DATA ENGINEER

Org. Setting and Reporting

This position is located in the Global Technical Team (GTT) in the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management (DGACM), Vienna. The incumbent reports to the DevOps/QA Team Lead under overall supervision of the Chief of GTT.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Data Engineer will be responsible for the following duties:
• Manage individual projects regarding the optimal extraction, transformation, and loading of data from a wide variety of sources into data pipelines, as well as the creation and maintenance of data catalogues
• Manage individual projects regarding architecture of cloud-based applications, as well as the maintenance, security, optimal costing, and proper working of the applications.
• Design and develop solutions for data-related technical problems and data infrastructure needs surfaced by Executive, Analytics and Design teams
• Manage the identification, design, and implementation of internal process improvements: automating manual processes, optimizing data delivery, re-designing architecture for greater scalability, cost optimization, security improvements
• Deploy resources to extract data features from complex datasets for data scientists and data analysts
• Manage the implementation of changes to systems to ensure compliance with data governance, protection, privacy, and security requirements
• Stay available for overtime and on-call assignments, depending on the needs of service.
• Perform functions of Team Lead (Officer in Charge) in his/her absence, such as capacity planning, recruitment tasks and budgeting.
• Guide, train, and supervise other staff and individual contractors.
• Facilitate delivery of infrastructure solutions to ensure efficient DGACM business processes.

Competencies

• Professionalism: Knowledge of data analysis life cycle from ingest and wrangling to analysis and visualization to present findings. Knowledge of best practices and IT operations in an always-up, always-available service. Knowledge of Agile Software Development methodologies. Strong analytic skills related to working with unstructured datasets. Ability in managing and communicating data warehouse plans to internal clients. Excellent problem solving and troubleshooting skills. Working knowledge of message queuing, stream processing, highly scalable ‘big data’ data stores, cloud infrastructures, automated deployments, and security. Process oriented with great documentation skills. Ability to convey complex / difficult DevOps topics in a relatable manner. Takes pride in the work for the organization and understands the impact that can be brought into the organization by allowing data-driven and evidence-based decisions, as well as cloud-based infrastructure and deployments. Ability to apply judgment in the context of assignments given, plan own work and manage conflicting priorities. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.
• Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; asks questions to clarify and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; tailors language, tone, style and format to match audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.
• Technological Awareness: Keeps abreast of available technology; understands applicability and limitation of technology to the work of the office; actively seeks to apply technology to appropriate tasks; shows willingness to learn new technology.
• Judgement/ Decision-making: Identifies the key issues in a complex situation, and comes to the heart of the problem quickly; Gathers relevant information before making a decision; Considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them; Takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the Organization; Proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information; Checks assumptions against facts; Determines that the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision; Makes tough decisions when necessary.

Education

Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in computer science, statistics, applied mathematics, data management, information systems, information science or a related quantitative field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience

A minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in data management, integration, modeling, optimization, and other relevant areas is required.

A minimum of five years of experience in Azure cloud-based infrastructure management is required.

A minimum of five years of experience with MS-SQL database programming language is required.

A minimum of three years of experience using automated infrastructure deployment tools (Infrastructure as Code) such as Terraform or Azure Resource Manager templates is required.

A minimum of one year of experience in designing data integration and pipeline architectures which must include ingesting data through different methods such as message queues, database connections, flat files, REST, or specific API’s, is required.

Experience supporting cross-functional teams and collaborating with stakeholders in support of analytics initiatives is required.

Experience in the Azure DevOps tool chain and the deployment of data pipelines is required.

Experience in delivering data use cases using Azure Data Factory is desirable.

Experience working with self-service analytics applications like Microsoft PowerBI and others for data discovery is desirable.

Training and practical experience with the PRINCE 2 methodology is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is an advantage.

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.

Special Notice

Appointment against this position is for an initial period of one year and renewal therefore subject to the availability of the post or funds, budgetary approval or extension of the mandate.

Staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures.

The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.

Internal Applicants – when completing the PHP, ensure ALL fields, ALL professional experience and contact information are completed and up to date. This information is the basis for the hiring manager to assess your eligibility and suitability for the position and to contact you.

Individual contractors and consultants who have worked within the UN Secretariat in the last six months, irrespective of the administering entity, are ineligible to apply for professional and higher temporary or fixed-term positions and their applications will not be considered.

All applicants are strongly encouraged to apply on-line as soon as possible after the job opening has been posted and well before the deadline stated in the job opening. On-line applications will be acknowledged where an email address has been provided. If you do not receive an e-mail acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. If the problem persists, please seek technical assistance through the Inspira "Need Help?" link.

United Nations Considerations

According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment.

Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.

The paramount consideration in the appointment, transfer, or promotion of staff shall be the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. By accepting an offer of appointment, United Nations staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and assignment by him or her to any activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). In this context, all internationally recruited staff members shall be required to move periodically to discharge new functions within or across duty stations under conditions established by the Secretary-General.

Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the Manual for the Applicant, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of the inspira account-holder homepage.

The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.

Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

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.