Organizational Setting

The Department of Safeguards carries out the IAEA’s duties and responsibilities as the world’s nuclear inspectorate, supporting global efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons. The primary role of the Department is to develop and implement IAEA safeguards to ensure that there is no diversion of declared nuclear material from peaceful activities and no indications of undeclared nuclear material or activities in a State as a whole.

The Department comprises nuclear safeguards inspectors, responsible for carrying out inspections and verifications of all-safeguards relevant information for nuclear facilities in over 180 States; and technical staff responsible for a wide range of activities including: developing concepts and approaches for implementing safeguards; developing and maintaining safeguards equipment; providing analytical and laboratory services for sample analysis; collecting, evaluating and analysing safeguards-relevant information; providing information and communication technology infrastructure and services; and providing programme coordination support.

The Division of Information Management (SGIM) implements state of the art methodologies and techniques for the collection, processing and analysis of a range of safeguards-relevant information, including declarations submitted by States, evaluations resulting from the analysis of samples or measurements collected during infield activities, and information from open sources, including nuclear trade-related data and satellite imagery. Staff perform data validation and complex information analysis and evaluation to support infield activities and provide key input to the State evaluation process.

 

 

Main Purpose

Reporting to the Section Head, the Associate Information Analyst (Open Source) utilizes and further develops experience in open source research methods to collect and evaluate information related to the nuclear fuel cycles of assigned States. In particular, the Associate Information Analyst (Open Source) collects, reviews and analyses data from a wide range of sources to ascertain if there are any indications of undeclared nuclear material or activities within a State. From this analysis, the Associate Information Analyst (Open Source) prepares input for analytical reports which will be used by the Department of Safeguards in its State Evaluation Groups. In view of the increasing quantity of relevant open source information, this role involves interesting and varied research and analysis with the opportunity to develop skills, combined with opportunities to contribute to continuous improvement initiatives for information collection, processing and analysis.

 

Role

The Associate Information Analyst (Open Source) is: 1) an analyst, conducting open source research for assigned States and contributing to analytical products and reports; 2) a team player, contributing to projects and initiatives within the Section and Division; 3) a collaborator, liaising with colleagues in other Divisions within the Department of Safeguards to provide and clarify analytical findings.

 

Functions / Key Results Expected

Collaborating with Section staff in the collection, review and analysis of information for assigned States, including open source data, nuclear material accounting data, satellite imagery and environmental sampling data.

Conducting analyses to ascertain any indications of undeclared nuclear material or activities and collaborating with colleagues to identify recommended follow-up actions.

Preparing contributions to analytical products and reports to summarize findings and recommendations as input to State Evaluation Groups.

Conducting further research as requested by State Evaluation Groups and working with Section staff to identify additional research issues and tasks.

Identifying possible new sources of information of relevance for research tasks and consulting with Section staff to evaluate reliability.

Contributing to continuous improvement initiatives for the collection and analysis of open source information and the streamlining of processes.

Participating in meetings to brief recipients on the results of open source information analysis.

Competencies and Expertise

Core Competencies

NameDefinition  CommunicationCommunicates orally and in writing in a clear, concise and impartial manner. Takes time to listen to and understand the perspectives of others and proposes solutions.  Achieving ResultsTakes initiative in defining realistic outputs and clarifying roles, responsibilities and expected results in the context of the Department/Division’s programme. Evaluates his/her results realistically, drawing conclusions from lessons learned.  TeamworkActively contributes to achieving team results. Supports team decisions.  Planning and OrganizingPlans and organizes his/her own work in support of achieving the team or Section’s priorities. Takes into account potential changes and proposes contingency plans.

Functional Competencies

NameDefinition  Judgement/decision makingConsults with supervisor/manager and makes decisions in full compliance with the Agency’s regulations and rules.  ResilienceAble to remain calm in emotionally charged situations. Accepts constructive feedback in a positive manner and is able to cope with setbacks.  Technical/scientific credibilityAcquires and applies new skills to remain up to date in his/her area of expertise. Reliably applies knowledge of basic technical/scientific methods and concepts.

Required Expertise

FunctionNameExpertise Description   Management and Programme AnalysisDatabase InterrogationExpertise in using a range of open source databases and tools, including identifying and evaluating relevant sources for further analysis.   Management and Programme AnalysisInformation Collection and AnalysisProven ability to collect and evaluate technical information from a range of open sources and to prepare analytical inputs for reports and communications.

Asset Expertise

FunctionNameExpertise Description   SafeguardsSafeguards System, BasicKnowledge of the nuclear fuel cycle and issues related to nuclear non-proliferation an asset.