Position title: Data Visualization Intern
Duty station: New York, United States of America
Contract type: Intern
Duration: 3-6 months
Application period: 09-Mar-2016 to 30-Mar-2016
Background Information – Job-specific
Global Pulse is an innovation initiative of the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General, exploring how digital data and real-time analytics can be used to understand and respond to changes in human well-being. To this end, Global Pulse is working to promote awareness of the opportunities Big Data presents for relief and development, forge public-private data sharing partnerships, generate high-impact analytical tools and approaches, and drive broad adoption of useful innovations across the UN System.
Global Pulse operates as a network of Pulse Labs, headquartered in New York with Labs in Kampala and Jakarta, together expertise from UN agencies, governments, academia, and the private sector to research, develop, test and share tools and approaches for harnessing real-time data to support decision-making and policy action. Examples of Global Pulse publications and reports include:
http://unglobalpulse.org/projects/BigDataforDevelopment
http://www.unglobalpulse.org/Mobile_Phone_Network_Data-for-Dev
http://unglobalpulse.org/nowcasting-food-prices
Global Pulse is recruiting a Data Visualization Intern to work in the New York office in support of its research agenda. The successful candidate will join a multidisciplinary team and benefit from rich interactions with experts in different fields, including international development, data science, data visualization, technology and communications.
Functional Responsibilities
The Data Visualization Intern will work under the overall supervision of the Chief Data Scientist and the daily supervision of the Data Visualization Specialist to assist with creating interactive data visualizations, dashboards and infographics in collaboration with partners from the UN system, the private sector and academia. The Data Visualization Intern will also support the data science teams across the Pulse Lab Network – including the labs in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Kampala, Uganda.
Specifically, the incumbent will:
- Draft information visualizations.
- Assist the Data Visualization Specialist in the design and development of interactive visualizations and dashboards.
- Support the communications team in producing relevant communication materials including infographics.
- Provide support in software development including analysis of Big Data and contribution to other data processing pipelines.
- Assist in reviewing and vetting various data sets and real-time information resources that could be relevant to ongoing or potential Big Data for Development research projects.
Education
Applicants must be currently enrolled in a Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD program (or equivalent) or have graduated from with a degree within three months prior to the application date of the internship.
The candidate will preferably be enrolled in a degree program in Data Visualization, Computer Science, Interaction Design, Information Design, Engineering or a related subject.
Experience
- Knowledge of Interactive data visualization development and information design such as working knowledge of D3.js, Crossfilter/dc.js, Leaflet.js, Processing.js, CartoDB or a similar package is required.
- Knowledge of research design and investigation methods (from developing a hypothesis, gathering necessary resources and conducting background research, testing and documentation of findings) is required.
- Knowledge of Python, SQL and R is highly desirable.
- Data analysis skills, particularly text processing and sentiment analysis and/or clustering and classification techniques (k-means, k-nearest neighbors, SVM, SVD, etc.) are desirable.
- Multidisciplinary experience in projects that integrate ICTs and social/bio-medical sciences is an asset.
Language
Intermediate knowledge of English.
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