OBJECTIVE OF THE OFFICE/DEPARTMENT
This is a requisition for employment at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/Regional Office of the World Health Organization (WHO)
Contractual Agreement:
Non-Staff - International PAHO ConsultantJob Posting:
March 30, 2026Closing Date:
April 8, 2026, 11:59 PM Eastern TimePrimary Location:
Off SiteOrganization:
ITS Information Technology ServicesSchedule:
Full timePURPOSE OF CONSULTANCY
This requisition is for a consultancy at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/Regional Office of the World Health Organization (WHO).DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES:
The Information Technology Services Department (ITS) provides leadership and direction in the deployment of information and communication technologies and systems to support the Pan American Health Organization/Regional Office of the Americas of the World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) in carrying out its mandate. ITS establishes and maintains strategies, policies, standards, and procedures to ensure the effective and efficient provision of information and communication services in a geographically dispersed environment.
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is seeking an experienced Senior Drupal Developer consultant to support the ITS Web Services team in leading the architecture, development, maintenance, and strategic enhancement of PAHO's digital web presence. The Senior Drupal Developer will serve as the technical lead on a broad portfolio of web properties including seven (7) Drupal-based websites and approximately forty (40) additional sites, including static sites and applications built with Angular.js and React.js.
PAHO's combined web portfolio receives approximately 4 to 5 million visits per month, serving health professionals, researchers, government bodies, and the general public across the Americas and beyond. This level of traffic underscores the critical importance of site reliability, performance, security, and availability. The Senior Drupal Developer must bring the seniority, technical depth, and leadership maturity required to maintain and evolve high-traffic, mission-critical public health web infrastructure.
In addition to hands-on development, this consultant will provide technical guidance to junior developers, lead architectural decision-making, enforce code quality standards, and serve as the primary technical point of contact for the ITS web development team. They will work within an agile, Kanban-driven environment and play a key role in managing the full deployment pipeline.
The Senior Drupal Developer consultant will be responsible for the following areas:
Serve as the technical lead for all Drupal development activities across the ITS web portfolio, providing architectural direction and decision-making.
Define and enforce coding standards, development best practices, and technical guidelines for the web development team.
Lead architectural planning for new features, site builds, and platform upgrades — including evaluating module selections, data modeling, and integration strategies.
Conduct thorough code reviews for all team members, providing constructive feedback to ensure quality, security, and maintainability.
Mentor and support junior Drupal developers, facilitating knowledge transfer and professional growth.
Collaborate with the ITS team lead and stakeholders to translate business requirements into scalable technical solutions.
Proactively identify technical debt, propose remediation plans, and lead refactoring initiatives.
Act as deployment coordinator for production releases — managing multi-project release sequencing through the CI/CD pipeline.
Design, develop, and maintain custom Drupal modules, themes, and content architectures for seven (7) Drupal 9/10/11 websites.
Write and maintain advanced PHP code for custom Drupal modules, hooks, APIs, and integrations, following Drupal and Symfony coding standards.
Develop and maintain Twig templates for Drupal theming, including complex template overrides, preprocess functions, and theme hooks.
Leverage Symfony components (HttpFoundation, EventDispatcher, DependencyInjection, Routing) for advanced back-end development within Drupal's architecture.
Build and maintain custom Drupal plugins, services, and event subscribers using Drupal's object-oriented architecture and dependency injection container.
Develop and manage complex content architectures using Entity API, Field API, and custom entity types.
Design and lead custom migration pipelines using Drupal Migrate API to import and transform content from legacy systems or external data sources.
Build and maintain RESTful and JSON:API endpoints within Drupal for headless or decoupled front-end consumption.
Lead Drupal major version migration projects (Drupal 9 to 10, Drupal 10 to 11) including module compatibility assessments, deprecation resolution, and performance validation.
Configure and administer Drupal's configuration management system (CMI) across all environments.
Architect and optimize Drupal's caching layers including Internal Page Cache, Dynamic Page Cache, Varnish, and Redis integration.
Administer and optimize Drupal's cron jobs, Queue API workers, and background processing tasks.
Use Drush and Drupal Console for command-line administration, code generation, and deployment automation.
Manage PHP dependencies and Drupal module installation using Composer, including version constraints, patch management, and lock file governance.
