage the security of the new systems

• Delivery of a strategic ICT security plan to migrate, integrate, and security test the above systems into the already developed NEBE Central Management System (CMS);
• Support and monitoring of all security matters during the deployment of the systems during the various phases of the election;
• Training of field ICT staff to recognise possible security breaches and how to manage possible threats;
• Final delivery of full security systems, technologies, and structures to NEBE once the project is completed.
• Assist with the delivery of an ITIL best practice model within NEBE ensuring future system sustainability.

Institutional Arrangement/Reporting Relationships:

The consultant will work full time, based in Addis Ababa. The consultant will report to the UNDP SEEDS Project Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) and ICT Advisor.

The Consultant should possess the following competencies:

Corporate Competencies
Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards; Sensitivity to cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality, and age differences. Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment; ability to exercise sound political judgment;

Functional Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by Modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of the project.
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly and without favoritism.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, ability to foster networks and partnerships, and good working knowledge of information and computer technology with extensive knowledge of web application content development.
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities. Demonstrated ability to multitask under pressure and to meet strict deadlines often under hardship conditions.

Qualifications:

An advanced degree (Masters) in Computer Science, Information Systems, Software Engineering, or related discipline. Worked with international companies, which must include companies that are English based.

Technical Experience:                   

• 8-10 years or more of functionally related professional Experience, particularly in Electronic Elections Systems;
• Demonstrate a working knowledge of Early Warning Systems
• Demonstrate a high level of knowledge in election ICT security, architecture, development, and networking;
• Demonstrate knowledge in understanding of the SDLC and related outputs of an SDLC;
• Demonstrate an understanding of development languages making use of .Net, Java, and Open Source technologies (PHP, etc.);
• Demonstrate an understanding of Database designs and best practices;
• Demonstrate an understanding of database, application, and networking security; 
• Understand and demonstrate knowledge in LAMP and MAMP technologies;
• Experience in web-based best practice design methods;
• Demonstrate a high level of skills level based on modular-based content development strategies;
• Demonstrate knowledge in the understanding of Agile development methodologies, OO and UML design;
• Experience in implementing election applications is essential;
• Demonstrable knowledge and Experience to design, manage development, test, analyze customized applications and large data sets & demonstrate basic knowledge of graphic design tools and applications

Language requirements:

• A high level of written and spoken English is essential; report writing skills desirable.

Payment Schedule and Deadline:

1. Review of all security features for the infield data collection system for field operations. Including the following

Full security testing of the entire network and system

Delivery of technical security manuals

Training of NEBE ICT security staff member to manage the security of the new system

Deadline: 30 January 2021

2. Delivery of a strategic ICT security plan to migrate, integrate, and security test the above systems into the already developed NEBE Central Management System (CMS)

28 February 2021

Support and monitoring of all security matters during the deployment of the systems during the various phases of the election

Deadline: 31 March 2021

3. Training of field ICT staff to recognize possible security breaches and how to manage possible threats

Deadline: 30 April 2021

4. Assessment of field offices security ICT infrastructure in view of results management

Testing of the results management system

Deadline: 31 May 2021

5. Final delivery of full security systems, technologies, and structures to NEBE once the project is completed

Deadline: 30 June 2021

6. Lesson learned workshop for NEBE ICT department & Final report.

Deadline: 31 July 2021

Price Proposal :

The Consultant shall submit a price proposal in accordance with the below instructions:

The contractor shall submit a price proposal as below:

• Daily Fee – The Consultant shall propose a daily fee which should be inclusive of his/her professional fee, local communication cost, insurance (inclusive of medical health, and medical evacuation). The number of working days for which the daily fee shall be payable under the contract is 140 working days.

• Living Allowance – The Consultant shall propose a separate cost for the Living Allowance for the duration of the contract, which is 7 months after award of contract.

• Travel and Visa – The Consultant shall include the lumpsum cost of travel per trip for Home-Addis-Home (estimated two visits) in the Financial Proposal. The Consultant should include visa costs, which will be reimbursed by UNDP.

Evaluation Method And Criteria:

Cumulative analysis

When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the

an individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and

b) Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

* Technical Criteria weight; [70]

* Financial Criteria weight; [30]

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in Technical Evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation

Criteria Max & Points:

Relevant Educational qualification Max 5 Points

Experience of working in system development, architecture, and security in the field of elections Max 25 points

Experience in designing, developing, and implementing standalone and website content systems, Max 25 Points

Understanding of the Agile Methodology Max 15 points

Financial   Max 30 Points

The Financial proposal of the technically qualified candidates will be evaluated based on the formula provided below. The maximum number of points (30) assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest-priced proposal. All other price proposals receive points in inverse

proportion.

A suggested formula is as follows:

P= y(µ/z) where,

P= points for the financial proposal being evaluated

Y= maximum number of points for the financial proposal

µ= price of the lowest price proposal

z= price of the proposal being evaluated

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Proposers who shall not submit the below-mentioned documents will not be considered for further evaluation.

• Personal CV or P11 indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references;
• Confirmation of Interest and Availability & Financial Proposal: Interest and Availability to perform the task and Financial Proposal must be submitted through a standard template (https://popp.undp.org/SitePages/POPPSubject.aspx?SBJID=431&Menu=BusinessUnit) 
• Technical Proposal including:
• Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment and a methodology on how they will approach and complete the assignment.
• A brief description of the approach to work/work plan on how he/she will approach and complete the assignment.
• Financial Proposal: As per the template provided.

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