Job title: Data Scientist
Organisation United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Country: Uganda
City Kampala
Job category: NGO/Nonprofit Charitable Organizations
Closing date: September 25, 2013 - 2pm
Duties and Responsibilities:
• Define, design and implement research projects harnessing Big Data to improve both understanding of population behavior, needs, and vulnerabilities as well as capacity to monitor and evaluate the impacts of development policies and programmes;
• Perform data studies and data discovery around new data sources or new uses for existing data sources;
• Assist in developing new approaches to detecting events and trends within real-time data sources such as online media, social networks, imagery, geospatial data, communications logs, transaction records, etc.;
• Contribute to the project’s plans on the strategic uses of data and how data use interacts with data design;
• Design and implement statistical data quality procedures around new data sources;
• Implement any software required for accessing and handling data appropriately;
• Visualize and report data findings creatively in a variety of formats;
• Coordinate joint data mining research projects with diverse partners;
• Interact with the global community through a variety of media.
Key Outputs and Deliverables:
• Draft six-month plan of research projects using Big Data to improve understanding of UN partner’s programmes on population behavior, needs, and vulnerabilities. Required end of first month;
• Report on new data/digital data sources, and data discovery around new data sources and new uses for existing data sources in Uganda. Required end of second month;
• Report on new approaches to detecting events and trends within real-time data sources and strategic uses of data and its interaction with data design. Required end of third month;
• Report on design and implementation of statistical data quality procedures around new data sources and software required for accessing and handling data appropriately. Required end of fourth month;
• Report on coordination initiatives of joint data mining research projects with diverse partners and outreach initiatives with global community through a variety of media. Required end of fifth month;
• Final report on all research projects activity and accomplishment and creative visualization report on data findings in a variety of formats. Required end of sixth month.
• Institutional arrangement
• The Data Scientist will report to the Pulse Lab Manager;
• He or she will report on the progress of activities on a weekly basis and this will be done in line with the set deliverables of the assignment;
• The Consultant will be supported with all required equipment and supporting resources to conduct the required assignment.
Qualifications, Skills and Experience:
• Masters degree in computer science, engineering, statistics, applied mathematics, physics, computational finance, economics, or other related technical disciplines
• A first degree and an additional two years relevant experience may be accepted in lieu of the higher university degree.
• Familiarity with analytical techniques such as text mining, sentiment analysis, predictive analysis, event detection, and modeling of complex systems;
• At least three years of experience in analysis and data visualization;
• Experience in a branch of computational informatics (development, health, bio-, geo-, etc), using machine learning;
• Experience working with Big Data, social network data, and geospatial data/satellite imagery;
• Experience analyzing data from social monitoring systems, monitoring and evaluation work, or other survey work in developing countries;
• Experience writing research proposals, scientific articles and technical reports;
• Familiarity working with quantitative and qualitative data;
• Experience with scripting, coding, and web design required for data access, analysis, and presentation;
• Demonstrated experience presenting work to both technical and non-technical audiences;
• Willingness to evaluate and adopt the latest advances in AI, machine learning, predictive analysis and visualization.
Language Requirements:
• Fluent in English (both oral and written).
Personal Competencies:
• Understanding of big data and data analytics;
• Strong leadership skills;
• Ability to effectively lead teams in ambiguously or undefined problem spaces;
• Ability to manage and mentor teams in rapidly shifting environment;
• Demonstrated sense of initiative and problem-solving skills;
• Knowledge of utility of data in crisis situations;
• Understanding of government partners’ workflows and agendas.
• Evaluation Criteria:
• Technical Proposal (Maximum 70 points):
• Relevance of education – 5 points;
• Language skills – 5 points;
• Relevance of experience (professional / work experience)– 30 points;
• Interpretation of the assignment and methodology – 30 points.
• Financial Proposal (Maximum 30 points): To be computed as a ratio of the Proposal’s offer to the lowest price among the proposals received by UNDP.
The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as responsive / compliant / acceptable and should have the highest combined score (based on 70% technical and 30% price weight distribution) where the minimum passing score of the technical proposal is 70%.
How to apply:
Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document:
Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP (see Annex II);
Updated Personal CV highlighting past experience in similar assignments and with 3 professional references with contact details (email and telephone);
Technical Proposal: suggested outline for technical proposal: The offerors interpretation of the assignment; Approach and methodology for undertaking the assignment.
Financial proposal (in template provided in Annex II) stating an all-inclusive fixed lumpsum fee for this assignment in Ugandan Shillings or US Dollars, supported by a breakdown of costs. Such total lump sum price must include professional fee, and costs necessary to conduct the assignment such as communication costs, travel etc. The consultant will be paid against the completion of specific, measurable deliverables as identified in this TOR.
Annexes (to be downloaded from UNDP Uganda Website, procurement notices section: www.undp.or.ug):):
Annex I - Individual Contractor General Terms and Conditions;
Annex II – Offerors Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the Individual Contractor Assignment.
http://jobs.undp.org
NB: UNDP is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified Women are encouraged to apply.
