AI Engineer Consultant, Office of Strat & Evidence (OSE), - Data & Analytics Section -MICS - UNICEF Office of Strategy and Evidence - Innocenti, Florence, Italy / Remote - Req: 594724

Contract Duration : 11 months

Working arrangement: Remote

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built. We offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

TERMS OF REFERENCE

The UNICEF Data & Analytics (D&A) Education team is developing a data portal that brings together information from different regional and global learning assessments in one place. The minimum viable product (MVP) for the portal covers regional and global assessments at the foundational learning level for reading/numeracy outcomes at Grade 4 and below drawn from programmes such as TIMSS, PIRLS, EGRA/EGMA, the MICS Foundational Learning Skills (FLS) module, LLECE, AMPL, and ICAN/ICAR.

Bringing these assessments together is not straightforward. Each programme documents its metadata and results differently across international reports, technical annexes, almanac spreadsheets, and microdata with no common structure, naming, or coding. For the portal to hold them side by side, this heterogeneous material must be transformed into harmonized tables that UNICEF's International Data Warehouse (IDW) can ingest. The purpose of this assignment is to establish how that transformation can be done reproducibly and at scale, and to build the underlying data model, extraction pipeline, and reference datasets that the MVP portal draws on.

If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here:  ToR AI ENGINEER CONSULTANT xxx4629.pdf

Minimum requirements:

Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Management, Data Science, Public Policy.

Work Experience:

At least 5 years of experience working with data structures, analysis, building pipelines

Language Requirements:

English

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills:

Experience with Azure DevOps, Docker, Github, R and python

Experience working with household survey data or large-scale national/international assessment datasets e.g. MICS, DHS

Desirables:

Prior experience working with UNICEF or other UNICEF/UN data collection systems.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children.  The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone , irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF . Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

Qualified candidates are invited to submit the following documents via the online recruitment portal, TMS (Talent Management System):

• An up-to-date TMS profile and curriculum vitae (CV)
• Cover letter
• A separate financial proposal (only acceptable in the format of the linked template):  Financial Proposal xxx4629.docx
• A detailed technical proposal (Add if applicable)

Remarks:  

If the TOR or financial proposal documents are not visible on certain recruitment platforms, please visit our official page  Vacancies | UNICEF Careers .

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here .