Lead multilingual site configuration using Drupal's Language, Content Translation, Configuration Translation, and Interface Translation modules across PAHO's official languages.
Develop and oversee static websites, Angular.js applications, and React.js applications across the ~40-site portfolio.
Build and review reusable UI components using React.js and Angular.js best practices.
Ensure all web properties are responsive, accessible (WCAG 2.1 AA), and cross-browser compatible.
Write clean, semantic HTML5, CSS3/SCSS, and JavaScript (ES6+).
Oversee and configure front-end build pipelines using npm/yarn, Webpack, Vite, or Gulp.
Lead performance optimization efforts including Core Web Vitals, image optimization, lazy loading, and bundle size reduction.
Oversee implementation of web analytics integrations (Google Analytics 4, Google Tag Manager) across PAHO web properties.
Lead and actively participate in PAHO's Agile/Scrum framework using a Kanban board with stages: In Queue, In Progress, Testing, Ready for Production, and Live.
Facilitate or co-facilitate daily Scrum check-ins, helping the team surface and resolve blockers efficiently.
Oversee multi-branch feature development, ensuring gated stakeholder testing links are provided and feedback is incorporated before integration.
Govern the merge process into the Dev branch — ensuring Semgrep security scan clearance and stakeholder sign-off are completed before promotion.
Act as the primary deployment coordinator for Thursday production releases — managing sequencing, rollback readiness, and post-deployment validation.
Collaborate closely with the ITS security team throughout the security scanning and integration phases.
Lead the management of site code, databases, and files across all Pantheon environments: Multi-Branch (Multidev), Dev, Test (Stage), and Live.
Configure and maintain Pantheon's Git-based CI pipeline for automated builds, deployments, and environment promotion.
Set up and manage CI/CD autopilot workflows to improve deployment efficiency and reduce manual intervention.
Oversee SFTP and Git-based workflows across the development team within the Pantheon environment.
Ensure Stage environment is exclusively used for final pre-production validation — no active development.
Leverage Pantheon WebOps best practices (as a certified WebOps Developer) to optimize platform usage across all sites.
Lead security compliance efforts — integrating Semgrep automated SAST/SCA scanning into the development lifecycle and enforcing remediation of all flagged vulnerabilities.
Act as the primary liaison with the ITS Security team during security scan reviews and integration assessments.
Apply and enforce OWASP Top 10 best practices across all development work, including XSS, CSRF, SQL injection, and insecure direct object reference protections.
Implement and govern SSL/TLS configuration, HTTPS enforcement, and HTTP security headers (CSP, HSTS, X-Frame-Options).
Lead dependency governance — conducting and reviewing Composer audit and npm audit results across all projects.
Establish and enforce code review checkpoints to ensure zero high-severity vulnerabilities enter shared branches.
Lead the design, development, and maintenance of RESTful APIs and integrations with third-party services within Drupal and front-end applications.
Architect and implement Drupal JSON:API and REST module configurations for headless and decoupled use cases.
Lead integrations with external services including PAHO health data systems, authentication providers (SAML, OAuth 2.0 / SSO), iPaaS platforms, and communication tools.
Design secure API authentication strategies, rate limiting, error handling, and response caching patterns.
Ensure all API endpoints, schemas, and integration workflows are fully documented for team and stakeholder reference.
Lead the establishment and maintenance of automated testing practices using PHPUnit, Nightwatch.js, Jest, and Cypress across the portfolio.
Conduct and oversee cross-browser, cross-device, and regression testing before environment promotions.
Lead WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility audits using Axe, WAVE, and Lighthouse, and drive remediation across all web properties.
Enforce code validation standards through ESLint, Stylelint, and PHPCS across all team work.
Oversee stakeholder acceptance testing during the gated multi-branch phase.
Lead configuration and troubleshooting of Apache and/or Nginx web server settings, virtual hosts, .htaccess rules, redirects, and rewrite rules.
Govern environment-specific configuration files (settings.php, .env) across all Pantheon environments.
Oversee DNS records, domain routing, and SSL certificate provisioning across the portfolio.
Lead Composer-based dependency management — setting standards for package governance, version constraints, and lock file management across all projects.
