Consultant for Research and Guidance on Ethical Impact Committees for Flemish Public Administrations (Paris, France) contract

Type of contract : Consultant Contract

Level :  Level 2 – Middle

Hiring Unit : Social and Human Sciences Sector (SHS)

Duty Station : Paris

Work location : Remote

Duration of contract : 3 months

Hiring open to : External candidates

Application deadline (Midnight UTC+2 Time) : 23/04/2026

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

UNESCO has the mandate to promote the development of science and technology from an ethical and human rights approach. Under this framework in November 2021, UNESCO developed the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (AI), which the 193 Member States adopted by acclamation at the 41st session of its General Conference, and spearheading its implementation by the Member States through innovative tools and methodologies, such as the Readiness Assessment Methodology (RAM) and the Ethical Impact Assessment (EIA). Through the application of these tools, UNESCO is changing the operating model that drives AI, going beyond principles to develop a range of concrete and practical solutions to ensure fair, inclusive, sustainable and equitable outcomes of AI.

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, UNESCO is implementing the AI-Ready Flemish Public Administration project, funded by the European Commission Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM) through the EU’s Technical Support Instrument (TSI). 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.

The project operates through a close collaboration with Digital Flanders’ AI Expertise Centre, whose mandate is to support the 90+ Flemish public administration entities through a 1-to-many approach. Flanders is also a world-first in implementing UNESCO’s RAM at the sub-national level, mapping the AI policy and governance landscape and identifying priority areas for ethical AI governance across six dimensions: ethical governance, legal, socio-cultural, scientific, economic, and technical.

The previous phase of the project explored the needs of civil servants when it comes to institutional capacity building around AI governance. Project findings demonstrated a need for centralized support across the public administration on ethical and governance questions for AI implementation.

Developing an Ethical Impact Committee is an action explicitly referred to in the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI. Ethical Impact Committees are therefore a strong mechanism for more equitable AI governance capacity at the institutional level. While their importance is increasingly recognised, practical guidance on how to design, staff, and operationalise such bodies within a public sector context remains limited. Existing models vary significantly in composition, mandate, and authority, and most have been developed for corporate or academic settings that do not translate directly to public administration.

The AI Expertise Centre now seeks to commission research that combines a rigorous evidence base on global EIC practice with direct engagement with Flemish stakeholders, in order to produce a recommendation that is both internationally informed and locally grounded.

The aim of this consultancy is to identify the state of the art in guidance on Ethical Impact Committees, to provide practical guidance to the Digital Flanders Agency on how to construct the Ethical Impact Committee, and to set a reference framework for global governance innovation by contributing to UNESCO’s knowledge base.

The Consultant will work under the overall authority of the Assistant Director-General for the Social and Human Sciences Sector (ADG/SHS) and under the direct supervision of the Head of the Ethics of AI Unit at UNESCO Headquarters.

The Consultant will work closely with the Project Lead and with any other project team members to ensure project findings are aligned and can build interconnections and mutually reinforcing relationships. The Consultant will need to take into account and address the comments received by the Supervisor and/or the UNESCO Secretariat for all deliverables.

The outputs and activities the Consultant will engage in are:

Output 1 — Stakeholder Engagement

The Consultant will design and implement a targeted stakeholder engagement process to identify the needs of Flemish public administrations with respect to the Ethical Impact Committee design and constructions. This includes:

• Conducting online interviews with stakeholders to map needs, priorities, and existing practices related to the Ethical Impact Committee.
• Tentatively organising and facilitating a workshop in Brussels to gather structured feedback on the relevance and applicability of the Ethical Impact Committee suggestions

Output 2 — Ethical Impact Committee Evidence Report

The Consultant will produce a UNESCO report intended as a systematic review of existing Ethical Impact Committees and equivalent governance bodies globally. This review draws on two complementary sources, including the RAM meta-analysis and an independent literature review.

The review should cover: committee composition models (internal staff, external experts, civil society, legal and ethics specialists, affected communities); mandate and scope of review; decision-making authority and accountability mechanisms; integration with AI procurement, deployment, and audit processes; and lessons learned on what makes EICs genuinely effective rather than performative.

The report must take into account the feedback received from the UNESCO Secretariate. The report will then be presented at UNESCO’s Global Forum on the Ethics of AI.

Drawing on the evidence review and stakeholder interviews, the Consultant will develop a concrete, actionable recommendation on the best structure for an Ethical Impact Committee for the Flemish public administration. The recommendation should address:

• Composition: proposed roles, profiles, and balance of internal and external membership, with a rationale grounded in both global evidence and local stakeholder input.
• Mandate and scope: which AI systems, decisions, or processes should fall within the EIC’s remit, and at what stage of the AI lifecycle.
• Governance and accountability: how the EIC relates to existing oversight structures, and how independence and legitimacy are safeguarded.

The Consultant may work remotely and shall attend missions in person related to project implementation, including the tentatively scheduled stakeholder workshop in Brussels. Ideally, the consultant should be based in a location with easy train access to Brussels. The exact dates are to be confirmed by the Secretariat in due course.

Deliverables and Timeframe

Deliverable 1 – Progress report – submitted in May.

Deliverable 2 – Stakeholder engagement report – submitted June 15th

Deliverable 3 – Evidence report on Ethical Impact Committees –  submitted July 20th

Deliverable 4 – Ethical Impact Committee Recommendation: Optimal EIC Structure for Flemish public administrations – submitted July 27th

• Communication (C)
• Accountability (C)
• Innovation (C)
• Knowlegde sharing and continuous improvement (C)
• Planning and organizing (C)
• Results focus (C)
• Teamwork (C)

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, science and technology studies, law and technology, public administration, human geography, 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.

Skills and competencies

• Very good understanding of artificial intelligence’s ethical, legal, social and governance issues and related digital technologies.
• 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, science and technology studies, 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 governance concepts into easy-to-understand visual knowledge products is considered highly desirable.
• Experience in leading trainings and public speaking engagements on topics of digital governance 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

1. An up-to-date CV must be submitted instead of the Employment History form (Word file) to the “My Employment History Form / My Documents” section of the online application.
2. At the end of the CV file, the candidate append:
   1.  A one-page statement which explains:

• • •  how their qualifications and experience make them suitable for the assignment, including reference to a writing sample which demonstrates their ability to translate complex findings into accessible language for policy makers
    • A technical proposal explaining how they would approach the work
    • a financial proposal.

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

Please note that 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 Individual Specialist may be liable in respect of any payments made to him/her under the terms of this contract.

Please note that all candidates must complete an on-line application and provide complete and accurate information, by the above deadline.

To apply, please visit the UNESCO Careers website. No modifications can be made to the application once submitted. 

The process may include pre-recorded video interviews and/or written assessments, interviews with a Panel, as well as reference checks. In addition, candidates may be requested to provide additional information which may be pertinent to the position’s qualifications.  

Please note that all candidates, whether selected or not, will be informed of the outcome of their application in due course. 

Short-listed candidates may also be added to Talent Pools; subject to their consent (i.e. Data Privacy Statement).

• UNESCO recalls that paramount consideration in the appointment of personnel shall be the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, technical competence and integrity.
• UNESCO applies a zero-tolerance policy against all forms of harassment.
• lndividuals from minority groups and indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply.
• All applications will be treated with the highest level of confidentiality.
• The statutory retirement age at UNESCO is 65 years.
• UNESCO does not charge a fee at any stage of the hiring process.