Organization: UNDP – United Nations Development Programme
Location: Remote | Istanbul
Grade: Consultancy – Consultant – Contractors Agreement
Occupational Groups:
Engineering
Meteorology, Geology and Geography
Population matters (trends and census)
Closing Date: 2024-09-18
Background
CORPORATE BACKGROUND:
UNDP works in about 170 countries and territories, helping to eradicate poverty, reduce inequalities and exclusion, and build resilience so countries can sustain progress. As the UN’s development agency, UNDP plays a critical role in helping countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Istanbul International Center for Private Sector in Development () is the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) global organization mandated to leverage the role of the private sector in development. The ICPSD was established in Istanbul, Turkey based on the Partnership Framework Agreement signed between the Government of the Republic of Turkey and the United Nations Development Program in March 2011. The center is one of the six global thematic policy centers of UNDP, supports the private sector and foundations to become transformative partners in development through research, advocacy, facilitation of public-private dialogue and brokering partnerships. ICPSD leads UNDP’s global work on private sector and foundations and supports UNDP’s offices all around the world.
FELLOWSHIP OFFICE BACKGROUND:
The is a joint initiative of UNDP BPPS (Bureau for Policy and Programme Support) team, and it is hosted under UNDP ICPSD. The SDG AI Lab provides research, development, and advisory support through cutting-edge digital solutions in harnessing the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for sustainable development. The Lab aims to strengthen the UNDP’s internal and its partners’ capacities for the increasing demand for digital transformation. In addition, SDG AI Lab mobilizes volunteer data scientists under between UNDP ICPSD and United Nations Volunteers (UNV). Volunteer Data Scientist Initiative connects UNDP teams and data scientists to address development challenges such as Covid-19, disaster response, poverty, climate change and others.
The objective of the Data Science Fellowship is to provide the opportunity to work on how to deploy frontier technologies such as GIS, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning, on development issues. In particular, the Fellow will contribute to geographic data acquisition, data analysis, modelling, deployment, and visualizations efforts.
Duties and Responsibilities
The Fellow will assist in the following duties and responsibilities:
No
Duties and responsibilities
% of time
1
Research and knowledge products development
Conduct research on application of GIS, Remote Sensing and Machine Learning (ML) approaches to development issues
Draft analytical briefs summarizing the project findings and methodologies accessible to the general public audience
Conduct the data maintenance and data acquisition activities of the SDG AI Lab
30 %
2
Development and implementation of digital solutions for SDGs utilizing GIS
Use geospatial data processing and analysis techniques to build, maintain, and improve on analytics, large datasets organization to get actionable insights from them.
Assist the creation of maps, infographics, and other cartographic products using software such as QGIS or ArcGIS.
Develop GIS and Machine Learning (ML) solutions to tackle issues in the field of economic and international development
Manage and document the complete GIS project implementation process from conception to implementation
60 %
3
Other
Provide as needed support to the Technical Specialist as required for, amongst others, participating in meetings, conferences, providing administrative support, drafting meeting minutes and performing other functions and duties
Contribute to the SDG AI Lab’s Volunteer Data Scientists Initiative through advancing the volunteer engagement in SDGs related projects
10 %
Competencies
IT skills:
Strong programming skills, preferably Python
Practical experience in implementing automated workflows with geodata and scripting, particularly with Jupyter Notebook (or similar) for showcasing processes and results
Proven experience with GIS software and libraries such as QGIS or ArcGIS, GDAL, Rasterio, Geopandas, Fiona or similar required
Experience with Geoserver, PostGIS and other relational databases preferred
Proficiency in other programming languages (particularly R, SQL, JavaScript) are an asset.
Language skills:
Fluent in English with excellent reading and writing skills is required.
Proficiency in Turkish and/or UN Languages is an asset
Other competencies and attitudes:
Interest and motivation in working in an international organization
Good analytical skills in gathering and consolidating data and research for practical implementation
Outgoing and initiative-taking person with a goal-oriented mind-set
Communicates effectively when working in teams and independently
Good in organizing and structuring various tasks and responsibilities
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
Responds positively to feedback and differing points of view
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
Candidates must meet one of the following educational requirements:
currently enrolled in a postgraduate programme (such as a master’s programme or higher);
have graduated with a university degree or equivalent studies, shown below:
Field of study: Geographic Information Systems, Geography, Data Science, Geodesics, Cartography, Computer Science, Engineering, or similar.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE:
The application should contain:
Brief Cover Letter (in English) stating interest in and qualifications for the post;
Current and complete CV in English;
Please group all your documents into one single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document.
Candidates who are selected for must submit prior to the interview the following documents:
Official document(s) confirming meeting at least one of the educational requirements.
Stipend
During the time of the fellowship, UNDP will pay a stipend on a monthly basis. The stipend will be paid by UNDP in accordance with the rates effective as of 1 January of the year in which the fellowship is conducted.