Parent Sector : Social and Human Sciences Sector (SHS)
Duty Station: Paris
Job Family: Social and Human Sciences
Type of contract : [[Contract Type]]
Duration of contract : From 7 to 11 months
Recruitment open to : External candidates
Application Deadline (Midnight Paris Time) : 02-09-2024 EXTENDED
UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism
In November 2021, 193 Member States of UNESCO adopted the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (the Recommendation). This global standard aims to leverage the positive impacts of AI while addressing its inherent risks. Countries around the world are now in the process of implementing the Recommendation, with UNESCO supporting them through various capacity-building efforts, funded through partnerships with multiple donors, including the Government of Japan, the European Commission, and the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation.
The Digital Flanders Agency has launched an Artificial Intelligence Expertise Center (AI EC) tasked with enhancing and guiding the adoption of AI across Flemish public administrations. The capacity and capability of the AI EC need to be strengthened to empower it to fulfil its coordination role among Flemish public administrations in the facilitation and implementation of AI projects. The project aims to foster Flemish public administrations’ AI-readiness and increase the adoption of AI across the Flemish public administrations in a safe, robust, trustworthy, and ethical manner. Through its three outcomes, the project focuses on strengthening (i) institutional capacity for AI governance, (ii) technical capacity for AI projects, and (iii) human capacity for AI awareness, literacy and skills within the Flemish public administrations.
Read more about the project here: www.unesco.org/en/artificial-intelligence/recommendation-ethics/flemish-government.
The Consultant will work under the overall authority of the Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences Sector (ADG/SHS) and under the direct supervision of the Head of Ethics of AI Unit at UNESCO Headquarters.
As a member of the UNESCO Ethics of AI Team, the Consultant will contribute to the development of various knowledge products and the delivery of tasks to advance the implementation of the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI.
European Commission Project
a. Assess current ICT infrastructure: assess the existing ICT infrastructure, including data, cybersecurity, and AI components.
b. Develop reference documentation on data governance strategy in the context of AI, data and AI interoperability and data stewardship: comprehensive reference documentation must be developed to outline the necessary conditions to build an AI-ready data infrastructure for the Flemish public administration. The documentation needs to provide guidance on effectively managing data for AI applications while upholding ethical standards, complying with data classification and regulatory requirements (AI Act, GDPR, Data Act, Data Governance Act, Cloud Strategy), and respecting further legal, political and technical sensitivities.
c. Develop reference AI-ready architecture framework: inform the development of a reference architecture framework that outlines the essential components and features necessary for an AI-ready infrastructure while considering the sensitive nature of some data, as well as associated risks and implications for the Flemish public administrations. The framework must serve as a guideline for enhancing the existing ICT infrastructure for AI projects, providing a structured approach to address identified gaps and leverage existing strengths within the infrastructure.
d. Provide analysis on potential reusable AI components: recommendations must be provided on the possible ways and feasibility of introducing reusable AI components.
e. Piloting the AI-ready reference architecture framework and potential reusable AI components with stakeholders: once the AI-ready reference architecture framework is developed, it needs to be piloted in a use case with stakeholders from the Flemish public administration through additional workshops, meetings, and consultations. This validation process must ensure that the framework accurately reflects the needs, requirements, and priorities of public administration entities in Flanders and aligns with their strategic objectives for AI implementation.
General Tasks
f. Engaging substantively as part of the Ethics of AI team in the regular efforts to link its work with the high-level processes related to ethics and governance of AI (including within the UN system, G20 and G7 platforms, GPAI, and others).
g. Contributing to other ongoing work of the AI Ethics Team: contributing to ongoing research and analysis conducted by the secretariat; participating in meetings; presenting the work to different stakeholders; supporting the secretariat with the preparation of different materials such as speeches, presentations, blogs, white papers etc.
Education
• Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in the governance of artificial intelligence, ethical and social implications of artificial intelligence or digital technologies, law and technology, computer science, data science, computational social science, or other related fields.
Work Experience
• A minimum of five years of professional experience on the ethical, legal, social and governance issues of artificial intelligence and related digital technologies at the national and/or international level. A PhD can count as work experience.
