Data Engineer

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Position Title: Data Engineer
Location: Beirut
Country: Lebanon
Deadline Date: Not specified

Job Details

Job Posting Organization:
The Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) is a part of the United Nations Secretariat and operates under the supervision of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Established to serve 21 Arab countries in Western Asia and North Africa, ESCWA aims to provide a framework for the formulation and harmonization of sectoral policies among its member states. It acts as a platform for congress and coordination, a home for expertise and knowledge, and an information observatory. ESCWA's activities are coordinated with various divisions and main offices of the UN Headquarters, specialized agencies, and international and regional organizations, including the League of Arab States and the Gulf Cooperation Council. The organization is committed to fostering sustainable development outcomes regionally and globally through its various initiatives and programs.

Job Overview:
The Data Engineer position is located within the Data Science and Decision-Support Division (DSDSD) of ESCWA, which is integral to the organization's modernization and innovation efforts. This division provides advanced analytics and decision-support services not only within ESCWA but also to other UN entities and Member States. The role is aligned with the UN 2.0 agenda and focuses on leveraging data-driven insights, emerging technologies, and scenario-based planning to inform policymaking and operations proactively. The Data Engineer will be responsible for managing data pipelines, ensuring optimal data extraction, transformation, and loading from diverse sources, and developing solutions to address technical data-related challenges. The position requires a strong understanding of data management and analytics to support evidence-based decision-making and enhance organizational efficiency.

Duties and Responsibilities:
The Data Engineer will manage individual projects focused on the extraction, transformation, and loading of data from various sources into data pipelines. Responsibilities include designing and developing solutions for technical data-related issues, managing internal process improvements, automating manual processes, optimizing data delivery, and redesigning architecture for scalability. The incumbent will also deploy resources to extract data features for data scientists and analysts, manage changes to data systems to ensure compliance with governance and security" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #007bff !important;">security requirements, and maintain data catalogues. Additionally, the Data Engineer will be expected to communicate effectively with internal clients regarding data warehouse plans and contribute to the overall data strategy of the organization.

Required Qualifications:
Candidates must possess a strong knowledge of the data analysis life cycle, including data ingestion, wrangling, analysis, and visualization. Familiarity with best practices in IT operations, Agile Software Development methodologies, and strong analytical skills for working with unstructured datasets are essential. The ability to manage and communicate data warehouse plans effectively, along with excellent problem-solving and troubleshooting skills, is required. Knowledge of message queuing, stream processing, and scalable big data stores is also necessary. The candidate should demonstrate professionalism, teamwork, planning and organizing skills, and leadership capabilities.

Educational Background:
An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in computer science, statistics, applied mathematics, data management, information systems, information science, or a related quantitative field is required. Alternatively, a first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree or equivalent) in the specified fields, combined with two additional years of relevant work experience, may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree.

Experience:
A minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in data management, integration, modeling, optimization, and related areas is required. Candidates should have experience supporting cross-functional teams and collaborating with stakeholders on analytics initiatives. Proficiency in programming languages such as Python or R, as well as database programming languages like SQL, is essential. Experience in designing data integration and pipeline architectures, utilizing various data ingestion methods, and familiarity with DevOps tools is also required. Desirable experience includes delivering big data use cases and working with self-service analytics applications such as Microsoft PowerBI or Tableau.

Languages:
Fluency in English is required for this position, with English and French being the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. Arabic is also a working language at ESCWA, and knowledge of Arabic is considered an asset.

Additional Notes:
This position is available for one year from the date of appointment, with the possibility of extension subject to the availability of the post or funds, budgetary approval, and satisfactory performance. The United Nations emphasizes the importance of geographic diversity and encourages applications from candidates from underrepresented member states. The organization is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourages female candidates to apply. Reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities may be provided upon request.