Consultant for Developing and Piloting a Nature Positive AI Toolkit ‎for Policymakers (SHS)

OVERVIEW

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) : 31.03.2025

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

Background

UNESCO has the mandate to promote the development of science and technology from an ethical and human rights approach. Under this framework in November 2021, UNESCO developed the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (AI), which the 193 Member States adopted by acclamation at the 41st session of its General Conference, and spearheading its implementation by the Member States through innovative tools and methodologies, such as the Readiness Assessment Methodology (RAM) and the Ethical Impact Assessment (EIA). Through the application of these tools, UNESCO is changing the business model that drives AI, going beyond principles to develop a range of concrete and practical solutions to ensure fair, inclusive, sustainable and equitable outcomes of AI.

The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation (PJMF) has played a pivotal role in supporting UNESCO’s efforts to position ethics as the cornerstone of building AI governance. Through the implementation of two projects (2023 and 2024), UNESCO has facilitated a multistakeholder process of evidence gathering through national consultation and the deployment of RAM in Brazil, Chile, Morocco and Senegal in the first phase and in the ongoing phase in Argentina, India, Indonesia, Tanzania and Turkey. The partnership also advances key knowledge products that will further reinforce capacity-building efforts on the ground and empower stakeholders to navigate the complex AI landscape.

The goal of the new project—Scaling Inclusive, Human Rights-Based Ethical AI Governance (2025)—is to consolidate the results delivered to date, build on the achievements made, expand the reach and depth of diagnostic and policy development efforts, and deploy globally the tools, methodologies, knowledge and experiences from the recent efforts of building AI governance ecosystem. The actions will be organised around three main pillars/expected outcomes: a. empowering civil society, b. expanding and deepening engagement with countries for ethics of AI through RAMs and other tools; c. producing new knowledge on AI governance.

Later this year, Brazil will preside over the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém. As the world marks the tenth anniversary of the Paris Climate Agreement, there is a heightened sense of urgency about global warming, which has morphed from a future threat into a present emergency. Acknowledging the urgency of the challenges and opportunities in the nexus of Climate, Biodiversity, and AI, UNESCO took the pioneering step of including an environmental policy chapter in The Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence. This set a transformative precedent for the global AI community, urging a shift to a broader vision of AI’s role—not only in reducing the environmental impact but also in actively enhancing ecosystem health and community resilience.

There is great optimism that COP30 will mark a pivotal moment for climate adaptation and mitigation initiatives. Following the completion of the global stocktake at COP28—enabling countries to see where they’re collectively making progress toward meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement and where they are not— and the finalisation of the Paris Agreement rulebook at COP29—setting the implementation guidelines to execute the Agreement—the primary focus in Belém will be to accelerate the execution of current agreements. Our goal at COP30 is to redirect global efforts to create conditions at the international level that facilitate and accelerate national efforts. The aim of this consultancy is to develop and pilot a Nature Positive AI Toolkit for Policymakers to help countries achieve these agreed goals. The policy chapter on Environment and Ecosystems of the Recommendation on the Ethics of AI is to be the basis of this Toolkit.

Overview of the Functions of the Post

The Consultant will work under the overall authority of the Assistant Director-General for the Social and Human Sciences Sector (ADG/SHS) and under the direct supervision of the Head of Ethics of AI Unit at UNESCO Headquarters.

The consultant will 1) lead the production of a report compiling guidance and good practices to address these gaps in the format of a toolkit for policymakers and 2) lead the piloting of this toolkit through at least two use cases to identify from the 61 countries conducting the RAM.

The outputs and activities the Consultant will engage in are:

Output 1. Producing a Nature Positive AI Toolkit for Policymakers:
• Develop research design and methodology for producing the Nature Positive AI Toolkit for Policymakers.
• Identify key themes, trends, challenges, tools and good practices in Nature Positive AI, including reviewing findings from the Benchmark Report to Guide the Strategic Development of UNESCO’s Global Action Towards Nature Positive AI developed within the Ethics of AI Team and including the discussions from the 2025 AI Action Summit.
• Engage and collaborate in the production of this research with the leading institutions and networks partnering with UNESCO on the implementation of the Recommendation on the Ethics of AI (AI Experts without Borders, Women for Ethics of AI platform, Global Network of Civil Society Organizations).
• Conduct interviews with competent authorities, experts and other relevant stakeholders for input into the research if needed.
• Draft the report as a toolkit and in a modular format for easy dissemination and uptake among national stakeholders in every country. Ideally, the report should have a structure that could easily be implemented as an online tool.
• Integrate findings from the pilots into the report.
• Integrate report findings into the Global AI Ethics and Governance Observatory in consultation with the Ethics of AI team.
• Integrate inputs of the Ethics of AI team as needed and contribute to dissemination, communication and briefing outputs as necessary.

Output 2. Piloting the Nature Positive AI Toolkit for Policymakers:
• Identify the most important sections in the Nature Positive AI Toolkit that must be piloted as a priority and identify at least two use cases from the 61 countries conducting the RAM accordingly.
• Lead on the agreement, logistics and work needed to conduct the pilots.
• Produce dissemination material to inform of the pilots' results using a format that could be standardised for future pilots.
• Integrate pilots' findings into the Global AI Ethics and Governance Observatory in consultation with the Ethics of AI team.
• Contribute to dissemination, communication and briefing outputs as necessary.

