Artificial Intelligence Expert, National Consultancy, Sarajevo, BiH

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.In line with this mandate, UN Women contributes to global and national efforts to address hate speech and harmful narratives that undermine gender equality, democratic participation, and social cohesion. The United Nations Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech (2019) calls on UN entities to strengthen prevention, promote inclusive dialogue, and support coordinated responses that protect freedom of expression while addressing speech that incites discrimination, hostility or violence.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), hate speech and divisive narratives remain significant challenges to social cohesion, democratic governance, and reconciliation. Political rhetoric, online platforms, and parts of the media landscape continue to amplify discriminatory narratives based on ethnicity, gender, and other identity factors, often intensifying during periods of political contestation. Gender-based hate speech in particular increasingly targets women in public life including journalists, activists, and politicians contributing to shrinking civic space and limiting women’s participation in public discourse. In response, the Joint Programme “Partnerships for Equality: No to Hate Speech and Divisive Narratives in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” funded by the UN Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund and implemented by UNESCO, UN Women and UNDP, aims to strengthen institutional responses, promote gender-responsible media practices, and foster inclusive dialogue to counter hate speech and support peacebuilding and social cohesion in BiH.

Within this framework, the programme promotes innovative approaches to monitoring and countering harmful narratives in the media ecosystem. Digital technologies and artificial intelligence tools offer new opportunities to detect patterns of hate speech and disinformation, strengthen fact-checking practices, and support responsible journalism. In collaboration with media actors and research partners, the programme aims to pilot AI-supported tools capable of identifying gendered hate speech and misrepresentation in local languages and provide journalists with practical tools to respond to harmful narratives.

To support the implementation of these activities, UN Women seeks to engage an Artificial Intelligence Expert with expertise in artificial intelligence, digital monitoring, and media technologies to provide technical support for the development and application of AI-supported approaches to detecting hate speech and strengthening media capacity to counter harmful narratives.

The objective of this consultancy is to support the implementation of activities under the Joint Programme “Partnerships for Equality: No to Hate Speech and Divisive Narratives in Bosnia and Herzegovina” and contribute to strengthening media capacity to identify, monitor, and counter hate speech and misrepresentation through innovative digital and AI-based tools. The consultancy will also ensure that analytical insights generated through these tools directly inform programme interventions across policy, media, and communication components Through supporting the development of monitoring tools, building capacities of journalists and media professionals, and generating analytical insights on digital discourse, the consultancy will contribute to reducing the spread and impact of harmful narratives and promoting responsible and inclusive media practices 

The consultant will report to the Hate Speech and Divisive Narratives Programme Coordination Analyst, under the overall guidance of the Women Peace and Security Programme Specialist, and will work in close collaboration with relevant programme staff and implementing partners to ensure alignment with Joint Programme objectives and UN programming on hate speech prevention and gender equality.

The consultant will be responsible for submitting a workplan at the start of the assignment, followed by regular progress updates and short reports following key programme activities. A final consolidated report will be required at the end of the assignment summarizing achievements, challenges, and lessons learned. All reports must be submitted in English and in electronic format. Outputs will be reviewed and approved by UN Women, and payments will be made upon satisfactory completion of agreed deliverables.

In this context, the consultancy will play a central role in generating evidence and analytical insights on hate speech and divisive narratives, ensuring that data produced through AI-supported monitoring is systematically used to inform dialogue processes, policy engagement, media interventions, and narrative change initiatives across the programme.

The selected consultant will be responsible for the following:

1. →Activity Coordination and Implementation

• →Develop a detailed implementation plan and schedule for AI-supported monitoring and digital innovation activities under the Joint Programme, monitor progress against the workplan, identify risks or delays, and propose mitigation measures.
• →Support coordination with responsible parties (media organizations, research partners, technology experts, and civil society actors) to ensure timely and quality delivery of planned outputs related to AI-supported hate speech detection and digital monitoring initiatives.
• →Provide regular updates and draft inputs for internal progress reports, technical briefs, knowledge products, and donor reporting related to programme implementation.
• →Ensure that AI-supported monitoring outputs and analytical insights are systematically integrated into other programme components, including governance dialogue, journalist capacity-building, and narrative and campaign development, enabling evidence-based and coordinated programme implementation.

2. Stakeholder Engagement and Partnership Coordination

• →Organize and facilitate coordination meetings with relevant stakeholders, including media organizations, technology partners, research institutions, and civil society actors, in close coordination with UN Women.
• →Support collaboration with media outlets and digital monitoring initiatives piloting AI-supported tools for detecting hate speech and harmful narratives.
• →Support regular UN Women engagement with relevant academic institutions, technology experts, and digital innovation actors contributing to programme implementation.
• →Serve as liaison between UN Women and technical partners involved in the development or application of AI-supported monitoring tools. 

