UN Senior Data Engineer Careers – United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Job Title: Senior Data Engineer
Organization: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda
Reports to: Lab Manager
About UNDP:
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the United Nation’s global development network. UNDP advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. The UNDP provides expert advice, training, grant support to developing countries including Uganda with increasing emphasis on assistance to the least developed countries.
About Global Pulse:
Global Pulse is an innovation initiative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Big Data. Its vision is a future in which big data is harnessed safely and responsibly as a public good. Its mission is to accelerate discovery, development and scaled adoption of big data innovation for sustainable development and humanitarian action. Global Pulse is building a catalytic network of in-country innovation centers, which will test new tools, data and analysis, share what lessons with the global community, mainstream successful approaches for real-time impact monitoring into policymaking. The first Lab has been established in New York (Pulse Lab New York) followed by Jakarta, Indonesia and Kampala, Uganda. Pulse Lab Kampala is an inter-agency initiative of the United Nations under the leadership of the UN Resident Coordinator in Uganda. The first of its kind in Africa, it brings together researchers from Government, the UN, non-governmental organizations and private sector to explore the utility of new sources of digital “Big Data” (such as social media, mobile data, online information) and real-time analysis techniques for sustainable development and humanitarian assistance.
Job Summary: The Senior Data Engineer will work to access and derive insights from large data sets to solve problems. He or she must be able to work with a variety of data types, programming languages and platforms, must be comfortable with both hands-on development and research support, and must be adept at both understanding the information content of data and transforming and preparing it for analytical and reporting purposes.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
- Support the team in providing the technical inputs for the design and implementation of projects by preparing data processing environments by reviewing existing solutions for data engineering methods and proposing processing architecture for Pulse Lab Kampala research team
- Review commonly used hardware and software for data processing from open source and commercial sector and a list of computing platforms that Pulse Lab Kampala already has access to through global and local partnerships;
- Identify the best solutions for data engineering in line with the Pulse Lab Kampala research plan and given the data types and characteristics of Pulse Lab Kampala’s research;
- Provide technical assistance and support to the design and implementation of projects in the portfolio through consultation with the Government, donors, UN agencies, NGOs/CSOs and other partners;
- Support the formulation exercise by facilitating engagement with partners and stakeholders on a needs assessment and preparing the correct infrastructure for all data related outputs of Pulse Lab Kampala;
- Conduct analyses of the current technical systems and provide recommendations to Pulse Lab Kampala stakeholders;
- Support to the management and implementation of the project, including ensuring effective quality assurance and providing technical inputs on PLK Lab activities as well as effective knowledge transfer and capacity building to partners and stakeholders
- Offer assistance to the effective management of large and strategic national and regional projects in Africa by providing quality technical support in data management, data streaming and systems integration;
- Ensure effective application of new technologies that will enable more efficiency within Pulse Lab Kampala research;
- Conduct day to day quantitative data analysis, writing back-end side data processing software with Pulse Lab Kampala research team
- Support the production of Pulse Lab Toolkits across the Global Pulse Lab Network;
- Support knowledge generation and knowledge sharing based on project experiences, and, when appropriate, make contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice;
- Actively participate in discussions related to technical aspects of data engineering and analytics as well as the identification of common engineering and processing functionalities with Global Pulse labs;
- Produce open source standard documents for the toolkit developed;
- Extract and prepare data for analysis from big and small datasets including from official statistics;
- Assist to interpret analysis results quantitatively in support of Pulse Lab Kampala Research Team
Qualifications, Skills and Experience:
- The ideal applicant for the United Nations UNDP Senior Data Engineer job placement should hold an advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Mathematics, Statistics, or related field. A first-level university degree in combination with Eight years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
- Five years of experience in the following:
- Experience working on machine learning algorithms or other aspects of AI;
- Experience with stream computing and data warehousing;
- Experience with rapid application development (agile, extreme, scrum, lean);
- Experience working with Amazon EC2 or Hadoop or similar;
- Experience working with open source data processing frameworks is a plus;
Competencies
Core Competencies:
- Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
- Advocates and promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of the UN;
- Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
- Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
- Demonstrates and promotes the values of the UN in actions and decisions and acts in accordance with the standard of conduct for international civil servants;
- Shows willingness to work without bias with all persons regardless of gender, nationality, religion or culture;
- Contributes effectively to team-based activities, working collaboratively and sharing information openly; works effectively with colleagues inside the UN as well as its partners and other stakeholders to pursue common goals;
- Facilitates and encourages open communication in the team, communicating effectively;
- Remains calm, composed and patient when facing conflict, manages conflict productively, focusing on mutually acceptable solutions;
- Takes initiative and seeks opportunities to initiate action;
- Actively produces and disseminates new knowledge; creates/contributes to mechanisms to collect and share knowledge;
- Actively seeks learning opportunities; demonstrates commitment to ongoing professional development;
- Proposes innovative ideas and new solutions to work.
Functional Competencies:
- Excellent programming skills using script languages such as Python and PHP;
- Good understanding of data engineering and data processing solutions and platform;
- Fair knowledge of big data, data analysis, and system performance;
- Comfortable in a dynamic and flexible work environment, with an innovative mindset and in a lab; environment;
- Demonstrating/safeguarding ethics and integrity;
- Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment;
- Self-development, initiative-taking, eager to learn new technologies;
- Acting as a team player and facilitating teamwork;
- Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively;
- Creating synergies through self-control;
- Managing conflict;
- Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others. Promoting learning and knowledge management/sharing is the responsibility of each staff member;
- Informed and transparent decision making;
- Independent and driven, and able to manage and lead without close supervision;
- Flexible, adaptable, and comfortable working in a start-up environment;
- Excellent communication skills;
- Flexible, adaptable, and comfortable working in a start-up environment;
- Ability to work directly with internal and external clients to define requirements for analysis and reporting.
UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.
How to Apply:
All suitably qualified and interested candidates who so desire to join the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, in the aforementioned capacity should endeavor to Apply Online by Clicking on the link below. Please further review job requirements and if competent Click Apply Now.
Deadline: 1st August 2018
: List of Current Job Vacancies / Opportunities in Uganda