Contract Duration: 5.56 Months

Working arrangement: HomeBased

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UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built. We offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to Innovation.

How can you make a difference?

The core objective of this assignment is to co-create or lead on data projects, support capacity building where applicable and developing data & analytics products, primarily using cutting-edge data and data science models to support horizontal initiatives across UNICEF’s core programmes on health, education, WASH and country climate initiatives and in particular the Automated SitRep, a tool that supports the Office of Emergency Programmes with data to support regional and country based emergencies and the Air Quality Model creation for Malaysia.

We are looking for an exceptionally qualified candidate with extensive experience in senior stakeholder engagement, facilitation, and project management, combined with strong expertise in data science.

The ideal candidate should have a solid understanding of data visualization techniques and best practices, particularly within the EAP region as well as previous experience working with UNICEF and also on climate data projects.

They should bring robust data science skills, along with deep knowledge of agile methodologies, user-centered design and data management best practices.

Knowledge of satellite imagery and geospatial data engineering is a plus.

They should also be comfortable working in a dynamic, collaborative team environment and be passionate about contributing to the enhancement of UNICEF's mission by designing frontier data products.

Scope of Work:

The consultancy will deliver six tasks focused on the enhancement, testing and scale-up of existing Frontier Data Lab products.

The consultant will work closely with Country Offices, Technology for Development (T4D) colleagues, the Regional Emergency Response Team and the Office of Emergency Programmes.

The consultancy will also strengthen the systems, documentation and workflows required to support effective delivery and future scale-up.

Task 1 - Automated SitRep deployment and onboarding

Support deployment of the Automated SitRep platform in the former SAR Region, including configuration, onboarding of relevant teams and technical support.

Deliverable:

Automated SitRep platform deployed and operational across the former SAR Region, with users onboarded and supporting guidance provided.

Task 2 - Automated SitRep testing and enhancement

Conduct user testing, gather operational feedback and refine the platform to improve usability, automated reporting workflows and system functionality. Document lessons and recommendations for wider scale-up.

Deliverable:

Updated Automated SitRep platform incorporating pilot feedback, with pilot findings, lessons learned and recommendations for future scale-up documented.

Task 3- Malaysia air quality situation analysis

Conduct a situation analysis of the air quality landscape in Malaysia, including available data sources, government systems, institutional arrangements and potential programme applications.

Deliverable:

Malaysia air quality situation analysis documenting the existing landscape, available data and systems, programme opportunities and key considerations for implementation.

Task 4 - Malaysia air quality technical and performance assessment

Assess the suitability and current performance of the regional Air Quality pipeline for application in Malaysia, including data quality, infrastructure requirements, operational constraints, model performance and scalability.

Deliverable:

Technical assessment setting out key findings, constraints, technical requirements and recommendations for adapting and scaling the Air Quality pipeline in Malaysia.

Task 5- Malaysia air quality pipeline development

Develop and configure the initial Air Quality data pipeline for Malaysia, including data ingestion, preprocessing, integration and associated technical workflows.

Deliverable:

Initial operational Air Quality pipeline for Malaysia, with relevant data sources integrated and core ingestion and preprocessing workflows established.

Task 6- Air quality model enhancement and testing

Enhance interpolation and modelling approaches and undertake preliminary testing to improve the accuracy, geographic coverage and operational reliability of the Malaysia pipeline. Document technical approaches and recommendations for further development and regional scale-up

Deliverable:

Enhanced pipeline with preliminary model outputs and testing results, supported by technical documentation and recommendations for further development and scale-up.

If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here:  Download File Terms of Reference TMC0006074.pdf

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have...

Minimum requirements:

Education:

Master’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Applied Mathematics, or equivalent degree.

Work Experience:

10+ years of relevant experience in Project Management, Data Engineering, Data Management, Data Analysis as well as experience in Data Visualization and Data Science/Machine Learning

Language Requirements

English

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills:

Background combining programmatic knowledge, ability to work across organizational boundaries and technical skills to respond to the organizational needs and functions that technology must support

- Strong experience in Project and Stakeholder Management, preferably within the East Asia Pacific region

- Demonstrated experience designing and developing compelling, and actionable data visualization products using modern data visualization tools like Tableau or PowerBI

- Demonstrated ability to convey insights and key messages from large, complex datasets clearly, quickly, and effectively to drive action

- Demonstrated data analysis skills and data science skills, especially in the social, public, development, or humanitarian sector

- Strong experience with building conversational agents using Large Language Models, and Gen AI

- Experience using Computer Vision and Deep learning models on Satellite images

- Experience in managing data pipelines and Azure environments

Desirables:

- Past exposure to UNICEF, UN or other INGO programmatic areas and experience in applying technical solutions to address programmatic issues

- Proven experience in supporting and coordinating project activities across a large organization and with other international partner organizations across multiple stakeholders

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

Qualified candidates are invited to submit the following documents via the online recruitment portal, TMS (Talent Management System):

An up-to-date TMS profile and curriculum vitae (CV)

Cover letter

A separate financial proposal (only acceptable in the format of the linked template) Financial proposal TMC0006074.docx

Remarks: If the TOR or financial proposal documents are not downloadable on certain recruitment platforms, please visit our official page Vacancies | UNICEF Careers.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.

Data Scientist, Emergency and Climate Change, APRO, Bangkok,Remotely with Travel to Malaysia, 5.56Months, (Open to International Candidates Only) Req#595827