3. Technical Support for AI Tools and Digital Monitoring

• →Provide technical expertise on the development, adaptation, or piloting of AI-supported tools for identifying hate speech, gendered narratives, and misinformation in media content and online platforms.
• →Support the development of methodologies for monitoring hate speech trends in the digital media environment
• →Contribute to the design of a repository or monitoring system documenting hate speech cases and patterns in media and online discourse.
• →Provide technical guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in media monitoring, including considerations related to bias, privacy, and responsible technology use.
• →Contribute to the preparation of analytical reports and insights based on digital monitoring results.
• →Ensure that analytical outputs, datasets, and monitoring insights are synthesized into clear, accessible and actionable formats (e.g. briefs, summaries, trend analyses) that can be directly used by programme partners, including civil society organizations, policymakers, and communication actors.

4. Capacity Building and Knowledge Sharing

• →Support the design and delivery of training sessions for journalists, young media professionals, and civil society actors on the use of AI tools for detecting hate speech and misinformation.
• →Contribute to the development of practical guidance materials on AI-supported monitoring and responsible use of digital tools in journalism.
• →Support peer-learning activities and knowledge exchange among journalists and media professionals participating in programme activities.
• →Contribute to the development of knowledge products summarizing lessons learned and good practices related to AI-supported monitoring and digital media innovation.
• →Align capacity-building activities with findings from AI-supported monitoring, ensuring that training content reflects real trends, narratives, and challenges identified through data analysis.

The consultant is expected to contribute to overall programme coherence by supporting a continuous cycle of data generation, analysis, dialogue, and communication.

Payments will be made on a bi‑monthly basis, subject to the Consultant’s submission of bi‑monthly progress reports and timesheets and their subsequent endorsement by UN Women. The expected workload is approximately four (4) working days per month, with an additional four (4) days allocated for the development of the workplan and the preparation of the final consolidated report. The level of remuneration will be determined in accordance with the UN salary scale.

UN Women will provide the Consultant with background materials related to the assignment. The Consultant is expected to work using her/his own computer.

The assignment might require some presence at UN Women premises in Sarajevo. The consultancy will require some travel to field locations, as per agreed workplan. Any travel to field locations for meetings and events will be pre-arranged and approved in consultation with the supervisor, with all travel expenses covered by UN Women.

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: 

•    Project coordination and technical delivery: Demonstrated ability to coordinate and implement digital innovation or technology-based initiatives in multi-stakeholder environments, particularly those involving media organizations, research institutions, civil society actors, and technology partners.
•    Stakeholder engagement and technical partnership building: Strong capacity to collaborate with journalists, media organizations, academic institutions, and technology experts, facilitating partnerships that support the development and application of AI-based tools for monitoring and addressing hate speech and disinformation.
•    Technical expertise in AI and digital media analysis: Applied knowledge of artificial intelligence, machine learning, natural language processing, or data analytics relevant to detecting hate speech, disinformation, and harmful narratives in digital media ecosystems.
•    Facilitation of digital innovation and knowledge transfer: Ability to design and deliver practical trainings, workshops, and mentoring activities that support journalists and media professionals in using AI tools for monitoring harmful narratives and strengthening responsible journalism practices.
•    Communication and reporting: Ability to communicate complex technical and analytical findings clearly in verbal and written form in both B/C/S and English, including preparation of technical briefs, analytical reports, and guidance materials for non-technical stakeholders.
•    Monitoring and adaptive implementation: Capacity to monitor the performance and practical application of AI-supported monitoring tools, identify technical challenges or limitations, and recommend improvements to ensure effective integration within media and research environments.
 

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in computer science, artificial intelligence, data science, information technology, digital media, communications technology, or related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. (pass/fail)
• Certification or specialized training in artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics, or digital media monitoring would be considered an advantage. (5 points)

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible work experience in artificial intelligence, data science, digital media analysis, or technology development is required. (50 points)
• At least 3 years of experience working with digital monitoring tools, hate speech analysis, misinformation analysis, or AI-supported content analysis, preferably in media, research, or civil society contexts. (25 points)
• Experience in designing or delivering trainings, workshops, or capacity-building activities related to AI tools or digital media analysis, with at least three similar activities implemented. (20 points)

Languages:

Fluency in English and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian is required. (pass/fail)

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

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Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.