Job Description

Please note that this vacancy is only open to eligible staff members who have been individually notified of their eligibility to apply for positions advertised in the Accelerated Posting Compendium.

June 12, 2026

H (no hardship)

Family

PR2

Professional

Reason

Regular > Regular Assignment

2026-05-26

Associate Data Scientist

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
The UNHCR Data Transformation Strategy 2020-2025 envisions that by 2025 UNHCR becomes a trusted leader on data and information related to refugees and other forcibly displaced and stateless persons, thereby enabling actions that protect, include and empower. The Strategy stipulates investing in four complementary priority areas: data management and governance; information systems; capacities and skill development; and culture for evidence-informed decision-making.
The Associate Data Scientist will apply innovative methods (e.g. machine learning / AI, data mining, remote sensing, topic extraction, predictive analytics, etc.) and explore the use of innovative data sources (e.g. big data, geospatial data and imagery, etc.) to improve the production, analysis and dissemination of data in global forced displacement and statelessness situations. In these areas, the incumbent will oversee and implement research and analytics, recommend and facilitate enhancements to data systems and processes, provide training and capacity building, and represent the organization at the technical level in relevant fora. The Associate Data Scientist will thereby play a crucial role in helping UNHCR harness the power and potential of these innovative techniques and data sources, achieve the vision of the Data Transformation Strategy, and further enhance its ability to save lives, protect rights and build a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people.
The Associate Data Scientist reports to a senior staff member in the Division/Bureau or to the Senior Data Scientist in the Global Data Service. The incumbent will work closely with relevant colleagues in delivering the expected outcomes for the concerned entity. The incumbent will also liaise with external partners and stakeholders as/when required. S/he may directly supervise staff at the General Service category.

All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR's core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.

Duties
- Apply data science techniques to global forced displacement and statelessness situations to improve both understanding of population behaviour, needs, and vulnerabilities as well as capacity to monitor and evaluate the impact of UNHCR policies and programmes.
- Draft concept papers, prepare background analyses, and briefings to build support for the use of data analytics and data science techniques throughout UNHCR, in collaboration with relevant Services and Divisions.
- Provide consultation and guidance to non-technical audiences and develop and implement guidance on integrating advanced data and analysis in routine decision-making processes.
- Promote a knowledge sharing and learning culture. Conduct trainings to improve technical and research skills of headquarters and field staff in the area of data science and/or advanced statistical analysis, in collaboration with the Global Learning and Development Centre.
- Contribute to the research on the use of alternative data sources to produce data on global forced displacement and statelessness situations.
- Facilitate open access to anonymized forced displacement data while addressing protection and privacy concerns over microdata managed by UNHCR.
- Advance analytical techniques and data quality assurance approaches in UNHCR, bringing them in line with international statistical standards and analytical best practices.
- Apply predictive analytics techniques to produce population statistics.
- Contribute to the visualisation and reporting of data findings creatively in a variety of formats.
- Support the development and enhancement of UNHCR data systems interoperability and systematic adoption by providing advice on data science techniques.
- Support the dialogue across UNHCR in collaboration with the appropriate colleagues for improvement of inter-operability and responsible access to corporate systems
- Contribute to the delivery of high-profile analytical products, in consultation with the relevant operational teams, including field operations.

- Support the identification and management of risks and seek to seize opportunities impacting objectives in the area of responsibility. Ensure decision making in risk based in the functional area of work. Raise risks, issues and concerns to a supervisor or to relevant functional colleague(s).

- Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Years of Experience / Degree Level
For P2/NOB - 3 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 2 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 1 year relevant experience with Doctorate degree

Field(s) of Education
Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Economics,
Computer Science, Public Policy, Demography,
Geography, Engineering Quantitative Social Sciences
or other relevant field with a focus on data science.

Certificates and/or Licenses
UNHCR ODM Module 7 Registration Module 8 and Module 5
HCR Operational Data Management Learning Programme
Information Management Evaluation Training
(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience
Essential
Strong quantitative background in statistics, economics, mathematical or computer science modelling or similar; experience in data collection, management, cleaning, processing, and applied analysis using statistical software or computer/programming languages such as Python, Stata, SAS, R, SPSS, MATLAB, SQL etc. Experience in ensuring the operational relevance of analytical and/or research work. Solid understanding of forced displacement-related issues. Drive, proven sense of initiative, results orientation, flexibility, leadership qualities, as well as effective teamwork skills. Experience working with Big Data and/or Statistical Learning methods. Experience writing technical reports. Experience presenting work to both technical and non-technical audiences. Willingness to experiment in data innovation and big data and push the boundaries in applying technical skills for development and humanitarian action. Ability to work flexibly, creatively and to multitask as the need arises. A high degree of self-motivation, positive attitude and drive.

Desirable
Experience in process re-engineering (process redesign, process transformation, or change management). Experience with data sharing, data anonymization, statistical disclosure control, data management, and data analysis. Experience with data visualization tools such as D3.js, Power BI and Tableau. Experience with UNHCR's corporate applications and operational data. Demonstrated understanding of civil registration and other national population registration systems. Knowledge of UNHCR and interagency policies, standards, programmes and operations.

