We are looking for a semantic expert to give us advice on best technologies
and ways to implement them as part of a capital project implementation.
This is a short term contract, for a few months (negotiable), preferable in
the Washington DC area but we can discuss travel arrangements. Below you´ll
find the terms of reference. Feel free to contact me if you have further
questions.... Have a good day!



*Semantic Expert, Semantic Ontologies Implementation Project*





*TERMS OF REFERENCE*





*Background*



Established in 1959, the Inter-American Development Bank (“IDB” or “Bank”)
is the main source of financing for economic, social and institutional
development in Latin America and the Caribbean. It provides loans, grants,
guarantees, policy advice and technical assistance to the public and
private sectors of its borrowing countries.



The Knowledge and Learning Sector (KNL) is responsible for disseminating
knowledge, both internally and externally, for establishing the
institutional learning agenda and delivering activities for staff and
counterparts. KNL promotes an approved institutional knowledge and learning
strategy to improve conditions for the acquisition, creation,
dissemination, and use of knowledge needed for the effectiveness of Bank
operations.



Within the next three years, KNL will coordinate an organizational-wide
effort to implement semantic web and linked data technologies at the back
end of existing knowledge applications, with the final goal of making the
Bank’s knowledge more open and visible externally and internally.



*Consultancy objective(s)*



The objective of the consultancy is to provide technological advice and
knowledge outputs to the project management team during the planning and
execution phases of the semantic web and linked data technologies project.



*Main activities*



KNL seeks a knowledgeable, experienced and solutions-driven semantic
technologies expert to join its established team of information
professionals. The Semantic Expert (SE) will be responsible for the
activities described below:



·        Developing technological requirements and user stories for the
implementation of semantic web and linked data technologies in internal and
external knowledge platforms, such as the institutional project management
system, document management system, publications and data repositories, and
the external website;

·        Conducting interviews and analyzing platforms under the scope of
the project, to gain complete understanding of existing content and
technologies, leverage their use, and assess risk factors;

·        In collaboration with the Project manager, developing terms of
reference and participating in an external competition for a selection of
the vendor/s that will implement semantic technologies;

·        Investigating and understanding the business requirements to
analyze the content, functions and needs of the Business Units and using
this knowledge along with their semantic expertise to assist in the
assessment and selection of external vendors;

·        Leading and providing functional and technical guidance and
supervision of activities executed by external vendors, in collaboration
with the SMEs, to assure work alignment with business needs;

·        Coordinating with the project Manager and the vendor project
managers for planning and detailed implementation plan definition,
monitoring progress, and reporting to the Bank any risks and dependencies
that might be detected;

·        Ensuring that relevant documentation (business requirements,
project related, and software documentation) are properly developed and
made available throughout the project;

·        Coordinating the architecture implementation and design of the
semantic stack;

·        Following all ITE standards (architecture, PMO, Security,). For
this purpose, we will facilitate necessary immersion and contacts;

·        Other duties as assigned.



*Reports / Deliverables *



The SE will be delivering the following reports or deliverables for this
consultancy:

·        Requirements Document;

·        Terms of Reference for Technologies Procurement (Request for
Proposal) Document;

·        Architecture and infrastructure design of the semantic stack for
each system within the scope of the project;

·        Software licensing analysis;

·        Taxonomies and ontologies, mappings, inference rules, federation
strategy, URIs, key SPARQL queries and other related semantic stack
deliverables using information provided by both the IDB and vendors;

·        Document: a) most important decisions made, b) lessons learned
during the process and b) recommendations for next steps.







*Qualifications  *

·        *Academic Degree / Level & Years of Professional Work
Experience: *Bachelor’s
degree in areas related to Information Sciences, Computer Sciences,
Information Management, Library Sciences, or similar. Graduate Degree
desirable. 4 years of relevant professional experience.

·        *Languages:* Fluent in English. Spanish desirable.

·        *Areas of Expertise:*

o   Demonstrated subject knowledge in semantic modeling using international
standards such as RDF, OWL, and SPARQL;

o   Hands on experience with controlled vocabularies (thesauri, taxonomies,
ontologies) in a in a knowledge organization;

o   Experience with Semantic Technology platforms, such as PoolParty or the
Watson suite of tools;

o   Job-related experience, a technical degree, or exposure in
socio-economic development is desired.

·        Skills:

o   Ability to explain and communicate technologies to the layman;

o   Ability to work independently and collaboratively;

o   Excellent interpersonal and communication skills;

o   Ability to use technology in creative ways to solve problems and/or
facilitate workflow; Solid organizational skills including attention to
detail and multitasking skills.



*Characteristics of the Consultancy*

·        *Consultancy category and modality:* Temporary Term Contractual,
Monthly

·        *Contract duration: *3 months

·        *Place(s) of work:* Headquarters

·        *Responsible person**:* Unit Chief Library; Learning & Knowledge
Management Advisor





*Payment and Conditions:* Compensation will be determined in accordance
with Bank’s policies and procedures. The Bank, pursuant to applicable
policies, may contribute toward travel and moving expenses. In
addition, candidates must be citizens of an IDB member country.



*Visa and Work Permit:* The Bank, pursuant to applicable policies, may
submit a visa request to the applicable immigration authorities; however,
the granting of the visa is at the discretion of the immigration
authorities. Notwithstanding, it is the responsibility of the candidate to
obtain the necessary visa or work permits required by the authorities of
the country(ies) in which the services will be rendered to the Bank. If a
candidate cannot obtain a visa or work permit to render services to the
Bank the contractual offer will be rescinded


*Consanguinity:* Pursuant to applicable Bank policy, candidates with
relatives (including the fourth degree of consanguinity and the second
degree of affinity, including spouse) working for the Bank as staff members
or Complementary Workforce contractuals, will not be eligible to provide
services for the Bank.



*Diversity:* The Bank is committed to diversity and inclusion and to
providing equal opportunities to all candidates. We embrace diversity on
the basis of gender, age, education, national origin, ethnic origin, race,
disability, sexual orientation, religion, and HIV/AIDs status. We encourage
women, Afro-descendants and persons of indigenous origins to apply.

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Norma Palomino
Doctoral Candidate
DPS-IM Student, Cohort #5
School of Information Studies
Syracuse University
https://ischool.syr.edu/people/directories/view/nepalomi/