Description:

Operational context

Humanitarian assistance is increasingly delivered in operational environments defined by volatility, constrained connectivity, funding pressure, and heightened protection risks. In many contexts, service continuity and accountability are weakened by fragmented delivery ecosystems characterised by parallel intake lists, inconsistent eligibility criteria, unmanaged or duplicative data flows, limited traceability from assessment to decision, and feedback mechanisms that fail to close the accountability loop. These are systemic operational weaknesses that drive duplication, inflate cost, erode trust, and increase exposure to harm, particularly when sensitive information is processed without robust governance.

The Humanitarian Reset underscores the need for a more coherent, accountable, and efficiency-driven humanitarian system that prioritises operational clarity, simplified coordination, strengthened leadership, and measurable impact at field-level. Within this evolving landscape, digitalisation is not as a technology exercise, but an operational necessity: integrating workflow integrity, transparent decision-making, safeguarding, responsible data practice, and implementable controls suited to field realities. Technology functions as an enabler of programme discipline and system coherence, not a substitute for sound operational design.

DigiCap is established to mobilise deployable expertise to address fragmentation, strengthen delivery integrity, and produce implementation-ready tools and frameworks that remain functional beyond the period of deployment. Often delivered in interagency and consortium settings, DigiCap’s advisory role supports alignment of workflows, decision points, data responsibilities, and coordination interfaces across humanitarian actors, while preserving neutrality, partner autonomy, and context-specific flexibility.

Purpose of the vacancy

This vacancy establishes a roster of expert consultants who can be contracted rapidly through scoped call-off assignments to support agencies, consortia, and coordination arrangements. Roster membership provides eligibility for contracting under DigiCap and does not constitute employment, exclusivity, or a guarantee of assignments. Each assignment is expected to deliver practical outputs that withstand operational pressure, strengthen safeguards, and enable local ownership.

The role

DigiCap roster members will be engaged on time-bound assignments that may include advisory support, operational design, requirements engineering, implementation planning, procurement support, and, where explicitly commissioned, product scoping or prototype-level work governed by appropriate safeguards and sustainability expectations.

Assignments may be delivered as surge support, embedded accompaniment, or structured remote delivery, depending on context, timeline, and risk posture.

Main tasks:

The specific scope will be defined per assignment. Roster members must be able to deliver high-quality work in at least one specialist domain, while maintaining the judgment to operate across adjacent domains where delivery realities require it.

A. Operational design and workflow integrity

• Design or repair end-to-end workflows spanning intake, verification, decisioning, assistance delivery, referrals, monitoring, and feedback handling.
• Diagnose duplication drivers, control gaps, and failure points, then specify corrective measures with sequencing, ownership, and operational resourcing implications.
• Establish decision rights and system boundaries that reduce parallel processes and prevent uncontrolled proliferation of personal data.

B. Coordination interfaces and interoperability readiness

• Define coordination use-cases with purpose statements, minimum viable datasets, and explicit risk assumptions.
• Specify governance conditions for safe exchange, including access models, audit expectations, and accountability for error handling and dispute resolution.
• Produce phased options that avoid premature integration and unmanaged risk transfer.

C. Responsible data practice and assurance

• Translate responsible data principles into implementable controls: minimisation, role-based access, retention expectations, secure handling, and incident escalation.
• Articulate harm pathways for sensitive data and propose mitigations executable under operational constraints.
• Define assurance checks proportionate to risk, complexity, and data sensitivity.

D. Technology options, requirements, and implementation planning

• Produce functional requirements, non-functional requirements, and acceptance criteria aligned to explicit use-cases.
• Conduct structured options analysis, making trade-offs explicit across feasibility, inclusion, sustainability, cost, and vendor dependence.
• Where within scope, develop product briefs, prototype concepts, configuration approaches, or integration outlines that enable controlled implementation.

E. Procurement and vendor evaluation support

• Draft procurement-ready requirement packs and evaluation criteria including offline tolerance, accessibility, security posture, maintainability, and portability.
• Support due diligence and evaluation processes grounded in operational realities, not vendor narratives.
• Defend recommendations through evidence and transparent trade-off logic.

F. Digital inclusion and accountability integration

• Identify exclusion risks linked to connectivity, literacy, disability, language, gender, age, and safety constraints, then specify mitigations that can be resourced and monitored.
• Integrate feedback and complaints pathways with defined response obligations, escalation routes, and closure standards.
• Ensure user journeys improve transparency without increasing exposure to harm.

G. Capability transfer and handover

• Deliver targeted coaching anchored in live workflows and agreed artefacts, with measurable adoption expectations.
• Produce SOPs, job aids, and handover notes proportionate to operational risk and solution complexity.

H. Cybersecurity and digital risk assessment

• Conduct cybersecurity and digital risk assessments in humanitarian information systems, identifying vulnerabilities and defining proportionate mitigation measures.

• Enable secure data sharing across agencies, governments, and financial service providers, and strengthen cyber incident preparedness through practical risk management strategies.

• Integrate security-by-design principles into procurement and digital solutioning, while promoting ethical safeguards for emerging technologies such as AI, digital ID, and blockchain.

