Consultancy - Chief Scientist, Office of Innovation

The purpose of this consultancy is to 1) lead research on new data sources along priority research lines including: a) epidemiology; b) mapping of socio-economic indicators; c) responses to natural disasters and d) mapping every school in the world. Each of these research lines involves defining specific research questions, designing strategies, developing methods, establishing partnerships and supporting tool creation to leverage the power of New Data and Computational methods for major challenges facing children; 2) to develop pilots and proofs of concept and to 3) develop a roadmap for integration of data and related models into UNICEF’s core programmes and teams.

UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to protect the rights of every child. UNICEF has spent 70 years working to improve the lives of children and their families. Defending children's rights throughout their lives requires a global presence, aiming to produce results and understand their effects. UNICEF believes all children have a right to survive, thrive and fulfill their potential – to the benefit of a better world.

Duration: 6 months

Duty Station: New York HQ

Level: Individual contract (equivalent to P4 )

BACKGROUND

UNICEF Office of Innovation combines several disciplines such as network science, natural language processing, data mining, machine learning, remote sensing, artificial intelligence or complex systems in research lines such as human dynamics, epidemiology, urbanization, migration or influence dynamics.

Candidates should expect to pursue research leading to both high level scientific publications and operational tools for UNICEF. Current lines of work range from epidemic modelling and response in emergencies such as Ebola and Zika, understanding urban dynamics and migration resilience in crisis such as the Syrian refugees, preparedness and early warning for natural hazards such as El Nino or understanding how children rights get embedded into legal and corporate policies. Current data sources include mobility and communication networks, social media and news, satellite images, financial and economic data, weather and environmental data along with a wide variety of traditional humanitarian and development indicators.

The Science Team interacts with world class scientists, on the ground responders, private sector data holders and tech leaders to push the Data Science agenda towards the problems that affect the most vulnerable children. Breakthroughs and working methodologies are streamlined to a dedicated Development Team to scale into operational tools that can make a real impact.

UNICEF's Office of Innovation functions like a collection of startups in early-stage in which promising new technologies (e.g. data science, SMS technologies, UAVs, blockchain) are identified that have potential to impact UNICEF core operations (e.g. education, health, disaster response). Through our network of technology partners, UNICEF country offices and academic institutions, we construct pilots to quickly determine potential impact. The Office of Innovation provides support to UNICEF's 135 country offices and consists of a flat team of technologists, designers, programmers, researchers and communication specialists. Requests for collaboration, advice and support are fielded from UNICEF programmes, other parts of the UN system and the humanitarian technology ecosystem.

PURPOSE OF THE APPOINTMENT / MAIN ACTIVITIES

The purpose of this consultancy is to 1) lead research on new data sources along priority research lines including: a) epidemiology; b) mapping of socio-economic indicators; c) responses to natural disasters and d) mapping every school in the world. Each of these research lines involves defining specific research questions, designing strategies, developing methods, establishing partnerships and supporting tool creation to leverage the power of New Data and Computational methods for major challenges facing children; 2) to develop pilots and proofs of concept and to 3) develop a roadmap for integration of data and related models into UNICEF's core programmes and teams.

Expected results: (measurable results)

Building on the work of the Big Data project over the last 4 years, and in consultation and collaboration with other UNICEF Divisions and partners, the consultant will:

1. Lead identification of research questions and development of strategies and methods across three priority research lines - a) epidemiology; b) mapping of socio-economic indicators; c) responses to sudden onsets
2. Develop pilots and proofs of concept in 3 additional Country Offices or Programme Division sections for new tools that inform UNICEF's programmes and emergency responses, that use new data, AI or computational methods, such as MagicBox
3. Develop a roadmap for integration of research lines and related work into UNICEF's core programmes including open, publicly accessible documentation, case studies from operational application across 3 country offices, publication of research in peer-reviewed journals and an analysis of upcoming research, investment and partnership areas for UNICEF programmes and the UNICEF Innovation Fund.

PAYMENT PLAN

• Monthly payment, based on monthly tasks and progress reports, approved upon monthly review with supervisor.
• Consultant is responsible for his/her own health insurance
• Consultant is eligible for standard DSA for all work-related travel
• Consultants are responsible for assuming costs for obtaining visas and travel insurance

QUALIFICATIONS AND EDUCATION

• Advanced university degree, preferably a PhD in computer science, engineering, statistics, applied mathematics, physics, computational finance, or other related technical fields
• At least 8 years' experience in Big Data analytics and or Computational Sociology research
• Experience in leading research teams and projects
• Competency in data analysis, network analysis, time series analysis or modeling of complex systems
• Competency in R or Python, shell scripting and/or awk and specific libraries such as iGraph are a plus
• Familiarity working with quantitative and qualitative data, including cell phone data, social network data and network analysis
• Experience in working with complex network data to create decision making algorithm and processes. Experience on epidemiological models (SI, SIR, SIIR) desired
• Demonstrated ability to work with people of various professional, academic and cultural backgrounds
• Familiarity with he UN system, UNICEF and the UNICEF Data strategy desired
• Able to work under pressure and manage parallel lines of work, creative and able to think outside the box and with a good sense of humor and easy going personality

Languages

Fluency in English required,  other UN language an asset

Applications must include:

• Cover letter,
• CV
• 2 selected scientific publications of the applicant's portfolio with a small description of why they were selected for this application
• Link to google scholar profile, github profile, medium or blog site (if available)

Please indicate your ability, availability and monthly rate (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference above.   Applications submitted without a monthly rate will not be considered.