The Position:
The Technical Adviser/Population Statistics is located in the Population and Development Branch. S/he reports directly to the Branch Chief who provides overall strategic direction. The Technical Adviser, Population Statistics works in an integrated coordinated, and systems strengthening approach which is fundamental to the Division's and UNFPA's overall strategy.
How you can make a difference:
UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. UNFPA’s new strategic plan (2018-2021), focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices.
In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards, and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction.
UNFPA is seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high impact and sustained results; we need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them and who commit to deliver excellence in programme results.
Job Purpose:
The Technical Adviser/Population Statistics reports to the Chief of the Population and Development Branch, Technical Division. S/he is responsible for the overall technical leadership and strategic direction on the use of population data to inform the design, location and evaluation of interventions to advance the ICPD Programme of Action, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the achievement of the transformative goals of the UNFPA Strategic Plan.
S/he assumes overall responsibility for the evaluation, acquisition, processing, analysis and use of data from civil registration and vital statistics, population and housing censuses, household surveys - such as the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) - and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) as well as administrative records, to show the value-for-money of national efforts towards sustainable development.
The Technical Adviser/Population Statistics will provide quality assurance and guidance to UNFPA work on population projections, Bayesian estimations, small area estimation (SAE), integration of data on affected populations and health facilities for better operational planning, and on the use of geospatial data to inform modeling of the SDG indicators, overseeing the development of a Population Data Platform as the transformative UNFPA initiative towards improved data access and de-centralization.
S/he will also oversee the capacity strengthening efforts and support of UNFPA to raise the awareness on how such new applications can help the disaggregation of SDG and ICPD indicators and the identification of specific development shortfalls.
UNFPA works at all levels - global, regional and country, to address needs in sexual and reproductive health and rights, family planning, harmful practices and gender-based violence. The Technical Adviser/Population Statistics provides leadership in the coordination of technical support to Regional Offices (RO’s), Sub-Regional Offices (SRO’s) and Country Offices (CO’s), assuming the role of primary liaison for research partnerships as well, and promotes a vision integrating the Fund’s work in integrating core data sources to improve programme impact. S/he serves as a principal liaison to UNFPA’s regional and country offices in this regard, ensuring that authoritative data is used for tracking progress in the fulfillment of the UNFPA Strategic Plan, the implementation and fulfillment of the ICPD Programme of Action, the ICPD Beyond 2014, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In her/his work, the Technical Adviser/ Demographer will also ensure consistency and collaborative approaches with other projects of relevance UNFPA is implementing or partnering on, such as the GRID3 Project.
The Technical Adviser/Population Statistics, supervises a team of up to 5 analysts, including specialists in statistics, demography and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), working closely with the Branch Chief and other staff from the Division to prioritize and systematically respond to data needs and innovations.
The position requires a clear and complete understanding of not only the existing data sources such as census, household surveys, vital registration systems, administrative records, and more recently big data, but also the UN institutional structures and work mandates as well as the diplomatic sensitivities and specific responsibilities to serve Member States and to promote constructive dialogue and policies relating to issues of data sharing, open access, and public dissemination.
The Technical Adviser/ Population Statistics will also support UNFPA’s strategic engagement within the UN statistical community, academic communities of practice, development partners and donors, and will advance UNFPA’s representation and leadership within a variety of inter-agency collaborations.
The Primary areas of work for the Technical Adviser/ Population Statistics can be summarized as:
Strategic Guidance
Capacity Development and Knowledge Management
Technical Representation
Managerial oversight
Education: Post-graduate degree (Ph.D. or Masters with substantial experience) in demography, statistics/biostatistics, epidemiology, quantitative sociology, geography or related field.
Knowledge and Experience: 10 years of increasingly responsible professional experience required, of which 5 years at the international level. S/he should have substantial work experience in the following areas:
Generation and use of official demographic, health and development statistics;
Analysis of population censuses and household surveys;
Quantitative research and analysis;
Proven knowledge of geospatial analysis, GIS modelling, Bayesian estimation, and/or their application to public health is essential;
Prior work and familiarity in one or more of the following topics is desirable: demographic trends (urbanization, ageing, migration, displacement); sexual and reproductive health; gender equality and women’s empowerment; harmful practices.
Prior work experience in developing countries is essential;
Strong track record of technical leadership and timely results;
Demonstrated capacity for team leadership, coordination, management, and external relations.
Languages:
Fluency in written and spoken English is required. Working knowledge of another UN language is desirable.
We are no longer accepting applications for this position.
