Digital Democracy Specialist Vacancy at UNDP (New York): Bureau for Policy and Programme Support

Finance October 3, 2023

0 5 minutes read

The specialist is expected to travel on short- and long-term mission assignments globally.

Digital Democracy Specialist Vacancy at UNDP (New York): Bureau for Policy and Programme Support

UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP’s policy work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office levels, forms a contiguous spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests in the Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains and in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in the Strategic Plan.

Within the GPN, the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan. BPPS’s staff provides technical advice to Country Offices; advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private dialogues, government and civil society dialogues, and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas. BPPS works closely with UNDP’s Crisis Bureau (CB) to support emergency and crisis response. BPPS ensures that issues of risk are fully integrated into UNDP’s development programmes. BPPS assists UNDP and partners to achieve higher quality development results through an integrated approach that links results-based management and performance monitoring with more effective and new ways of working. BPPS supports UNDP and partners to be more innovative, knowledge and data driven including in its programme support efforts.

UNDP’s governance assistance, including that provided through UNDP’s Global Programme, Governance for People and Planet (G4PP), is multi-dimensional and multi-level and goes beyond technical solutions to support a “systems approach” which is human rights based, problem- driven and participatory to accelerate development and ensure no one is left behind. Strengthening democratic institutions and processes is one of the main outcome areas/priorities of the G4PP that brings together global policy development and technical assistance in electoral assistance, parliamentary development, and women’s political participation.

Within the framework of the global G4PP, UNDP has developed PRIME, which is an initiative that seeks to support credible, inclusive and peaceful elections as a contribution to the broader development objective of expanding people’s choices for a fairer, sustainable future. Operating at the global level, the initiative supports selected electoral institutions and processes through the establishment of a flexible Rapid Response Facility. It additionally contributes to solutions to emergent issues in elections, notably information integrity in elections. As part of its strategic approach, the initiative prioritizes the advancement of gender transformative frameworks to enhance women’s electoral and political participation.

Position Purpose

The Digital Democracy Specialist position will be physically located within the UNDP BBPS in New York. S/he will report to Primary line to the Global Lead, Democratic Institutions, and Processes in a Digital Era. The specialist will be expected to closely coordinate with the entire electoral assistance team, including at the HQ and RH levels, as well as regional projects, OGC, and CDO. The specialist will be responsible for delivering support in areas related to information integrity and inclusivity, including providing advice and support to UNDP country offices. S/he will also work on strengthening, delivering, and developing a comprehensive offer on information integrity in the elections landscape, providing advice and support to UNDP COs, and creating and developing tools and methodologies to combat information pollution in electoral processes and democratic governance more broadly.
The specialist is expected to travel on short- and long-term mission assignments globally.

Duties and Responsibilities

Coordination, strategic planning, and advisory support:

Coordinate activities related to the PRIME initiative, including country support, knowledge management, and capacity development, in coordination with BPPS/GPN colleagues.
Analyze respective digital tools within UNDP and continuously develop and deliver UNDP’s comprehensive offering for addressing information pollution in elections.
Provide advice and support to UNDP Country Offices (COs) and countries benefiting from PRIME financial support on topics related to information integrity and inclusivity in elections.

Lead the design and further development of AI-driven technologies and technological tools that address information pollution issues and help monitor and analyze political discourse on digital media globally and nationally.
Develop monitoring methodologies and provide advice and support to UNDP country offices and other stakeholders on social media listening and fact-checking during elections.
Support mobilization of resources on issues related to information integrity in elections and democratic governance more broadly.

Data analysis and visualization:

Contribute to UNDP data analysis, research, policy, and implementation of activities around monitoring information landscapes in elections and integrated data analytics on conflict and post-conflict settings globally.
Develop data collection systems, data analytics, and other strategies related to information integrity in elections.

Conduct quantitative and qualitative data analysis, and identify and interpret trends or patterns in complex data sets.
Generate data visualization products, including infographics and dashboards, using Power BI, Tableau, or other tools for UNDP global knowledge products on information integrity in elections.

Capacity Development and training:

Coordinate and support the development of global, regional, and national methodologies and training curricula on issues related to combating misinformation, hate speech, and online violence against women in politics (VAWP), among others.
Facilitate, coordinate, and organize dialogues, thematic workshops, and training on promoting information integrity in elections.
Build and strengthen the capacity of national counterparts and provide advice on addressing online misinformation, hate speech, and violence against women during electoral periods.

Advocacy and alliance building:

Establish and maintain partnerships with CSOs, researchers, academics, tech firms, UN agencies, and INGOs globally, regionally, and nationally.
Liaise and maintain communication with CDO, OGC, JTF, and DPPA and ensure effective information exchange.

Support UNDP COs advocacy efforts to promote information integrity at the national level.
Develop communications plans and products to disseminate key results, impact, and lessons learned from PRIME, ensuring the flow of knowledge between key stakeholders and partners and strengthening UNDP’s emerging position as a thought leader on innovation and digitalization in information integrity and AI-driven technologies.

Project management and administrative support:

Manage and coordinate the implementation of PRIME’s activities based on the relevant project documents and annual work plans.
Contribute to PRIME’s planning and reporting processes.
Support PRIME’s event management, budget planning, and operation support

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree in Data Science, Information System Technology, Media and Communication, or related fields OR a Bachelor’s degree in said fields in combination with two additional years of qualifying work experience

Experience:

5 years of professional experience (with Master’s degree) or 7 years (with Bachelor’s degree) working for the United Nations/ international organizations in the field of electoral support.
Experience in the field of elections, information integrity, and digital media monitoring.
Experience and knowledge of methodologies of social media monitoring/listening and data analysis.

Experience and knowledge of online analytical tools and approaches, including but not limited to open-source APIs.
Data analysis skills include explorative analysis, using programming languages, and crawling and scraping data via APIs.
Data visualization and mapping skills, including experience with tools such as Power BI and Tableau.