Consultancy – Chatbot Developer, Accelerator Lab

Contract

This is a National Consultant contract. More about National Consultant contracts.

Background

As part of its CPD planning for the 2022-2026 cycle, UNDP has begun exploring strategies for project implementation that emphasize on the ground presence and community interaction. This will also include a focus on real time activity monitoring, as a way to learn and provide evidence-based feedback loops during project implementation. In this context, UNDP Mozambique Accelerator Lab aimsto design a project that tests how Chatbot Digital technology can be used to continuously engage with project beneficiaries during and after project implementation. The proposed Chatbot platform will enable functions that include:

? ability to support & answer beneficiary questions using knowledge base;

? ability to guide beneficiaries to get to the right information;

? ability to obtain qualitative and quantitative feedback.

The platform is expected to be extendable, and to allow different user groups to provide additional content and further develop new skills for the bot in the future. For this purpose, UNDP seeks to engage the services of a consultant experienced in Chatbot development to create a platform that can be extended and enhanced for functionality that supports UNDP programming activities.

Duties and Responsibilities

3.1. Content development (Define and Design)

? Desk research and guidance to decide on the most suitable platform to develop the chatbot;

? Design and build pre-defined rules in a decision tree that provides the chatbot with problem solving ability, define the questions and scenarios of possible answers

? Design an integrated chatbot user journey;

? Build content featuring a template for each content aspect.

3.2. Development of AI Chatbot on WhatsApp

? Develop an AI powered chatbot prototype on open-source platform that is compatible on WhatsApp application/ SMS;

? Ensure that the chatbot is accessible to vulnerable groups by the use of simple and culturally sensitive language and gender-neutral tone (if needed);

? Advice on privacy and data protection in the Mozambican context ensuring users report data honestly and without compromising their digital rights.

3.3. Test, learn, and iterate

? Test the chatbot on limited number of users to explore user experience and overall response;

? Run several tests to learn from the users experience and update the chatbot to improve the outcome based on findings;

? Share data gathered to Acc Lab & MRF by providing necessary information to tailor chatbot to the context.

3.4. Launch of the chatbot

? Roll-out the chatbot via SMS/ WhatsApp;

? Run frequent monitoring and checks during the implementation phase;

? Provide reports with the data collected and analyze lessons learned;

? Statistical analysis of aggregated data shared with Acc Lab and UNDP.

Competencies

? Proficiency with JavaScript, TypeScript and NodeJS;

? Knowledge of chatbot framework;

? Knowledge in implementing automated testing platforms and unit tests;

? Proficient understanding of code versioning tools;

? Familiar with Agile development process.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic qualifications:

? Bachelor’s degree in computer science or equivalent.

Required experience:

? A minimum of three years of experience in advance JavaScript/TypeScript development;

? Experience in designing and implementing scalable application including testing and logging is desirable;

? Proven experience and results in working on Chatbot and system development powered by AI;

Language:

? Fluency in written and spoken Portuguese is required.