Senior Digital Systems Specialist

Senior Digital Systems Specialist

Cambodia

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req25700

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Posted on: 23/10/2026

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Senior Digital Systems Specialist

ChildSAFE Cambodia

1. Background

ChildSAFE is a U.S. Department of State-funded initiative led by Catholic Relief Services that seeks to strengthen child protection systems through improvements in workforce capacity, case management, information systems, data use, and service delivery.

In Cambodia, Palladium will work with relevant government institutions and child protection stakeholders to assess the digital readiness and interoperability of priority child protection information systems and applications (for example, Primero/CPIMS managed by the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation (MoSVY), OSCaR used by NGO case management partners, and the interoperability layer linking them), including current case management workflows, institutional roles, staffing capacity, connectivity, equipment, data quality, cybersecurity and data-protection needs, training requirements, and user-support structures. Drawing on the assessment findings, Palladium will support government stakeholders to develop and validate a practical roadmap, for endorsement by the Royal Government of Cambodia, for strengthening and harmonizing priority digital child protection case management systems, with clear activities, responsibilities, sequencing, resource requirements, and implementation considerations. The work will build on existing investments by MoSVY, UNICEF and other partners in Cambodia's child protection case management and information systems, and will align with national child protection policy frameworks, including the Child Protection Sector Strategic Implementation Plan and its successor, as well as applicable digital government and data protection requirements.

ChildSAFE Cambodia will be supported by technical personnel with expertise in child protection workflows, data and information systems, and assessment methods, together with project coordination, finance, and operational support.

2. Purpose of the Assignment

The Senior Digital Systems Specialist will serve as the designated Technical Lead for the Cambodia digital readiness and interoperability assessment and for related technical inputs to the roadmap. Working under the direction of the ChildSAFE Cambodia Country Team Lead and in coordination with the HQ ChildSAFE Project Director and Senior Digital Advisor, the consultant will design and conduct the assessment; analyze relevant information systems, data flows, business processes, user needs, governance arrangements, infrastructure, security, privacy, and interoperability; and translate findings into clear, feasible technical recommendations and roadmap inputs.

The consultant will work closely with the Country Team Lead, Senior Child Protection Specialist, HQ ChildSAFE Project Director, Senior Digital Advisor, government counterparts, Catholic Relief Services, UNICEF and other partners supporting MoSVY's child protection information systems, and project coordination, finance, and operations personnel. The consultant is expected to combine strong information-systems expertise with practical understanding of government implementation environments and the responsible handling of sensitive child-protection data, while ensuring that technical activities are appropriately sequenced and integrated within the approved Cambodia workplan and build on existing investments without duplication.

Beyond leading the technical work, the Senior Digital Systems Specialist will serve as Palladium's senior technical voice on digital child protection systems in Cambodia. As delegated by the Country Team Lead, the consultant will represent Palladium in government-led and development partner technical forums on digital government, data, and case-management systems; engage constructively with MoSVY technical staff, UNICEF, and the teams that develop and support existing systems as partners in the assessment rather than as its subjects; and position the roadmap within Cambodia's national digital government agenda so that it is credible, fundable, and owned by government.

Role boundary: The Senior Digital Systems Specialist will lead the technical assessment, analysis, synthesis, and technical quality of the assessment and roadmap inputs. The Country Team Lead is accountable for country-level workplan execution, senior stakeholder engagement, government ownership, and coordination across Palladium, Catholic Relief Services, government counterparts, and other participating stakeholders. The Senior Digital Systems Specialist will coordinate technical contributions, provide timely progress updates, flag evidence gaps and technical risks, and escalate matters requiring direction or approval through the Country Team Lead and relevant HQ staff. As delegated by the Country Team Lead, the Senior Digital Systems Specialist may represent Palladium in technical working groups and technical-level meetings on digital and information-systems issues.

3. Scope of Work

3.1 CPIMS Assessment Design and Implementation

• Develop a concise assessment plan, methodology, tools, interview guides, document-review framework, and evidence matrix aligned with the approved Cambodia workplan.
• Conduct document review, stakeholder interviews, system demonstrations, workflow observations, and site or institutional visits, as authorized.
• Assess system purpose, ownership, governance, users, coverage, functions, hosting, connectivity, devices, administration, maintenance, vendor or developer arrangements, costs, and user-support structures.
• Document current case-management, referral, reporting, supervision, and decision-making processes, identifying where practice, policy, data, and system functionality align or diverge.

