Jessica Summers

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

After working in data teams in the private and public sector, I entered the UN through the Young Professionals Programme under the Management & Administration workstream. I have found applying my data & digital skills to this workstream to be enriching and fundamental to the functioning of the Organization, as there is a plethora of impactful data and digital use cases, including in recruitment, assessments, administrative process improvement, and monitoring & evaluation.

What has been your favorite technology project or initiative at the United Nations and why? What was your contribution?

My favorite work has been managing the overall digital transformation of EOSG as an office. Digital solutions deployed by my team include knowledge hubs / document repositories (including for crisis management teams and senior decision-making bodies), report and correspondence clearance workflows, senior-level meeting and event management, CRM systems, digital outreach campaigns, and automated recruitment and administrative processes, mainly using Microsoft 365 digital tools (SharePoint, Power Automate, Power Apps, PowerBI, Dynamics and MS Forms).

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

Believe in yourself. Recognize that you have the potential to succeed in the technology field, no matter when you start. Believe in your abilities and be confident in your skills, as the world needs women in tech more than ever.