Functional Skills
DM-Data Collection and Analysis
DM-Data collection methodologies
DM-Data Interoperability
DM-Data Management
DM-Data science methodologies
DM-Population census and econometrics
DM-Qualitative data analysis
DM-Quantitative data analysis
IT-Computer Literacy
PR-Coordination in Forced Displacement situations
(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Language Requirements
For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.
For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.
For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.

All UNHCR workforce members must individually and collectively, contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe, and empowered to perform their duties. This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment including sexual harassment, sexism, gender inequality, discrimination and abuse of power.

As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.

This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR jobs with this job title and grade level. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position. Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates.

Essential attributes:
Advanced expertise that relates to the application of innovative techniques (e.g. machine learning, AI, remote sensing, topic extraction, predictive analytics, statistical modelling)
• Advanced expertise in the use of innovative data sources (e.g. big data, geospatial data and imagery, etc.)
• Applied experience using R, Stata and Python
• Strong analytical skills in conducting research and developing policy and concept papers
• Ability to come up with innovative and creative solutions to statistical challenges

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Operational context

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations:

To view occupational safety and health considerations for this duty station, please visit this link:

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel

Nature of Position:

The Global Data Service (GDS) oversees, guides and supports UNHCR’s data work. It covers a broad range of data dimensions, ranging from the highly operational registration work, through statistics and information management all the way to records and archives as well as overall data governance. UNHCR will undergo transformations in the coming years, which will increasingly be reliant or driven by data. The organization will develop a new Data Strategy and this will also lead to a transformation of the Global Data Service itself.

Building on the 2020-2025 Data Transformation Strategy, UNHCR is expected to maintain a solid data science footprint. Reporting to the Chief Statistician, the P2 Associate Data Scientist sits at the intersection of statistics, data science and information technology. The role contributes to transforming complex and often heterogeneous data into strategic insights. It is grounded in a growing reliance on advanced analytics to support evidence-based decision-making. Increasingly, this context incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance data processing, automate classification, and support large-scale analysis.

The Associate Data Scientist plays a key role in developing and maintaining analytical pipelines, reproducible workflows, and data products that inform global reporting and operational planning. This includes advanced analytical contributions to flagship outputs such as the Global Trends report and nowcasted population figures as well thematic analyses that integrate predictive analytics to anticipate displacement movements. Leveraging machine learning techniques, the role supports the identification of emerging trends and early warning signals, often combining traditional statistical approaches with AI-driven models. The incumbent will work closely with statisticians and data engineers, among others, to ensure methodological rigour and interoperability across systems.

The incumbent is expected to integrate both conflict- and climate-related data into analytical frameworks to better understand and predict displacement drivers. The position requires adaptability in responding to urgent analytical requests while also contributing to longer-term innovation, including the use of predictive modelling, scenario analysis, and AI-enabled tools.

Living and Working Conditions:

Copenhagen is classified as a Category H duty station with all amenities and excellent infrastructure.

Because of Denmark 's northern location in Europe, the number of daylight hours varies significantly. During winter, the sun rises at about 08:00 and sets at about 15:30, whereas in summer the sun rises at about 03:30 and sets as late as 23:00.

Denmark is located in a temperate climate zone. Average daytime temperatures range from 2 °C (35.6 °F) in January to 20 °C (68 °F) in August. The average wind speed is 7.6 m/s, which explains why Denmark is one of the world's largest exporters of wind turbines. Rainy days are likely all year round, while snowfall happens once in a while during winter.

The UN City is located at one of Copenhagen's newest harbor side developments, and is just a 30 minute walk from the city centre. We are also close to Copenhagen's ferry terminal and only minutes away from the Copenhagen 's main public transport system; with bus 26 located approximately 10 minutes away from the office and Nordhavn train station located approximately 800m from the office. Our address is, Marmorvej 51, 2100 Copenhagen.

Security Considerations
No specific security conditions pertain to this post. Copenhagen is a safe environment.
Copenhagen is relatively safe, however as in any other big city you should watch out for pickpockets when using public transport, and pay attention to wallets, jewelry and purses when walking alone. Also be aware that some areas are not as safe as others.

Additional Qualifications

Skills

Data Analysis, Data Analytics, DM-Data science methodologies, Machine Learning (ML), Predictive Analytics, Predictive Modeling, Statistical Analysis

Bachelor of Arts: Applied Mathematics, Bachelor of Arts: Computer Science, Bachelor of Arts: Data Science, Bachelor of Arts: Demography, Bachelor of Arts: Economics, Bachelor of Arts: Geography, Bachelor of Arts: Public Policy, Bachelor of Arts: Statistics

Certifications

HCR ODM Module 7 Registration - UNHCR, HCR Operational Data Management Learning Program - UNHCR, Information Management - Other

Competencies

Accountability, Analytical thinking, Change capability & adaptability, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Empowering & building trust, Innovation & creativity, Judgement & decision making, Managing performance, Managing resource, Organizational awareness, Teamwork & collaboration

https://icsc.un.org/Home/SalaryScales

Compendium

Accelerated Posting Compendium 2026 - Part B

Additional Information

This position doesn't require a functional clearance