United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

Oceans Data Scientist

Apply on official site
Duty station
🇨🇭 Geneva, Switzerland
Country / area
Switzerland
Region
Europe
UN system
Other UN Entity
Level
CON
Category
Affiliate Personnel – Consultants/Individual Contractors
Title
Oceans Data Scientist
Organization
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
Work Location
home based
Expected duration
03/08/26 to 31/03/27
Posted
7/17/2026, 4:00:00 AM
Closes
7/27/2026, 3:59:59 AM

About this role

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is seeking a Consultant Oceans Data Scientist to strengthen the institutional and technical capacity of national statistical offices in Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS), specifically Barbados and Belize. The consultant will guide and assist government experts in establishing a statistical production system for compiling data on maritime trade and marine fishing, including associated CO2 emissions. Key responsibilities include producing annual statistics on seaborne trade (imports/exports) and marine fishing output, broken down by various economic and environmental indicators such as vessel type, commodity groups, and emissions. The role involves participating remotely in national taskforce meetings on GHG emission statistics and integrating insights into compilation guidelines. The ideal candidate possesses an advanced degree in statistics or data science, along with specialized experience in processing high-volume environmental and trade data, including geo-spatial analysis and vessel voyage data (AIS/VMS). The position is home-based with a fixed-term contract from August 2026 to March 2027.

Key requirements

  • Master's degree in statistics, data science or related field
  • 3+ years experience in environmental data processing
  • Experience in geo-spatial analysis of environmental data

Nice to have

  • Experience in IMO GHG Strategy research
  • Experience in capacity building for SIDS
  • Knowledge of environmental or energy systems

Requirements at a glance

Min. experience
At least 3 years of experience in processing and geo-spatial analysis of environmental data.
Required degree
An advanced university degree, Master, in statistics, data science or a related field is required.
Languages
English

Result of Service

The consultant will contribute to strengthening the institutional and technical capacity of national statistical offices and relevant government and related institutes in Caribbean SIDS to produce statistics and indicators on maritime trade

Work Location

home based

Expected duration

03/08/26 to 31/03/27

Duties and Responsibilities

The task of the consultancy is to guide and assist experts of government agencies in Barbados and Belize in the setup of a statistical production system for the regular compilation of data on seaborne trade (imports and exports of goods delivered by sea) and marine fishing and their CO2 emission, based on the compilation guidelines developed earlier in this project.

Under the supervision of the project officer, the consultant will be in charge of guiding and assisting country teams in the production of 1. statistics on imports and exports of goods by sea, including the traded goods’ value and volume as well as the transport work, average shipping time, transport costs, fuel consumption and CO2 emissions caused by their maritime transport, on an annual basis, broken down by trading partner, countries of transshipment, group of commodities, vessel type, countries of ownership, registration and operation, and, to the extent that statistical resources allow, by traders’ and shippers’ key characteristics (e.g. number of employees, gender breakdown, turnover);

2. statistics on the output of marine fishing, the size of the fishery fleet employed for and the CO2 emissions caused by that activity, broken down by species of fish, type of fishing (high-seas vs. coastal), vessel type, country of ownership of the ship, country of ship registration, propulsion system, fishing method, and, to the extent that statistical resources allow, by fishers’ characteristics (e.g. employment, enterprise size, and gender breakdown).

To provide his guidance and assistance, the consultant will participate remotely in the meetings of the two pilot countries’ national taskforces on GHG emission statistics for seaborne trade and marine fishing and he will incorporate the insights and tools produced in the implementation phase in the Compilation Guidelines.

Qualifications/special skills

An advanced university degree, Master, in statistics, data science or a related field is required. At least 3 years of experience in processing and geo-spatial analysis of environmental data is required Experience in processing and analysis of high-volume data on international trade, vessel voyages (e.g. from AIS/VMS) and emissions is required Experience in research related to the IMO GHG Strategy, evidenced by research papers or reports is desirable Experience in capacity building for developing countries, particularly Small Island Developing States is desirable Knowledge of environmental or energy systems is desirable

Languages

Fluency written and spoken in English is required.

Additional Information

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.

Why this role may fit you

UNlockit's AI Match scores every open UN-system role against your CV across four axes — semantic similarity, keyword overlap, skill overlap, and domain overlap — and flags the must-have requirements and any gaps. Sign in and upload a CV to see the personalised verdict for this listing.

See my match for this role