Front End Developer Consultant

Assignment Details Remuneration: ZMW 2,150/day (ZMW 45,150/month).Contract type: International self-employed contractor, one year role; hoping to be extended up to three-years if funding becomes available.Contract length: 1-year with possible extension if funding is secured.Location: PACRA House, Haile Selassie Ave, Longacres, Lusaka, Zambia.Roles: 2 x roles available with immediate start.Applicants must be based in Lusaka, Zambia and eligible to work within the country at the time of application.About the Project The Patents and Company Registration Agency (PACRA) is undertaking a full-scale overhaul of Zambia’s Business Register to align with modern digital governance practices and enhance beneficial ownership transparency.Low compliance rates in previous disclosure efforts have highlighted the need for improved user experience, enhanced infrastructure and integrated workflows. Meanwhile, legacy systems prevent PACRA from updating data capture systems to support legislative and user-driven enhancements to systems. The modernisation process now underway aims to address these gaps by developing a company registry system that is efficient, scalable, and aligned with international standards.Open Ownership and PACRA are jointly partnering to deliver this registry modernisation project, with Open Ownership acting as the grantee receiving and distributing the funds and hiring staff. Developers will work directly from PACRA’s offices in close collaboration with existing IT staff, including the Director of ICT & Digital Transformation Manager.The first funded year of the project will see developers responsible for rebuilding PACRA’s core infrastructure and an initial set of five workflows on top of this - name clearance and reservation, company incorporation, beneficial ownership declaration, updates to associated person(s) info, as well data access via API.Open Ownership has an initial agreement to fund one year of this project. Together with PACRA, we are seeking additional funding in order to build out the remaining business registration processes and continue to iteratively improve PACRA’s digital services.We are seeking a number of developers to join this new team based in the offices of PACRA. Please ensure you specify which role you are interested in when applying. The post will report to the Digital Lead and work closely with existing PACRA staff.Purpose of the contractTo design and implement user-friendly and accessible interfaces for the PACRA’s core business systems ensuring a seamless and intuitive user experience for clients. The role focuses on front-end development tasks such as translating UI/UX design prototypes into responsive web pages, optimising client-side performance, and collaborating with back-end developers to integrate with services, all while maintaining high standards of security and accessibility.Scope of Work User Interface Development Implement application front-end modules and user interfaces using modern JavaScript frameworks and libraries.Create responsive and mobile-friendly layouts, ensuring cross-browser compatibility and adherence to accessibility standards.Translate UI/UX design mockups and prototypes into interactive, reusable components with clean and efficient code.Integrate the front-end with back-end APIs and services securely and efficiently.Systems Testing Write and maintain automated front-end tests (unit, integration, and UI tests) to ensure code quality and catch regressions early.Perform usability testing and gather user feedback to continuously refine and improve the user experience.Systems Documentation Produce and maintain documentation for front-end codebases, including component libraries, style guides, and build processes.Document front-end deployment procedures and configuration settings for future reference and troubleshooting.Systems Upgrade & Optimisation Refactor and optimise front-end code regularly for performance, ensuring fast load times, efficient rendering, and a smooth user experience.Stay up-to-date with evolving front-end technologies and best practices, applying necessary updates to improve security and maintainability.Use continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) tools to automate build, test, and deployment processes for front-end applications. Data Management & Persistence Implement secure and efficient client-side data handling and caching strategies (e.g., using browser storage or state management libraries) to enhance performance.Ensure data collected or displayed on the front-end is properly validated and sanitised before transmission to back-end services.Coordinate with back-end and database developers to ensure efficient data flow and consistency between the user interface and data layers.Collaboration & Support Collaborate with UX/UI designers to align front-end implementations with user-centered design principles and branding guidelines.Work with back-end developers to define API requirements and troubleshoot integration issues between front-end and server-side components.Participate in agile development activities (sprint planning, code reviews, demos) and mentor junior developers in front-end best practices.Application processIn order to apply for this consultancy, please send a CV, a link to your GitHub / portfolio and a covering letter detailing your suitability for this specific role by Sunday 9 November midnight UTC + 2 (Zambia time) to recruitment@openownership.org. Please indicate in the subject line the exact title of the position you are applying for.The selection process will consist of a panel interview in mid to late November with all applications being reviewed against the Terms of Reference. If you do not hear back from us by 1 December 2025; then this means we are not taking your application forward.Please note that Open Ownership is fiscally sponsored by Global Impact. Fiscal sponsorship is a common mechanism in the non-profit sector, as it enables organisations to launch programmes without needing to complete the full process of establishing a legal entity. Global Impact is a US nonprofit (501c3), and its executive team and board of directors are shown here. Your contract will be with Global Impact on behalf of Open Ownership.