3.2 Information Systems, Data, and Interoperability Analysis

• Analyze how priority systems and applications support case registration, assessment, service planning, referrals, follow-up, case closure, reporting, supervision, and safeguarding response.
• Document informal digital tools used alongside official systems (for example, spreadsheets, Telegram or Facebook Messenger groups, and personal devices), and assess their implications for data quality, security, and system adoption.
• Map key data flows, data elements, identifiers, forms, reports, user roles, permissions, handoffs, duplication, and gaps across relevant institutions and systems.
• Assess interoperability needs and readiness, including potential data-exchange use cases, standards, interfaces, integration dependencies, master-data requirements, and governance prerequisites.
• Assess alignment with Cambodia's national digital government frameworks and shared infrastructure, including the Digital Government Policy 2022-2035, the Cambodia Data Exchange (CamDX) platform, applicable personal data protection and cybersecurity legislation (enacted or in draft), government hosting and data-localization expectations, and Khmer-language (Unicode) requirements.
• Assess data quality, completeness, timeliness, consistency, validation, deduplication, audit trails, records management, and practical use of data for management and service delivery.
• Review architecture and operational considerations, including hosting, performance, scalability, offline or low-connectivity use, backup and recovery, system administration, maintenance, and technical support.

3.3 Privacy, Security, and Responsible Data Use

• Assess current arrangements for privacy, confidentiality, informed access, user authentication, role-based permissions, auditability, data retention, secure sharing, and incident management.
• Identify cybersecurity, safeguarding, and data-protection risks relevant to sensitive child-level information and recommend proportionate mitigation measures.
• Ensure that assessment methods and outputs minimize unnecessary exposure of personal or confidential data and comply with applicable Palladium and client requirements.
• Confirm data-access permissions and any required data-sharing agreements or official approvals before accessing live system data, and use demonstration environments or de-identified data wherever possible.

3.4 Technical Synthesis and Roadmap Development

• Produce a clear synthesis of CPIMS assessment findings, distinguishing confirmed evidence, stakeholder perspectives, unresolved questions, risks, dependencies, and assumptions.
• Develop prioritized recommendations for strengthening and harmonizing priority digital child-protection case-management systems and applications.
• Lead preparation of technical content for a practical roadmap, including proposed activities, sequencing, responsible entities, dependencies, resource requirements, sustainability considerations, and indicative implementation options.
• Assess total cost of ownership and sustainability, including recurrent hosting, licensing, maintenance, and support costs; MoSVY ICT staffing and skills; dependence on development partner-funded developers or hosting; and how roadmap activities can be reflected in the government planning and budget cycle (for example, the Budget Strategic Plan and annual budget).
• Prepare or contribute technical specifications, functional and non-functional requirements, process maps, data-flow diagrams, interoperability concepts, risk registers, and cost assumptions where required.
• Present findings and recommendations in accessible language for technical and non-technical stakeholders and revise outputs following review and validation.

3.5 Team Collaboration and Quality Assurance

• Coordinate technical work with the Country Team Lead, Senior Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF and other partners supporting MoSVY's child protection information systems, and other team members so that consultations, analysis, and deliverables are properly sequenced, assigned, integrated within the approved Cambodia workplan, and build on existing work without duplication.
• Provide concise progress updates, flag evidence gaps or technical risks, and escalate decisions requiring project or stakeholder direction.
• Integrate child-protection policy, case-management practice, safeguarding, frontline-user, operational, and financial inputs into the technical assessment and roadmap.
• Maintain organized assessment records and source documentation and support internal quality review of technical outputs.

3.6 Strategic Engagement, Technical Advisory, and Capacity Transfer

• As delegated by the Country Team Lead, represent Palladium at government-led and development partner technical forums on digital government, data, and child protection information systems, and provide concise readouts and recommended follow-up.
• Provide technical advice to MoSVY and other relevant counterparts on digital child protection systems, interoperability, and data governance, consistent with positions agreed with the Country Team Lead.
• Maintain constructive working relationships with MoSVY ICT and child protection departments, UNICEF, CRS, and the teams responsible for Primero/CPIMS, OSCaR, and related platforms, so that the assessment builds on their work and is seen as a shared effort.
• Work alongside designated MoSVY technical staff in system review, analysis, and roadmap development to strengthen government ownership and transfer practical skills.
• Advise the Country Team Lead on how the roadmap can be positioned within national digital government priorities and development partner investment plans to improve the prospects of endorsement and financing.

