ABSCH/BCH Web Development Consultant

Front-end development for the Access and Benefit-Sharing Clearing-House (ABSCH, https://absch.cbd.int) and the Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH, https://bch.cbd.int) including: 1. Implementation of a registration form for Clearing-House API use for external users. 2. Integration of the new version (v2023) of KM API and removal of the legacy v2013 version. 3. Implementation of the record maintenance functionality. 4. Implementation of a new legal framework overview common format which provides an accessible and updatable subset of key information from the first national report. A draft legal framework overview record will be made available for each Party and pre-populated with relevant information from their first national reports. 5. Improvement of keywords and description for competent national authorities, ABS procedures, ABS measures and checkpoints including related changes to the search filters, indexing, API, and translation. 6. Implementation of dynamic interactive and visual reporting of published records that can be filtered (much like the search) to highlight statistics and trends at the national, regional and global level related to the published records (and key related framework indicators) and provide statistics to national users privately in the submission dashboard on the website traffic to their national records and country profiles.

Montreal, Canada – Hybrid: in the office and remote

Six (6) months

ORGANIZATIONAL SETTING The United Nations Environment Programme is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. At the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, world leaders agreed on a comprehensive strategy for 'sustainable development'. The Convention on Biological Diversity was opened for signature in Rio in 1992. The Convention has 196 Parties and has three main objectives: the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD) is located in Montreal and is administered by the United Nations Environment Programme. Its main tasks are to arrange for and service meetings of the Conference of the Parties, including preparation of pertinent documentation, operation of the central node of the clearing-house mechanism, liaison and coordination with other international bodies and processes and, in close collaboration with these partners, the provision of technical support for the effective implementation of the Convention. Under the overall supervision of the IT and Digital Transformation Unit and the direct supervision of the Associate Information Systems Officer, the consultant’s work and deliverables will primarily consist of front-end development for the Access and Benefit-Sharing Clearing-House (ABSCH, https://absch.cbd.int) and the Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH, https://bch.cbd.int). Duties and Responsibilities Under the overall supervision of the IT and Digital Transformation Unit and the direct supervision of the Associate Information Systems Officer, the consultant will support the implementation of functionality improvements identified by the ABS Clearing-House Informal Advisory Committee in its updated list of goals and priorities for the future implementation and administration of the Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House, as set out in document CBD/NP/ABSCH-IAC/6/3, Annex I. These improvements include: a) Improve functionality to better address the concerns of users of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, such as the new common format on an ABS legal framework overview, and various improvements to existing common formats and keywords (Goal 1.1). b) Implement the record management functionality to support Parties efficiently publish information and keep it up to date and accurate, including developing automated reminders (Goal 1.4). c) Improve the search functionality, including by tagging information with keywords to improve the organization and retrieval of information, including for information provided in the knowledge base and reference records (Goal 1.6). d) Improve user interface related to designation of ABS Clearing-House national users, such as the publishing authorities and national authorized users (Goal 1.5) e) Improve website visualization, reporting, and analytic tools (Goal 1.7). The consultant will be supervised by the Associate Information Systems Officer supervising the project who will liaise with the ABSCH Programme Officers to ensure that the work is fit for purpose.

Academic qualifications: Completion of a University degree is required. Areas of study in Computer Science, Information Communication Technology or a related field is desirable. Experience: At least two (2) years of experience with web development, software engineering or information technology is required. Qualifications and experience with both front-end and back-end (client/server) development of web applications are required. Skills: Solid understanding of the concepts of user experience (UX), user interface design principles and conceptual design. Expert knowledge in HTML, CSS and JavaScript/Typescript, knowledge of Bootstrap, jQuery and AngularJS/Vue/React, REST API and API documentation (including tools such as Swagger), and version control. Competencies: Communication - Teamwork - Planning and Organizing - Client Orientation

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this position, fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of other United Nations languages is desirable. NOTE: "Fluency equals a rating of "fluent" in all four areas (read, write, speak, understand) and "Knowledge of" equals a rating of "confident" in two of the four areas.

Local recruitment: Applicants must be Canadian residents or citizens or have permission to work in Canada.