Background

UNDP works in some 170 countries and territories, helping to achieve the eradication of poverty, and the reduction of inequalities and exclusion. We help countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities and build resilience in order to sustain development results. Inclusive growth, better services, environmental sustainability, good governance, and security are fundamental to development progress. We offer our expertise in development thinking and practice, and our decades of experience at country level, to support countries to meet their development aspirations and achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Global Centre for Technology, Innovation and Sustainable Development is a joint initiative by the Government of Singapore and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which aims at identifying and co-creating technological solutions for sustainable development. The Centre curates partnerships, identifies solutions and connects partners and innovations with UNDP’s global network of Country Offices and development partners.

UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) is responsible 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, South-South, SIDS-SIDS and Triangular cooperation initiatives; and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas. 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 as well as knowledge and data driven through its programme support efforts.

UNDP is committed to Small Island Developing States (SIDS), working to connect the UN global processes to regional and local development priorities and supporting and advocating for SIDS-specific development solutions. With a broad country presence, UNDP has a major organizational investment and a multi-sectoral programme portfolio in SIDS. UNDP was at the forefront of the Third International Conference of SIDS in Samoa in September 2014, with BPPS playing a key role in the preparations of the Conference and actively following up on actions identified in the outcome document, SAMOA Pathway. One of the outcomes in the UNDP Strategic Plan 2018-2021 is tailored to give special attention to “capacities developed across the whole of government to integrate the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Agreement and other international agreements (including the SAMOA Pathway) in development plans and budgets, and to analyze progress towards the SDGs, using innovative and data-driven solutions.” UNDP is committed to support SIDS through a global framework, consisting of three main pillars: Climate Action, Blue Economy and Digital Transformation. Through strategic partnerships and advocacy, UNDP aims to bridge gaps and create a network between SIDS and other key stakeholders. UNDP supports SIDS governments to build capacity — institutional, policy, technical — which enhances regional support the implementation of international normative standards and commitments in their own countries.

UNDP has a large portfolio on digital transformation and digital solutions for sustainable development through the Global Centre for Technology, Innovation and Sustainable Development as well as strong focus on digital transformation under the policy advisory and programmatic focus on Small Island Developing States. As a new component of the UNDP SIDS Offer "Rising Up For SIDS", the SIDS Data Platform is a new digital tool for accelerating development in SIDS by providing policymakers, research institutions, and country offices with access to updated, standardized, and comprehensive data. The visualization and analytics features of this platform will help SIDS to respond to the SAMOA Pathway and the 2030 agenda by rising up to the urgent challenges of climate change and their green and blue transition. By focusing on the needs of SIDS, this tool has been designed specifically to feature datasets about Digital Transformation, Blue Economy, and Climate Action. There are three main types of data within the SIDS Data Platform, including country-level development indicators, geospatial data, and data on the UNDP portfolio of projects and investment in SIDS per SDG and SAMOA Pathway Priority. Automated analytics and machine learning tools within the platform provide development actors with the ability to explore correlation between datasets, identify high-risk areas within countries, and visualize regional development opportunities. To this end, UNDP is seeking to recruit an intern to support these efforts jointly, focused specifically on the development of the GIS panel of the SIDS Data Platform.

Duties and Responsibilities

Working with the UNDP SIDS team, the intern will support the development of a geospatial mapping platform with tools to visualize and analyse development in the SIDS. Reporting jointly to the Director of the Global Centre for Technology, Innovation and Sustainable Development and the Senior Principal Advisor for Small Island Developing States, the intern is expected to deliver support for:

1) Development of features for a geospatial web platform for the SIDS using Mapbox and Vue.js to prepare platform for a public release

2) Refactor of existing Mapbox codebase to improve state management in Vue and stabilize user interactions

3) Addition of new geospatial analytic functions for development practitioners to do vulnerability analyses and map development solutions

4) Integration of frontend platform with Azure Kubernetes environment for geospatial processing functions

