Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)H (no hardship)
Family Type (not applicable for home-based)
Family
Staff Member / Affiliate TypeCONTR Local Professional Level
Target Start Date2024-02-16
Job Posting End DateFebruary 21, 2024
Terms of Reference1. Title of project: Digital Expert
2. Duration and dates of the assignment:
From: 16 February 2024
To: 31 December 2024
3. Location:
Home-based (remote work), with regular consultations with the Project Owner/Hiring Manager, including in person in Budapest. Occasional work from UNHCR office in Budapest office is possible, as needed.
4. Assignment and/or Mission travel:
Support missions to countries administered by the MCO (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary) is possible.
5. Payment and schedule:
Subject to completion of expected deliverables (ref. Para. 8) below), payment will be made in n. 11 installments, as follows:
1. $2,250 by 29/02/2024
2. $4,500 by 31/03/2024
3. $4,500 by 30/04/2024
4. $4,500 by 31/05/2024
5. $4,500 by 30/06/2024
6. $4,500 by 31/07/2024
7. $4,500 by 31/08/2024
8. $4,500 by 30/09/2024
9. $4,500 by 31/10/2024
10. $4,500 by 30/11/2024
11. $4,500 by 31/12/2024
6. General Background of Project or Assignment:
In 2022, UNHCR launched a project that aimed at enhancing digital safety for refugees who seek assistance online, working closely with refugees. This project focused on reinforcing refugees’ capacity and skills to self-protect when online, to detect and flag malicious content, and to strengthen safeguards adopted by online platforms. In 2023, the learning gained during the initial pilot phase informed several important initiatives, including the launch of a new web guide on UNHCR Hungary’s Help page, the development of multimedia content, and the launch of a digital campaign, alongside the revision of training curricula and facilitation of awareness workshops to Ukrainian refugees (children and adults). These initiatives have encountered significant praise, with both RBE and HQ considering them as best practices to be scaled up regionally and globally by UNHCR. Expansion to MCO-level countries has started in 2023 and is currently ongoing.
One key finding from the work in the previous two project years relates to how the exponential increase in the volume of generated content on digital channels poses great challenges for UNHCR in terms of its ability to effectively monitor the needs of refugees and recognize the potential threats to them. This complicated the accomplishment of some of the deliverables envisaged, such as trends analysis, and development of risk indicators, but also limits UNHCR’s ability to produce relevant, up-to-date, and risk-informed content and their dissemination through CWC channels.
Building on these insights, a continuation of the work on digital transformation was agreed upon, with the main aim for 2024 being to integrate digital technology into UNHCR’s online monitoring and protection activities. The 2024 project name is PROTOM (Protection Through Online Monitoring).
PROTOM's primary aim is to harness digital solutions for observing refugee-generated content on digital platforms such as Facebook and Telegram. The project intends to use advanced technologies, including natural language processing and generative AI, to analyse online interactions, identify trends, and assess refugee needs.
A key component of PROTOM is its commitment to data privacy and ethical handling, ensuring the protection of community members. The project aligns with UNHCR's Digital Transformation Strategy, particularly focusing on Digital Protection and Digital Engagement. It might also contribute to policy development in the area of digital protection.
The role of the Digital Expert individual contractor is central to the project’s execution. Responsibilities include evaluating digital monitoring tools, proposing enhancements, and ensuring compliance with privacy and ethical standards. The contractor will collaborate with a team consisting of professionals in Community Based Protection, digital engagement, and child protection, among others.
The expected outcome of PROTOM is to improve UNHCR’s responsiveness to the needs of Persons of Concern by leveraging digital channels. This project aims to inform and enhance UNHCR’s strategies in digital engagement and protection, setting a framework for future digital initiatives in humanitarian contexts.
7. Occupational Safety and Health Considerations
To view occupational safety and health considerations for specific duty stations, please visit this link: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel
8. Overall Purpose and Scope of Assignment:
a) Project presentation and joint planning workshop:
- Project presentation to MCO Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia protection teams, gather feedback and refine workplan as needed
b) Community engagement for problem definition refinement and identification of user needs:
- Engage in focus groups discussing with PoCs across the targeted countries to gather insights into their online community interactions, challenges, and needs, with a special focus on finding information and verifying offers.
