Read about Soomi Ro

What brought you to a career in technology at the United Nations?

Prior to joining the UN, in the private sector, my interest was always on process improvement, in particular in leveraging technology. In my current role in the  United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), I lead the digital transformation of our diverse scope of service delivery (HR, procurement, Finance, ICT, etc.) through business process innovation using emerging technologies such as AI, RPA, etc. The source of motivation stems from and continues by seeing the impact of how emerging technologies can be utilized to find solutions not only within the administrative process improvement, but also on cross-functional and collaboration projects to help us deliver our mandates in a more effective and efficient way.

What has been your favorite IT project at the United Nations and what was your technical contribution?

The digital transformation of administrative service delivery ranks among my favorite IT projects, where I could undertake impactful contribution. My contributions to this have been the strategic guidance in spearheading the organizational restructuring of our ICT Section to focus on two key pillars Digital Transformation and IT Service Management, as well as leading the client-centric business process automation using intelligent automation platforms.

What advice would you give women interested in pursuing a field in technology?

Technology is constantly and rapidly changing. What is today’s leading career or focus on the field of technology may vary and be irrelevant in the next few years. Thus, my career advice to woman is to stay adaptive and innovative, willing to learn new skills on the job and emerging technologies, which will build your expertise and boost your confidence to find your own niche in this field.