Home Based Consultancy: Data Ingestion Expert Consultant with UNICEF ECARO section of Programme, Planning and Data ( 52 working days from 25 April 2023 to 31 December 2024)

Consultant Programme & Policy

Overview

Undertake data ingestion work for TransMonEE database

You have:

• Minimum Masters in Data Science, data engineer or related field
• At least 5 years’ experience with demonstrated results in data manipulation and ETL
• Excellent skills in data manipulation and ETL in either R or Python
• Experience working with human rights, demographic, development and/or related data
• Strong knowledge of statistical working practices and exchange formats such as SDMX
• General knowledge of quantitative research, data transformation and database management strategies
• Excellent written and spoken English language skills

Contract

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UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, Education

The TransMonEE (http://transmonee.org) data ingestion initiative needs a talented, independent consultant to undertake data ingestion work (extract, transform and load) into the TransMonEE database in SDMX. The data ingestion allows bringing of data through batch and real-time ingestion. Here, real-time data ingestion is when data is ingested as it occurs, and batch data ingestion is when the information is collected over time and then processed at once (e.g., excel-based data from NSO TransMonEE data, OECD child-wellbeing, INFORM risk database, etc.) Additionally, the consultant must document the data transformation processes (from raw data to aggregated indicators) for replication and future reference.

Scope of Work:

UNICEF places a high priority on the availability of recent and reliable information for monitoring the situation of children, young people, and families for developing evidence-based policies and programmes, a data ingestion expert is needed to work on the TransMonEE regional database.

The TransMonEE (Transformative Monitoring for Enhanced Equity) database captures a vast range of data using Europe and Central Asia (ECA) Child rights Monitoring framework. The ECA region has been engaged in a continuous process to improve child rights monitoring and data availability in the region and in supporting building systems at the national level to monitor child rights. Until 2022, the ECA Programme, Planning and Data section (PP&D) ingested time-series data for about 450 plus indicators and variables to Europe and Central Asia countries. A revised dashboard is also designed and developed in line with the ECA domains and cross-cutting issues. Its also noted that due to changes in the source URL/API links by the hosting agency, further efforts are required to ensure timely and quality data is stored in the TransMonEE database.

In 2023, the PPD section will continue with all actions/processes to improve the recentness of data available in the TransMonEE regional database to be used in the SDG data availability dashboard, inequity dashboard, TransMonEE dashboard, digital SitAn dashboard, which will ensure improved child rights monitoring in the region and build a comprehensive regional database on children and women. This requires the continuation of the data ingestion approaches and maintenance of the data warehouse.

This technical support involves reviewing existing data sources and cross-checking the recentness of data in the database, producing error reports, identifying the period of data updated by source, harmonizing diverse structured sources, and applying specific data transformation and validation functions (e.g., aggregation and treatment of outliers) and document of ETL process in SharePoint. This work will be programmatic and reproducible, e.g., written as a series of extract, transform, load (ETL) steps, whether in R or Python.

Tasks/Milestone:

Deliverables/Outputs:

Delivery deadline

1. Data updates in the required format

• 1.1 Ingest TransMonEE (TM) NSO CP data collection for the year 2022 and 2023 (collected by December 2023 and 2024) into the UNICEF ECARO SDMX database.

• 1.2 Submit fortnightly error report of broken API links of indicators in the SDMX data dictionary of the ETL system; accordingly update all query scripts to ensure new data is loaded in the TM SDMX database.

• 1.3. Collaborate with ECARO Data TransMonEE Analysis and Visualization specialist (UNV) to support TransMonEE dashboard visualization. Address the issues/problems identified in the previous rounds of data ingestions exercise, in collaboration with ECARO Data Analysis and Visualization specialist (refer to excel-based action log worksheet).

• New data from NSO was ingested into the SDMX database (Estimated load: 144 indicators/variables)

Update data dictionary API queries and ECARO GitHub repository

Action taken report on the action log compliance

By end-Sep 2023

4 days

10 days

10 days

2. Undertake data ingestion work (extract, transform and load) for the newly identified indicators from the international databases in the TransMonEE database in SDMX.

New data from the international database was ingested into the SDMX database (Estimated load: 200 indicators/variables).

By end-Oct 2023 and end-Oct 2024

20 days

3. Procedures, dataflows and commented code to replicate the harmonization of diverse data structure sources, specifically:

• 2.1 Validate the Python code produced for ECARO by former IT intern in GitHub repository, in comparison with the tabulated variables published in TM NSO 2022 data collection
• 2.2 Develop the Python coding strategy to calculate TM indicators from the former variables and validate against TM NSO 2022 publication.

ETL Python code delivered in ECARO GitHub repository

Develop the IT infrastructure in UNICEF Azure cloud services using Databricks notebooks that allows the future TM NSO data collections (2023 onwards) to be ingested directly from NSO Excel templates and circumvent the current need of post-processing (a.k.a. TM NSO publication)

2 days

4 days

4. Codebook, which documents data transformation processes into indicators

• Update documentation of methods used in the ETL architecture

Collaborate with Data Analysis and Visualization specialist to support the documentation of the data processing work performed for both real-time and batch data ingestions into the TransMonEE regional database

By end-Dec 2024

2 days

Estimated Duration of the Contract

52 days

Consultant’s Work Place and Official Travel

The Consultant will be home-based

Estimated Cost of the Consultancy & Payment Schedule

Payment will be made on submission of an invoice and satisfactory completion of the above-mentioned deliverables. Please indicate an all-inclusive lumpsum to undertake this TOR based on 52 days.

Minimum requirements:

Minimum Masters in Data Science, data engineer or related field

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

It is required that the consultant has at least 5 years’ experience with demonstrated results in the majority of the following areas:

• Excellent skills in data manipulation and ETL in either R or Python.
• Experience working with human rights, demographic, development and/or related data fields is highly desirable.
• Strong knowledge of statistical working practices and exchange formats such as SDMX.
• General knowledge of quantitative research, data transformation and database management strategies.
• Excellent written and spoken English language skills

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

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. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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.

Remarks:

Please include a full CV and Financial Proposal in your application by indicating your availability and all-inclusive lumpsum (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference above. Applications submitted without an all-inclusive lumpsum will not be considered. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

Apply now

Potential interview questions

Added 3 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unicef.org