United Nations OCHA Data Manager Job in Nairobi, Kenya

Data Manager - Humanitarian Data Exchange, Data Lab 

Position Type: Consultant 
 

Duration: 3-6 months
 

Location: Nairobi, Kenya 
 

Date: as soon as possible

Background: The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has created a new humanitarian data platform – the Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX). The goal of HDX is to make humanitarian data easy to find and use for analysis. 

The platform will include three technical components: a dataset repository for sharing data from across the community; data visualization and analysis functionality to compare indicators across countries and crises; and standards for the exchange of humanitarian operational data (the Humanitarian Exchange Language or HXL). HDX is being piloted in Colombia and Kenya in 2014. 

As part of its roll out in Kenya, the HDX team will be establishing a Data Lab in Nairobi. 

The Data Lab will serve as a front line, in-person service to the HDX platform and create a neutral, physical space for humanitarian partners, government officials, technologists, universities, and international stakeholders to collaborate on all things data. 

Data services will include data extraction, cleaning, storage, analysis and visualization. 

The Lab will also provide the opportunity to find new ways of working together on humanitarian data.  

Nairobi was chosen as the initial location for the Data Lab because it is a regional setting that is often dealing with multiple emergencies. 

We also wanted to explore the relationship between data and resilience in a region that has persistent drought and food insecurity. As we get established, we hope to benefit from the experience of local innovators involved in the local tech scene. 

The HDX Data Lab requires an experienced Data Manager to collaborate with data partners.  

The consultant will be part of the HDX Data Lab team which will include a Lab Manager and a Data Analyst. 

The Data Lab team will be expected to work closely with staff from the OCHA regional office, based in Nairobi, and with the global HDX team. 

Reporting Relationships: The consultant will report to the Lab Manager with oversight from the Statistician and Analytical Lead of the Humanitarian Data Exchange project who is based in New York.
 

Accountabilities  

Within the limits of delegated authority, the consultant will be responsible for the following:

• Work with partner organizations to support their data management processes.
• Advise partners on the use of data extraction processes for their data systems; develop scripts and APIs for data transferring when appropriate.
• Monitor the use of HDX by partners in the region and undertake outreach to bring new organizations into the HDX community.
• Ensure data freshness of region-specific data in HDX
• Promote the use of shared data and interoperability standards within partner spreadsheets and systems using the Humanitarian Exchange Language (HXL).
• Manage and distribute standard reference data, including taxonomies, code lists, and geodata.
• Clean the common operational datasets for countries in the Eastern Africa region and move the cleaned files into the HDX platform.
• Work with non-traditional data sources (telcos, social media) to see what data can be used to inform humanitarian decision making.
• Take part in HDX project team meetings as required.

Deliverables

• Cleaned partner data and logical processes for sharing data with HDX.
• Agreements with data providers for sharing data with the HDX platform.
• Ongoing curation of data into the HDX analytical database.
• Cleaned common operational datasets for countries in the region.
• The use of HXL in partner spreadsheets or systems.

Qualifications 

Education:  First level university degree in computer science, information management, information technology, or related field.

Experience: At least five years of professional work experience with managing data systems. Proven experience in database programming. 

Demonstrated experience in technical communication.  Experience with the following a plus: the Java and Python programming languages, relational databases, the CKAN open-data portal.

Language:  Fluency in English is required (both oral and written). Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.   

Send CVs to Mark Slezak at slezak@un.org and Javier Teran at teran1@un.org with a copy to hdx@un.org.