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Consultant

OVERVIEW

Parent Sector : Social and Human Sciences Sector (SHS)

Duty Station: The Consultant will be expected to work from UNESCO HQ, Paris, France

Job Family: Social and Human Sciences

Type of contract : Non Staff

Recruitment open to : External candidates

Application Deadline (Midnight Paris Time) : 30-APR-2024

 

 

 

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

 

 

BACKGROUND

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 Patrick J. McGovern Foundation.
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.

 

SCOPE OF WORK

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 UNECO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI.

 

McGovern Foundation project

a. Contributing to the development of a Model Governance Framework: This report framework will capture, analyze and standardize knowledge from the emerging good practices and regulatory trends from across 50 counties where UNESCO has been assisting with the assessment of readiness and construction of institutional and policy frameworks. The evidence on what works for effective AI governance and the lessons learned will be translated into practical guidance and presented in a modular format for easy dissemination and uptake among national stakeholders in every country. Particular focus of this consultancy will be on the interaction between AI and Environment, with the aim to explore the feasible policy options on this topic building on relevant values, principles and policy actions outlined in the UNESCO Recommendation (i.e. policy area 5: Environment and Ecosystems). 

b. Contributing to the development of a Report on Market Trends in AI: This report should leverage quantitative approaches such as those in Dernis, Squicciarini and de Pinho (2016), and perform an analysis similar to the one proposed by Hain et al (2023). It should provide key insights about the types of technologies being developed and rolled out, the main innovators in the field, their location as well as the major trends emerged over time. 

European Commission Project 

c. Contributing to the drafting of a reference architecture framework outlining AI-ready ICT infrastructures, by collecting best practices related to the assurance of data quality and accuracy, bias analysis in data handling for AI, operating models related to AI data governance and data stewardship, as well as data and AI interoperability. The Digital Flanders Agency (DV) has launched an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Competence Center (AI CC) tasked with enhancing and guiding the adoption of AI across Flemish public administrations. 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 (i) strengthening 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.  

General Tasks

d. 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)

e. 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.”

 

 

Deliverables and timeframe: 

Delivering monthly progress reports for activity.

Delivering an intermediary report for activity.

Delivering five blogposts on the topics related to activity.

Delivering a final report for activity.

 

The duration of the contract is 11 months

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

 

Education

  • Advanced university degree (PhD preferred, Master’s or equivalent required) in 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. A PhD can count as work experience.

 

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 national and/or international level. A PhD can count as work experience.
  •  Proven experience in conducting research and analysis and/or implementing programmes/projects on the ethical, legal, social and governance issues of artificial intelligence and related digital technologies. Experience in producing policy-oriented reports or recommendations is strongly desirable. 

Skills/Competencies

  • Very good understanding of the ethical, legal, social and governance issues of artificial intelligence and related digital technologies.

  • Excellent knowledge about the dynamics of governance of AI, including policies, legislative and regulatory frameworks, institutional mechanisms, organizational 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 lead and manage projects, coordinate with teams, and work on multiple interrelated outputs.

 

Languages

  • Excellent knowledge of English and French. Other language skills are an advantage.

APPLICATION

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:

  • A one-page statement laying out how their qualifications and experience make them suitable for the assignment, and explaining how they would approach the work;
  • The salary expectations for the assignment, which should be quoted in US dollars on a monthly basis for a 11-month period (full-time working).

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.

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