Result of Service

The IC will be responsible for the following: Provide post-production technical support and enhancements for the Stakeholders Directory Application, including troubleshooting, refinement of functionality, and incorporation of user feedback. Analyze business processes and workflows related to stakeholder communications, intergovernmental meetings, and other operational areas to identify opportunities for automation and efficiency improvements. Conduct stakeholder consultations, workshops, and technical discussions to refine functional requirements and understand operational needs. Develop technical concepts, system designs, and implementation approaches for automation initiatives, ensuring alignment with ESCAP systems, governance arrangements, and technology standards. Assess feasibility, integration requirements, and architecture options for proposed automation solutions, including the ESCAP Meeting Intelligence Engine (EMIE), greenhouse gas inventory and carbon calculator tools, UN-CAT, and related initiatives. Support development activities where appropriate, including configuration, prototyping, or incremental feature implementation. Prepare technical documentation, workflow diagrams, requirement specifications, and implementation plans to support decision-making and subsequent development phases. Coordinate with ITS and relevant stakeholders to ensure compliance with ESCAP technology standards, security requirements, and deployment processes. Provide recommendations on prioritization, scalability, and sustainability of automation solutions to inform future implementation phases.

Work Location

Remotely

Expected duration

4 months

Duties and Responsibilities

Background The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is the most inclusive intergovernmental platform in the Asia-Pacific region. The ESCAP secretariat supports inclusive, resilient and sustainable development in the region by generating action-oriented knowledge, and by providing technical assistance and capacity-building services in support of national development objectives, regional agreements and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. ESCAP also provides support to partners at the national level. To deliver on its mandate, easily adapt to change, and increase the impact of its work, ESCAP seeks to continuously innovate its knowledge products, culture, and internal processes. ESCAP's corporate innovation efforts are led by an inter-divisional team that promotes internal innovation activities to shape the organization's culture, help reshape ESCAP's products and services, promote greater cross-collaboration among Divisions, and expose personnel to digital tools, Human Centred Design (HCD) and Design Thinking methodologies. This position is located in the Division of Administration and operates at the organization-wide level under the supervision of the Office of the Executive Secretary. The incumbent reports directly to the Innovation Team members. The Innovation Team supports ESCAP personnel in identifying opportunities to improve efficiency through business process automation and digital solutions, working in close collaboration with the Information and Technology Section (ITS) and operational divisions across the Secretariat. Recent work has included the development and deployment of the ESCAP Stakeholders Directory Application and related process analysis for intergovernmental meeting (IGM) workflows, which provided deeper insights into organizational needs for automation, integration, and workflow optimization. Building on this experience, the Innovation Team is now supporting multiple emerging automation initiatives across ESCAP, including post-production support and enhancement of the Stakeholders Directory, refinement of IGM-related workflows and automation opportunities, and feasibility assessments for additional tools such as the ESCAP Meeting Intelligence Engine (EMIE), greenhouse gas inventory and carbon calculator solutions, and the UN-CAT computer-assisted translation tool. Given the number of potential initiatives and the need to align with ESCAP systems, governance arrangements, and technical infrastructure, specialized expertise is required to conduct structured analysis, refine requirements, and support implementation planning for the next phase of automation efforts. Objective The objective of this assignment is to support ESCAP in advancing business process automation and digital transformation initiatives by providing technical and analytical expertise to: (i) support post-production stabilization and enhancement of the Stakeholders Directory Application, (ii) refine and assess automation opportunities related to intergovernmental meeting (IGM) workflows and related processes, and (iii) conduct feasibility analysis and technical assessment for additional automation initiatives, including the ESCAP Meeting Intelligence Engine (EMIE), greenhouse gas inventory and carbon calculator tools, and UN-CAT solutions, to inform implementation priorities for subsequent phases. Terms of payment for satisfactory completion of contract. The IC will receive a total fee of USD 12,000. The IC will receive a fee of USD 3,000 every month upon successful completion of the assignments for the month delivering its services on a full-time basis during 4 months of the duration of this contract. Under the overall supervision of the Innovation Team and in close collaboration with relevant ESCAP divisions and the Information and Technology Section (ITS), the consultant will provide technical and analytical support to advance business process automation initiatives across ESCAP.

Qualifications/special skills

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field is required. Advanced certifications in Microsoft Power Platform are an asset. Minimum of three years' experience with the Microsoft Power Platform, focusing on designing and managing automated workflows using Power Automate, Power BI, Power Pages, and Power Apps to enhance data processes and stakeholder interactions. Proficiency in integrating automation solutions with SharePoint, Dataverse, Microsoft Teams, and Azure is required. Proven ability to transform manual data entry and reporting, optimize data extraction, and improve dashboard functionality and visualization tools. Strong project management and communication skills are essential for setting priorities, gathering requirements, and aligning projects with organizational goals.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, excellent English communication skill is required. Knowledge of the other working language is desirable.

Not available.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.