Consultant on Predictive Analytics

The Centre for Humanitarian Data is focused on increasing the use and impact of data in the humanitarian sector. It is managed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and is based in The Hague, the Netherlands. The Centre’s services are available to humanitarian partners and OCHA staff in the field and at Headquarters free of charge.

The Centre focuses on four areas: data services, data responsibility, data literacy, and predictive analytics. The data services workstream focuses the management of the Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX) platform, the development and use of the Humanitarian Exchange Language (HXL) data standard, and support to the International Aid Transparency Initiative. The data responsibility worksteam focuses on the development and adoption of data responsibility guidelines and different techniques for the secure management of data, both within OCHA and the broader humanitarian system. The data literacy workstream focuses on improving the data skills of technical and non-technical humanitarians through the delivery of training programmes and development of capacity-building material. The predictive analytics workstream focuses on model development, including threshold and trigger design, and quality assurance of partner models through validation and a peer review process.

The Centre’s Data Fellows programme began in 2018 and supports all four workstreams. This high-profile initiative is designed to expose the Centre team and partners to new areas of data-related expertise that can impact humanitarian response and advance the goals of the Centre. The structure of the programme provides Consultant/Fellows with exposure to different parts of the humanitarian system while allowing them to focus time and energy on an individual project that addresses a challenge related to the use and impact of data in the sector.

The Centre will host its fourth class of Data Fellows in June and July 2021. The 2021 Fellows will focus on three areas: Data Journalism, Predictive Analytics, and Strategic Communications. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 programme will be conducted remotely, with Fellows working from home under the direction of the Coordinator for the Data Fellows Programme.

Predictive Analytics in Humanitarian Action

Although predictive analytics is not a new field, its application in humanitarian response has only just begun. The increasing availability of data from a variety of sources, together with advancements in statistics and machine learning, is generating a growing interest in using models to gain insight and trigger anticipatory action.

When it comes to modeling for humanitarian operations, the goal is to analyze current and historical data to predict an event or some characteristic of an event (the probability, severity, magnitude, or duration). Predicting an event involves anticipating a new shock such as a disaster, disease outbreak, or conflict outbreak. Predicting the characteristics of an event could include population movements, worsening food insecurity, or precursors to drought. By creating an early signal of need that is tied to pre-agreed financing and actions, the response has the potential to be faster, cheaper and better, with more lives saved and protected. The Centre requires a Predictive Analytics Fellow to explore additional areas of potential relevance for predictive analytics in humanitarian action.

We are looking for a candidate who is self-motivated and can thrive in an international, multidisciplinary team. The right candidate has the skills and abilities that together comprise the right levels of expertise to assess predictive models and think strategically about how to use data to create value and insight for humanitarian response.

The Consultant/Fellow will report to the Coordinator for the Data Fellows Programme under the overall direction of the Lead for the Centre for Humanitarian Data. She or he will be expected to work closely with the rest of the Centre team.
Accountabilities 
The Fellow will be responsible for the following:

-          Design and execute a research project related to the use of predictive analytics in humanitarian action, and produce a report synthesizing key findings and recommendations for future work in this area

-          Design and deliver at least one learning session for the Centre team on an aspect of their area of technical expertise.

-          Communicate publicly about the project focus and key outcomes (in the form of a blog and other related channels).

-          Utilize available project management and office communication tools to effectively track and deliver expected outputs.

-          Maintain active and clear communications with relevant members of the Centre and the Fellowship partner organization(s) throughout the course of the programme

Deliverables The Fellow will complete the following deliverables:

-          A short presentation outlining the Fellows’ understanding of the specific challenge related to the use of predictive analytics in humanitarian action, with a plan for how the Fellow will address this challenge through their project.

-          A final report synthesizing key findings and recommendations from the Fellow’s research on the use of predictive models in humanitarian action.

-          A blog post on the outcomes of the project.

EDUCATION

●       Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in mathematics, physics, engineering, computer science, statistics or a related field.

●       Bachelor’s degree with additional 2 years of experience or Master’s degree with 3 years of experience is required.

WORK EXPERIENCE

●       Two years (depending on Degree qualification) programming experience in Python, R and/or Javascript, and an understanding of statistical analysis are required.

●       Experience with data manipulation and transformation as well as code refactoring and API development are essential.

●       Comfort within an Agile environment is expected.

●       Skills in data visualization are desirable.

LANGUAGES

●       Fluency in English is required (both oral and written). Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.

Contract type: Individual Contractor Agreement holders (ICAs) Contract level: IICA-1/LICA-9/ICSC-9
Contract duration: 2 months  starting from 1 June 2021 (lumpsum contract modality)

This is not a position in UNOPS. UNOPS is solely providing operational support to its partner UNOCHA for this recruitment process. The selected candidate will be a personnel member of UNOCA under its full responsibility and salaries and benefits will be decided by UNOCHA.

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System.

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.