Monitor server logs (PHP error logs, Apache/Nginx access logs) and lead root cause analysis for performance or error issues.
Write, review, and optimize MySQL queries for Drupal and other web applications.
Oversee phpMyAdmin usage for database administration, inspection, and troubleshooting across environments.
Lead database schema design, migration planning, and data integrity validation during deployments.
Own database performance tuning, slow query analysis, and backup verification processes.
Architect and oversee CDN configuration — managing asset delivery, caching headers, and geographic distribution for PAHO web properties.
Lead Redis caching configuration and optimization across Drupal sites to reduce database load and improve response times.
Troubleshoot CDN-related issues including cache purging, origin pull configurations, and SSL/TLS certificate management.
Own web performance strategy — setting Core Web Vitals targets and leading optimization initiatives across the portfolio.
Lead configuration and maintenance of site search using Apache Solr or Elasticsearch integrated with Drupal Search API.
Architect search indexes, faceted search interfaces, and relevance tuning for PAHO content.
Troubleshoot search indexing issues and govern re-indexing procedures across environments.
Own web application monitoring strategy using platform tools (Pantheon dashboards, New Relic, or equivalent).
Lead incident response for site outages, performance regressions, and broken deployments — triaging root cause and coordinating rollback when necessary.
Set up and maintain alerting for critical error thresholds, uptime failures, and security events.
Produce post-incident reports with root cause analysis and remediation recommendations.
Oversee transactional email delivery configuration for Drupal sites using SMTP modules and providers (SendGrid, Mailchimp, or equivalent).
Govern email deliverability — ensuring proper SPF, DKIM, and DMARC record alignment.
Develop and maintain HTML email templates for system notifications, newsletters, and automated workflows.
Champion the use of AI-assisted development tools (Microsoft Copilot, GitHub Copilot, AI Vibe Coding methodologies) to accelerate development, code review, and documentation across the team.
Apply AI tools responsibly, validating generated code for security, accuracy, and compliance with PAHO standards.
Evaluate and recommend new AI capabilities relevant to the web development workflow and propose practical adoption strategies.
Review, prioritize, and oversee web requests submitted through the Salesforce-integrated ticketing system.
Ensure all tickets are properly classified (QUICK TASK or PROJECT), contain complete information, and are assigned appropriately.
Maintain up-to-date ticket status, progress notes, decisions, and testing documentation throughout the lifecycle.
Communicate ticket status, blockers, and escalations proactively to stakeholders and the ITS team lead.
Lead the creation and maintenance of technical documentation for all features, architectures, configurations, and processes.
Document deployment procedures, rollback steps, and environment-specific configuration notes.
Own the team's internal knowledge base — ensuring SOPs, onboarding materials, and runbooks are current and comprehensive.
Ensure all tickets are documented with decisions, change rationale, and testing outcomes.
4.1 Education & Experience
An advance university degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Web Development, or a related field.
13-15 years of professional Drupal development experience, with a strong track record of delivering complex, high-traffic Drupal projects in production environments.
Proven track record of leading Drupal 9/10/11 projects in production, including custom module development, theming, Entity API, Migrate API, configuration management, and major version migrations.
Demonstrated experience leading Drupal version upgrade projects (e.g., Drupal 7 to 8/9, Drupal 9 to 10, Drupal 10 to 11).
Demonstrated experience as a deployment coordinator managing multiple projects through CI/CD pipelines.
Experience with decoupled or headless Drupal architectures using React.js, Angular.js, or similar front-end frameworks.
Demonstrated experience integrating Semgrep or equivalent SAST tools into a CI/CD pipeline for automated security compliance.
Solid experience with PHP 8+ and Symfony-based development patterns within Drupal.
Experience with REST API and JSON:API development, including third-party iPaaS integrations.
Experience leading or conducting WCAG accessibility audits and implementing remediation.
Experience with a managed cloud hosting platform — Pantheon experience strongly preferred.
Prior work in an Agile/Scrum or Kanban environment in a lead or senior role.
Experience with international or multilateral organizations is an asset.
