Senior Digital Systems Specialist

Senior Digital Systems Specialist

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.

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, l