Job Description

Please note that this vacancy is only open to eligible staff members who have been individually notified of their eligibility to apply for positions advertised in the Accelerated Posting Compendium.

June 12, 2026

H (no hardship)

Family

PR5

Professional

Reason

Regular > Regular Assignment

2026-08-01

Chief Technology Officer

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships

The Chief Technology Officer (CTO) is responsible for ensuring overall coherence in the delivery of enterprise scale digital transformation, aligning technology strategy with business objectives, and enabling secure, resilient, and scalable platforms. The role ensures that the value, integrity, and sustainability of UNHCR’s IT architecture are progressively strengthened and extended through each project investment and ongoing evolution.

The incumbent provides expert oversight and consultation to ensure that business and technical requirements—both functional and non‑functional—are clearly defined, consistent with business needs, and aligned with enterprise architecture standards. This includes validating system design specifications, defining criteria for system testing and user acceptance, and ensuring the delivery of cost effective, high performing, and functionally‑ sound systems and services, via the project management lifecycle.

The CTO works closely with senior managers across ITS, in particular the Chief Business Relationship Officers, Chief of IT operations as well as with Managed Service Providers and external contractors. While the role is primarily focused on project delivery, the incumbent may also provide expert support to business-as-usual operations and IT procurement activities as required.

The incumbent is expected to engage closely with technical teams, enterprise architects, data scientists, and other stakeholders across all Divisions, notably DRM, DPM, DEPS, DIPS, and the Global Data Service.

Travel to other HQ locations (Budapest, Copenhagen) is an integral part of this role, and occasional missions to Regional Bureaux or Country Operations should be anticipated.

The post is located within the Office of the Chief Information Officer and reports directly to the CIO. The incumbent has direct supervisory responsibility over the cross functional and IT vendor management teams to ensure alignment to the UNHCR technology architecture is adhered to.

All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR’s core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.

Duties

Strategic Technology Leadership and Accountability

• Provide authoritative technical leadership for the definition, implementation, and continuous evolution of UNHCR’s Enterprise Architecture (EA), ensuring alignment with organizational strategic priorities, operational realities, and long-term digital transformation objectives.
• Maintain and enforce enterprise technology standards, leading the architecture review board (ARB), reference architectures, and technology roadmaps, ensuring that IT investments collectively strengthen the coherence, integrity, and sustainability of UNHCR’s digital ecosystem.
• Ensure that the Enterprise Architecture remains current, promotes interoperability across systems, enables effective and secure data sharing, optimizes total cost of ownership, and supports the adoption of secure, resilient, and widely adopted cloud-based technologies.

Governance, Design Authority, and Assurance

• Exercise design authority to ensure that solution architectures are cohesive across projects and fully compliant with UNHCR’s enterprise architecture principles, security requirements, and governance frameworks.
• Serve as secretariat of the Architecture Review Board (ARB), convening meetings in accordance with established technology governance processes, facilitating informed decision making, and ensuring that outcomes and decisions are formally recorded and communicated.
• Review, assess, and endorse or reject architectural and technical design documentation, including solution options and recommendations, prior to submission to the Architecture Review Board for formal endorsement.

Data and Digital Enablement

• Participate in the service’s technical contribution to the Data Transformation Programme, ensuring that data is consistently managed as a strategic asset and can be securely shared across applications and platforms to support real time decision making, analytics, and enterprise reporting.

Technology Foresight and Advisory Role

• Monitor emerging technology trends and industry developments of relevance to UNHCR, providing authoritative advice to senior management on opportunities, risks, and strategic implications.
• Facilitate technology demonstrations and proofs of concept with vendors and partners, where appropriate, to inform evidence-based decision making and innovation.

Portfolio and Platform Stewardship

• Develop, maintain, and periodically review technology roadmaps for major platforms and application portfolios (including IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS), ensuring alignment with evolving business needs and planned system upgrades, replacements, and decommissioning.
• Participate in programme and portfolio review processes, providing technical inputs to ensure alignment with UNHCR’s strategic direction, investment priorities, and risk posture.

People Leadership and Capability Management

• Oversee and supervise a multidisciplinary team of cross functional and IT procurement services including staff members, affiliates, and external consultants, ensuring continuity, resilience, and sustainability of UNHCR’s technology platforms and services.

