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 the Data Consultants/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 third class of Data Consultants/Fellows in The Hague in June and July 2020. The 2020 Data Consultants/Fellows will focus on three areas: Data Storytelling (Education), Predictive Analytics, and Statistics (Mosaic Effect). The Fellowship programme is residential, with Data Consultants/Fellows living and working in The Hague under the direction of the Coordinator for the Data Fellows Programme.

Predictive Analytics in Humanitarian Action

The application of predictive analytics in humanitarian response is generating a growing interest among decision makers, donors and responders. In recent years partners have increasingly used models to trigger anticipatory actions with the common goal of anticipating and mitigating upcoming humanitarian crises. However, different organisations have included predictive models in the decision making process in different ways. The goal of this project is to take stock of how and why organisations have adopted different approaches for incorporating the use of predictive models into anticipatory action frameworks.

The Consultant will conduct a systematic review comprised of desk research and interviews with partner organisations (IFRC, FAO, WFP, Start Network and more) to understand the role of models in past anticipatory actions. The Consultant will analyse all the aspects of the model life cycles (development, evaluation, application and maintenance), document how different organisations are developing triggers for anticipatory actions, and identify best practices and lessons learned.

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 will be responsible for the following:

• Design and execute a systematic review of the use of predictive models in anticipatory action, and produce a report synthesizing key findings and recommendations for future work in this area

• Design and deliver at least one session (in person or online) for the Centre team and broader community 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).

• Produce a final report outlining the key insights from the projects and, as relevant, providing recommendations for further work in the area of focus.

• 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 Consultant will complete the following deliverables:

• A briefing note outlining the Consultant’s’ understanding of the specific challenge related to the use of predictive models in anticipatory action and presenting a plan for how the consultant will explore this through their capstone project

• A final report synthesizing key findings and recommendations resulting from a systematic review on the use of predictive models in anticipatory action and, as relevant, providing recommendations for further work in the area of focus

• Detailed technical documentation the methodology and outcomes of the systematic review 

• At least one 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 four years of experience can be accepted in lieu of advanced university degree with two years of experience.

WORK EXPERIENCE

• At least two years (depending on Degree qualification) programming experience in Python, R and/or Javascript, and an understanding of statistical analysis.

• 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 is desirable.

Contract type: ICA
Contract level: IICA-1/ICSC-9
Contract duration: 2 months

• 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.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

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.