Data Specialist

Result of Service The consultant will provide expert support to the Secretariat of the Minamata Convention on developing a dashboard that visualizes the status and progress of the implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury in relation to its first effectiveness evaluation, to be proposed as input for COP-5.

Work Location Home based

Expected duration 3.5 months

Duties and Responsibilities The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury. The Convention was adopted in Kumamoto, Japan in 2013 and came into effect in 2017. The Secretariat functions of the Convention are performed by the UNEP. As of July 2023, there are 143parties to the Convention. The Secretariat of the Minamata Convention is located in Geneva.

At its fourth meeting, the Conference of the Parties agreed on intersessional work to be carried out until COP-5. The Secretariat of the Minamata Convention is responsible for coordinating this intersessional period and as well as ensuring the timely and effective organization of the fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties.

Article 22 on Effectiveness Evaluation sets out that the Conference of the Parties shall evaluate the effectiveness of the Convention beginning no later than six years after entry into force and periodically thereafter. In decision MC-4/11, the Conference of the Parties agreed to begin the first effectiveness evaluation of the Minamata Convention and requested the Secretariat to support an intersessional process to refine the list of indicators, with a view to providing a final list of indicators for adoption by the Conference of the Parties at its fifth meeting.

On the basis of the comments received, the Secretariat has developed a list of 36 proposed indicators to support, during the first effectiveness evaluation, an assessment of the information contained in the national reports (article 21) and other sources to form a global picture with respect to how actions taken by Parties are contributing to progress towards the Convention's objective to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds. The list is contained in the COP-5 document UNEP/MC/COP.5/17/Add.1 for consideration and possible adoption by the Conference of the Parties.

In order to facilitate the deliberations of the COP with respect to the list of indicators prepared by the Secretariat with comments from different stakeholders, the Minamata Convention Secretariat will propose an initial dashboard with the data already gathered from National Reporting.

Of the 36 proposed indicators for the effectiveness evaluation process of the Minamata Convention, 33 are based on Article 21 National Reporting as a source of information, of which 14 share the information with other sources.

The Secretariat of the Minamata Convention needs the services of this contract to develop a dashboard that visualizes the status and progress of the implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury in relation to its first effectiveness evaluation, to be proposed as input for COP-5.

In close collaboration with and under the supervision of the Communications and Knowledge Management Officer, the consultant will perform the following tasks:

• Coordinate activities with the Minamata Convention Secretariat to develop a dashboard that visualizes the status and progress of the implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury for its first effectiveness evaluation.
• Refer to Article 22 on Effectiveness Evaluation, Article 21 on National Reporting, decision MC-4/11, UNEP/MC/COP.5/17/Add.1 with the list of proposed indicators and other relevant information to be provided by the Minamata Convention Secretariat.
• Review normalized existing datasets for national reporting based on the indicators and design,
• Develop a dashboard on Power BI based on national reporting as a source of information, using data already gathered from National Reporting,
• Focus on 33 of the 36 proposed indicators for the effectiveness evaluation process, which are based on Article 21 National Reporting as a source of information.
• Consider user experience (UX) principles when developing the dashboard to allow the COP to gain a global perspective on how actions by Parties contribute to progress toward the Convention's objective, and give insights to decide whether to adopt the list of indicators prepared by the Secretariat, incorporating comments from various stakeholders.

• Prepare documentation on the process and management of the dashboard.

  Qualifications/special skills Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in computer science, data science, analytics, statistics, information management, public administration, management or a related field. A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. A minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in applied analytics, business intelligence, information management, statistics, project management, stakeholder management or related area is required. Experience in using data to advance decisions, strategies and execution is required. Experience with self-service analytics and data visualization applications (MS PowerBI, Qlik, Tableau or similar), or business intelligence tools (SAP Business Objects, etc.) is required. Experience in tools managing version control such as Git is highly desirable. Experience with database or programming languages (SQL, Python, R) is desirable.

  Languages English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of other United Nations languages is desirable.

  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.