Operational Readiness and Service Assurance

• Validate, in coordination with solution engineering teams, that solutions are production ready, secure, and fit-for-purpose prior to transition into operational environments.
• Review production support and service documentation to ensure that appropriate service level agreements can be established.
• Provide exceptional third level business-as-usual support for major/critical incidents, when required, in order to safeguard service continuity and organizational operations.

Collaboration and Institutional Alignment

• Work closely with the ITS Project Services Unit and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that technical standards, procedures, templates, and guidance materials remain current, consistent, and aligned with organizational needs.

• Lead risk assessments and discussions with team(s) to proactively manage risks and seize opportunities impacting objectives. Ensure that risk management principles are integrated in decision-making both at strategic and operational levels. Allocate resources for planned treatments with resource requirements in Strategic Plans. Ensure that risks are managed to acceptable levels and escalate, as needed. If a Risk Owner, designate the Risk Focal Point and certify that the annual risk review is completed and ensure that the risk register is updated during the year, as needed.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Years of Experience / Degree Level

For P5 - 12 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 11 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 10 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree

Field(s) of Education

Information & Communications Technologies; Business Administration; Information Systems;

Information Technology; Systems Analysis and Development or other relevant field.

Certificates and/or Licenses

MS Certified Solutions Expert

Prince2-Project Management;

Data Management

(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience

Essential

Relevant ICT experience including significant recent experience in software engineer/systems or solutions architect / solutions engineering. Demonstrated experience working with business partners, understanding business concepts, and applying technical solutions based on standard industry practices. Demonstrated experience driving technology solutions from design through implementation, leveraging cross-functional teams comprised of staff, vendors, outsource partners, and contractors across multiple locations. Proven solution engineering experience with Enterprise Infrastructure (Desktops, Servers, Storage, Network, & “cloud”) and Applications (enterprise-wide mission critical systems such as ERP, CRM, enterprise content management, enterprise collaboration platforms, and business intelligence platforms) – specifically in a “cloud based” environment (Azure, AWS, Oracle). Demonstrated experience in designing solutions across a wide range of platforms and technologies as a decision making authority. Extensive experience with the IT Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), as well as Agile/Scrum, DevOps methodologies and ITIL processes. Proven ability to develop solution documentation for functional and non-functional requirements, conceptual architectures, detailed system designs, and test plans using industry standard and generally accepted modelling methods using standard tools. Demonstrated ability to lead a team of highly skilled technical resources from different disciplines, including during times of crisis, outages and security incidents. Strong supervisory experience including leading a matrixed team to ensure collaboration and effective operations. Strong teamwork, interpersonal, and executive-level presentation skills. Ability to influence, manage, and lead technical discussions with internal and external partners and stakeholders. Ability to communicate effectively with technical and non-technical audiences, including the ability to express complex technical and business concepts to all management levels, peers, and business units. Excellent analytical and conceptual skills. Willingness to travel internationally on short notice.

Desirable

Formal certification in Solution Design from a recognized professional body (e.g. TOGAF). Formal certification in ITIL - Foundation and Intermediate level (Service Design). Proven ability to deal with multiple tasks in different functional areas in a demanding working environment with short deadlines. Knowledge of systems and processes within the United Nations. Experience operating in humanitarian or United Nations organizations. Knowledge of French or other UN Languages.

Functional Skills

*IT-IT Solution Engineering

*IT-IT Cloud Hosting Services

*IT-Service Delivery Management

IT-IT Operations Management

IT-IT Systems and Standards

DM-Big data methodologies

DM-Data modelling

DM-Data warehousing

IM-Information architecture

(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Language Requirements

For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English

For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language

For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English

Competency Requirements

All jobs at UNHCR require 6 core competencies and may also require managerial competencies and/or cross-functional competencies. The 6 core competencies are listed below.

Core Competencies

Accountability

Communication

Organizational Awareness

Teamwork & Collaboration

Commitment to Continuous Learning

Client & Result Orientation

Managerial Competencies

Empowering & Building Trust

Judgement & Decision Making

Leadership

Managing Performance

Managing Resource

Strategic Planning & Vision

Cross-Functional Competencies

Analytical Thinking

Innovation & Creativity

Technological Awareness

All UNHCR workforce members must individually and collectively, contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe, and empowered to perform their duties. This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment including sexual harassment, sexism, gender inequality, discrimination, and abuse of power.

As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.