4. Deliverables

Specific assignments will be authorized by Palladium within the approved level of effort. Expected deliverables include:

• Assessment inception package, including methodology, workplan, stakeholder and system inventory, data-collection tools, and evidence matrix.
• Current-state technical assessment materials, including system profiles, workflow and data-flow maps, interoperability analysis, infrastructure and support findings, and privacy, cybersecurity, and data-governance risks.
• Draft digital readiness and interoperability assessment report for priority child protection information systems, with evidence-based findings, prioritized gaps, risks, dependencies, and practical recommendations.
• Final digital readiness and interoperability assessment report for priority child protection information systems, revised following Palladium, CRS, government, and stakeholder review, due 1 July 2027 or earlier.
• Technical inputs to the Cambodia CPIMS roadmap, including architecture and interoperability options, prioritized activities, sequencing, responsible entities, resource and sustainability considerations, indicative costs, and implementation risks.
• Final technical inputs incorporated into the validated Cambodia CPIMS roadmap, due 1 September 2027 or earlier.
• Presentations, briefing materials, consultation notes, decision logs, and concise progress updates as requested.
• Short technical briefs (two to four pages) explaining key findings and roadmap options for senior government and development partner audiences, with Khmer summaries.
• Support preparation of a Khmer-language roadmap summary for government endorsement, working with translation support and the Senior Child Protection Specialist to ensure consistent terminology.

5. Working Arrangements

• The consultant will work under the direction of the ChildSAFE Country Team Lead and in coordination with the HQ ChildSAFE Project Director and Senior Digital Advisor.
• When representing Palladium externally, the consultant will speak to agreed technical positions, keep the Country Team Lead informed, and will not make commitments on behalf of Palladium, CRS, or the donor.
• The consultant will maintain regular communication with the Country Team Lead and relevant HQ staff, provide timely notice of technical or implementation risks, and promptly escalate significant evidence gaps, delays, resource constraints, scope questions, or decisions requiring Palladium direction or approval.
• All workdays, travel, activities, data access, and stakeholder engagement must be authorized in advance by Palladium.
• The consultant will comply with Palladium and client requirements related to safeguarding, confidentiality, data protection, conflicts of interest, professional conduct, and secure handling of project information.
• Technical conclusions and recommendations will be subject to Palladium quality review and stakeholder validation. Material changes to scope, budget, procurement, public commitments, or approved timelines require Palladium approval.
• Any travel must be approved in advance and undertaken in accordance with the consultancy agreement and applicable Palladium procedures.

6. Required Qualifications and Experience

• Advanced degree in information systems, computer science, software engineering, data science, public-sector digital transformation, health or social information systems, or a related field. Substantial relevant experience may be considered in lieu of an advanced degree.
• At least 10 years of relevant professional experience in information-systems assessment, digital transformation, data architecture, interoperability, business-process analysis, or implementation of government information systems.
• Demonstrated experience leading digital-readiness, information-system, enterprise-architecture, interoperability, or business-process assessments and translating findings into practical roadmaps or implementation plans.
• Strong knowledge of system architecture, databases, data standards, application programming interfaces or other data-exchange approaches, user and functional requirements, identity and access management, and system administration.
• Experience assessing data governance, privacy, cybersecurity, responsible data use, and protection of sensitive or personally identifiable information.
• Experience mapping workflows and data flows; conducting stakeholder and user consultations; and producing clear requirements, diagrams, technical reports, and recommendations.
• Experience with child protection, social protection, case management, health, justice, or other sensitive government information systems is strongly preferred.
• Hands-on familiarity with Primero/CPIMS, DHIS2, OpenFn, OpenHIM, or comparable case-management and interoperability platforms is an advantage.
• Track record of representing an organization in government-led technical working groups and advising senior government officials on digital systems.
• Knowledge of Cambodia government institutions, digital systems, or implementation context is strongly preferred, including experience working with ministry ICT units.
• Ability to communicate complex technical issues clearly to government, program, and non-technical audiences.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English and Khmer is required.
• Commitment to safeguarding, confidentiality, responsible data use, and respectful collaboration.

7. Acceptance of Deliverables

Deliverables will be considered complete upon review and written acceptance by the ChildSAFE Project Director or another Palladium representative designated in the consultancy agreement. Palladium may request reasonable revisions to ensure that outputs are clear, complet

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