Consultant for BRS Secretariat

Job Posting Organization:
The Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS Secretariat) is a collaborative effort that encompasses three major multilateral environmental agreements aimed at safeguarding human health and the environment from hazardous chemicals and wastes. The BRS Secretariat plays a crucial role in facilitating international cooperation and information exchange among countries and organizations involved in these agreements. Established to enhance the effectiveness of these conventions, the BRS Secretariat operates globally, engaging with various stakeholders to promote sustainable practices and compliance with environmental standards. The organization is committed to fostering a safer and healthier environment through its initiatives and programs, and it employs a diverse team of professionals dedicated to achieving its mission.

Job Overview:
The consultant position is integral to the BRS Secretariat's efforts in enhancing and upgrading its thesaurus system, known as PoolParty. This role involves a series of technical tasks aimed at improving the information classification and indexing processes on the BRS Secretariat's websites and other information systems. The consultant will work closely with the Programme Officer and various teams, including the BRS IT Team and InforMEA team, to ensure that the PoolParty system is upgraded, secure, and fully operational. The consultant will also be responsible for ensuring that the thesaurus system is compatible with dependent applications and that it meets the needs of the BRS Secretariat and its partners. The expected duration of the assignment is four months, during which the consultant will undertake a series of outputs that include upgrading the staging server, configuring the production server, enhancing the BRS taxonomy, and improving the BRS Tagger App.

Duties and Responsibilities:
The consultant will be tasked with several key outputs over the course of the assignment. The first output involves upgrading the PoolParty staging server to its latest version, applying necessary security" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #007bff !important;">security patches and bug fixes, and ensuring that the server remains stable and operational. This includes creating a sandbox environment for testing, configuring the authentication service, and ensuring backward compatibility with dependent applications. The second output focuses on setting up and migrating relevant thesauri to a new PoolParty server for production use, which involves collaboration with various teams to define user rights and ensure proper data cleansing. The third output aims to enhance the BRS taxonomy by improving its quality, merging concept schemes, and expanding the taxonomy depth. Finally, the fourth output involves enhancing the BRS Tagger App to provide more accurate results by updating the corpus and refining the extraction model. Each of these outputs is critical to the overall success of the BRS Secretariat's information management efforts.

Required Qualifications:
Candidates must possess an advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in information management, computer science, or a related field. Alternatively, a first-level university degree combined with two additional years of relevant professional experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree. A minimum of five years of proven experience in computer programming, data analysis, knowledge management, and metadata management projects is required. Candidates should demonstrate experience in indexing content using existing taxonomies and possess advanced programming skills in MS VB or C# for the .NET platform, as well as experience with MS SQL Server databases and OData restful web services. Familiarity with the Pool Party Thesaurus Management System is desired, along with experience working with intergovernmental organizations on knowledge management.

Educational Background:
The educational background required for this position includes an advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in fields such as information management, computer science, or a related discipline. Candidates with a first-level university degree may be considered if they have additional relevant professional experience. This educational foundation is essential for understanding the complexities of information systems and the technical requirements of the role.

Experience:
The position requires a minimum of five years of relevant professional experience in areas such as computer programming, data analysis, and knowledge management. Candidates should have demonstrable experience in managing content governance, search, taxonomy, and metadata management projects. Proven experience in system analysis and design, as well as advanced programming skills, is essential for successfully executing the tasks associated with this role.

Languages:
Fluency in English is required for this position, as it is one of the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. Additionally, fluency in another UN official language is desirable, which may include languages such as French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, or Russian. Proficiency in multiple languages can enhance communication and collaboration within the international context of the BRS Secretariat's work.

Additional Notes:
The position is expected to last for four months, and 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. This ensures that the recruitment process is accessible and fair for all candidates. The position may involve remote work, depending on the specific arrangements made with the BRS Secretariat.