This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR jobs with this job title and grade level. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position. Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates.

Essential Attributes:
- Relevant extensive experience in technology strategy development, software engineering, systems architecture, solution architecture, or solution engineering
- Proven leadership experience in enterprise architecture and technology strategy, with experience delivering secure, scalable, and resilient solutions
- Demonstrated experience leading end-to-end technology delivery across cross-functional teams and external stakeholders such as vendors, managed services providers and other external partners
- Strong experience with enterprise platforms and mission-critical applications, including cloud platforms such as Azure, AWS, or Oracle
- Extensive knowledge of SDLC, Agile/Scrum, DevOps, and ITIL processes.

Desirable Attributes:
- Ability to define and assess functional and non-functional requirements, solution designs, and testing approaches using recognized methods and tools.
- Excellent analytical, communication, stakeholder management, and influencing skills with senior technical and non-technical audiences.
- Core functional strengths in solution engineering, cloud hosting services, service delivery management, complex IT infrastructure, and ITIL-based service operations.
- Certification in enterprise architecture or solution design, such as TOGAF.
ITIL Foundation and intermediate-level certification, especially in service design or service operations.
- Project or programme management certification, such as PRINCE2, or relevant cloud/technology certifications.
- Experience managing multiple priorities across functions in fast-paced environments with tight deadlines.
- Knowledge of UN systems and processes, or experience in humanitarian or international organizations.
- Exposure to data transformation, data modelling, data warehousing, information architecture, and enterprise reporting.
- Experience working with procurement processes, managed service providers, and external contractors in complex institutional settings.

,

,

,

,

Operational context

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations:

To view occupational safety and health considerations for this duty station, please visit this link: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel

Nature of Position:

The Chief Technology Officer (CTO) is a senior leadership role within the Office of the Chief Information Officer, with organization-wide responsibility for shaping and governing UNHCR’s enterprise technology architecture and solution landscape. The incumbent provides authoritative technical leadership to ensure that digital transformation initiatives, platforms, and systems are coherent, secure, scalable, and aligned with UNHCR’s strategic and operational priorities. The role goes beyond technical oversight and requires the capacity to influence enterprise direction, guide major technology decisions, and ensure that each investment contributes to the long-term integrity, sustainability, and interoperability of UNHCR’s digital ecosystem.

At a time when UNHCR is accelerating its transition towards AI, cloud-based, service-oriented, and data-enabled technologies, the CTO plays a critical role in steering the organization through complex architectural, operational, and governance choices. The incumbent must balance innovation with risk management, ensuring that new solutions are cost-effective, resilient, fit for purpose, and fully aligned with enterprise standards. This includes providing expert oversight on solution design, enterprise architecture compliance, technology roadmaps, and the readiness of systems to move into production and operational support.

The CTO leads and coordinates cross-functional technical teams and vendor management functions, while engaging closely with senior managers across ITS, enterprise architects, data specialists, operational teams, and external service providers. The incumbent also serves as a key advisor to the CIO and senior leadership on emerging technologies, architectural risks, and strategic options, and must be able to translate complex technical matters into clear business implications for decision-makers. Strong leadership, sound judgment, and the ability to operate effectively across organizational and technical boundaries are essential to the success of this role.

Living and Working Conditions:

Geneva is a category H Duty Station. All modern conveniences are available including international schools.

Additional Qualifications

Skills

DM-Big data methodologies, DM-Data modelling, DM-Data warehousing, IM-Information architecture, IT-IT Cloud Hosting Services, IT-IT Operations Management, IT-IT Service Delivery Management, IT-IT Solution Engineering, IT-IT Systems and Standards

Bachelor of Arts: Business Administration, Bachelor of Arts: Information and Communication Technology, Bachelor of Arts: Information Systems, Bachelor of Arts: Information Technology, Bachelor of Arts: Systems Analysis and Development

Certifications

Data Management - Other, Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert - Microsoft, Prince2_Project Management - AXELOS Ltd

Competencies

Accountability, Analytical thinking, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Empowering & building trust, Innovation & creativity, Judgement & decision making, Leadership, Managing performance, Managing resource, Organizational awareness, Strategic planning & visions, Teamwork & collaboration, Technological awareness

https://icsc.un.org/Home/SalaryScales

Compendium

Accelerated Posting Compendium 2026 - Part B

Additional Information

This position doesn't require a functional clearance