Jayni Thankachen

Jayni Thankachen has a strong background in information technology and telecommunications. Jayni is currently serving as the Chief of Service for Information Systems and Telecommunications at the United Nations Office in Nairobi since July 2022.

Prior to their current role, Thankachen worked as an ICT and Knowledge Management Consultant from January 2019 to June 2022. Their responsibilities included providing strategic and tactical direction on security and IT compliance, developing information security policies, and implementing governance and management of enterprise IT.

From 2013 to 2018, Thankachen served as an Information Technology Security Specialist at World Vision International, Global Center. Jayni was recognized for their contributions to the organization's InfoSec team and played a key role in developing and implementing security policies aligned with industry standards. Jayni also worked on business continuity and disaster recovery plans and utilized the CoBIT 5 framework for governance and management of enterprise IT.

Their previous experience includes roles at the British Council and USAID. At the British Council, they served as an Associate Vice President for Regional IT/IS and later as a Regional IT Director, where they oversaw IT operations, aligned IT investments with regional plans, and led project roll-outs and incident resolutions. At USAID, Thankachen worked as a Deputy Systems Administrator and was responsible for conducting Y2k compliance assessments and leading business applications development projects.

Prior to entering the workforce, Thankachen completed their education and gained qualifications in the field of information technology.

Jayni Thankachen completed their Bachelor of Arts (Honors) degree in Mathematical Statistics with Computers from Lady Shri Ram College For Women from 1982 to 1985. Jayni then pursued a Master of Arts degree in Mathematical Statistics with Computers from Hindu College, University of Delhi, from 1985 to 1987. In 2013, they attended the Indian School of Business for Executive Education in Leadership Skills for Top Management. Recently, from 2019 to 2020, they pursued an Advanced Diploma in Management, specializing in Human Resources Management and Services, from the All India Management Association (AIMA). In terms of additional certifications, Jayni Thankachen holds certifications such as IT Governance Implementation based on CobiT® 5.0 from APMG International (obtained in February 2017), CoBIT 5.0 Foundation from APMG International (obtained in December 2014), and various other certifications in IT, project management, and risk management.