Programme Management – Senior Assistant (Retainer)

UNOPS is seeking the support of a Programme Management – Senior Assistant to advance the Global Programme on Nature for Development’s work to provide customized AI-driven insights at a national and global level to increase policy alignment with the global goals and targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework and other multilateral environment agreement. This assignment will focus on data management, analysis, compliance, coding, and data communications for the Global Biodiversity Framework Early Action Support (GBF-EAS) Project. 

Under the supervision of the Manager and Senior Policy Advisor the duties and responsibilities include:

Data Management, Analysis, and Compliance with UNDP Data Standards

• Assist data gathering and cleaning processes, in addition to assisting with the analysis for projects supporting countries to conduct policy analysis and enhance alignment of national policy to the Global Biodiversity Framework and related conventions.
• Assist in organizing and maintaining an inventory of current policy data that is relevant for the GBF-EAS Project data analysis needs.
• Support the supervisor in organizing and arranging the gathering, processing, and uploading of datasets.
• Assist in  global analysis of policy coherence across biodiversity, climate change and sustainable development policy.
• Assist in applying Artificial Intelligence (AI), especially large language models and generative AI, for biodiversity, climate change and sustainable development policy analysis strategies and capacity building.
• Assist in structuring a tool to assess the national targets changes/improvements of new target submissions to the Convention on Biological Diversity
• Assist the model validation processes including development of validation processes, coordination with colleagues to review models, and manual review of results. 
• Assist in record management of developments in methodology and steps taken to ensure compliance with regulations and alignment with country and partner feedback. 

Coding

• Assist in the development of scripts and general code using python and the R programming language to support the policy analysis work related to national work under the UN Biodiversity Convention and other related conventions, including examining policy comparison, policy alignment, thematic elements of policy, and other relevant aspects for countries.
• Assist in utilization of R Markdown to generate GBF Alignment National Reports in different languages, checking for language accuracy.
• Assist in the development of customized national assessments after the Policy Advisor has developed the underlying model. This includes compiling data, creating a template for R Markdown, and generating tailored reports combining the template and country-specific data in R Markdown for countries.
• Assist the use of R markdown to provide reports to countries based on their self-assessments on project progress. 

Communication and country-level support

• Assist the countries on an on-demand basis to explain methodologies and explore opportunities for customized analyses within the bounds of UNDP best practices and the recommendations of the Chief Digital Office. 
• Assist with knowledge management efforts and gathering and dissemination of best practices, including data analysis
• Assist with communications efforts for the GBF-EAS project as needed, including drafting case examples, communication materials, and reporting and impact information.
• Support in the development of a video on AI for the UNDP Nature for Life Hub. 
• Perform translations of text into and from different UN-related languages manually or with the assistance of digital tools.

Information on Working Arrangements:

• The contractor will work remotely.
• The contractor will be given access to relevant information necessary for the execution of the tasks under this assignment.
• Given the global consultations to be undertaken during this assignment, the contractor is expected to be reasonably flexible with his/her availability for such consultations taking into consideration different time zones.

Monitoring and Progress Controls

The contractor will be supervised by the Manager and Senior Policy Advisor of the Global Programme on Nature for Development, and the contractor and supervisors will determine progress and next step in mutual communication.

Education

• Secondary education/High school diploma is required.
• University degree (Bachelor’s or Master’), preferably in arts, environmental management/sciences, international relations, political science, business and management, social studies, development, public administration and/or other fields relevant for biodiversity planning and research around topics prioritized by the Global Programme on Nature for Development or other related discipline, will be considered an asset and may substitute for some of the required years of experience.

Required Experience

• A minimum of five (5) years work experience preferably in the following topics at a conceptual and/or practical level is required: international environmental policy, natural resource management, biodiversity / climate change; data science; econometrics, spatial planning; and/or computer science/information technology.

Desirable experience (the following experience is optional candidates who do not have it are welcome to apply): 

• Experience using data science and analysis for biodiversity conservation implementation, monitoring, and/or reporting is an asset.
• Experience coding in R and/or Python is an asset.

Language

• Fluent in English with excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Fluency in additional UN languages is an asset.