Data Science/Machine Learning (DS/ML) Consultant, Office of Innovation, Solutions, 12 months, Stockholm, Sweden (Remote) # 593542

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built. We offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

How can you make a difference?

Sitting in Solution’s Emerging Innovation team, this consultant will have a belief that DS/ML can be a powerful tool to help UNICEF rapidly accelerate positive results for children. The successful consultant will have a strong desire to guide and inform early-stage DS/ML projects developed for, and implemented in, UNICEF program countries. Understanding the complexities between theory and practice and what it takes to make future ideas work in different contexts will be a characteristic of the consultant, as well as a conviction for pioneering and promoting responsible and ethical DS/ML practices.

Scope of Work:

The purpose of this assignment is to provide technical support and guidance to the DS/ML related work at OOI as well as across UNICEF through engagements at HQ, Regional and Country level.

Key responsibilities will be:

•Providing DS/ML technical guidance, support and mentorship to:

oVenture Fund supported team seed and growth cohort projects and companies.

oUNICEF’s Office of Innovation and other UNICEF teams, divisions, and offices

•Supporting the technical exploration, development and rollout of early-stage DS/ML initiatives, models and prototypes, within UNICEF with an aim to accelerate results for children.

•Working with internal and external stakeholders to support the understanding, adoption and scale of DS/ML initiatives across UNICEF.

•Facilitating project engagements between internal and external technical experts in support of strategic Office of Innovation-funded initiatives.

If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here: ToRTMC0002999.pdf

Minimum requirements:

• Education: An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Computer Science, Data Science/Machine Learning, or another relevant field. *A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.

• Work Experience: A minimum of five years of relevant professional, practical experience.
• Experience and exposure to relevant software development technologies, including:
• Strong coding capabilities in Python or R and with Data Science related libraries.
• Experience with analytics & visualization tools (open viz libraries e.g. Shiny, flexdashboard or equivalent for R or Dash, Panel or equivalent for Python)
• Git and other open source software development tools
• Experience with cloud computing platforms such as GCP, AWS, Azure or others.
• Experience with frontier AI models and coding tools for data science development (i.e. Claude Code, Cursor)
• Demonstrated experience working with nonechnicalteams in formulating their use cases, gathering business requirements, and involving non-technical stakeholders in the project delivery.
• Skills: Practical experience with rapid prototyping and evaluation of user feedback
• Demonstrated experience in development and deployment of ethical and responsible DS/ML practices, with examples in UNICEF program countries considered an asset.
• Demonstrated understanding of open source and open data principles and practices.
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

Qualified candidates are invited to submit the following documents via the online recruitment portal, TMS (Talent Management System):

• An up-to-date TMS profile and curriculum vitae (CV)
• Cover letter
• A separate financial proposal using this template only Financial proposal TMC0002999.docx

Remarks: If the TOR or financial proposal documents are not visible on certain recruitment platforms, please visit our official page Vacancies | UNICEF Careers.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.