Vacancy announcement
Home-based
TR/2021/019

Traineeship - Data Analysis

Vacancy type Trainee
Duration of the contract
6 months
Indicative contract starting date
04 January 2022
Deadline for submission of applications
30 November 2021
Organizational Unit
Peacekeeping Training Programme Unit (PTPU)
Number of job positions
1
Area of Specialization/Thematic Areas:

Energy in Displacement Settings/Data Workstream. 

Overview:

The Global Platform for Action for Sustainable Energy Solutions in Situations of Displacement (GPA) was established to enable increased access to sustainable energy solutions in displacement settings. Aligned with the Sustainable Development Goal 7, the GPA is guided by the vision that: “every person affected by conflict or natural disaster has access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy services by 2030.” Its mission is to equip all stakeholders with the capacity to mainstream sustainable energy solutions into programming and implementation, with the goal of delivering improved protection, dignity, and energy related social, environmental, and economic benefits to displaced people. The supporting members are facilitating a community of practice of over 300 members in five thematic working areas that address current challenges and barriers to achieving access to sustainable energy for displaced people, namely: coordination and planning, policy and advocacy, innovative financing, technical expertise and capacity building, and data. The process is guided by a steering group consisting of members from the UNITAR, UNHCR, IOM, GIZ, WFP, FAO, Chatham House, Practical Action, UNDP, the Clean Cooking Alliance, Mercy Corps, SNV, MECS, ILF and Sustainable Energy for All. The Coordination Unit of the GPA is housed at UNITAR, within the Peacekeeping Training Programme Unit (PTPU).

The GPA initiative is contributing to strengthening long-term protection of refugee, internally displaced and local host communities through increased energy efficiency and increased access to renewable energy sources. It recognises that the use of renewable energy technologies in humanitarian response settings is not so much a question of access to technology but of an integrated policy approach bringing together all relevant stakeholders, such as governments and local communities of host countries, international humanitarian organizations, refugee communities as well as private sector providers of resources, knowledge and technology.

Responsibilities/Description of Professional Services:

1. Support analysis on data and technical research on energy for displacement

  • Data analytical work to support producing figures and reports on energy access needs and access levels. Covering the household, enterprises, community facility and operational levels including both electricity and clean cooking needs. Both national level analysis and global aggregation will be necessarily to input into GPA outputs and advocacy materials.
  • Explore financial needs research and analysis for energy modelling.
  • Investigate options to create high-level estimates of the financial needs within the sector and the cost of providing energy to all displaced people.
  • Support the collection of data and analysis for the visualisation of global energy access within displaced communities, supporting the development of the mapping of national and local displacement sites to produce a global picture and figures on levels of electricity and cooking access.
  • Provide key facts and figures for a key GPA report on the state of the humanitarian energy sector in 2022.

2. Support partners engagement for data sharing and indicators they have collected

  • Organise regular calls/meetings with relevant partners.
  • Identify, demand, agree on datapoint and dataset that contribute to data alignment and fit the five information types (listed above).
  • Gather and analyse data from partners.

3. Support update and development of the established BI tool (Beta version) with data shared by partners

  • Extract, transfer, and load (ETL) dataset from partners into BI tool.
  • Log the ETL process and tasks for proof of data traceability.
  • Support upgrade BI five pages for dataset download and provide technical fixes for the BI Tool.
  • Data analysis and format for receiving BI reports.
  • Test and validate updated pages with partners.

4. Use the BI tool where appropriate to compile, centralize and analyse humanitarian energy data (displacement settings)

  • Iterate, streamline, and automate, when possible, the access, extract, transform, validate, transfer and load process of humanitarian data into the BI tool.
  • Log the data management process for data traceability to produce a MIS report that records the activities, steps and describe the process.
Learning Objectives:

By the end of the traineeship the incumbent will be able to:

  • Provide support towards, and advocate for, the provision of energy in fragile environment with the civil society, partners and potential donors.
  • Review, critique and recommend improvements for related activities and concepts for the energy provision for displaced persons that are related to her traineeship, as noted above.
  • Identify and use appropriate vocabulary related to humanitarian energy and displacement settings agenda, as well as UN terminology.
  • Apply time management skills in order to respect tight deadlines.

In carrying out these tasks, the incumbent will be provided with clear guidelines and fully supported by the Specialist. The Specialist will make sure that the incumbent gains the maximum advantage possible in pursuance of their duties – in terms of acquisition of professional and interpersonal skills.

Measurable outputs/deliverables:
  • Regular online meetings (TBD) are held for the activities and tasks. 
  • Data source accessed, dataset analysed and transferred.
  • Activities, tasks log and Management Information System (MIS) report are developed.
  • BI tool uploaded with additional data.
  • Data management process iterated, streamlined, and automated when possible.
Performance Indicators for Evaluation of Results:
  • Quality and quantitative submission of deliverables.
  • Activities implemented with a high degree of effectiveness and efficiency, demonstrating a high degree of professionalism of the trainee, and contributing to an increase in the professional image of the Institute.
Minimum requirements

Educational background:

  • Master's degree or equivalent in maths, physical sciences, engineering, computer sciences, statistics, economics, data analysis, etc, or other related fields; or an undergraduate degree in a similar relevant field, from an accredited and recognised academic institution, combined with work experience, is required.
  • Applicants must be enrolled in an undergraduate/graduate/postgraduate degree or be a recent graduate with the qualifications listed above (if selected, they must commence the traineeship within two years of graduation).
  • Be able to commit to full-time work, for a period of 6 months.

Skills required:

  • Knowledge and expertise with data processing, data management and coding for data analysis (for example, using macros in excel, data from google forms and excel spreadsheets, Python or analytical software).
  • Advanced expertise in MS Excel
  • Database experience (SQL/File Transfer Protocol (FTP) preferred)
  • Data Visualization experience (MS Power BI desired)

Languages: Fluency in spoken and written English is required.

Other:

  • Team player
  • Bootstrapping mindset
  • Ability to work with incomplete and inconsistent real-world datasets
  • Appreciation of the applicability of data to wider social, political, economic and other contexts
  • Ability to share findings concisely with non-expert audiences
Desired requirements
  • Have demonstrated experience with data and quantitative analysis.
  • Expertise with energy access data and energy technologies, particularly renewable energy.
  • Have demonstrated interest in the core work of the GPA (energy access in displacement settings).
What we offer
  • Dynamic environment
  • Opportunities to address sustainable development challenges
  • Engagement with stakeholders in humanitarian and development organisations
  • Hands-on experience with the United Nations.
  • Work in a multicultural context.
  • Continuous support and guidance.
Special Notice

Trainees for this position at UNITAR will be home-based. Trainees are not staff members and shall not represent the Institute in any official capacity.

UNITAR shall place no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs (Charter of the United Nations - Chapter 3, article 8).  Priority will be given to the applicants from the under-represented regions at UNITAR.

How to apply

Please submit your application along with a letter of motivation as soon as possible.

Due to the high number of expected applications, UNITAR will only contact shortlisted applicants.