UNV Job Bhutan: Seeking candidates: ICT and language fontography]

*From:* PO E-Mail List
*Sent:* Friday, February 27, 2004 5:36 PM
*To:* PO-L@LIST.UNV.ORG
*Subject:* Seeking candidates: ICT and language fontography

Dear friends

Seeking your help to find suitable candidates for a UNV position: *UNV
IT Specialist*, with skills in development of local language script for
use in Linux.

Any CVs (and or enquiries) should please be sent direct to our
government partner at the Department of Information Technology (DIT),
Mr. Sangay Wangchuk, at swangchuk@dit.gov.bt
<mailto:swangchuk@dit.gov.bt>; copied to rinzi.pem@undp.org
<mailto:rinzi.pem@undp.org>

I shall be out of station from this coming Wednesday until early April.

The TOR is attached

Have a good weekend'

Chris

---

Terms of Reference
Post Title: UNV IT Specialist
Agency: UNV / JTF
Duty Station: Thimphu, Bhutan
Language(s): English
Duration: 12 months

This post is a United Nations Volunteers Programme
Assignment and based on the values of free will, commitment,
engagement and solidarity, which are the foundations of
volunteerism. Volunteering brings benefit to the individual
volunteer. It makes important contributions, economically,
as well as socially. It contributes to creating social
cohesion and capital, through helping to build trust and
reciprocity among citizens.

The United Nations Volunteers is the UN Organisation that
supports sustainable human development globally through the
promotion of volunteerism and mobilisation of volunteers. It
serves the causes of peace and development through enhancing
opportunities for participation by all peoples. It is
universal, inclusive and embraces volunteer actions in all
its diversity.

Volunteerism is diverse and is embedded in all cultures and
traditions. In this context, as someone funded through the
support of the United Nations Volunteers programme, you are
encouraged and expected to relate to local volunteerism and
to be identified with the concept. You are expected to
regard your colleagues as peers and together uphold trust as
volunteers among yourselves and within the communities and
the organisation you are assigned to.

Post Summary:

Background:

The necessity to compute Dzongkha (National Language) has
been a long-standing priority of the government, and the
requirement for computing support in Dzongkha is growing
exponentially. While the government has made effort to
develop unicode Dzongkha computing in Microsoft Windows, the
release of it is not certain due to the constantly delayed
release date of the Long Horn version of the Microsoft
Operating system. Development of the national language in an
open source platform would offer an alternative computing
platform for the Bhutanese public mainly for those people
who cannot afford expensive Microsoft Operating Systems and
cannot read and write English. This will in turn help
increase the penetration of computer usage and help people
in accessing govt information thereby supporting the
government policy of decentralization. The project will also
to some extent help in curbing the digital divide within the
country by taking digital information to the majority of the
Dzongkha speaking population. In addition it will also help
developing indigenous capabilities along the lines of
localization of software for Bhutanese use.

Scope:

Since work of this nature has never been carried out
entirely by Bhutanese nationals, the UNV specialist may
sometimes have to take a lead role. The UNV will have to
work in close consultation with Sherubtshe College1, DDA and
DIT as this task will be carried out cooperatively by three
government agencies - DIT, DDA and Sherubtshe College. The
challenge of the UNV and the team of nationals involved in
this task will be in learning and developing.

Description of Main Responsibilities:

1. Assist in the design and analysis of local language
computing

2. Assist in the development of Dzongkha in the open source
platform

3. Study the existing Dzongkha Unicode material and advise
how much of it could be reused.

4. Help in coding the programs

5. Conduct training for the staff involved in the
implementation of the project.

6. As a UN Volunteer, to share experiences and ideas with
other UNVs working in Bhutan, particularly in the ICT
sector, and to facilitate maximum benefits from such
networking

7. Reference is made to the generic TOR for UNVs serving
under this project (see next page appendix attached).

8. Any other work assigned.

Required Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

1. Must be university graduate in Information Technology
with minimum of 5- 8 years of working experience in the open
source plateform.