Expectations towards the candidate:

1. Education

• A completed Master’s degree or equivalent advanced qualification in a relevant discipline, such as information systems, computer science, data science, information security, digital governance, public policy with a digital focus, humanitarian engineering, or an allied field.
• Equivalence may be considered only where the applicant presents an exceptional portfolio of expert-grade outputs demonstrating advanced analytical rigour and field-tested delivery competence.

2. Professional experience

• Minimum 5 years of progressive responsibility in one or more of the DigiCap domains, evidenced through ownership of deliverables that shaped operational decisions, governance arrangements, procurement outcomes, or implementation plans.
• Demonstrated decision accountability, evidenced by leading or being formally responsible for delivery of at least three comparable assignments within the last five years, each producing implementable artefacts adopted by an organisation, consortium, or coordination platform.
• Demonstrated operational experience in contexts exhibiting at least two of the following conditions: low connectivity, constrained access, elevated protection risk, contested information environments, or compressed response timelines.
• Demonstrated capacity to translate complex requirements into implementation sequencing, controls, and handover products that remain viable for teams with finite capacity.

3. Evidence of expert-grade outputs

Applicants must demonstrate authorship of decision-grade documentation through writing samples, such as:

• Target Operating Models and workflow integrity packs
• Requirements specifications with non-functional requirements and acceptance criteria
• Interoperability readiness notes with governance assumptions and phased options
• Responsible data and assurance packs with implementable controls
• Procurement evaluation frameworks and due diligence criteria
• Implementation roadmaps grounded in operational feasibility

4. Integrity and independence

• Compliance is non-negotiable: roster members must commit upfront to ERC’s Code of Conduct, PSEA, and safeguarding requirements, and maintain full compliance throughout deployments; any breach constitutes grounds for immediate removal.
• Demonstrated neutrality and conflict-of-interest discipline in ecosystems involving vendors, implementing agencies, and coordinating bodies.
• Full disclosure of commercial affiliations or retained advisory relationships that could compromise, or be perceived to compromise, independent judgment in technology selection, procurement, or governance recommendations.

5. Competencies

• Operational judgement under uncertainty with disciplined articulation of trade-offs, residual risk, and feasibility constraints.
• Ability to communicate complex technical and governance concepts with precision to non-technical leadership.
• Capacity to produce concise, decision-grade documentation suitable for accountable sign-off.
• Stakeholder management across multi-actor environments, including sensitive coordination dynamics.
• Safeguarding-aware and inclusion-led approach that treats protection and exclusion risk as design constraints.
• Proficient level of written and spoken English.

6. Compliance requirements

Roster members must be willing to complete safeguarding and code-of-conduct commitments prior to activation. Each assignment requires duty-of-care clearance and adherence to context-specific security protocols. Confidentiality undertakings and conflict-of-interest declarations are mandatory per assignment. Sensitive data access is prohibited unless explicitly authorised, purpose-bound, strictly minimised, and auditable.

What we offer:

What to expect from assignments

All DigiCap assignments are clearly scoped and purpose-driven. Each call-off contract defines the intended outcomes, scope boundaries, deliverables, formats, acceptance criteria, reporting rhythm, and handover expectations from the outset.

The focus is always on practical, implementation-ready outputs — work that can stand up to operational pressure and external scrutiny. The level of complexity is intentionally proportionate to the operational risk, context, and timeline, ensuring solutions are usable rather than over-engineered.

Contracting, fees, and mobilisation

Roster members are contracted through individual call-off agreements that specify the scope of work, duration, deliverables, and payment terms for each assignment. Fees are agreed per assignment, either on a daily rate or deliverable-based structure.

Where deployment is required, travel and accommodation costs (including visa fees) are reimbursed only when pre-approved and in line with ERC’s procurement, travel, and security policies.

Mobilisation timelines can be short. Availability, constraints, and duty-of-care considerations are discussed during contracting to ensure realistic and responsible deployment.

Selection process

Shortlisting is evidence-led and document-driven, designed to minimise unnecessary burden on applicants while allowing fair comparison across profiles. Assessment focuses on:

• Depth and relevance of domain expertise
• Quality, clarity, and usability of past outputs
• Risk judgement and responsible data practice
• Stakeholder management in multi-actor environments
• Appropriateness of proposed rates

Shortlisted candidates may be invited to a technical interview and a short practical exercise to assess operational reasoning and writing quality.

Equal opportunity and inclusion

The Estonian Refugee Council encourages applications from qualified candidates regardless of gender, disability, ethnicity, religion, or other status.

Regional expertise and lived operational familiarity with affected contexts are considered valuable assets when demonstrated through concrete delivery outputs and evidence of adoption and impact.

How to apply

To apply for inclusion in the DigiCap Expert Roster, applicants must submit to ERC HR platform the following:

• CV (maximum 2 pages) highlighting decision accountability, key deliverables, and adoption outcomes
• Proof of highest completed degree
• Technical statement (maximum 2 pages) outlining:
  • Primary specialist domain
  • Secondary capabilities
  • Three comparable assignments, including outputs delivered and decision impact
• Two writing samples demonstrating expert-grade documentation and clear authorship
• Proposed daily rate (EUR or USD) with a brief justification
• Availability statement covering the next six months
• Two professional references with verifiable contact details

Deadline: 31.05.2026 - 23:59

Contact person:

Kristi Juurik

[email protected]

Documents necessary for applying: CV, Educational documents, Other (as specified above)