Output 3. Contributing to the ongoing work of the Ethics of AI Unit:
• Support the inclusion of an environmental perspective in the Meta-Analysis of RAMs report, needing a cross-cutting analysis of all completed RAM reports.
• Coordinate and lead the inclusion and modification of the environmental perspective in UNESCO’s Readiness Assessment Methodology (RAM), ensuring alignment with the Recommendation on the Ethics of AI.
• Identifying synergies between this report and knowledge and experience from the relevant projects on ethics of AI being delivered around the world, including capacity building for AI governance for different countries. The goal is to enrich and cross-fertilise the overall work.
• Contribute to ongoing research and analysis conducted by the Ethics of AI team in AI policy and governance.
• Participate in meetings and present the work to different stakeholders.
• Support the team by preparing different materials such as speeches, presentations, blogs, white papers, etc.

DELIVERABLES AND TIMEFRAME

Month 1, by April 30th, 2025
• Preliminary materials for the Nature Positive AI Toolkit for Policymakers, including the research methodology/approach and the outline of the report.
• Concept Note about the Nature Positive AI Toolkit for Policymakers.
• Social network post to announce the coming Nature Positive AI Toolkit for Policymakers.

Month 2, by May 30th, 2025
• First draft of the Nature Positive AI Toolkit for Policymakers, to be circulated among expert networks for peer review and feedback.
• Identification of the most important sections in the Nature Positive AI Toolkit that need to be piloted as a priority and identify at least two use cases from the 61 countries conducting the RAM accordingly.
• Draft timeline for the pilots co-produced with various stakeholders.

Month 3, by June 20th, 2025
• Second draft of the Nature Positive AI Toolkit for Policymakers, incorporating the feedback from the expert networks.
• Secure contractual engagement needed for the piloting of use cases.
• Material for the soft launch (publication of a draft for comments) of the Nature Positive AI Toolkit for Policymakers (speeches, TPs, social network posts, etc.) and for the high-level announcement of the partnerships for the piloting.
• Mission to participate in the UNESCO Global Forum on the Ethics of AI in Bangkok, Thailand, from the 24th to the 27th of June.

Month 4, by July 31st, 2025
• Third draft of the Nature Positive AI Toolkit for Policymakers, incorporating the feedback from Global Forum and ready for the pilots.
• Timeline for the pilots co-produced with various stakeholders.
• Draft contribution to the Meta-Analysis of RAMs report with the environmental perspective.

Month 5, by August 29th, 2025
• Blog post – first draft article describing the pilots and their results.

Month 6, by September 30th, 2025
• Blog post – updated draft article describing the pilots and their results.

Month 7, by October 31st, 2025
• Final version of the Nature Positive AI Toolkit for Policymakers incorporating lessons learned from the pilots.
• Produce dissemination material to inform of the pilots' results using a format that could be standardised.
• Material for the official launch of the Nature Positive AI Toolkit for Policymakers (speeches, TPs, social network posts, etc.).

Month 8, by November 28th, 2025
• Mission to participate in the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil, from the 10th to the 21st of November.
• Blog post – accompanying article to introduce the final report and discuss the key findings.

Month 9, by December 31st, 2025
• Blog post – an article setting out the report's relevance, especially identifying the applicability of the Toolkit and including potential future work.
• Final contribution to the Meta-Analysis of RAMs report with the environmental perspective.
• Contributions to UNESCO’s Readiness Assessment Methodology revision, bringing the environmental perspective.

COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial)

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REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education
• University degree 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 in researching, analysing, and addressing the environmental implications of AI, particularly in its capacity to support environmental sustainability and drive positive change in addressing ecological challenges.
• Demonstrated experience in drafting policy-oriented reports, toolkits, or frameworks for policymakers and other stakeholders.
• Experience leading multi-stakeholder projects, including engagement with policymakers, international organisations, academic institutions, and civil society.

Skills and competencies
• Very good understanding of artificial intelligence's ethical, legal, social and governance issues and related digital technologies.
• Excellent knowledge of other global efforts and institutional leaderships that address the mitigation of the negative impact of digital technologies on the environment and the alignment of these to the Sustainable Development Goals.
• 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 Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and UNESCO’s AI Readiness Assessment Methodology, as well as the ability to translate lessons learned and good practices into practical guidance for policymakers.
• Proven ability to conduct high-quality policy research, synthesise complex information, and produce clear, concise, and impactful reports or toolkits.
• Excellent organisational and project management skills, with the ability to handle multiple interrelated deliverables within tight deadlines.

Languages
• Excellent knowledge (spoken and written) of English.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

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, toolkits, or recommendations is strongly desirable.

Languages
• Knowledge of another UNESCO official language (French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, or Chinese

PROPOSAL SUBMISISON

The duration of the contract is 9 months (until December 31st, 2025) with a monthly payment. The consultant may work remotely and shall attend missions in person related to the project implementation. The exact dates are to be confirmed by the Secretariat in due course.

Before submitting the Employment History form (Word file) to the “My Employment History Form / My Documents” section of the online application, the candidate must add the following elements at the end of the file:
• 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 9-month period (full-time working).

Only applications with the above-requested information can be considered.

Please note that the consultant salary expectations must be expressed in gross amounts. Consultants are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties in accordance with local laws. UNESCO will not reimburse any taxes, duties or other contributions for which the Individual Specialist may be liable in respect of any payments made to him/her under the terms of this contract.

SELECTION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS

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