Data Engineering Consultant

INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION  

ITU is the leading United Nations agency for information and communication technologies, with the mission to connect the world. To achieve this, ITU manages the radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits at the international level, works to improve communication infrastructure in the developing world, and establishes global standards that foster seamless interconnection of a vast range of communication systems. 

Data Engineering Consultant 

 Vacancy notice no: 1700 
Sector: BDT
Department: DNS
Country of contract: Remote
Duty station: Home Based

 Position number: [[positionNumber]] 
Grade: [[PositionGrade]] 
Type of contract: Consultant
Duration of contract: 6 months
Recruitment open to: External
Application deadline (Midnight Geneva Time): 1 August 2024

ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT

The Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) is responsible for the organization and coordination of the work of the Telecommunication Development Sector of the Union. BDT deals mainly with development policies, strategies, programming, projects, as well as technical cooperation activities to enable and foster universal access to affordable, high-quality and secure telecommunications/ICTs and Foster equitable and inclusive use of telecommunications/ICTs to empower people and societies for sustainable development. To effectively and efficiently serve the needs of Member States, BDT is organized into four functional areas:

• Operations Coordination Department (Office of the Deputy to the Director)
• Projects, Partnerships & Digital Skills Department (PPS) 
• Digital Networks & Environment Department (DNE) 
• Digital Knowledge Society Department (DKS)

The Digital Networks & Environment Department is responsible to assist the Member States, especially the G77 countries, in a wide range of ICT development challenges, as basic connectivity, spectrum management, evolution of current to future broadband networks and technologies, enabling universal and affordable access, and strengthening the security through the cybersecurity support. In addition, the DNE Department provides expertise and needed support for emergency telecommunications and the increasingly important and urgent aspects related to the environment and climate change.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

ITU is seeking an experienced Data Engineering Consultant to join our dynamic team. The successful candidate will support in the organization, standardization, and integration of telecommunication and ICT infrastructure data. You will collaborate with data scientists, geospatial information systems and telecommunication engineers, ensure data quality, manage databases, and help to create automatic reporting systems and analytical dashboards. The ability to create an open-source automatic pipeline to perform these functions is highly desirable.
 
This Special Service Agreement (SSA) requires strong technical skills, a strong understanding of data management principles, and the ability to work collaboratively with others. If you are a problem-solver who enjoys working with large data sets and is motivated by the idea of improving data systems, we would like to hear from you.

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Under the guidance of the Head of Future Networks & Spectrum Management Division, the consultant will:

• Collect, import, and clean large volumes of unstructured and structured data from various sources related to telecommunications and ICT infrastructure.
• Develop, construct, test, and maintain data architectures to ensure their streamlined operation.
• Implement methods to standardize and validate data to maintain consistency and accuracy. Implement tools and frameworks for data validation, cleaning, and preprocessing.
• Develop and generate data quality reports. Design and implement robust data quality checking techniques to ensure high data accuracy and reliability.
• Design, construct, install, and maintain highly scalable data management systems. Create complex queries and scripts for data manipulation and analysis.
• Develop and maintain an automatic reporting system to generate relevant reports. Ensure the integrity and security of data in the reports.
• Work closely with data scientists and other team members to integrate data with existing models. Collaborate with various teams to support their data infrastructure needs.
• Develop and integrate data-driven dashboards for business intelligence reporting. Visualize data insights in a user-friendly manner.
• Construct and maintain an open-source automatic pipeline to streamline data operations, ensuring optimal functionality of all data systems.
• Develop and maintain an effective and scalable file and folder structure to ensure data is easily accessible and properly secured.
• Document procedures and practices in a clear and structured manner to ensure knowledge transfer, compliance, and future scalability.
• Stay updated with the latest technology trends in data engineering, data science, and related fields, bringing in new ideas to continuously improve the data infrastructure.

CONCRETE DELIVERABLES

• A data collection and ingestion system capable of collecting, importing, and cleaning large volumes of unstructured and structured data from various sources.
• Implemented and documented methods and procedures for standardizing and validating data to ensure consistency and accuracy.
• Regularly generated reports that assess the quality and integrity of the data being managed, with clear metrics for evaluation.
• An automated system for generating necessary reports related to the data.
• Data-driven dashboards integrated for business intelligence reporting, showcasing key insights from the data in a visually intuitive manner.
• Tools and systems for seamless integration of data with existing models and across various teams.
• A well-constructed open-source automatic pipeline that streamlines data operations and can be used by others in the community.
• An optimized, scalable, and secure file and folder structure that ensures data is easily accessible and well-organized.
• Detailed documentation outlining data management and processing practices, procedures for using the data pipeline, and other systems created. This should include clear instructions for replicating and scaling these systems.

COMPETENCIES

• Knowledge of design and implementation of automated data pipelines.
• Technical knowledge in Python, SQL, Git, PostgreSQL, Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, Docker, Kubernetes, Apache Airflow.

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED

Education: University degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Data Engineering, Telecommunications, or a related field. An advanced degree would be an advantage.

Experience: At least three (3) years of experience in data engineering with a specific focus on designing and implementing automated data pipelines. 

Languages: Knowledge of English at advanced level. 
 

REMUNERATION INFORMATION

Between USD 185 and USD 300 per working day to be defined according to the work experience of the consultant.

INFORMATION ON RECRUITMENT PROCESS   

Please note that all candidates must complete an on-line application and provide complete and accurate information. To apply, please visit the ITU Careers website. The evaluation of candidates is based on the criteria in the vacancy notice, and may include tests and/or assessments, as well as a competency-based interview. ITU uses communication technologies such as video or teleconference, e-mail correspondence, etc. for the assessment and evaluation of candidates. Please note that only selected candidates will be further contacted and candidates in the final selection step will be subject to reference checks based on the information provided. Messages originating from a non ITU e-mail account - @itu.int - should be disregarded. ITU does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process.

ITU applies a zero-tolerance policy against all forms of harassment. ITU is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. Achieving gender balance is a high priority for ITU.