Fellow Data Science Clemence Lucas

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race colour national origin ethnic or social background genetic information gender gender identity and/or expression sexual orientation religion or belief HIV status or disability.

ABOUT WFP

The World Food Programme is the worlds largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict disasters and the impact of climate change.

At WFP people are at the heart of everything we do and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse committed skilled and high performing teams selected on merit operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment living WFPs values (Integrity Collaboration Commitment Humanity and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves.

To learn more about WFP visit our website: follow us on social media to keep up with our latest news: YouTube LinkedIn Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok.

WHY JOIN WFP

• WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

• WFP offers a highly inclusive diverse and multicultural working environment.

• WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training accreditation coaching mentorship and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.

• A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country regional and global offices around the world and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe.

• We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement).

The World Food Programme (WFP) is committed to addressing global food insecurity through innovative data-driven approaches. Within this mandate the Early Warning and Forecasting Unit (PRG-F) at Headquarters in Rome plays a critical role in developing advanced analytical tools to anticipate food crises and inform timely humanitarian action.

The unit leverages cutting-edge methodologies in data science artificial intelligence and predictive analytics integrating large and diverse datasetsincluding satellite imagery conflict and climate data economic indicators and real-time information streamsto generate early warning signals and forecasts of food insecurity and its key drivers.

To strengthen these efforts PRG-F is seeking a Fellow to support the design and development of analytical tools and models aimed at improving early warning systems and forecasting capabilities globally. The fellowship provides an opportunity to contribute to high-impact humanitarian work while gaining hands-on experience in applied data science within an international organization.

Under the supervision of the Early Warning and Forecasting Unit the Fellow will contribute to the development of alerting and forecasting tools for food security and its drivers supporting ongoing initiatives to enhance anticipatory action and evidence-based decision-making. The Fellow will work closely with data scientists analysts and domain experts to prototype test and refine models that generate actionable insights for WFP operations and partners.

Key Responsibilities

• Support the development of early warning and forecasting models for food insecurity and related drivers (e.g. climate shocks conflict market dynamics) using statistical and machine learning approaches.

• Assist in building alerting systems and analytical tools including dashboards or automated pipelines that generate timely signals on emerging risks.

• Conduct exploratory data analysis on large multi-source datasets to identify patterns trends and anomalies relevant to food security outcomes.

• Contribute to data engineering tasks including data cleaning integration and preparation of datasets for modelling and analysis.

• Support the development of reproducible workflows and production-ready code following best practices in version control documentation and deployment.

• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams incorporating feedback from domain experts to ensure models and tools are relevant interpretable and operationally useful.

• Assist in communication of results including preparation of technical notes visualizations and presentations for internal stakeholders.

• Ensure compliance with WFP data policies including data privacy security and responsible use of AI.

• Contribute to ad hoc analytical tasks and research activities as required by the unit.

Expected Deliverables

By the end of the fellowship the Fellow is expected to deliver:

• Contributions to early warning or forecasting models including documented methodologies and reproducible code.

• Prototype or components of alerting systems or analytical tools (e.g. scripts dashboards or pipelines).

• Analytical outputs such as datasets visualizations or summary reports supporting ongoing projects.

• Clear documentation of methods workflows and code to ensure continuity and usability by the team

Qualifications and Skills

• Enrolled in or recently graduated from a degree programme in Data Science Statistics Economics Computer Science or a related field.

• Strong interest in humanitarian work food security and early warning systems.

• Familiarity with data analysis and modelling tools (e.g. Python R).

• Knowledge of statistical methods and/or machine learning techniques.

• Experience with data visualization tools and handling large datasets is an asset.

• Strong analytical thinking attention to detail and problem-solving skills.

• Ability to work collaboratively in a multicultural environment.

Learning Outcomes

Through this fellowship the Fellow will:

• Gain practical experience in applied forecasting and early warning systems in a humanitarian context.

• Develop technical skills in data science modelling and data engineering.

• Learn to translate analytical outputs into operational insights for decision-making.

• Work in a multidisciplinary and international team environment.

Languages:

Excellent spoken and written English. French or Arabic is an asset.

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

WFP Leadership Framework guides to the common standards of behavior that guide HOW we work together to accomplish our mission.

Click here to access WFP Leadership Framework

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

WFP is committed to supporting individuals with disabilities by providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation please contact:

NO FEE DISCLAIMER

The United Nations does not charge any application processing training interviewing testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee please disregard it. Furthermore please note that emblems logos names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.

REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

• All applications must be submitted exclusively through our online recruiting system. We do not consider CVs or applications sent by email LinkedIn or any other channel.

• We strongly recommend that your Workday profile is accurate and complete and that all sections are filled in including your employment history academic qualifications language skills and UN grade (if applicable). Once your profile is completed please apply and submit your application.

• If you experience technical issues while submitting your application you may contact us at . Please note that this email is only for technical issues with an application - unsolicited applications or documents sent to this inbox will not receive a reply.

• At the application stage the only required documents are your CV and Cover Letter. Additional documents (passport certificates recommendation letters etc.) may be requested later in the process.

• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the recruitment process.

All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs job requirements merit and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse all forms of discrimination any kind of harassment sexual harassment and abuse of authority. Therefore all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) FAO Finance Committee WFP External Auditor WFP Audit Committee Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.