Result of Service

The specific goal of this terms of reference is the hiring of an individual contractor to update the front-end user interface (UI) of the interactive Data Portal of the Population Division https://population.un.org/dataportal/home based on the feedback received from users since the release of the 2022 revision of World Population Prospects in July 2022. The individual contractor will develop and implement the integration of additional indicators and functionalities in preparation for the 2024 revision of World Population Prospects.

Background and objectives:

The World Population Prospects is the leading output released by the United Nations Population Division and it is considered to embody the most authoritative views of population levels, trends and characteristics. These data are used throughout the United Nations system for calculation of indicators that require population as input and serve in projecting other population-related variables or in modelling complex systems that use population as an exogenous variable. In addition, several entities and organizations of the United Nations distribute the results of World Population Prospects through their own databases and websites (e.g., the World Bank, UNESCO, UNICEF, World Health Organization, UNFPA, Statistics Division/DESA, UNDP, ILO, FAO).
World Population Prospects presents estimates and projections for 237 countries and areas. In the preparatory work, the Population Division takes into account a large number of available data sources to derive population estimates and demographic indicators. The United Nations Population Division strives to make as transparent as possible the steps and processes involved in revising the population estimates and projections, by making available as many data, metadata and documentation as possible.

The Making Family Planning Count project is an initiative of the United Nations Population Division to address gaps in comparable, timely and transparent global information on family planning indicators and underlying population data. This work is related to the improved web-based dissemination of population and demographic estimates and projections from World Population Prospects.

The Population Division developed Data Portal https://population.un.org/dataportal/home enabling interactive access and visualizations of global family planning and related population indicators, including the indicators from the 2022 revision of World Population Prospects. Additional support from an individual contractor with solid experience in coding front-end user interfaces (including Sass, Responsive Design, HTML and JavaScript) is needed to further develop the data portal functionalities based on the user feedback received since the release of the 2022 revision in July 2022 and to include additional population-related indicators. The individual contractor will update the front-end based on feedback received from users in the past year. The contractor will also develop and implement the integration of additional indicators and functionality for the 2024 revision of World Population Prospects.
Data portal will enable comparisons of main population and demographic indicators across countries and regions in the datasets the United Nations Population Division produces, and will ultimately be a useful input for reports, presentations, public release materials and other outputs presented to Member States and other parties.

Work Location

Home-based

Expected duration

1 Aug – 31 Jan 2024

Duties and Responsibilities

The individual contractor will update the front-end user interface (UI) of the interactive Data Portal of the Population Division https://population.un.org/dataportal/home based on the feedback received from users since the release of the 2022 revision of World Population Prospects in July 2022. The individual contractor will develop and implement the integration of additional indicators and functionalities in preparation for the 2024 revision of World Population Prospects.

Under the supervision of the Chief of the Demographic Data Systems Unit and in collaboration with the UN Population Division staff, and in coordination with the full-stack programmer, the individual contractor will be tasked to do the following:
Task #1:
• Based on user feedback received since the release of the 2022 revision of World Population Prospect in July 2022 update front-end user interface (UI) of the data portal, namely:
• wizard selection of dimensions (age, sex, variants),
• indicators selections and dimensions,
• download page for full datasets including for empirical data by topic and indicators,
• expanding export options (pdf, png, csv)
• addition of special aggregates – economic, political and UN regions.
• Provide assistance in the application of the style of the data portal to front-end user interface (UI) for other online data products of the Division, such as DemoData, Data Catalog and World Population Prospects websites.

Task #2:
• Implement front-end user interface (UI) enhancements for the revision comparison functionalities and test them on the comparison of the 2022 revisions to the previous revision.
• Implement front-end user interface (UI) updates for country profiles for the indicators from World Population Prospects, including display of multiple indicators in one chart
For each tasks, prepare resource files and a technical summary note (in Word or similar text format) delivered through email or a web repository.

Qualifications/special skills

An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in information systems, business administration, management or other relevant discipline, is required. A first-level university degree in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
A minimum of seven (7) years of front-end application development experience, and a proven track record of delivering solid, robust responsive data-driven interactive web portals are required.
This scope of work requires extensive experience with coding front-end user interfaces (including Sass, Responsive Design, HTML and JavaScript), and translating visual designs into HTML5, Sass and front-end Frameworks. Hands-on experience in using Node.js, npm, Git, TypeScript, ExpressJS, Angular 10 and up, Angular Server-Side Rendering (Angular Universal), Telerik Kendo UI, SPA (Single Page Application) development, data-visualization JavaScript libraries such as Highcharts, DevExtreme, D3.js and amCharts for Angular as well as converting wireframes to web pages using above mentioned technologies is required.
Experience with .NET Framework 4.5 and up, .NET Core, C#, knowledge of Azure DevOps CI/CD pipeline configuration and Jira for agile development as well as working and creating deployment images using Docker containers is desirable.

Languages

Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.

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.