2. should be a Linux specialist

3. should have a very good knowledge on X-Window & X-Server,

4. should have a fair knowledge of XKB, XIM, XOM,

5. should have a very good knowledge on Linux Desktop: Gnome
& KDE,

6. should have a fair knowledge of GNU C programming skills,

7. should know how to integrate local language into Linux
distribution,

8. should know how to use GTK+ for application development,

9. should have a fair knowledge on Unicode standards,

10. should have a fair knowledge on rendering engine: Pango,

11. should have a fair knowledge of X font systems,

12. should have a fair knowledge of normalization and
collation, and sorting algorithms,

13. should have a sound knowledge on OpenType font formalism
and specifications,

14. should know how to use LaTex for OpenType font
development,

15. should have worked in similar local language computing
projects.

16. should have a good communication skills, and ability to
pass on skills through formal and/or informal trainings for
local staff.

Institutional Arrangements:

1. The UNV will be working directly under the supervision of
the Director, DIT

____________________________________________
1Explanations and abbreviations used include:
DIT Department of Information Technology (under Ministry of Information
and Communications)
MOIC Ministry of Information and Communications
DDA Dzongkha Development Authority
Sherubtshe College, based in Eastern Bhutan, will be a key faculty
in the upcoming'Bhutan National University'.

Appendix

UNVs General TOR

Volunteering brings benefits to both society at large and
the individual volunteer. It makes important contributions,
economically as well as socially, and contributes to a more
cohesive society by building trust and reciprocity among
citizens. UNVs often engage in activities that go beyond
their specific technical job description, which demonstrate
their volunteerism spirit and the motivation they enjoy. In
that regard, and under the guidance of the respective
supervisor and the Project manager, all UNVs will:

Provide technical and advisory support in ICT for
decentralisation to designated counterparts and through them
to other designated staff;

Carry out on-the-job training of counterparts, as well as
formal training programmes for government and dzongkhag
staff as agreed with MoC;

When invited to assist in ICT-related matters as needs arise
at other offices, ministries or dzongkhags, and upon
clearance so to do from supervisor, to make the necessary
visits and provide the required assistance;

Contribute to the project's annual work-plan, and on the
basis of this develop an individual workplan;

Submit at the end of each month a technical report to
supervisor, and attach with it a personal workplan for the
coming month (as per standard formats). This requirement is
over and above the reporting requirements as given in the
Conditions of Service for

UNVs;

Register and participate in the UNITeS Knowledge Network;

Provide at least one story/article per year served written
in non-technical language to disseminate experience of
project and help market ICT Volunteering;

Contribute ICT skills to organizations working with
volunteers and other NGOs, in a trainthe- trainers (or
train-the-volunteers) approach, as a means to promote
volunteerism;

Consider involvement of at least one "online volunteer" to
support the UNV´s own work and thus of her/his counterpart
organization, through the OV service provided by UNV; in
addition, help connect organizations in Bhutan to online
volunteers;

All UNVs to meet on regular basis, with their counterparts,
to discuss achievements and plans for the future activities,
and to brainstorm ideas for improvement;

All UNVs to provide their services, subject to clearance
from supervisor, for other UNV activities, e.g. training
courses for teachers at Sherubtse; brainstorming and
experience-sharing meetings with ICT (UNV, JOCV, SVO, etc.)
volunteers and other staff from various agencies, as
arranged by UNV office;

Assist in the design of any ICT-related follow-up project.

Demonstrate understanding for gender mainstreaming in their
work, and also sensitivity to the cultures of the people
with whom the UNVs will work.

++++++++++++++++

Any CVs (and or enquiries) should please be sent direct to
Bhutan's Department of Information Technology (DIT), Mr.
Sangay Wangchuk, at swangchuk@dit.gov.bt; copied to
rinzi.pem@undp.org

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