UNDP Jobs - 70502- Data Journalism Consultant

Data Journalism Consultant

Location :

Home based with one mission to Albania and one mission to Kyrgyzstan

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

07-Mar-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Estimated 1 March 2017 – 31 December 2017

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Approximately 71 working days

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub (IRH) is UNDP’s main knowledge and advisory hub for the countries serviced by UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Europe and CIS (RBEC). The Regional Centre is in charge for regional programme implementation. Through its regional programme, the IRH provides advisory support and knowledge management and innovation services to UNDP Country Offices in 22 countries and territories in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, including those in Central Asia.

Sustainable Development Goal 16 frames the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provision of access to justice for all, and the building of effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels as a priority for the 2030 development agenda. UNDP’s Strategic Plan (2014-2017) prioritizes democratic governance and peacebuilding as the key to strengthening the social contract between the people and the state in realizing resilient and sustainable development. To contribute to this overall goal, UNDP in ECIS works regionally and at country level on:

Advocating for openness, transparency and accountability of public institutions, anti-corruption and strengthening civil society engagement;
Supporting legal reforms and developing parliamentary processes;
Strengthening the rule of law including community security and promoting rights and access to justice of marginalized communities;
Building efficient National Human Rights Institutions; supporting the implementation of international standards and recommendations;
Enhancing public services and institutional responsiveness including public sector performance measures, voice and participation, particularly of excluded groups including youth;
Supporting effective local governance frameworks, decentralization and implementation mechanisms;
Supporting conflict prevention through national dialogue, local peace committees, and confidence-building activities while building institutional capacity to address risks and crises;
Placing gender equality and women at the center of decision-making and peace efforts.

In the framework of the UNDP Strategic Plan 2014-2017, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the regional programme, the Open Data in Europe and Central Asia (ODECA) platform will continue to strengthen the demand and supply side of open data. The overall goal is for societies in the ECIS region harness the benefits of the data revolution for sustainable development and inclusive governance. ODECA is placed within the Governance and Peace-building Team, the anti-corruption practice area.

In the next phase, ODECA intends to strengthen existing partnerships and broaden the scope of work in the area of open data. More specifically, it will focus on: strengthening a global network of open data leaders in government, promoting good practices on open data standards, strengthening networks of public interest innovation, measuring open data, and capacity building for all.

In this context, the UNDP IRH, will contract a consultant within the ODECA network, Outcome 2 “Citizen expectations for voice, development, the rule of law and accountability are met by stronger systems of democratic governance”, to support the sub-practice with carrying out the design, development, delivery and follow-up of the curriculum for data journalism. The activity is intended for teaching staff at tertiary education institutions, who will then integrate the curriculum in their classes.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Consultant will perform tasks for the UNDP IRH, under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the Governance and Peacebuilding Cluster Lead and the Data Management Analyst. The Consultant’s main tasks will be the following:

Revise UNDP data journalism training manual based on feedback from pilot training-of-trainers workshop;
Adapt UNDP data journalism training manual for a 200-hour university data journalism concentration in the School of Communications at the undergraduate level for universities in Kyrgyzstan and Albania;
Deliver two 20-day training-of-trainers for university professors and media professionals, one in Kyrgyzstan and the second in Albania;
Provide support and guidance to university professors as they design and launch their data journalism programs.

Deliverables and timeframe:

Deliverable 1: Produce a short concept (2-4 pages) designing the initiative and giving an overview of revisions needed to the current curriculum and plan for adaptation to course structure for university data journalism concentration (by mid-April 2017) (app. 3 days);
Deliverable 2: Produce a data journalism training curriculum broken down by courses that form the data journalism concentration, at least 200 pages (by beginning of May 2017) (app. 15 days);
Deliverable 3: Deliver a 20-day data journalism training program for university professors and professional journalists in Kyrgyzstan (by end of June 2017) (app. 20 days);
Deliverable 4: Deliver a -20 day data journalism training for university professors and professional journalists in Albania (by end of August 2017) (app. 20 days);
Deliverable 5: Develop a course outline for each implementing university (by mid-August 2017) (app. 3 days);
Deliverable 6: Provide regular and on-demand guidance and follow-up through virtual meet-ups with the trainees including a report on the main issues raised during the virtual meet-ups (by end of December 2017) (app. 10 days).

Payment schedule:

Deliverable 1 and 2: 40% of the lump sum;
Deliverable 3 and 4: 35% of the lump sum;
Deliverable 5 and 6: 25% of the lump sum.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Functional Competencies:

Strong interpersonal skills, communication and diplomatic skills, ability to work in team and multi-cultural environments;
Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities;
Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
Ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s Degree in journalism, media, digital media or related field.

Experience:

At least 5 years of relevant experience working in data driven journalism, digital media, print media or other related areas;
A portfolio of internationally published stories using data for story-telling and published articles/blogs on the good practices of data journalism;
Previous experience in delivering trainings on data driven journalism in development settings and multi-cultural environments;
Experience in use of software tools for data analysis (SQL, Google Refine, Scrapy, DocHive,OpenRefine and others) is an asset.

Language:

Fluency in oral and written English is required.

Evaluation of Applicants:
Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal.
The award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical (P11 desk reviews and written sample) and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Only the highest ranked candidates who would be found qualified for the job will be considered for the Financial Evaluation

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation – max. 35 points:

Criteria A (Relevant Experience working in data driven journalism, digital media, print media or other related areas) – max points: 10;
Criteria B (Previous experience in delivering trainings on data driven journalism in development settings and multi-cultural environments max points: 10;
Criteria C (A portfolio of internationally published stories using data for story-telling and published articles/blogs on the good practices of data journalism – wirtten sample) – max points: 10;
Criteria D (Experience in use of software tools for data analysis (SQL, Google Refine, Scrapy, DocHive,OpenRefine and others) – max points: 5;

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation – max. 15 points.

Application procedures:
Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via this website. The application should contain

Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position. Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application.
Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees
(blank form can be downloaded from http://europeandcis.undp.org/files/hrforms/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc ); please upload the P11 instead of your CV.
Writing sample(s) relevant to this assignment (internationally published stories using data for story-telling and published articles/blogs on the good practices of data journalism)
Financial Proposal* in USD - specifying a) total all-inclusive lump sum amount for tasks specified in this announcement b) travel costs for one mission to Albania and one mission to Kyrgizstan (kindly indicate i) travel costs, ii) per diem for 20 days for each mission).
Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials

*Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee, health insurance, vaccination and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services). All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. One Mission to Albania an done Mission to Kyrgizstan is for 20 days each to deliver the training is envisaged.

Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner.

Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org
General Terms and conditions as well as other related documents can be found under: http://on.undp.org/t7fJs.

Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.
Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.