Job Description

THE ORGANISATION

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We believe in the power and potential of every child but know this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it is girls who are most affected. Working together with children, young people, supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges girls and vulnerable children face. We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood and we enable children to prepare for and respond to crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge. For over 85 years, we have rallied other determined optimists to transform the lives of all children in more than 80 countries.

Our global strategy has a specific focus on girls, as they are often the most marginalized and most often left behind. We have committed ourselves to the ambitious target of reaching 100 million girls over 5 years, to ensure they can learn, lead, decide and thrive. This is our contribution to reaching the sustainable development goals, and in particular the goals on gender equality. Our organization is transforming itself to meet this enormous challenge everywhere we work. We need bold, forward-thinking and innovative individuals to lead our country operations, driving change and delivering results that will allow us to reach our target of 100 million girls.

The Shared Services Centre is a Centre of Excellence based in the MEESA region established to serve clients to enhance their operation effectiveness i.e. COs, RH and GH. The centre is committed to a reliable, efficient and effective service to clients at a competitive price. Its ultimate goal is to be trusted, predictable, and dependable to our clients at all times and to ensure commitment to quality and excellent turnaround times in all our service delivery.

We won’t stop until we are all equal!

THE OPPORTUNITY

You will be responsible for ensuring the security of Plan International’s information systems and data. In addition, you will be involved in developing, implementing, and maintaining security protocols, procedures, and policies to protect the organization’s digital assets from cyber threats and vulnerabilities.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead the development, enhancement, and support of applications, digital solutions, and automation systems aligned with organizational goals.
• Manage system integrations, deployments, upgrades, and application lifecycle activities, ensuring performance, security, and business continuity.
• Provide technical leadership, architecture guidance, coding expertise, and oversight of development initiatives and best practices.
• Drive innovation and continuous improvement through process automation, technology roadmaps, and implementation of new solutions.
• Maintain technical documentation and support digital transformation and IT operations across country offices.
• Lead information security governance, cybersecurity strategy, risk management, and compliance across the organization.
• Oversee the implementation of security frameworks, controls, monitoring, vulnerability management, and incident response processes.
• Ensure the security of applications, infrastructure, and systems through secure design, access management, patching, and security technologies.
• Support business continuity, disaster recovery, security awareness, and continuous improvement of the organization's cybersecurity posture.
• Ensure compliance with organizational policies, donor requirements, data protection, and cybersecurity standards.
• Support information security audits, corrective actions, and maintain security documentation, risk registers, and audit records.
• Monitor and report on security and application performance metrics through reports and dashboards.
• Contribute to IT strategy, planning, budgeting, and technology decision-making process.
• Lead end-user training, system adoption, and cybersecurity awareness initiatives across the organization.
• Provide technical guidance on the secure and effective use of organizational systems.
• Develop and deliver training materials, user guides, and awareness programs to support technology and security initiatives.
• Collaborate with IT teams and business units to integrate security into systems, projects, and technology initiatives.
• Provide technical support and troubleshooting for application development and cybersecurity-related issues.
• Promote continuous improvement by applying emerging technologies, security trends, and industry best practices.
• Plan International has a robust global policy for Safeguarding and PII policy for Preventing Sexual Harassment Exploitation and Abuse; and Gender Equality and Inclusion principles and Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to your area of responsibility. You will therefore have a responsibility to adhere and enforce adherence of staff and associates within your sphere of responsibility.
• You will be trusted to take on additional assignments within the scope of work as assigned by your supervisor on need basis.

What we are looking for:

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, or a related field.
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience working in development roles.
• Expert knowledge of at least one programming language (PHP Laravel, Vanilla PHP, .Net, React, Typescript, Python, etc)
• Relevant certifications (e.g., Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), CompTIA Security+, ISO 27001 Certified) are desirable.
• Experience with security technologies and tools such as firewalls, IDS/IPS, antivirus software, and encryption tools.
• Familiarity with security frameworks and standards (e.g., ISO/IEC 27001, NIST).
• Experience in a non-profit organization or international development sector is a plus.

Skills and Competencies:

• Strong software development skills, including proficiency in modern programming languages, frameworks, and software development methodologies.
• Experience in full-stack application development, including front-end and back-end technologies.
• Knowledge of database design, development, optimization, and administration (MySQL, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, etc.)
• Experience with RESTful APIs, web services, and systems integration.
• Familiarity with version control systems such as Git and collaborative development workflows.
• Strong technical skills in IT security, including knowledge of network security, application security, and data protection.
• Handling insecure environment.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Strong organizational and time management skills.
• High level of integrity and confidentiality.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

Location: On site working and the role is based at Nairobi, Kenya

Reports to: IT Manager, Shared Services Centre

Job Grade: Hay Level 14

This vacancy is open to internal candidates only and the advertisement will close on 10th September 2026.

Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the very heart of everything that Plan International stands for.

We want Plan International to reflect the diversity of the communities we work with, offering equal opportunities to everyone regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

Plan International is based on a culture of inclusivity and we strive to create a workplace environment that ensures every team, in every office, in every country, is rich in diverse people, thoughts, and ideas.

We foster an organisational culture that embraces our commitment to racial justice, gender equality, girls’ rights and inclusion.

Plan International believes that in a world where children face so many threats of harm, it is our duty to ensure that we, as an organisation, do everything we can to keep children safe. This means that we have particular responsibilities to children that we come into contact with and we must not contribute in any way to harming or placing children at risk.

A range of pre-employment checks will be undertaken in conformity with Plan International's Safeguarding Children and Young People policy. Plan International also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this scheme we will request information from applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.

Disclaimer: Plan International is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate applicants on any basis. We also do not charge Job seekers any fees at any point of the recruitment process.