AI Foresight Analyst

Job Posting Organization:
The United Nations (UN) is an international organization founded in 1945, currently comprising 193 member states. Its mission is to promote peace, security" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #007bff !important;">security, and cooperation among nations, addressing global challenges such as poverty, inequality, and climate change. The UN operates in various countries around the world, with a focus on humanitarian aid, development, and human rights. The organization employs thousands of individuals across diverse fields, working collaboratively to achieve its goals and uphold its principles.

Job Overview:
The AI Foresight Analyst position is designed to enhance the United Nations' capabilities in foresight and predictive analytics, particularly in the context of the Arab States. The role emphasizes the importance of foresight as a core capability for navigating complex crises, enabling the UN to anticipate systemic shocks and engage effectively with governments and international financial institutions. The analyst will be responsible for developing AI models that can analyze multi-source data, generate actionable foresight insights, and support cross-pillar collaboration across humanitarian, development, and peace domains. This position is crucial for institutionalizing foresight within the UN system, ensuring that foresight becomes an integral part of planning and decision-making processes.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Collect and curate multi-source data necessary for training an AI model focused on analysis and foresight, ensuring that the AI is coded to generate outputs that are relevant to the polycentric crisis dynamics in the Arab States.
• Train the AI model to identify cross-boundary and cross-pillar issues based on the polycentric crisis model, making adjustments to preliminary results as needed.
• Develop regional foresight scenarios that map out ripple effects and interdependencies across borders.
• Generate futures intelligence that supports collaboration across humanitarian, development, and peace sectors.
• Operationalize foresight as a leadership capability, integrating it into RC retreats, regional meetings, and interagency scenario exercises.
• Shift the UN's role in the Arab States from being a passive consumer of foresight to becoming an active convener and producer of strategic intelligence.
• Strengthen partnerships with regional foresight actors, including GCC platforms, international financial institutions, and think tanks, to co-design foresight dialogues and scenario platforms addressing trade, climate, peace, and resilience.
• Utilize internal UN resources, such as the UNDP Strategy and Futures Team and the PPB AI Lab, to align and enhance foresight capacity across the organization.
• Produce actionable reports that include methodologies, lessons learned, and recommendations for institutionalizing foresight within the RC system.

Required Qualifications:
Candidates must possess a Master’s or equivalent degree in fields such as computer science, mathematics, data science, engineering, statistics, or a related area. Additionally, all applicants are required to submit a copy of their educational degree, as incomplete applications will not be considered. A minimum of 3 years of progressively responsible professional experience in areas such as foresight, strategic analysis, scenario planning, or AI-driven data analytics is essential. Experience in developing or applying AI models, predictive analytics, or data-driven decision support is considered desirable.

Educational Background:
The educational background required for this position includes a Master’s degree or equivalent in relevant fields such as computer science, mathematics, data science, engineering, or statistics. This educational foundation is critical for understanding the complexities of AI and data analytics, which are central to the role.

Experience:
The position requires a minimum of 3 years of professional work experience that demonstrates progressively responsible experience in foresight, strategic analysis, scenario planning, or AI-driven data analytics. This level of experience is necessary to ensure that the candidate can effectively contribute to the UN's foresight initiatives and navigate the complexities of the Arab States' geopolitical landscape.

Languages:
Fluency in English is mandatory for this position, as it is one of the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. Knowledge of Arabic is desirable, as it enhances the ability to engage with local stakeholders and understand regional dynamics. Fluency is defined as a rating of 'fluent' in all four areas: speaking, reading, writing, and understanding, while knowledge of a language is rated as 'confident' in at least two of the four areas.

Additional Notes:
The position is remote and expected to last for a duration of 6 weeks. It is important to note that the United Nations does not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process, including application, interview, or training. The organization also does not request information regarding applicants' bank accounts.