Data Specialist

About the role

The Data Specialist works in the Regional Office for Africa (ROAF) of the United Nations Development Coordination Office (DCO), part of the Data, Digital and Innovation function. The role leads the design, implementation and management of regional data analytics and data-driven solutions, turning data into information, insight and business decisions. It reports to the Head of the Regional Office, with a matrix line to the Chief of the Data, Digital and Innovation Section.

Key responsibilities

• Manage the development and implementation of databases, data collection systems, data analytics and strategies that improve statistical efficiency and quality.
• Analyse and interpret trends and patterns in structured and unstructured data, and run full data lifecycle analyses.
• Lead data analytics projects and turn organisational needs into analytics and reporting requirements.
• Communicate analysis findings clearly to non-technical stakeholders and keep up with data analytics trends and tools.
• Evaluate data outputs, build staff capacity on data analytics and lead the work plan and team, including hiring, task assignment and performance evaluation.
• Perform data analytics work for internal and external audits and coordinate with the Data Analysis team in DCO New York.

Required profile

• Advanced university degree (Master's or equivalent) in a quantitative field such as computer science, data science, statistics, information systems or a related field; a Bachelor's degree plus qualifying experience may be accepted.
• Minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience in data analysis, data engineering or data science.
• Knowledge of the data life cycle, database management and SQL; knowledge of Python and R is required.
• English at UN Level II (reading, writing, listening, speaking); French at UN Level I is desirable.

Required skills

• Relational databases (SQL)
• Programming languages (Python, R)
• Data storytelling and visualization tools such as Tableau, Power BI, Qlik and R (desirable)