Associate Data Specialist

The Associate Data Specialist supports evidence-based decision-making by managing and improving data, monitoring and reporting systems, assuring quality and interoperability of results and SDG data, and producing data visualization products. The role involves collaboration with UN entities and national partners to enhance monitoring and reporting of development results and supports capacity development and training activities.

Responsibilities

• Develop, maintain and improve data systems, analytical processes and visualization products that support evidence-based decision-making and organizational performance.
• Implement databases, data collection systems, data analytics and other strategies that optimize statistical efficiency and quality.
• Contribute to the identification, analysis and interpretation of trends or patterns, using statistical methods to identify relevant features and variables in structured sources of information and data.
• Implement process improvement mechanisms for data analytics tasks; acquire and clean data from primary or secondary sources and maintain databases/data systems.
• Contribute to data preparation and preliminary analysis, support team members in data verification and routine reporting tasks, help in administrative aspects of the work plan.
• Assist with activities for monitoring, evaluation and learning cycle to support the MEL group and national counterparts.
• Contribute to the development of reports, dashboards or other tools to effectively summarize findings and convey information to management.
• Track and report on progress regarding department specific data initiatives.
• Contribute to the creation of basic data visualization outputs to aid decision-making and communications of analysis outputs.
• Contribute to the production of data products like reports or newsletters related to data analysis activities.
• Contribute to data collection and gathering business requirements across departments to identify pain points and support data-driven analysis.
• Compile and clarify data insights and develop supporting materials in preparation for stakeholder communications.
• Keep abreast of current and emerging trends and developments in data analytics best practices, technologies, tools etc., and assist with identifying findings and suggestions.
• Contribute to data collection and preliminary analysis to support the preparation and verification of data used in model assessments.
• Support the design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting of the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF).
• Contribute to the development of monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) products for UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks using approved indicators and tools.
• Contribute to the activities for integrating monitoring milestones, indicators and evidence streams into common data pipelines based on the Cooperation Framework and Funding Compact.
• Assist in conducting outcome-level analysis and contribution/attribution studies using mixed methods to inform UN reporting and UN-commissioned evaluations.
• Support the integration, harmonization and utilization of Sustainable Development Goals data and facilitate coordination and collaboration with UN entities and national partners to enhance evidence-based monitoring and reporting of development results.
• Keep abreast of UN effort in co-design digital tools and dashboards that track progress against the national SDG indicator framework for interoperability between the national gateway and other official platforms.
• Contribute to project tasks, assist with data collection and initial analysis, and report unresolved issues to senior staff.
• Assist in UNCT statistical capacity-building by contributing to the mapping and sequencing agency-specific technical assistance in line with Cooperation Framework.
• Contribute to the identification of gaps in the NSS using relevant statistical capacity monitoring tools and assist with the identification of solutions.
• Capacity development, training and knowledge sharing including contributing to activities aimed at building the capacity of staff on data analytics, trainings for staff members and other personnel.
• Assist in delivery of training on results-based management, evaluation techniques and use of monitoring, evaluation and learning for staff members and government partners.
• Contribute to the provision of 'data clinics' on relevant topics, including gender-responsive statistics, new census methodologies, drawing on UN expertise and global curricula from the statistical community.
• Perform other related tasks as assigned.

Requirements

• An advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in Computer Science, Data Science, Analytics, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Information Management, Data Management, Information Systems, Information Science, Economic or Social Sciences, or a related field is required.
• A first-level university degree (Bachelor's degree or equivalent) in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• An active certificate in relevant areas such as Data Engineering, Data Management, or Cloud Platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure) is desirable.
• A minimum of two (2) years of progressively responsible experience in data life cycle including data collection, data wrangling, analysis, visualization, deployment, monitoring, and reporting is required.
• Demonstrated knowledge of foundational concepts in data manipulation and data analysis such as data structures, statistical methods is required.
• Demonstrated experience in coordinating and managing monitoring and reporting data related to budget implementation and results is required.
• Demonstrated knowledge in database management to extract, transform, and load data from various sources is desirable.
• Demonstrated skills in data storytelling and data visualization tools such as Tableau, Power BI, Qlik, and R is desirable.
• Demonstrated ability to assess data accuracy and consistency by performing data validation is desirable.
• Experience in UN interagency coordination and related data management is desirable.
• Fluency in English and Spanish at UN Level II for reading, writing, listening, and speaking is required.

Skills

• Data Collection
• Data Wrangling
• Data Analysis
• Data Visualization
• Data Reporting
• Data Monitoring
• Data Validation
• Data Management
• Database Management
• Data Extraction
• Data Transformation
• Data loading
• Statistical Methods
• Data Structures
• Budget Monitoring
• Results Reporting
• Data Storytelling
• Tableau
• Power BI
• Qlik
• Cloud Platforms
• Data Engineering

Languages

English, Spanish