Profile Statistics & Data Analysis Officer

Profile Statistics & Data Analysis Officer

Various Locations

Grade: Junior (P2), Mid (P3) and Senior (P4) Level Positions

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is mandated to lead and coordinate international action to protect and assist refugees and other persons of concern. It is constantly seeking talented, compassionate candidates with high-integrity to strengthen its capacity to respond urgently to crises with the right skills. Given the nature of UNHCR's work, it is essential that its workforce has the right mix of skills and qualities to fulfil its mandate. In this regard, the Statistics and Demographics Section at UNHCR's Global Data Service and the Data, Identity Management and Analysis Units (DIMA) located across the seven Regional Bureaus are looking for talented individuals to compliment the team.

Typical functions may include:
-  Contribute to data, information management and registration strategies with statistical and data analysis elements with a vision on the use of statistics and analytical data products, particularly in planning, programming and advocacy, at the country, regional and HQ levels as appropriate.
-  Develop or revise statistical concepts, definition, standards and classifications used in UNHCR for research and decision-making.
-  Develop new or improve estimation methods and statistical models for analyses and projections on forced displacement and statelessness.
-  For all data collection or statistical analysis activities, lead in developing plans and monitor implementation to ensure statistics and analysis are of highest standards.
-  Compile, consolidate, validate and disseminate official statistics on populations of concern to UNHCR at country, region or global level, including annual statistics.
-  Lead in the development or revision of methodological approaches and standards for quantitative surveys conducted by UNHCR or partner organizations in support of monitoring, assessment, targeting, evaluation, operational plans and results reporting.
-  Lead in the design and implementation of relevant statistical analytical products and oversee their production, including quality assurance.
-  In coordination with sectoral and other data staff, apply statistical scenarios and models based on historical, recent and seasonal information to support comparative country, regional and global analysis, including political and sociodemographic trends.
-  Draft statistical reports for UNHCR and/or with partners.
-  Contribute to research on alternative data sources on global forced displacement and statelessness situations.
-  Facilitate open access to anonymized forced displacement data while addressing protection and privacy concerns over microdata managed by UNHCR.
-  Conduct trainings and capacity development activities to improve technical and research skills of headquarters, regional and field staff in the area of data science and/or statistical analysis.
-  Develop standards, recommendations and classifications in displacement and statelessness statistics in initiatives and expert groups of member states and international organizations.
-  Conduct trainings and capacity development activities for UNHCR staff and partners to implement the International Recommendations on Refugee Statistics and the International Recommendations on IDP Statistics.

General Requirements for all levels:
-  Strong quantitative background;
-  Proven experience in data collection, cleaning, processing, compilation and statistical analysis;
-  Proven experience using one or more of these statistical software or programming languages: Stata, SAS, SPSS, R or Python or other, with strong preference for a free software package (such as R);
-  Experience developing methodological statistical standards and working with national and/or international statistical systems;
-  Experience with data collection and analysis in developmental or humanitarian contexts;
-  Understanding of civil registration, immigration and other national population registration systems;
-  Experience applying different research and data collection methods such as household surveys, censuses and administrative registers;
-  Understanding and knowledge of the management of statistical databases, systems design, and the production of statistical data in all phases of the data lifecycle;
-  Experience with training and capacity development of implementing and governmental partners, in particular statistical institutions at national or international level;
-  Excellent written and oral presentation skills.

Minimum Qualifications and Professional Experience Required:

For positions at the P2 level
-  Education: Degree in demography, geography, statistics, economics, data science, quantitative social sciences, epidemiology or a related field.
-  Job experience: Minimum 2 years of relevant experience with graduate degree (equivalent of a Master's), 3 years with undergraduate degree (equivalent of a BA/BS) in statistics, analysis, economics, demography or data science.
-  Support quality assurance and provide technical advice on statistical analyses and indicators; take part in regional planning processes (regional RRP, regional migration response plans, etc.) and in those at the country level as appropriate and where support is needed.
-  Contribute to the development of new or improved statistical methods and quantitative models for analyses and projections on forced displacement and statelessness.
-  Liaise with sector leads and UNHCR sector experts to identify statistical needs and develop appropriate statistical products according to defined standards.
-  Support the response and prioritization of requests for statistical products and services by different sectors and unit.
-  Input into the processes establishing or implementing UNHCR's policies and procedures on planning and reporting on UNHCR's operational activities.
-  Languages: Proficiency in English is required.

For positions at the P3 level
-  Education: Degree in demography, geography, statistics, economics, data science, quantitative social sciences, epidemiology or a related field.
-  Job experience: Minimum 5 years of relevant (international) job experience with graduate degree (equivalent of a Maste's), 6 years with undergraduate degree (equivalent of a BA/BS) in statistics, analysis, economics, demography or data science.
-  Conduct research on alternative data sources on global forced displacement and statelessness situations.
-  Contribute to the delivery of high-profile analytical products, in consultation with the relevant HQ and/or operational teams, including field operations.
-  Draft concept papers, prepare background analyses, and briefings to build support for the use of data analytics and applied statistics throughout UNHCR, in collaboration with relevant HQ, Bureaus and country operations.
-  Provide statistical training to UNHCR and partner staff as needed.
-  Support operational leads in making methodological decisions about how to conduct surveys.
-  Languages: Proficiency in English is required.

For positions at the P4 level
-  Education: Degree in demography, geography, statistics, economics, data science, quantitative social sciences, epidemiology or a related field.
-  Job experience: Minimum 8 years of relevant (international) job experience with graduate degree (equivalent of a Master's), 9 years with undergraduate degree (equivalent of a BA/BS) in statistics, analysis, economics, demography or data science.
-  Apply advanced analytical skills in conducting research and developing policy and concept papers.
-  Ability to come up with innovative and creative solutions to statistical challenges.
-  Set statistical standards to be used at HQ or regions, maintain and distribute standards to Statistics and Data Analysis officers and others working with statistical or operational data in HQ or the region, including partners.
-  Demonstrated ability for leadership in the context of partnership building and consensual decision-making.
-  Represent UNHCR¿s position in regard to displacement statistics and statistical methods with senior external bodies.
-  Languages: Proficiency in English and knowledge of a second UN language (Arabic/Chinese/French/Russian/Spanish) at B2 is required.

The UNHCR workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages and opinions. UNHCR seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.