The United Nations University (UNU) is an international community of scholars engaged in policy-oriented research, capacity development and dissemination of knowledge, furthering the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. UNU’s mission is to contribute, through research and capacity building, to efforts to resolve the pressing global problems that are the concern of the United Nations and its Member States.
For the past four decades, United Nations University (UNU) has been a go-to think tank for impartial research on human survival, conflict prevention, sustainable development and welfare. With more than 400 researchers in 12 countries, UNU’s work spans the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, generating policy-relevant knowledge to effect positive global change. UNU maintains more than 200 collaborations with UN agencies and leading universities and research institutions across the globe.
UNU Institute in Macau (UNU Macau) is one of 13 research and training Institutes that comprise the think tanks in the UNU system. UNU Macau is a research institute at the intersections of digital technology and sustainable development. The Institute conducts policy-relevant research and generates solutions, addressing pressing challenges expressed in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through high-impact innovations and the latest technologies. Through its research, the UNU Institute in Macau encourages data-driven and evidence-based actions and policies to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
One of the Institute’s missions is to nurture the next generation of interdisciplinary computing, information and social scientists, and engineers to be leaders in the field of ICT for development. To this end, the institute seeks to build a team of experts to help deliver the institute’s mission and work plan. The Institute’s research tends to be more applied, and strives for policy impact in the UN system, at international, regional and national levels.
The UNU Institute in Macau is situated in the Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China, and it is the only UN entity in the city. Macau is one of the most dynamic regions in Asia, where technological innovations have become an integral part in driving social and economic change. Macau is part of the Greater Bay Area (GBA), that hosts many private sector companies and technological giants that are just a short distance away. Its proximity to China, Hong Kong SAR and other Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, provides an exciting opportunity for researchers and experts to maximize the impact of their work.
UNU Macau is seeking a professional consultant to support the Institute’s annual academic conference in 2025. Under direction supervision of the Communications lead, and the guidance of the chair of conference planning committee of UNU Macau, which is also the Director of UNU Macau, the Consultant will perform the following tasks:
1. Event outreach and fundraising:
Propose fundraising strategies to UNU Macau management for the Conference, and UNU’s Global AI Network.
Reach out to potential donors that could be sponsoring the Institute’s conference in Macau, such as private sectors (e.g. Tencent, Huawei, Alibaba, Open AI, Microsoft, IBM, Google), foundations (e.g. Rockefeller), governments (e.g. France, Austria, and Portugal), and seek funds for the conference itself, as well as UNU’s Global AI Network in collaboration with the network coordinator.
Report to Director on a bi-weekly basis the progress of fundraising and plan for ongoing activities.
2. Event planning:
Meet with UNU Macau team regularly on the conference matter (physical presence in the Institute’s office for meetings is required).
Meeting frequency for the early months of event organization is expected to be once per week. The frequency might be increased since Q2 2025 when it comes closer to the event.
3. Project management:
Work closely with UNU Macau’s event personnel to monitor the progress of the conference, and alert responsible people of deadlines.
4. Problem solving:
Help debug and solve the issues, if any; Flag risks and potential issues to the team when perceived.
5. Event communication:
Produce content for the conference website related to fundraising packages etc.
Support UNU Macau’s Communications lead with conference related matters, if needed.
Support the researchers and team to prepare the post-conference outputs e.g. report and publications.
6. Perform other tasks as required by the Director.
Timely and quality delivery on operational goals.
Timely and quality delivery on fundraising targets.
Quality and level of engagement with partners, related networks and working groups.
UNU Macau is seen as a reliable and trustworthy partner by research partners, governments, donors, and civil society.
Performance of the conference.
Values:
Inclusion — take action to create an environment of dignity and respect for all, regardless of age, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, gender expression, geography, grade, language, nationality, racial identity, religion, sex, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, social origin or any other aspect of identity
Integrity — act ethically, demonstrating the standards of conduct of the United Nations and taking prompt action in case of witnessing unprofessional or unethical behaviour, or any other breach of UN standards
Humility — demonstrate self-awareness and willingness to learn from others
Humanity — act according to the purposes of the United Nations: peace, dignity and equality on a healthy planet
Behaviours:
Connect and collaborate — build positive relationships with others to advance the work of the United Nations and work coherently as One UN
Analyse and plan — seek out and use data from a wide range of sources to understand problems, inform decision-making, propose evidence-based solutions and plan action
Deliver results with positive impact — hold oneself and others accountable for delivering results and making a positive difference to the people and causes that the United Nations serves
Learn and develop — pursue own learning and development and contribute to the learning and development of others
Adapt and innovate — demonstrate flexibility, agility and the ability to think and act in novel ways
