Location: Indonesia
Last Date: August 20, 2010
Grameen Technology Center ICT Social Enterprise Incubator
Position: Indonesia - Research and Development Manager
Location: Indonesia (based in Jakarta)
Job Type: 18 months (with acceptable performance and renewed funding)
Starting Date: Immediately
Contact: dkeogh@grameenfoundation.org with copy to jobs@grameenfoundation.org
About the Grameen Foundation's ICT Social Enterprise Incubator (SEI) in Indonesia
Grameen Foundation's Social Enterprise Incubator in Indonesia comprises:
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◦A Research and Development Applications Laboratory (AppLab) which prototypes, develops and pilots mobile information services that can be delivered over simple mobile devices to aid in the fight against poverty.
◦A technical assistance program that incubates and launches Social Enterprises that bring the applications developed by the R&D AppLab to scale across Indonesia.
The SEI is working with its first social enterprise launched, RUMA, to recruit, train and enable poor, high-potential entrepreneurs-to-be to become Village Phone Operators, who launch and run sustainable businesses serving the poor in Indonesia. These Operators provide a testing ground and distribution channel for delivering mobile information and content to members of their communities. Our efforts in Indonesia build on related efforts in Uganda, and will serve as a platform for further replication and scaling worldwide.
The SEI is an initiative of the Grameen Technology Center (GTC), part of Grameen Foundation. The GTC focuses on technology and encompassing ecosystems that make microfinance operations more efficient, creates income-generating opportunities for the poor and provides poor communities access to valuable information and local resources. Our efforts support the Grameen Foundation's mission to empower the world's poorest people to lift themselves out of poverty. Please visit www.grameenfoundation.org and www.applab.org for additional information.
Job Description
The Research and Development Manager is directly responsible for the development of software based ICT products for the SEI and its partner organizations. In addition to being a very hands-on person who is enthusiastic about getting into the detail of matters, the Research and Development (R&D) Manager will guide overall strategy and shape Grameen Foundation's SEI evolution. This is a high profile position and is a part of the senior management team of Grameen Foundation's Social Enterprise Incubator in Indonesia and will be responsible for management of the overall software development lifecycle and product management from conception to commercialization and including the localization of software products that are to be ported to new geographies and environments.
The R&D Manager will provide strategic and operational leadership by working closely with a range of partners (social enterprises, technology partners, mobile operators, government ministries, NGOs, consultants, etc), managing local resources, developing and managing development contracts, architecting and systems integration, product management and leading an internal team.
Specific Responsibilities Include:
Management of the Software Development Process
•Conceptualization, development and stewardship of the systems architecture
•Design, development and stewardship of front-end products (to be based upon mobile handset)
•Design, development and stewardship of back-end systems (based on standard LAMP platform) to support front end mobile products in the field
•Designing, development and stewardship of API's between system elements (systems integration)
•Creation and revision of use cases, functional specifications and technical specifications
•Vetting and contracting with local software developers for the construction of the products
•Prepare RFPs and contracts for vendors/suppliers and evaluate responses
•Management of software development partners, including managing to scope, schedule, quality, maintainability, etc...
•Develop and enforce software development standards for coding, style, toolsets, documentation,
•Development of formal test plans, including User Acceptance Testing and Load Testing
•Coordinate with the Field Operations Manager on the revision of the software products based on field trials
•Ensure proper environments exist for Development, Testing and Deployment on the Application Server
•Responsible to steward the centralized MySQL database for all products built on the platform, including schema adaptations to accommodate the integration of new applications & services
•Usability studies and design for excellence in user experience
•Prepare product documentation for all constituencies, including training materials, data dictionary and API documentation
•Integrate social performance management tools in each product
•Ensure that each product developed generates knowledge (business analytics) that can be used to monitor and improve the products social and financial performance
•Utilize existing tools from Atlassian for software lifecycle management, including version control, code reviews, bug tracking and knowledge management
•Development on the mobile handsets will be delivered on the BREW platform, the backend Application Server is a standard LAMP platform and the APIs utilize XML-RPC.
