Consultant

OVERVIEW

Parent Sector : Social and Human Sciences Sector (SHS)

Duty Station: The Project Consultant may work remotely, travelling to UNESCO and agreed locations when their presence is required by the project.

Job Family: Social and Human Sciences

Type of contract : Non Staff

Recruitment open to : External candidates

Application Deadline (Midnight Paris Time) : 25-Nov-2024-extension

UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism

BACKGROUND

In November 2021, 193 Member States of UNESCO adopted the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (the Recommendation). Countries around the world are now in the process of implementing the Recommendation, with UNESCO supporting them through various capacity-building efforts. UNESCO is partnering with the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation on the Promoting Ethical Governance of AI for Greater Impact project, to advance an ethical framework for AI governance, to translate the Recommendation into national institutional and regulatory frameworks and to build a national consensus on the shared vision for AI. In 2024, the project focuses on five countries: Argentina, India, Indonesia, Tanzania, and Türkiye.

UNESCO is seeking senior experts to oversee the implementation of the project in Türkiye, including all research and analytical components, and to lead the preparation of a policy-oriented country report. This report will build on the results derived from UNESCO’s AI Readiness Assessment Methodology (RAM) and reflect the outcomes of the multi-stakeholder national consultations to be organized in the framework of this report. The aim of the report will be to inform the country’s comprehensive national AI strategy and to provide an evidence-based framework on the ethical governance of AI, with short-and long-term priorities identified, and using the Recommendation on the Ethics of AI as a blueprint.  

The consultant will work under the overall authority of the Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences Sector (ADG/SHS), and direct supervision of the Head of the Ethics of AI Unit and the Programme Specialist/Project Officer in the responsible field office or HQ of UNESCO.  

Candidates may team up to submit their joint applications for this consultancy. 

SCOPE OF WORK

The aim of this consultancy is to lead the development of research and analytical outputs towards the production of a policy-oriented country report, to be aligned with and to feed into the national AI policy timelines/priorities.

Activities: 

•    Facilitating the work of a multidisciplinary national steering committee that will oversee the project implementation from the government’s side. 
•    Facilitating the deployment of RAM, to gain in-depth understanding of the potential for AI development, the state of the art in the country in terms of institutional and regulatory readiness, as well as the regulatory and institutional gaps to be filled to transform the potential into action. The expert will proactively engage with national stakeholders and ensure the alignment of the country activities and outputs with the global RAM implementation by UNESCO.
•    Preparing diagnostic report based on the outcomes of the RAM exercise. 
•    Participating as an expert in the broad-based national consultations, to present the results of the readiness assessment and to facilitate discussions leading to the identification of needs, concerns, and policy priorities for the civil society. This also involves active consultation with individual experts and collaboration with all relevant stakeholders.
•    Drafting the final policy-oriented country report to inform the national AI strategy. Depending on the country context, this report may be complementary to the existing national AI strategy or serve as the blueprint for establishing such a strategy where one does not exist, and will feature recommendations concerning the regulatory and other policy reforms needed for an effective governance of AI in the country, based on the short- and long-term priorities identified, and using the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence as an overall framework. 
•    Participating in the high-level National Forum on AI to showcase the outcome of the project.

Readiness Assessment Methodology (RAM): A critical initial stage in the implementation of the Recommendation is the deployment of RAM, as mandated by the Recommendation, to assist Member States in identifying their status at specific moments of their readiness trajectory along a continuum of dimensions (legal/regulatory, social/cultural, technical/infrastructural, economic and scientific/educational).

Deliverables and timeframe: 

1.    By the end of 1st Month: Engage with various stakeholders to coproduce a timeline for the delivery of the RAM deployment and its outputs. 
2.    By the end of 2nd Month: Diagnostic Report of the Country’s readiness following UNESCO’s AI Readiness Assessment Methodology.
3.    By the end of 3rd Month: Synthesis report on the key outputs from the multistakeholder national consultations in the diagnostic report.
4.    By the end of 4th Month: Policy-oriented Country Report paying the way for policy reform in the country on the ethical governance of AI.
5.    By the end of the 5th Month: Facilitate and align the project activities with the broader adoption of UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI to ensure coherence and integration with Country-level AI strategy and policy activities..

The duration of the contract is 5 months, from 2 December 2024 to 1 May 2025.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Advanced university degree (master’s or equivalent required) in governance of artificial intelligence, ethical and social implications of artificial intelligence or digital technologies, law and technology, computer science, data science, computational social science, or other related fields. 

Work experience

• A minimum of five years of professional experience on the ethical, legal, social and governance issues of artificial intelligence and related digital technologies, at national and/or international level. Experiences with the relevant government agency in the implementing country is a plus. 

• Proven experience in conducting research and analysis and/or implementing programmes/projects on the ethical, legal, social and governance issues of artificial intelligence and related digital technologies, as well as standards related to these issues. Experiences in producing policy-oriented report or recommendations are strongly desirable. 

Skills/Competencies

•    Very good understanding of the ethical, legal, social and governance issues of artificial intelligence and related digital technologies.
•    Excellent knowledge about the dynamics of governance of AI in the implementing country, including policies, legislative and regulatory frameworks, institutional mechanisms, organizational structures and processes, and initiatives by different stakeholders in this field. 
•    Experiences in undertaking policy review and assessments both qualitatively and quantitatively on topics related to governance of AI or related digital technologies.
•    Proven ability to draft clearly and concisely and to produce high quality policy-oriented analysis and synthesis documents.

Languages

• Excellent knowledge of English. Knowledge of Turkish would be an asset. 

APPLICATION

Interested candidates should click on “Apply Now”, then download and complete the Employment History form (Word file). At the end of the Word file, insert extra pages with the following required information:
•    A statement indicating how their qualifications and experience make them suitable for the assignment;
•    A written proposal comprising:

o    An approach and methodology for the assignment in line with the terms of reference.
o    The amount to be charged for the assignment, which should be quoted in US dollars on a monthly basis for a 6-month period (full-time working).

Upon completing the Word file with all the requested information above, upload the file at the “My Employment History Form / My Documents” section of the online application form. Only applications with the above requested information will be considered.

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