IT Business Analyst Consultant

OVERVIEW

Parent Sector : UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)

Duty Station: Montreal

Job Family: Computer Sciences / Information Technologies

Type of contract : Non Staff

Duration of contract : From 1 to 6 months

Recruitment open to : External candidates

Application Deadline (Midnight Duty Station Time) : 09-DEC-2025

UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism

OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST

Background

The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) produces data to fuel the policies and investments needed to transform lives and propel the world towards its development goals. Providing statistical and technical inputs for global, regional and funding mechanisms for education, the UIS enables the work of the UN Transforming Education Summit, the Global Education Cooperation Mechanism (GCM), G7, G20, etc. The UIS meets data needs for emerging priorities, for example, most recently, tracking and monitoring impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education worldwide. The UIS maintains the most comprehensive education statistics database in the world – the official source of data of the UN system, used for various purposes, including for the SDG monitoring.

Established in 1999, the UIS serves as UNESCO’s statistical agency. The UIS is focused on delivering cross- nationally comparable data for global, regional and development agendas, covering the fields of education, science, culture, and communication and information. The UIS assures the technical support for Member States to produce transformative data based on the 3 pillars (Standards and methodologies; Data production; Brokerage and Outreach). The UIS vision, described in its 2022-2029 Medium Term strategy, is to serve the needs of Member States, ensuring that their policies and decision-making are informed by sound statistical information, that they can benchmark progress towards national and international goals, and learn from the experience of others.

Assignment 

Under the overall authority of the Director of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), and the direct supervision of the Head of ITS, the incumbent will be responsible for analyzing, documenting, and optimizing the end-to-end data production processes at the UIS—including data collection, validation, ETL processing, indicator and estimate calculation, and data visualization and dissemination, in coherence and compliance with UNESCO Data and AI platform and policies. The incumbent will serve as a bridge between business users, data engineers, statisticians, and IT teams, ensuring that modernization efforts align with methodological requirements, user needs, and organizational priorities. This role is key to designing future-state processes that leverage Azure-based data platforms and

Long Description

Project Title: Management and Maintenance of UIS Website

Month 1: Business Process Analysis and Requirements Gathering
Tasks: 

• Engage with statisticians, analysts, data engineers, and domain experts to capture functional and non-functional requirements.
• Review and benchmark statistical data management systems used by UN agencies and international organizations to identify best practices and synergies.
• Map and assess existing workflows and tools, including: 
  - Survey data collection and ingestion
  - ETL and transformation pipelines
  - Data validation and quality assurance
  - Dissemination through APIs, dashboards, and publications
• Identify inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and opportunities for automation or redesign.

Deliverables: 

• Monthly Analytical Report #1
• Documented data definitions and lineage
• Recommendations report on current UIS system
• Requirement specifications
• Cost comparison of at least three alternative solutions

Month 2: High-Level Solution Design and Optimization
Tasks: 

• Develop future-state process models optimized for cloud-based, modular, and scalable operations.
• Translate business needs into technical specifications for Azure-powered data platforms (e.g., Dataiku, Azure Data Factory, Synapse, Databricks).
• Define user stories and acceptance criteria.
• Support architects and engineers in designing workflows, metadata management, and self-service data access capabilities.

Long Description

Deliverables: 

• Monthly Analytical Report #2
• Documentation ready for development: 
  - Process maps
  - Workflow diagrams
  - Epics with user stories and acceptance criteria

Month 3: Support & Stakeholder Engagement
Tasks: 

• Assist in transitioning from legacy systems to Azure-based data and analytics solutions.
• Support adoption of metadata, quality rules, and workflow traceability systems.
• Participate in pilot projects and proof-of-concept initiatives.
• Contribute to UIS data governance frameworks ensuring compliance with UNESCO policies.
• Facilitate workshops, interviews, and training sessions for internal teams and external partners.
• Communicate proposed changes and benefits to technical teams and senior management.

Deliverables: 

• Monthly Analytical Report #3
• Training materials and user guides

COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial)

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REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Master’s degree in computer science or related field. A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• Certification in business analysis (CBAP, CCBA, PMI-PBA) is an asset.

Work Experience

• Minimum 5 years of experience as a Business Analyst, Process Analyst, or similar role within data-intensive environments.
• Demonstrated experience with data workflows, ETL pipelines, or analytics systems.
• Experience working with Azure data and analytics services, Dataiku, or similar cloud-based platforms is highly desirable.
• Experience in statistical organizations (e.g. OECD, EUSTAT, World Bank), public sector, or international development settings is highly valued.

Long Description

Skills and competencies
Technical Skills

• Strong understanding of data production, validation, and transformation workflows.
• Familiarity with Azure Data Factory, Data Lake, Synapse, Databricks, or comparable tools.
• Knowledge of data modeling, metadata standards, and data quality frameworks.
• Proficiency with process mapping tools (e.g., BPMN, Visio, Lucidchart).
• Understanding of APIs, data visualization tools (Power BI), and open data dissemination.

Soft Skills

• Strong analytical and critical-thinking abilities.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and documentation skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively in multicultural and interdisciplinary teams.
• Adaptability and willingness to champion change and modernization
• Strong competencies in attention to detail, problem solving, and time management.

Languages

• Excellent knowledge of English.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Interested candidates must complete the online application and fill out the Employment History Form (Word file). At the end of the form, please add the following: Cover letter (interest, qualifications, availability, consultancy fee); Updated CV; Brief statement of suitability and, if applicable, proposed methodology; Financial proposal with an all-inclusive fixed price and cost breakdown. Applications missing any of these four items will not be considered. Proposals will be evaluated as follows: Technical expertise and experience (40%); Approach and methodology (30%); Cost-effectiveness (30%).

SELECTION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS

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