World Food Programme
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About Wfp
The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.
At WFP, people are at the heart of everything we do and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse, committed, skilled, and high performing teams, selected on merit, operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment, living WFP’s values (Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves.
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WHY JOIN WFP?
- WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.
- WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse, and multicultural working environment.
- WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training, accreditation, coaching, mentorship, and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.
- A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe.
- We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement).
Data Scientist Consultant to work with the project team on the development of the methodology for accessing the risk of dietary VMD and support the integration in HungerMapLIVE.
The Data Science team within the Early Warning and Forecasting Unit, in the Analysis Planning and Performance (APP) division, is a specialised team dedicated to addressing the challenge of modelling and forecasting food insecurity and its drivers through the innovative application of machine learning and data science techniques. By leveraging large heterogenous datasets and advanced algorithms, the team can identify patterns and trends that are not immediately apparent and predict the impact of impending natural and human generated hazards, enabling timely interventions and anticipatory actions in vulnerable areas. The work is crucial in facilitating data-driven decision-making for governments and humanitarian organizations, allowing proactive strategies in combating food crises and their underlying causes. This proactive approach helps to mitigate the impact of potential crises on affected populations, improving resilience and ensuring food security.
The Early Warning and Forecasting Unit is collaborating with WFP’ Nutrition and Food Quality Service on a project to generate and increase access to modelled data on risk of dietary Vitamin and Mineral inadequacy at national and sub-national levels, which will be critical to inform the design and roll-out of large-scale food fortification as well as complementary programs. This project will contribute towards the improvement of core Large-Scale Food Fortification (LSFF) program performance metrics, and in conjunction with data partners, will achieve consensus on approach, including the proxy indicator(s) for risk of dietary micronutrient risk, the design of and data underlying subnational maps, and use of modelling, that will translate to clear and consistent programmatic guidance. Specifically, the objective of the project is to develop a composite proxy-indicator for risk of inadequate dietary micronutrient intake and integrate it with in the HungerMapLIVE systems and related products. The expansion of the HungerMapLIVE to include a data layer on risk of dietary vitamin and mineral inadequacy and the potential of different programs, including LSFF, to fill nutrient gaps has been identified as an opportunity to support programme and policy decision-makers from national governments and other stakeholders. This activity will bring together the analytical and government technical assistance expertise of the Nutrition Knowledge and Innovation team, data collection and visualization experience from the HungerMapLive Team and WFP’s digital innovation and project accelerator capacities. For this project, the Hunger Monitoring Unit seeks a Data Scientist Consultant to work with the project team on the development of the methodology for accessing the risk of dietary VMD and support the integration in HungerMapLIVE.
Accountabilities/Responsibilities
The Consultant will be responsible for the following activities:
- Develop and test Machine Learning models for estimating risk of dietary micronutrient inadequacy at national and sub-national level, in collaboration with the rest of the Data Science team.
- Support ad-hoc data explorations and analysis for the project, by means of traditional statistical analysis as well as state-of-the-art data science methodologies.
- In collaboration with the software engineering team, support the design and the implementation of production-ready data pipelines for visualizing the data in the HungerMapLIVE.
- Support the writing of technical papers and reports to be submitted to peer-reviewed international journals.
- Participate in workshops, meetings and conferences to present the technical aspects of the project, within the organization and externally.
- Ensure adherence to WFP policies regarding data, including data privacy, security, management, and code documentation.
- Participate in field missions to WFP country offices as required.
- Perform other tasks as required.
Deliverables At The End Of The Contract
- Technical inputs to the project methodology, including the code and methodology for the validation of the proxy indicators.
- Deploy machine learning models for the estimation of dietary micronutrient inadequacy in the required production environment.
- Support the visualization of the proxy indicators in the Hunger Map Live and related products.
- Participation in project meetings, scientific committee meetings and dissemination events
- Presentations on the technical aspects of the project, as needed.
Education
QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:
Master’s degree in engineering, computer science, physics, mathematics or similar.
Experience
From 1 to 5 years of professional experience in a data science-related position or field including PhD programmes and other academic positions.
Knowledge & Skills
- Python programming skills and experience with data science libraries (pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn, etc)
- Advanced knowledge of statistics and passion for machine learning with an understanding of algorithms
- Experience in git is a requirement
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work effectively and respectfully in a diverse and multicultural team environment
- Experience in designing and querying SQL databases is an asset
- Knowledge of survey methodologies is an asset
- Knowledge of food security and nutrition data is an asset
- Experience working with the humanitarian sector or in food security utrition field is an asset.
Languages
Excellent spoken and written English
WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK
WFP Leadership Framework guides to the common standards of behavior that guide HOW we work together to accomplish our mission.
Click here to access WFP Leadership Framework
REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION
WFP is dedicated to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our recruitment process is inclusively crafted to welcome candidates of all backgrounds, celebrating diversity and ensuring a respectful environment for all. We aim for an accessible and fair recruitment journey. Should you need any reasonable accommodations or have accessibility concerns, please reach out to us confidentially at [email protected]. Our DEI team is here to ensure your full participation in our recruitment process.
NO FEE DISCLAIMER
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REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION
- We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete, and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, language skills and UN Grade (if applicable).
- Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.
- Please make sure you upload your professional CV in the English language
- Kindly note the only documents you will need to submit at this time are your CV and Cover Letter
- Additional documents such as passport, recommendation letters, academic certificates, etc. may potentially be requested at a future time
- Please contact us at [email protected] in case you face any challenges with submitting your application
- Only shortlisted candidates will be notified
All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.
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