• Proven experience involving ICT infrastructure is mandatory:
o Extensive expertise in AI technologies, data governance, regulatory compliance, data quality management, bias analysis, ethical AI practices, interoperability standards, and cloud infrastructure solutions.
o Comprehensive knowledge of aligning AI initiatives with business strategies, stakeholder engagement, identifying and prioritizing AI use cases, change management, and tracking business performance metrics. Expertise in selecting and adapting foundational AI models, data governance, security management, technology standardization, AI platform development, integration strategies, scalable AI architectures, and using AI to enhance enterprise architecture.
o Expertise in identifying requirements for modular and composable AI solutions, defining solution architecture guidelines for microservices, building robust data pipelines, managing AI model lifecycle, and developing well-documented APIs and interfaces for system integration.
o Expertise in ensuring seamless data flow and connectivity for AI workloads, leveraging scalable and flexible cloud infrastructure, and optimizing costs and resources through shared resources and ad hoc sandboxes for development.
Skills and competencies
• Very good understanding of artificial intelligence’s ethical, legal, social and governance issues and related digital technologies.
• Excellent knowledge of ICT infrastructure, ideally with a particular focus on AI-ready ICT infrastructure.
• Excellent knowledge about the dynamics of governance of AI, including policies, legislative and regulatory frameworks, institutional mechanisms, organisational structures and processes, and initiatives by different stakeholders in this field. This includes broad familiarity with UNESCO’s AI Readiness Assessment Methodology and the ability to translate lessons learned and good practices into practical guidance for policymakers.
• Proven ability to draft clearly and concisely and to produce high-quality policy-oriented analysis and synthesis documents.
• Proven ability to work on multiple interrelated outputs.
Languages
• Excellent knowledge (spoken and written) of English.
Education
• Advanced university degree (PhD) in the governance of artificial intelligence, ethical and social implications of artificial intelligence or digital technologies, law and technology, computer science, data science, computational social science, or other related fields.
Work Experience
• Experience conducting research and analysis and/or implementing programmes/projects on the ethical, legal, social and governance issues of artificial intelligence and related digital technologies is strongly desirable.
• Experience in producing policy-oriented reports or recommendations is strongly desirable.
Languages
• Knowledge of another language, especially Dutch.
Interested candidates should click on “Apply Now”, then download and complete the Employment History form (Word file). At the end of the Word file, insert extra pages with the following required information:
Upon completing the Word file with all the requested information above, upload the file at the “My Employment History Form / My Documents” section of the online application form. Only applications with the above requested information will be considered.
Please note that all candidates must complete an on-line application and provide complete and accurate information. To apply, please visit the UNESCO careers website. No modifications can be made to the application submitted.
The evaluation of candidates is based on the criteria in the vacancy notice, and may include tests and/or assessments, as well as a competency-based interview.
UNESCO uses communication technologies such as video or teleconference, e-mail correspondence, etc. for the assessment and evaluation of candidates.
Please note that only selected candidates will be further contacted and candidates in the final selection step will be subject to reference checks based on the information provided.
UNESCO recalls that paramount consideration in the appointment of staff members shall be the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, technical competence and integrity. UNESCO applies a zero-tolerance policy against all forms of harassment. UNESCO is committed to achieving and sustaining equitable and diverse geographical distribution, as well as gender parity among its staff members in all categories and at all grades. Furthermore, UNESCO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Candidates from non- and under-represented Member States (last update here) are particularly welcome and strongly encouraged to apply. Individuals from minority groups and indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the highest level of confidentiality. Worldwide mobility is required for staff members appointed to international posts.
UNESCO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process.
Please note that UNESCO is a non-smoking Organization.
Apply
To help us track our recruitment effort, please indicate in your cover/motivation letter where (globalvacancies.org) you saw this job posting.
Job title: Research Associate Company University of Glasgow Job description Job PurposeTo make a leading…
Job title: Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering Company University of Guelph Job description Position Title /…
Job title: Postdoctoral Research Associate Company University of Edinburgh Job description Job Description:Grade UE07: £40,247…
Job title: Director, Financial Accounting & Controllership Company University of Toronto Job description Date Posted:…
Job title: SEN Teaching Assistant Company GSL Education Job description SEN Teaching Assistant - Plymouth…
Job title: Lecturer in HND in Business - Birmingham Company Global Banking School Job description…