Legal Capacity Building Consultant - AI-Ready Flemish Public Administration Project 1

OVERVIEW

Parent Sector : Social and Human Sciences Sector (SHS)

Duty Station: Paris

Job Family: Social and Human Sciences

Type of contract : Non Staff

Duration of contract : From 1 to 6 months

Recruitment open to : External candidates

Application Deadline (Midnight Duty Station Time) : 04-DEC-2025

UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism

OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST

In November 2021, 193 Member States of UNESCO adopted the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (the Recommendation). This global standard aims to leverage the positive impacts of AI while addressing its inherent risks. Countries around the world are now in the process of implementing the Recommendation, with UNESCO supporting them through various capacity-building efforts, funded through partnerships with multiple donors, including the Government of Japan, the European Commission, and the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation.

The Digital Flanders Agency has launched an Artificial Intelligence Expertise Center (AI EC) tasked with enhancing and guiding the adoption of AI across Flemish public administrations. The capacity and capability of the AI EC need to be strengthened to empower it to fulfill its coordination role among Flemish public administrations in the facilitation and implementation of AI projects.

To this end, the Consultant will work on the project AI-Ready Flemish Public Administration project, funded by the European Commission's SG REFORM. The project aims to foster Flemish public administrations' AI-readiness and increase the adoption of AI across the Flemish public administrations in a safe, robust, trustworthy, and ethical manner. Through its three pillars, the project focuses on strengthening (i) institutional capacity for AI governance, (ii) technical capacity for AI projects, and (iii) human capacity for AI awareness, literacy and skills within the Flemish public administrations.

SCOPE OF WORK

The Consultant will work under the overall authority of the Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences Sector (ADG/SHS) and under the direct supervision of the Head of Ethics of AI Unit at UNESCO Headquarters. The primary functions of the Consultant will be to lead the delivery of work under the institutional capacity pillar, and to contribute to the legal working group of interested stakeholders within and across Flemish public administration entities.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION PROJECT

The Consultant shall undertake the following duties and responsibilities:

1. Produce a Monitoring Legislation Dashboard
   a) The consultant will review and update a comprehensive overview of EU digital legislation, non-binding guidelines, and interpretative documents relevant to AI for the Flemish public administration.
   
   b) Actionable suggestions must be made regarding the concrete use and uptake of the EU legislation dashboard during and beyond the duration of the project, including the interface as well as mechanisms for information collection and dissemination.
2. Facilitate feedback and refinement of the Monitoring Legislation Dashboard
   a)The Consultant will lead the testing and refinement of the dashboard model: once the initial version of the government AI legislation dashboard is developed, it must undergo testing and refinement to ensure its functionality and usability. The goal is to create a user-friendly and reliable tool that effectively monitors and disseminates information about EU digital legislation, non-binding guidelines, and interpretative documents relevant to AI.
   
   b) Whilst scoping discussions are still underway, previous project experience has demonstrated the effectiveness of facilitating in-person feedback workshop(s) in Brussels for this type of ask. If so required, the Consultant will lead the workshop, in both its design, facilitation and content.
3. Writing optimal AI Governance Recommendations
   a) The project has created a set of option AI governance recommendations tailored to the Flemish context. Based on an updated review of digital legislation and their institutional expertise, the consultant will advise on stakeholder roles, responsibilities and which resources must be provided to ensure effective implementation of a potential Flemish AI strategy and adherence to guiding principles.

4. Represent UNESCO at the Legal and Ethical Working Group.

a) The Consultant will be the key UNESCO contact point of a working group of interested stakeholders, bringing together civil servants across the public administration. The group will serve as the primary stakeholder group for the Monitoring Legislation Dashboard. The tasks will include coordination, relationship management and clear communication of the project goals and timeline.

b)Substantively contribute to deliverables with an institutional component which other Team members are leading. This would include reviewing drafts, providing feedback and supporting with the latest institutional knowledge. Deliverables falling under this category would include:
UNESCO's Readiness Assessment Methodology for Flanders Final project reporting.

