Associate Digital Security Officer

Job Posting Organization:
UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, was established in 1945 with the mission to contribute to peace and security" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #007bff !important;">security by promoting international collaboration through educational, scientific, and cultural reforms. With a workforce of over 2,000 employees, UNESCO operates in more than 190 countries, focusing on building peace, eradicating poverty, and fostering sustainable development through education, the sciences, culture, communication, and information.

Job Overview:
The Associate Digital Security Officer position is situated within the Bureau of Digital Business Solutions (DBS) at UNESCO, specifically under the supervision of the Head of Digital Security, Archives, and Digital Assets Section. The primary goal of this role is to ensure the effective operation of cybersecurity activities within UNESCO's Digital Security team. The officer will engage with both internal and external IT technical teams and cybersecurity specialists, providing essential technical information to respond to incidents, enhance organizational resilience, and improve the overall cybersecurity posture of the organization. This role is crucial as UNESCO embarks on a significant overhaul of its IT infrastructure to support its digital transformation and transition to cloud services. The responsibilities include developing and maintaining a secure IT infrastructure and digital solutions to protect UNESCO from cybersecurity threats, ensuring reliability, resilience, and compliance.

Duties and Responsibilities:
The Associate Digital Security Officer will manage security operations by providing effective information security operations, ensuring timely evolution of capabilities, and adopting industry best practices. Responsibilities include maintaining an up-to-date inventory of resources, equipment, and software for optimal protection against threats, evaluating new security software and products, supervising security monitoring, and managing incident response. The officer will act as the main contact with the managed security service provider, ensuring compliance with contracts and responsiveness of actions. Additionally, the officer will conduct regular security audits and risk assessments, develop scripts to review security configurations, and propose remediation measures. The role also involves keeping abreast of information security innovations and supporting the drafting and implementation of digital security policies aligned with the organization's risk tolerance.

Required Qualifications:
Candidates must possess an advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in computer sciences, information security, information technology, or a related field. They should have at least two years of relevant professional experience in threat analysis and security incident response, with preferably one year acquired at the international level. In-depth knowledge of application security, cloud security (especially Microsoft Azure), systems security, and security solutions is essential. Candidates should also have a good understanding of operating systems (Windows and Linux) and networking protocols, along with analytical skills to troubleshoot and prioritize issues effectively. Strong communication skills are also required.

Educational Background:
The educational requirement for this position includes an advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in fields such as computer sciences, information security, information technology, or related disciplines. Professional certifications such as Comptia Sec+, Network+, CEH, or Azure Security Engineer are considered an asset and enhance the candidate's qualifications.

Experience:
The position requires at least two years of relevant professional experience, particularly in threat analysis and security incident response. Candidates with experience in international and cross-cultural settings are preferred, as this role involves collaboration with diverse teams and stakeholders.

Languages:
Candidates must have excellent knowledge (both written and spoken) of English or French, along with a good knowledge of the other language. Knowledge of another official language of UNESCO, such as Arabic, Chinese, Russian, or Spanish, is considered desirable and can enhance a candidate's profile.

Additional Notes:
The contract for this position is fixed-term for a duration of two years, with the possibility of renewal. The position is open to both internal and external candidates. UNESCO offers a competitive salary, with the approximate annual starting salary for this post being 87,929 USD. Benefits include 30 days of annual leave, family allowance, medical insurance, and a pension plan. UNESCO emphasizes the importance of diversity and encourages applications from candidates of various backgrounds, including those from under-represented Member States, minority groups, indigenous groups, and persons with disabilities. The organization maintains a zero-tolerance policy against harassment and is committed to achieving gender parity and equitable geographical distribution among its staff.