Management of Hardware Platform
•Hardware selection and procurement for front end (handsets) and back-end (servers, etc,...)
•Ensure proper backups of entire system
•Consideration of and design for systems power requirements and charging for front-end devices
Business Modeling
•Working with the Social Enterprise Development Manager, contribute to the design of business models for products to be developed so as to ensure both technical and business objectives can be met for the product.
•Liaise with the Social Enterprise Development Manager and Field Operations Manager during the pilot phase to revise the application user interface and functional, along with the business model as necessary
Contributing to the Development of Grameen Foundation's Social Enterprise Incubator strategy
•Gain deep understanding of complementary initiatives, global trends in application usage and learning from related experiences and incorporate into implementation strategy
•Develop recommendations for short-, mid- and long-term strategy and update regularly based on learning
•Manage the pipeline of applications
Project Management Excellence
•Prepare ambitious but achievable detailed project plans
•Actively manage the Research and Development process - problem-solve and remove barriers as they arise, hold team to goals, milestones, schedule and budget
•Provide technical subject matter expertise and work closely with partners to ensure effective technical implementation
Track and report results
•Establish transparent and easily accessible reporting framework to measure and communicate progress on a real-time basis (including budget)
•Prepare summary updates and reports as needed
Guide research
•Drive local efforts to build needs assessment findings into iterative process of developing and testing new applications
•Actively develop a pipeline of products for development - working with the Social Enterprise Development Manager so as to ensure that these are not techno-centric products but customer needs driven.
Administrative:
•Hire/manage local team in all aspects of work, including consultants and volunteers
•Manage the Indonesian IT infrastructure for the SEI
•Asset management
•Develop and maintain adequate processes and procedures for appropriate knowledge management for the SEI teams in Indonesia
Relationships
•The Research and Development Manager will report to the Indonesia Program Manager based in Washington DC. The Research and Development Manager will interact with peers: Social Enterprise Development Manager and the Field Operations Manager, both based in Jakarta. Together, these three positions form the Indonesia based senior management team. Project Administrators, subordinate staff, consultants and volunteers are available to support the senior management team in Indonesia.
Ideal Candidate
Excellence in managing the software development lifecycle
•Experience in developing software requirements, managing consultants, managing local resources, developing and managing development contracts, architecting and systems integration, product management, managing the quality assurance and testing lifecycle and leading an internal team.
•Managing to cost, schedule and quality standards
Outstanding project management skills
•Experienced and savvy project manager with a proven track record of achievement under a range of challenging situations (ideally in multiple countries)
•Demonstrated experience in managing complex projects (strategic, operational and tactical) - with proven ability to work effectively with diverse partners
Strong business leadership abilities
•An ability to think strategically and act tactically. Ideal candidate would have worked in a leadership role in a fast-paced entrepreneurial environment
•Strong, innovative and creative problem solver and strategic thinker;
•Excellent analytical, interpersonal, leadership, and communication skills
•Comfort with unstructured problems and ability to manage complexities under pressure
•Ability to promote knowledge transfer through strong mentoring and team building skills
Enthusiasm and passion for our work in Indonesia
•Enthusiasm for learning from different cultures - eager to build cultural realities into products and project plans
•Equally comfortable presenting to a room of business executives and discussing needs with villagers sitting on the dirt floor of a rural home
•Passionate about the work of Grameen Foundation & role of technology in poverty alleviation
Qualifications
•Advanced degree in field, such as Engineering, Science, Information Technology
•At least 10 years of project and team management in the software development industry
•Entrepreneurial start-up experience would be beneficial
•Experience in systems architecture is required
•Project Management, relationship management, team management experience required
•Experience developing business models required
•Product Management experience would be preferred
•Work experience in Indonesia preferred
•Fluency in oral and written English is mandatory and proficiency in Bahasa Indonesia is preferred
Compensation
•Competitive salary
•Opportunity to serve as a high-profile leader in the Indonesian business, government and NGO community, combining innovation, entrepreneurial problem solving, project management and stakeholder management to deliver deep and lasting social impact in Indonesia and beyond
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