Intern - Data Science, Addressing Mis/Disinformation Team

Contract

This is a I-1 contract. It usually requires 0 years of experience, depending on education. More about I-1 contracts.

Work Location

Flexible (Hybrid, all remote, or in-person).

Expected duration

2 - 6 months. The desired start date is 29 April 2024, or sooner.

Duties and Responsibilities

The duration of the internship is for two (2) months with a possibility of extension up to six (6) months. This internship is UNPAID in person and full-time (35 hours per week), on the United Nations premise working arrangement from (New York, USA). This internship is designed to be full-time and in-person but can be adjusted based on the needs of the successful candidate to part-time (20 hours per week) and/or remote. This internship is located in the Addressing Mis/Disinformation Team in the Policy and Best Practices Service (PBPS), Division of Policy, Evaluation and Training (DEPT) in the Department of Peace Operations (DPO). The Intern will report to the Data Scientist and the Senior Programme Management Officer of the Addressing Misinformation/Disinformation Team. Mis and disinformation have been identified as key threats to the safety and security of peacekeepers as well as the ability of peacekeeping missions to implement their mandate. The Addressing Mis and disinformation Team in DPO is working to strengthen the monitoring, analysis and responses to mis/disinformation and hate speech, in order to strengthen information integrity in mission settings. A key component of the work of the team is developing and leveraging data science methods and tools to monitor and analyze the digital information environment to support the work of peacekeeping missions, drawing on a wider range of online and offline media sources. Within delegated authority, the intern will be responsible for the following duties: • Contributing to the design, development, implementation and evaluation of AI, data science and visual analytics architectures and pipelines to analyze data for supporting decision making; • Contributing to the development and application of analysis methods to support peacekeeping missions for misinformation and disinformation analysis; • Supporting monitoring and analysis and the rapid turnaround thereof, including of country-specific and regional trends and patterns; • Supporting subject experts to visualize and report data findings creatively in a variety of formats, including the design and development of interactive visualizations and dashboards; • Supporting the team to create efficient data processing pipelines; • Reviewing and documenting scientific background research on relevant topics; • Assisting in drafting training materials, other policies, guidelines and doctrine, and analysis report; • Perform other duties as appropriate.

Qualifications/special skills

1. Applicants at the time of application must meet one of the following requirements: (a) Be enrolled in, or have completed, a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher); or, (b) Be enrolled in, or have completed, the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum bachelor's level or equivalent) 2. The field of study should be computer science, physics, mathematics, statistics, computation social science, or related field. Graduates of social sciences, including international relations, politics, law, anthropology, who have computer science skills will also be considered. Knowledge or experience of any of the following is desirable: - Python, R or an equivalent programming environment - AI frameworks and machine learning software packages (e.g. TensorFlow, or PyTorch) - Open-source intelligence information gathering and analysis - Natural Language Processing (NLP) methodologies for analysing social media data (including entity extraction, topic modelling and text classification) - Social sciences techniques around information sharing - Speech-to-text AI technologies - Webscraping - Interactive data visualization development and information design such of D3.js, Crossfilter/dc.js, Leaflet.js, Processing.js, or a similar package - Big Data and real-time analytics technologies, Azure, AWS, Spark and parallel programming paradigms - Full-stack development, API management, and building end-to-end data science prototyping pipelines - Projects that integrate ICTs and social sciences - Innovation techniques for eliciting challenges and needs - Writing technical reports and papers for a diverse audience of readers - Communicating technical concepts to individuals with a broad range of technical backgrounds 3. Applicants to the United Nations Internship Programme are not required to have professional work experience. Nevertheless, work experience is an asset.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. Fluency in spoken and written English is required for the internship. Knowledge of an additional UN language is an asset. Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish are the official languages of the United Nations Secretariat.

Additional Information

The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance and geographical diversity in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position. Applicants who have previously served six months, in total, as an intern in one or more UN Common Systems cannot be engaged as an intern. Applicants who are children, siblings, and sons or daughters-in-law (including stepchildren, half-siblings, or stepsiblings) of an active staff member in a UN Common System cannot be engaged as an intern. In your Motivational Statement, please indicate when you would like to start your internship. Please note that the start and end dates are flexible. A complete online application is required. reviewed. The Motivational Statement must also include: • Title of degree you are currently pursuing. • Graduation Date (When will you be graduating/have graduated from the programme?) • Explain why you are the best candidate for this specific internship • Explain your interest in the United Nations Internship Programme In your online Personal History Profile, be sure to include all past work experiences, IT skills, and three references.

Intern Specific text

Interns are not financially remunerated by the United Nations. Costs and arrangements for travel, visas, accommodation and living expenses are the responsibility of interns or their sponsoring institutions. Interns who are not citizens or permanent residents of the country where the internship is undertaken, may be required to obtain the appropriate visa and work/employment authorization. Successful candidates should discuss their specific visa requirements before accepting the internship offer.

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.