Consultant - Data Architect (Remote)

Result of Service By 30 January 2023: o Detailed plan of activities, specifying key outputs and timelines, based on online consultation and coordination meeting with the national statistical offices IT team to gather information on existing IT system implementation.

By 28 February 2023: o Progress report of activities and work supported, in accordance with detailed plan of activities and work assignments as outlined above.

By 31 March 2023: o Progress report of activities and work supported, in accordance with detailed plan of activities and work assignments as outlined above.

By 30 April 2023: o Progress report of activities and work supported, in accordance with detailed plan of activities and work assignments as outlined above.

By 31 May 2023: o Progress report of activities and work supported, in accordance with detailed plan of activities and work assignments as outlined above.

Work Location The consultant will work remotely, except for potential technical assistance missions depending on specific country needs and requests, as well as on the availability of funds. Communications will mainly take place through remote web conference meetings. Travel or commute time, as well as related expenses, are not part of the consultancy.

Expected duration The consultant will perform the activities specified in this Terms of Reference in the period between 5 January 2023 and 31 May 2023.

Duties and Responsibilities There is an urgent need to strengthen the capacity of national statistical systems to leverage the use of administrative and innovative data for statistical purposes, to fill gaps in the data that is available to policy and decision makers to monitor progress and implement the 2030 Agenda and to address emerging challenges. Many countries are still struggling with the lack of modern IT infrastructure and technical skills, along with adequate institutional arrangements, for the efficient integration and processing of data and metadata from administrative and other innovative sources, to produce official statistics.

The UN Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) is engaged in capacity development efforts aimed to address some of these challenges, including through the “Data for Now” project and the “Collaborative on the Use of Administrative Data for Statistics”. These initiatives support various countries in their work to improve and increase the use of innovative and administrative data sources for statistical purposes, with a different area of focus in each country. The learnings and experiences from participating countries will be further shared with other countries to create synergies and multiplicative effects, including through an e-learning course and other cross-cutting guidance materials that will supplement existing thematically focused materials and tools.

Objective of the consultancy

1. Develop country case studies around the modernization of IT architectures that facilitate the integration and use of administrative data sources into the production of official statistics. 2. Support the development of data engineering skills in national statistical offices and provide practical guides and other reference materials to enable the sustainable modernization of their data and IT architectures.

Work Assignment

The consultant will: - Support development of at least 5 country case studies around the modernization of IT architectures that facilitate the integration and use of administrative data sources into the production of official statistics. - Analyze country case studies and compile an inventory of tools and platforms used by countries in their modern IT architecture - Support development of general guidance on IT architecture and infrastructure related to use of non-traditional data sources, initially for administrative data, but potentially also expanded to other innovative sources - Work closely with IT and statistical focal points of national statistical offices to gather information on existing IT systems and draft requirements and provide technical advice to modernize them. - Develop a report with a summary of requirements and technical recommendations for the modernization of IT architecture in at least 3 Data for Now project countries - Delivery of technical assistance and advice (through remote sessions and potentially country missions) to facilitate the implementation of the technical recommendations for the modernization of IT architecture in Data for Now project countries. - Support additional activities related to technical interoperability and linking of administrative records under task team 3 of the Collaborative on the Use of Administrative Data for Statistics.

Qualifications/special skills Academic Qualifications Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in computer science, data science, data engineering, or related field. with five (5) years of experience. A bachelor’s degree in combination with seven (7) years of experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced degree.

Experience - A minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in social sciences, including statistics or economics, or a related field is required. - Experience working with National Statistical Offices, particularly within developing country settings, is desirable. - Understanding of enterprise data management systems, data warehousing infrastructure, big data technologies, GIS analytics, and cloud-based data storage and data access solutions is required. - Demonstrated experience in planning and implementing IT architecture solutions for complex statistical data production systems or data science projects. - Demonstrated experience in building and managing cross-functional teams working in data innovation projects - Demonstrated experience in agile project management and facilitation of IT trainings and workshops. - Experience in coordination with various stakeholders is desirable.

Languages Full command of spoken and written English is required and French is desirable. Knowledge of other UN languages is an advantage.

No Fee THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.