- Roll out online surveys to a broader segment of PoCs to gather additional input on privacy concerns regarding online monitoring by humanitarian organisations, finding the ethical grounds for data usage.
- Collaborate with online community administrators who are forcibly displaced, to identify the most common queries they receive from PoCs and their expectations from UNHCR in terms of support and information provision.
- Carry out KIIs with community administrators and refugee community representatives (incl. From RLOs/CBOs) to gather and exchange views on implementable technical solutions and identify the most relevant one (see Section 4 below).
- Identify a network of Digital Champions from among the PoCs who could foster engagement within online communities and facilitate communication between UNHCR and the communities.
c) Links with local stakeholders, authorities and duty bearers:
- Relevant NGOs (and possibly other humanitarian organisations, including refugee-led organisations) will be contacted to exchange insights on online community monitoring, and provide a broader perspective on effective engagement strategies.
- Private sector entities will be researched to evaluate available technical offerings, security measures, and offered tools for online monitoring and data analysis.
- Due to the legal implications, discussion with governmental entities is planned around the regulatory frameworks governing digital interactions and data protection in the respective countries.
d) Further partnership identification
- Identify and approach potential partners for collaboration in technology, funding, or operation on a reginal / global level
e) Co-creation sessions or consultations with communities and stakeholders for participatory design
- Engage with digital monitoring experts and relevant UNHCR units and services (Innovation, Digital Engagement, DIST, etc.) to gain insights on the advancements in online community monitoring technologies.
- Identify the standard procedures and existing tools used by UNHCR for online community monitoring. Potentially engage with other humanitarian organisations as well for a comparative analysis.
f) Researching safety and privacy concerns
- Assess existing guidelines and policies for ethical and robust online community monitoring activities, including the gathering, processing and usage of refugee-generated data.
g) Solution building and modelling
- Evaluate and prepare the necessary technological infrastructure for the project, including digital tools and platforms.
- Test the existing solutions within selected online communities, identify and document the enhancements required, and draw the lessons.
- Test the use of generative AI for analysing refugee generated content.
- Channel the findings from online communities into protection work, for analysing and generating feedback.
- Assess the safety and privacy measures of the solution, ensuring they comply with legal standards and protect user data.
- Streamline the enhancements required to adapt the existing tools to the specific use-case, or recommend new product design to solve the defined challenges.
- Make necessary adjustments to the solution based on feedback, focusing on enhancing functionality, safety, and user experience.
- Develop and refine ethical guidelines for all aspects of the project, focusing on data usage and community interactions.
- Build final product, capable of standalone operation. Launch the tool in the desired countries.
h) Sustainability model put in place
- Develop and implement a strategy for the long-term sustainability of the project outcomes and impacts
i) Communications products produced and published
- Create and distribute materials (online and report format) to share the project's outcomes, impacts, and insights
j) Documentation finalised
- Complete and finalize all project documentation, including reports, manuals, and analytical data
k) Support regular digital engagement activities
- Support colleagues in updating content to Help Hungary.
- Support colleagues in the development of digital awareness raising materials.
9. Qualification and experience required:
- University degree preferably in IT, computer science or similar
- High level of English
- Minimum 5 years of experience in digital environments
- Specific experience in the following areas: computer skills, programming skills, technical knowledge, problem-solving skills, customer service skills, analytical skills, communication skills
- Knowledge and experience in the creation, implementation and monitoring of multi-channel digital projects and multi-media content strongly preferred
- Knowledge of the most common and the key innovative AI-based digital tools and platforms and search for trends
Additional information:
Candidates must be legally present in Hungary at the time of application, recruitment and hire.
Shortlisted candidates may be required to sit for a test. No late applications will be accepted. UNHCR is committed to diversity and welcomes applications from qualified candidates regardless of disability, gender identity, marital or civil partnership status, race, colour or ethnic and national origins, religion or belief, or sexual orientation. UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing, training or any other fees).
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Other informationThis position doesn't require a functional clearance
Home-BasedNo