5) Additional design improvements to interface and existing visualization and analytic functions

6) Refactor of data management and loading scheme to new Azure storage environment and data formats

7) Documentation of codebase and geospatial database to prepare platform for public release

8) Ad-hoc support for the ongoing technical development of the SIDS data platform and efforts of the Global Centre for Technology, Innovation and Sustainable Development as tasks arise

Competencies

  • Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN's values and ethical standards;
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
  • Treats all people fairly without favoritism.
  • Strong organizational, analytical, reporting and writing abilities;
  • Strong data analysis and visualization skills;
  • Results driven, able to meet targets/deadlines;

Required Skills and Experience

Required field of studies:

Web Development, Frontend Development, Data Science, Computer Science, Information Technology, Systems Engineering, or related fields.

Experience: 

  • Frontend web development experience with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS
  • Experience with Vue.js or other single-page application web frameworks
  • Experience in software development project management and Github
  • Familiarity with frontend data visualization libraries including d3.js and Tableau
  • Experience designing and implementing interactive data visualizations and interfaces
  • Experience with a GIS software such as QGIS, ArcGIS, or ESRI
  • Experience with using MapBox for GIS web development
  • Experience with spatial databases including PostGIS and PostgreSQL
  • Full-stack web development experience and kn
  • Web development experience in JavaScript, HTML, and CSS
  • Familiarity with geospatial development libraries such as d3, turf.js, carto, or deck.gl 
  • An understanding of development issues pertaining to SIDS is an advantage;
  • Very good knowledge of United Nations System is desirable
  • Voluntary / internship experience in conducting research in international development or related field

Language:

  • Written and spoken proficiency in English is a prerequisite.

Education:

Interns are selected on a competitive basis. Applicants to UNDP internships must at the time of application meet one of the following academic requirements:

(a)Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher) in Geographic Information Systems, Web Development, Geospatial Intelligence, Data Science, Computer Science, Public Policy, International Development, or related fields.

(b) Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum Bachelor’s level or equivalent);

(c) Have graduated with a university degree (as defined in (a) and (b) above) and, if selected, must start the internship within one-year of graduation.

(d) be enrolled in a postgraduate professional traineeship program and undertake the internship as part of this program.

 

Application Process

Note: UNDP internship application form and CV need to be combined in one PDF document for upload.

Conditions of internship

Internships within the UN system are subject to following conditions, which the candidates should familiarize themselves with prior to applying:

  • UNDP GC-TISD will provide a stipend in the amount of SGD859.13 monthly in accordance with the provisions of the UNDP Internship Policy;
  • Any further costs associated with the internship must be borne by the nominating institution, related institution or government, which may provide the required financial assistance to its students; or by the student, who will have to obtain financing for subsistence and make his or her arrangements for travel, accommodation and other costs;
  • UNDP accepts no responsibility for the medical and life insurance of the intern or costs arising from accidents and illness incurred during an internship. The Intern must provide proof of enrolment in a health insurance plan;
  • UNDP does not provide assistance with travel and/or housing and the Intern will be responsible for obtaining the necessary visas and arranging travel to and from the duty station where the internship will be performed;
  • The purpose of the Internship Programme is not to lead to further employment within the UN System, but to complement an intern’s studies. Therefore, there should be no expectation of employment at the end of an internship. Interns must not apply for or be appointed to a position that should be encumbered by a staff member during the period of their internship;
  • Interns are not staff members and may not represent UNDP in any official capacity;
  • UNDP only accepts interns for a minimum of 6 weeks and a maximum of 6 months.

Selected candidates must submit following documents prior to joining:

  • Letter from the university confirming current enrolment and graduation date;
  • Copy of passport or visa status;
  • A copy of his/her school transcript;
  • Proof of medical insurance including provision for medical evacuation and removal of mortal remains or life insurance and a medical certificate of good health prior to starting the internship.
  • A signed UNDP Internship Agreement.

Note: GC-TISD will consider both duty station and home-based options for this internship. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.