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About Justice Defenders

From Uganda to the United States, we are living amidst a global justice crisis. The lack of access to justice impacts 5.1 billion people worldwide – affecting families, communities and society at large. Three million men, women and children are being held in overcrowded prisons without a trial. Countless voices are lost in the noise. 

Founded in 2007 as the African Prisons Project, Justice Defenders is an organisation and movement from all walks of life: prisoners, prison officers, lawyers, judges, and allies. Over the past 13 years, Justice Defenders has leveraged its success to build committed relationships with influential international organisations and individuals and relies on a network of connected and generous donors. Justice Defenders is a registered U.K. charity and U.S. nonprofit with a global team currently based in the U.K., Kenya, Uganda, Gambia, Italy, and the USA.

The organisational culture is shaped by the core values of bravery, humility, and solidarity. These influence the thinking and daily behaviour and are used routinely in decision making, priority setting, and implementation of all aspects of the organisation’s work. 

About the Role

The IT Manager will report to the Chief Operating Officer and will harmonise and further develop Justice Defender’s IT policies, standards, process across its offices and programs. The IT Manager will help the organisation lift its effectiveness through adequate IT systems and applications while ensuring IT and data security. 

Duties and Responsibilities

• Guide and facilitate the further development of IT policies, systems and standards, effectively planning at the strategic and operational levels. 
• Facilitate the community of IT practice across the country and legal offices to build on what already works, and to identify, prioritise and close gaps in close cooperation with country offices.
• Maintain industry standards and procedures for in-house/outsourced applications.
• Propose and implement required IT infrastructure for smooth and secure IT operations and delivery of legal education, training and practice.
• Provide prompt support to IT team members in and outside of prison and guide them to resolve problems of existing applications and infrastructure.
• Prepare and review all IT agreements and contracts.
• Analyse IT requirements and develop an IT road map.
• Manage and ensure IT compliance.
• Plan, design, and manage the deployment of highly available IT infrastructure and associated support services, including networks, server storage, telecommunication, security and systems applications. 
• Build internal capabilities through online training.
• Facilitate the development and implementation of country ICT policies, procedures, and standards across the systems and network teams.

Skills and Experience

• Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering or equivalent professional qualifications 
• A strong track record at senior level for IT management within NGOs, foundations, social enterprises, or businesses in international development 
• IT Project Management experience.
• Requirement analysis experience with strong analytical and program solving skills
• Experience developing IT security and assurance policies and standards
• In-depth understanding of key trends in a digital technology
• Insight into how digital transformation is affecting social impact work.
• Drive, flexibility, resilience and the ability to work under pressure
• Ability to effectively work remotely, across time zones and team locations, as well as in-person with multiple teams of stakeholders
• Demonstrates servant leadership, with the ability to build IT skills and capabilities across offices and programs through, for example, training and coaching.
• Ability to initiate and facilitate interactions with people who can share their insights and knowledge
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to translate complex technological implementation language to non-technical people
• Proven initiative, flexibility and enthusiasm in managing complex activities in a changing environment.