The following certifications are required or strongly preferred for the Senior Drupal Developer position, reflecting the technical depth and platform expertise expected at this level:
Required: Certification/Issuing Body
Acquia Certified Developer – Drupal 10 (or 11)/ Acquia
WebOps Certified Developer/ Pantheon
Desireable:
Acquia Certified Developer – Drupal 8 or earlier/ Acquia
Acquia Certified Site Builder/ Acquia
Acquia Certified Front End Specialist/ Acquia
4.3 Required Technical Skills
Domain/Skills & Technologies
CMS / Drupal/ Drupal 9/10/11, custom module & theme development, Entity API, Field API, Migrate API, Configuration Management (CMI), Layout Builder, Paragraphs, Views, Webforms, Drush, Drupal Console, Composer, multisite, multilingual (Content/Config/Interface Translation)
PHP & Frameworks/ PHP 8+, Symfony components (HttpFoundation, EventDispatcher, DependencyInjection, Routing), Twig templating, Drupal hooks, services, plugins, event subscribers, Queue API, dependency injection container
Front-End/ HTML5, CSS3/SCSS, JavaScript (ES6+), React.js, Angular.js, jQuery, responsive design, WCAG 2.1 AA, npm/yarn, Webpack/Vite, LAMP Stack
APIs & Integration/ RESTful API design, Drupal JSON:API, OAuth 2.0 / SAML / SSO, iPaaS platforms (e.g., Workato), Mautic, payment gateways, third-party data integrations
Testing & QA/ PHPUnit, Drupal Test Traits, Nightwatch.js, Jest, Cypress, regression testing, WCAG auditing (Axe, WAVE, Lighthouse), ESLint, PHPCS, Stylelint
Platform & Pipeline/ Pantheon (Multidev, Dev, Test, Live), CI/CD pipeline setup & management, autopilot configuration, Git, Apache/Nginx, .htaccess, DNS, SSL/TLS, DDEV
Security/ Semgrep SAST/SCA integration, OWASP Top 10, XSS/CSRF/SQLi prevention, HTTP security headers, Composer audit, npm audit, security patch governance
Database & Admin/ MySQL — advanced queries, optimization, schema design, migrations; phpMyAdmin; slow query analysis; backup management
Caching & CDN/ Redis architecture, Varnish, Internal/Dynamic Page Cache, CDN setup, cache purging, asset delivery optimization
Search/ Apache Solr, Elasticsearch, Drupal Search API, faceted search, index architecture
Monitoring & Logging/ New Relic (or equivalent), PHP/Nginx error logs, slow query logs, uptime monitoring, alerting, post-incident reporting
Email & Notifications/ SMTP, SendGrid / Mailchimp, SPF/DKIM/DMARC, HTML email templates, Drupal mail modules
Analytics/ Google Analytics 4, Google Tag Manager, Highcharts or equivalent data visualization
AI & Developer Tools/ Microsoft Copilot, GitHub Copilot, AI Vibe Coding, Kint, Devel, Drush, DDEV
Agile / Leadership/ Scrum facilitation, Kanban, sprint planning, deployment coordination, code review leadership, mentoring
Documentation/ Technical architecture docs, SOPs, runbooks, knowledge base management, onboarding materials
Version Control/ Git (advanced branching strategy, merge/rebase, conflict resolution, multi-branch governance)
Experience contributing patches, modules, or documentation to the Drupal.org community.
Experience with headless or fully decoupled Drupal (Next.js, Gatsby consuming Drupal JSON:API or GraphQL).
Familiarity with DKAN open data distribution or other Drupal distributions.
Experience with Acquia Cloud, Platform.sh, or Amazee hosting environments.
Working knowledge of Linux command line (bash scripting, file permissions, process management).
Experience designing data visualization integrations (e.g., Highcharts, D3.js, Chart.js).
Familiarity with Salesforce Service Cloud or similar ticketing/CRM platforms.
Experience working in international or multilateral organizations (UN system experience is an asset).
Fluency in English (written and spoken) — required.
Working knowledge of Spanish — desirable given PAHO's regional mandate.
Knowledge of French or Portuguese — an asset.
Position: PAHO International Consultant - Senior Drupal Developer
Duty Station: Remote (Off-site)
Salary: Band C of International PAHO Consultant (IPC-Band C)(Range $7,380 - $8,980)
Reporting to ITS Web Services Team Lead
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION