ICT Senior Analyst - Infodemics Researcher

Contract

This is a IICA-1 contract. This kind of contract is known as International Individual Contractor Agreements. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's an external contract. It usually requires 2 years of experience, depending on education. More about IICA-1 contracts.

Background Information - Job-specific

UNOPS supports partners to build a better future by providing services that increase the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of peace building, humanitarian and development projects. Mandated as a central resource of the United Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors and United Nations organizations.

New York Service Cluster (NYSC) supports the United Nations Secretariat, as well as other New York-based United Nations organizations, bilateral and multilateral partners in the delivery of UNOPS mandate in project management, infrastructure management, and procurement management.

Sustainable Development Cluster (SDC) supports diverse partners with their peacebuilding, humanitarian and development operations. It was formed by combining the following portfolios: Grants Management Services (GMS), UN Technology Support Services (UNTSS), Development and Special Initiatives Portfolio (DSIP) It provides Services to partners' programmes that are designed, structured, and managed with a global perspective and primarily serving partners that are headquartered in New York. The SDC has a footprint of approximately 125 countries.

UNOPS has signed an agreement with the United Nations to implement the project activities for Global Pulse.

Global Pulse is a flagship innovation initiative of the United Nations Secretary-General on big data. Its vision is a future in which big data and AI are harnessed and used responsibly as a public good. Its mission is to accelerate discovery, development and scaled adoption of data innovation for sustainable development and humanitarian action. To this end, Global Pulse will work to promote awareness of the opportunities Big Data presents for sustainable development and humanitarian action, forge public-private data sharing partnerships, generate high-impact analytical tools and approaches through its network of Pulse Labs, and drive broad adoption of useful innovations across the UN System.

Global Pulse implements data innovation programs through its Pulse Labs to provide UN and development partners with access to the data, tools and expertise required to discover new uses of big data and AI for development. Global Pulse develops policies, toolkits, applications and platforms to improve data-driven decision-making and support the evaluation of promising solutions.

Global Pulse is seeking an infodemics researcher to provide support for the implementation of projects within the Pulse Lab Network.

The incumbent of this position will be a personnel of UNOPS under its full responsibility.

Functional Responsibilities

UNOPS is seeking an infodemics researcher to support the work of UN Global Pulse by running a series of experiments around the COVID-19 infodemic and misinformation, disinformation and hate speech more broadly. The consultant(s) will: - Support producing regular as well as ad hoc reports around key infodemic trends; - Assist the team to pilot and report on the use of AI, data science and computational social science tools for discovering and quantifying spatio-temporal patterns in infodemic spread; - Conduct qualitative and quantitative analyses of digital signals related to rumours and misinformation identified by UN field offices; - Support continuous social media monitoring based on an adaptive taxonomy for identifying rapidly evolving infodemics; - Contribute to Global Pulse’s work on predictive analytics to identify emerging rumours and estimate their size, geographic reach, and proliferation across channels; - Assist the team to conduct sentiment and emotion analysis around particular topics of interest, including the appearance and escalation of hate speech; - Support the development of a framework for optimizing the messaging provided by UN Global Pulse and its partners to counter the misinformation at the right time, in the right format, and with the right message; - Assist in partnership development to leverage support from artificial intelligence, data science and computational social science communities in industry and academia in the fight against infodemics and hate speech; - Apply data science and artificial intelligence methodologies to harness Big Data to improve the understanding of population behavior, needs, and vulnerabilities, as well as to monitor and evaluate the impacts of public sector policies and programmes, in particular projects related to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic; - Support the execution of computational social science studies involving big data sources such as radio data, online media, social network data, satellite imagery, geospatial data, transaction records, etc.; - Draft and assist in writing technical reports, concept notes and scientific articles, and visualize data findings creatively in a variety of formats; - Assist the team to develop presentations of results to stakeholders within the UN system; - Help to shape the infodemics research agenda of UN Global Pulse in consultation with our partners and stakeholders, including designing individual research projects.

Monitoring and Progress Controls

• Deliver infodemics monitoring reports;
• Deliver prototypes of computational social science methodologies as applied to infodemic-related research questions;
• Deliver written reports documenting operational research experiments.

Education/Experience/Language requirements

*******FEMALE CANDIDATES ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY******

*******CANDIDATES WITH NO UNITED NATIONS OR UNOPS EXPERIENCE ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY.******

Education - Advanced university degree (PhD, Masters) preferably in Computer Science, Social Sciences, Mathematics, Engineering, Design, Data Science, Medical Sciences or other related disciplines. - A first-level university degree in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience

• At least 2 years of experience in computational science as applied to social sciences, global health, human rights or any other relevant field is required;
• Familiarity with quantitative and qualitative research methods as well as concepts from data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and network science is required;
• Experience using business intelligence tools, data analysis methods, and/or coding algorithms for analyzing social media data or other big data sources is required;

Desirable experience (the following experience is optional candidates who do not have it are welcome to apply)

• Demonstrated experience documenting processes and writing reports and/or scientific research articles is desirable;
• Experience with randomized experiments, A/B tests, running advertising campaigns and surveys on online platforms is an asset;
• Experience collecting and analyzing social media data is an asset;
• Experience in communications (external and internal) is an asset;
• Experience in Global Health is an asset;
• Experience in Human Rights is an asset;
• Demonstrated experience working in multidisciplinary projects between data/science/technology and public health, development, humanitarian response or social sciences is an asset.

Language

• Fluency in English (written and oral) is required.
• Knowledge of other official working languages of the UN is an asset.

Competencies

Treats all individuals with respect; responds sensitively to differences and encourages others to do the same. Upholds organizational and ethical norms. Maintains high standards of trustworthiness. Role model for diversity and inclusion.

Acts as a positive role model contributing to the team spirit. Collaborates and supports the development of others. For people managers only: Acts as positive leadership role model, motivates, directs and inspires others to succeed, utilizing appropriate leadership styles. Demonstrates understanding of the impact of own role on all partners and always puts the end beneficiary first. Builds and maintains strong external relationships and is a competent partner for others (if relevant to the role). Efficiently establishes an appropriate course of action for self and/or others to accomplish a goal. Actions lead to total task accomplishment through concern for quality in all areas. Sees opportunities and takes the initiative to act on them. Understands that responsible use of resources maximizes our impact on our beneficiaries. Open to change and flexible in a fast paced environment. Effectively adapts own approach to suit changing circumstances or requirements. Reflects on experiences and modifies own behavior. Performance is consistent, even under pressure. Always pursues continuous improvements. Evaluates data and courses of action to reach logical, pragmatic decisions. Takes an unbiased, rational approach with calculated risks. Applies innovation and creativity to problem-solving. Expresses ideas or facts in a clear, concise and open manner. Communication indicates a consideration for the feelings and needs of others. Actively listens and proactively shares knowledge. Handles conflict effectively, by overcoming differences of opinion and finding common ground.

Contract type, level and duration

Contract type: International Individual Contractual Agreement - ICA retainer modality. A retainer contract is issued for a period of time during which the services of the individual contractor are required intermittently. The individual contractor agreement on retainer basis will specify a “unit price” per day worked. For budgetary purposes, a monetary cap will be determined when the contract is awarded and issued. Please note that the retainer contract will not provide for a minimum, and payment will be made only after completion of work.

Contract level: IICA-1/ ICSC-9 Contract duration: ASAP - 30 September 2021 (Retainer modality - possibility of extension if funds available)

For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link: https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements.aspx

Additional Considerations

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

Background Information - UNOPS

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.