5. Ethics of AI Team General Tasks

a) Engaging substantively as part of the Ethics of AI team in the regular efforts to link its work with the high-level processes related to ethics and governance of AI (including within the UN system, G20 and G7 platforms, GPAI, and public administrations across member states, and others).

b) Contributing to other ongoing work of the Ethics of AI Team: contributing to ongoing research and analysis conducted by the secretariat; participating in meetings; presenting the work to different stakeholders; supporting the secretariat with the preparation of different materials such as speeches, presentations, blogs, white papers etc.

COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial)

Professionalism (C)
Accountability (C)
Communication (C)
Innovation (C)
Teamwork (C)
Results focus (C)
Planning and organizing (C)
Knowledge sharing and continuous improvement (C)

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For detailed information, please consult the UNESCO Competency Framework.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Advanced university degree (Master's or equivalent) in governance of artificial intelligence, ethical and social implications of artificial intelligence or digital technologies, law and technology, or other related fields.

Work Experience

A minimum of five years of professional experience on the ethical, legal, social and governance issues of artificial intelligence and related digital technologies at the national and/or international level. A PhD can count as work experience.
Proven experience involving EU digital legislation is mandatory.

Long Description

Skills and competencies

• Very good understanding of artificial intelligence's ethical, legal, social and governance issues and related digital technologies.
• Excellent knowledge of EU digital legislation, comprising the recently published AI Act.
• Excellent knowledge about the dynamics of governance of AI, including policies, legislative and regulatory frameworks, institutional mechanisms, organisational structures and processes, and initiatives by different stakeholders in this field. This includes broad familiarity with UNESCO's AI Readiness
• Assessment Methodology and the ability to translate lessons learned and good practices into practical guidance for policymakers.
• Proven ability to draft clearly and concisely and to produce high-quality policy-oriented analysis and synthesis documents, especially to convey complex legislation to a diverse audience.
• Proven ability to work on multiple interrelated outputs.
• Proven ability to lead workstreams and demonstrate excellent project knowledge management skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a team and to maintain good working relations within a multi-cultural environment, and to work effectively under tight deadlines with minimal supervision.

Languages

• Excellent knowledge (spoken and written) of English.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Ph.D. or equivalent in governance of artificial intelligence, ethical and social implications of artificial intelligence or digital technologies, law and technology, or other related fields.

Work Experience

• At least one (1) year of professional experience on the ethical, legal, social and governance issues of artificial intelligence acquired at the international level.
• Experience working with Flemish public administrations is considered highly desirable; experience working with Dutch public administrations is considered an advantage.
• Experience dialoguing with communication and graphic design teams to translate complex legal concepts into easy-to-understand visual knowledge products is considered highly desirable.
• Experience in leading trainings and public speaking engagements on topics of digital legislation is considered highly desirable.
• Demonstratable experience with asynchronous communication and remote-first teams is considered highly desirable.

Languages

• Excellent knowledge (spoken and written) of Dutch.

SELECTION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Please note that all candidates must complete an on-line application and provide complete and accurate information. To apply, please visit the UNESCO careers website. No modifications can be made to the application submitted.

Before submitting the Employment History form (Word file) to the "My Employment History Form / My Documents" section of the online application, the candidate must add the following elements at the end of the file: CV, a one-page statement laying out how their qualifications and experience make them suitable for the assignment and explaining how they would approach the work. The salary expectations for the assignment, which should be quoted in US dollars on a monthly basis for a 11-month period (full-time working).

Please note that the consultant salary expectations must be expressed in gross amounts. Consultants are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties in accordance with local laws. UNESCO will not reimburse any taxes, duties or other contributions for which the Project Coordination Consultant may be liable in respect of any payments made to him/her under the terms of this contract.

Only applications with the above-requested information can be considered.

The evaluation of candidates is based on the criteria in the vacancy notice, and may include tests and/or assessments, as well as an interview.

UNESCO uses communication technologies such as video or teleconference, e-mail correspondence, etc. for the assessment and evaluation of candidates.

Please note that only selected candidates will be further contacted and candidates in the final selection step will be subject to reference checks based on the information provided.

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