IT inventory, connectivity budget and security incident

International NGO · Written recruitment test

Practical exercise

IT and Telecommunications Officer

Duty station: Bunia and Djugu, Ituri province (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Time allowed: 75 min
Marks: 100 marks
Pass mark: 60 %
Profile: Officer, 2 to 4 years of experience

Instructions

The test lasts 75 minutes. It is marked out of 100; the pass mark for the interview is 60.
Reference date: 1 November 2026. You are preparing the 2027 IT and telecommunications budget.
Show your workings. A spreadsheet is allowed.
The data, prices and internal rules are fictional.

Original practice test, built on the format of written tests used by United Nations agencies and international NGOs. The context and figures are fictitious.

Documents provided

Document 1. Inventory (extract)

Code	Equipment	Purchased	Location	Condition and remarks
IT-01	Laptop	03/2021	Bunia	Working, encrypted
IT-02	Laptop	06/2023	Bunia	Working, not encrypted, used by the MEAL officer
IT-03	Laptop	01/2022	Djugu	Broken screen
IT-04	Laptop	09/2024	Djugu	Working, encrypted
IT-05	Desktop computer	02/2020	Bunia	Very slow (finance)
IT-06	Desktop computer	11/2022	Bunia	Working
IT-07	Data collection tablet	05/2024	Djugu	Working
IT-08	Data collection tablet	05/2024	Djugu	Missing since the June inventory
IT-09	Satellite phone	08/2019	Vehicle 2	Working
IT-10	Satellite phone	04/2024	Vehicle 1	Credit expired since September
IT-11	Mobile HF radio	06/2020	Vehicle 1	Working
IT-12	Mobile HF radio	03/2017	Vehicle 2	Out of order, replacement recommended by the technician
IT-13	Handheld VHF radio	02/2018	Djugu	Battery no longer holds a charge
IT-14	VSAT modem	07/2019	Djugu	Working
IT-15	Firewall router	05/2021	Bunia	The manufacturer no longer publishes updates
IT-16	Backup server (NAS)	01/2020	Bunia	Last successful backup: 12/08/2026

Document 2. Internal rules and unit prices (USD)

Equipment	Service life	Price
Laptop	4 years	1,100
Desktop computer	5 years	900
Tablet	3 years	350
Satellite phone	6 years	1,300
Mobile HF radio (installation included)	8 years	2,800
Handheld VHF radio	8 years	450
VSAT modem	7 years	3,200
Firewall router	5 years	1,200
NAS server	5 years	1,500

2027 replacement envelope: USD 10,000. Security rule: each vehicle on mission must have at least two working means of communication.

Document 3. Connectivity at the Djugu base

VSAT consumption over the last 6 months (GB): 120, 130, 140, 135, 145, 140. Expected increase in 2027: +20% (remote data collection).

Option A (current): VSAT package USD 1,200 per month for 100 GB, then USD 8 per additional GB.
Option B: VSAT package USD 1,650 per month for 200 GB.
Option C: low-earth-orbit satellite terminal, USD 1,800 for equipment and USD 300 per month (sufficient volume), keeping a backup VSAT at USD 450 per month. The organisation holds the national operating licence; approval by the security manager is required.

Bunia: fibre USD 900 per month and backup 4G router USD 120 per month. Satellite phone credit: USD 50 per month per device.

Question 125 marks

Analyse the inventory: equipment to be replaced under the rules, equipment raising a security, operational or traceability problem, and immediate actions.

Your answer

0 words

Question 235 marks

Compare the 2027 annual cost of the three connectivity options for Djugu, then calculate the total recommended annual connectivity budget (Djugu, Bunia, satellite phones).

Your answer

0 words

Question 320 marks

With the USD 10,000 envelope, draw up the prioritised list of 2027 purchases and justify your priorities.

Your answer

0 words

Question 420 marks

Laptop IT-02 is stolen from a vehicle in Bunia. It is not yet encrypted and contains a database of 3,000 beneficiaries. Describe your actions in the first 24 hours.

Your answer

0 words

Other tests for this profession

Panel interview question for this profession

Tell us about a situation where a communications failure or an IT incident put the safety of staff or data at risk. How did you react?

Competency assessed : Continuity of communications and information security in the field

What the panel expects : A specific incident, a structured immediate response, an analysis of causes, costed technical and organisational measures, user training and a verified result.

Possible follow-up questions

How did you prioritise your spending with a limited budget?
What authorisations or inter-agency coordination did you have to obtain?
How did you convince teams to give up personal messaging apps?

Strong answer

In Ituri, a vehicle from our base was out of contact for 4 hours on an 80 km road, outside VHF coverage. It was stuck because of a collapsed bridge, in no danger, but the alert mobilised the whole security set-up. I analysed coverage: VHF reached only 20 km and the vehicle's satellite phone was flat. I proposed a repeater on a hill halfway along the route, coordinated the frequency with the inter-agency telecoms group, and had HF sets installed in the two long-distance vehicles, for 16,000 USD. I introduced calls every 30 minutes, a daily radio check and satellite phone charging on the departure checklist. I trained 26 drivers and staff members. Over the following year, no loss of contact of more than 30 minutes was recorded, and the repeater was shared with two other NGOs.

Weak answer

"I bought better phones and asked the drivers to be more careful." This answer contains no analysis of the cause, no procedure, no coordination and no verified result.

← All tests

Instructions

Documents provided

Question 125 marks

Model answer

Marking grid

Question 235 marks

Model answer

Marking grid

Question 320 marks

Model answer

Marking grid

Question 420 marks

Model answer

Marking grid

Result

Common mistakes that cost marks

Useful references