Senior Drupal and WordPress Infrastructure Consultant

Rate TBD

Location Canada

Type of project

Duration

Education required N/A

Years of experience N/A

Type of employment N/A

Area of Specialization N/A

Languages required N/A

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Description

 
Background 
 
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) is seeking a consultant to
help stabilize its web platforms.  The UIS web presence is supported
by two primary platforms: the main website, hosted on Drupal, and the
UIS Microsites, hosted on WordPress. Both platforms are aging and are
currently being replaced by a new system, expected to be completed in
the second half of this year. In the interim, UIS aims to stabilize
the existing platforms and address critical security vulnerabilities
to ensure continued functionality and security until their
decommissioning. 
 
The Consultant will provide senior-level expertise in Drupal and
WordPress infrastructure to update and maintain the UIS web presence.
This infrastructure includes: 
 

* UIS Main Website – Hosted on Drupal, running on two Ubuntu Linux
virtual machines per environment (Staging and Production) in Azure.
One server hosts the Drupal CMS, while the other hosts SOLR search,
both operating on a LAMP stack. Code for the environment is managed in
Azure DevOps Git repositories, with updates applied through a Git pull
process.
* UIS Microsites – Hosted on a WordPress Multisite installation
containing 10 websites, running on Azure App PaaS Service with a MySQL
Flexible Azure PaaS server.

 
Interested candidates should submit a proposal that includes a quote
along with a proposed project timeline. Please note that this
opportunity is open only to incorporated entities and not to
individual contractors. 

Scope of Work

The Consultant will be responsible for ensuring the stability,
security, and performance of the UIS Drupal and WordPress environments
through comprehensive assessments, updates, and ongoing support.
 
The scope of updates is limited to available patches and minor updates
for existing software versions. Major upgrades of software and
components are out of scope for this contract.

The key responsibilities include:

* Evaluating the current infrastructure to identify vulnerabilities,
risks, and opportunities for improvement.
* Implementing necessary updates and enhancements to maintain system
reliability, scalability, and security.
* Collaborating with the UIS technical team to refine update
processes and ensure seamless integration of changes.
* Addressing security vulnerabilities, including those identified by
UNESCO’s security team, to maintain a secure and resilient
infrastructure.
* Assessing all Drupal and WordPress components requiring updates
and preparing a report outlining required updates, associated risks,
and mitigation strategies.
* Developing a structured upgrade plan, including a rollback
strategy in case of update failures and recommendations for testing
methodologies.
* Applying CMS component updates in staging and production
environments, ensuring minimal disruption to services.
* Conducting comprehensive testing to validate the functionality,
performance, and stability of updates before deployment.
* Providing a log of all steps completed to the UIS technical team.
* Providing ongoing support for two months post-update to monitor
system performance, troubleshoot issues, and ensure smooth operation.