AfricaRice - Mobile Development Consultant

Mobile Development Consultant

Ref: CON/INT/DR4D/2021/07

The Integrated Breeding Platform (IBP) is seeking for an outstanding Mobile App Developer to be responsible for the coding, innovative design and layout of various applications for phones and tablets in Android and eventually iOS. The
primary objective of the assignment is to design, prototype, develop & maintain applications dealing with data capture and information retrieval for internal and external use amongst a bord user base, including farmers. The Mobile App
Developer should work closely with the IBP team to review the Mobile Applications standards, infrastructure requirement and security benchmarking

About IBP
The Integrated Breeding Platform (IBP) is conceived to help plant breeders accelerate the creation and delivery of new crop varieties in the context of an increasing global demand for food. It does so by giving access to vanguard technology
and quality services for both traditional and modern breeding activities at low to no cost. In Africa, the IBP is hosted by the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) which is a leading pan-African rice research organization committed to improving
livelihoods in Africa through strong science and effective partnerships. AfricaRice is a CGIAR Research Center. It is also an intergovernmental association of 28 African member countries, with headquarters in Côte d’Ivoire.

Position purpose
The ABEE project – Fostering breeding networks and institutional breeding capacity in West Africa to develop climate resilient crops for African smallholder farmers (West Africa Breeding Networks and Extension Empowerment) is a 5
years’ project, funded by the European Commission and coordinated by the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF). The objective of this project is to foster a more coordinated regional
and national approach to plant breeding, placing breeders from the three participating countries (Senegal, Burkina Faso and Niger) in the driving seat to lead the change, in close partnership with experienced actors in the Research
for Development arena. AfricaRice, as host institution of the IBP is recruiting an individual consultant who will work with the IBP team on the mobile apps development activities. He/she will oversee all the maintenance and development various mobile applications

Position responsibilities
Under the supervision of IBP Regional Deployment Manager & ABEE Project Coordinator, the Mobile App Developer will undertake activities with specific tasks that include, but are not limited to:
• Develop Hybrid and Native Mobile Applications for Phones and Tablets based on the specifications;
• Build mobile applications for dynamic interactions with Web Applications;
• Gather requirements, specifications and analyze, and produce prototypes;• Interact with various business users, present the prototypes, explain the visually designed prototype and sign off the designs;
• Be responsible for bug fixing, troubleshooting and user technical support;
• Clean coding standards and procedures;
• Test, debug and improve applications optimization for better performance;
• Release in Google Play and Apple App Store;
• Post release monitor application performance, analysis, gather feedback, benchmark, re-design, release and manage the life cycle of the mobile applications;
• Industry up to date on the new development, Security, Vulnerability assessment on the API;
• Produce Documentation for Requirement Gathering, Prototypes, Signoffs, Coding and release management;
• Frequent Knowledge sharing with the IBP team members on the development;
• Produce reports for mobile application performance and recommendation for improvements and updates

Qualifications/Selection Criteria
Education: Bachelor’s degree in computer science, web/software development or any other relevant filed or equivalent experience.

Work experience and key competencies required:
• Minimum 3 years of experience in Mobile Application Development and Management;
• Working experience within multicultural teams and international organizations or companies;
• Proven experience in successful delivery of innovative mobile interface design and applications for Android and eventually iOS;
• A strong working knowledge of interaction and user-centered experience design;
• Demonstrated expert level knowledge in mobile platforms;
• Proven experience working integrating with RESTful web services;
• Excellent communication skills, oral, written and presentation in English and French;
• Excellent abilities for self-organization, reporting and providing visibility and clarity to stakeholders;
• Ability to work and thrive in a fast-paced environment, learn rapidly and master diverse mobile apps
technologies and techniques;
• Prior experience in AgTech projects is highly desira

Languages
• The candidate should be able to communicate fluently (orally and in writing) in English or French and have a good working knowledge of the other language.

Terms and Conditions
• This is This is an international, home based consultancy position
• AfricaRice provides an attractive salary and benefits package and a collegial and gender-sensitive work environment.
• The initial appointment is for one (1) year with the possibility for renewal based on performance and availability of funding.

How to apply
1. To apply, click on the following link: http://eservices.africarice.org/application/index.php
2. Create an account if you are a new user, if not log on with your credentials to access active vacancies
3. Select “Mobile Development Consultant”
4. Follow the step by step application procedure.