Statistician

IMPORTANT NOTICE\: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device
The length of appointment for internal FAO candidates will be established in accordance with applicable policies pertaining to the extension of appointments.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture
• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAO's values
• FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination　　
• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality
• FAO staff are subject to the authority of the Director-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the Organization.

FAO’s commitment to environmental sustainability is integral to our strategic objectives and operations.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.

Organizational Setting

The Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (RLC) is responsible for leading FAO’s response to regional priorities for food security, agriculture and rural development through the identification, planning and implementation of FAO’s priority activities in the region. It ensures a multidisciplinary approach to programmes, identifies priority areas of action for the Organization in the Region and, in collaboration with departments and divisions at Headquarters, develops, promotes and oversees FAO's strategic response to regional priorities. RLC also advises on the incorporation of regional priorities into the Organization’s Programme of Work and Budget and implements approved programmes and projects in the region, monitors the level of programme implementation and draws attention to problems and deficiencies. RLC develops and maintains relations with region-wide institutions including the Regional Economic Integration Organizations (REIOs). The Regional Office supports regional policy dialogue on food security, agriculture and rural development issues, facilitates the emergence of regional partnerships, and supports capacity development and resource mobilization for food security, agriculture and rural development in the region.

The post is located in the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (RLC) in Santiago, Chile.

Reporting Lines
The Statistician reports to the Regional Programme Leader and works under the overall guidance of the Assistant Director General /Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean and the technical supervision of FAO’s Chief Statistician.

Technical Focus.

The position focuses on development of food, agricultural and rural statistics in the countries in the Region.

Key Results

Comprehensive technical, statistical, analytical and/or policy analysis services and the development of specialized tools, methodologies, systems and/or databases to support the planning, implementation/delivery and monitoring of the programme of work and related products, projects, publications and services.

Key Functions

• Plans and leads components of multidisciplinary teams and short-term work groups, leads and/or participates in Divisional teams, participates in Organization-wide committees, project teams and working groups and provides specialized expertise on international technical networks and or technical policy and standard setting bodies.

• Develops technical, statistical, analytical, monitoring and reporting frameworks, and related tools, methodologies, systems and databases etc. to support the planning, implementation/delivery and monitoring of the programmes of work, products, projects, and services.

• Designs and conducts research, data collection, validation, analysis and/or reporting activities to support the development of technical standards, international instruments, innovative tools and methodologies, flagship publications/technical reports and/or policy proposals as well as the provision of technical specialist and/or policy advice and expertise.

• Responds to requests and provides technical/policy advice, assistance and solutions to Regional, Sub-Regional, and Country Offices and provides technical backstopping to field projects.

• Promotes international cooperation and collaboration, advocates best practices and increased policy dialogue and provides technical expertise at international meetings and conferences.

• Collaborates in capacity development activities involving knowledge sharing, the organization of training workshops, seminars, and meetings as well as the development of related materials and on-line tools and information kits.

• Participates in resource mobilization activities in accordance with corporate strategy and Departmental plans.

Specific Functions

• Advices on the design and conduct of agricultural censuses, farm surveys and household surveys, and administrative registries related to food and agriculture, including the use of appropriate methodologies and technologies for monitoring the 21 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) indicators for which FAO is custodian agency; organizes and conducts training of national personnel.

• Advocates for and promotes the adoption of the Food Insecurity Experience Scale as a standard tool for household or individual food security measurement.

• Provides advice on the development and implementation of national Strategic Plan for Agriculture and Rural Statistics (SPARS), ensuring proper mainstreaming of the 21 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) indicators for which FAO is custodian agency.

• Identifies, formulates and technically backstops statistical field projects and participates in the selection, briefing and guidance of FAO field experts and the reviewing of their technical reports.

• In coordination with the Statistics Division (ESS) and RLC management, leads the organization of the Latin America and Caribbean Commission for Agricultural Statistics (LACCAS) including development of agenda, identifying and liaising with host country, overseeing all aspects of logistics, and developing final report every two years.

• Supports country reporting to FAO databases with the objective of improving response rates and data quality.

• Co-operates with UN country and regional teams in the preparation of country reports related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ensure the coordination of the Organization's work with that of other agencies.

• Represents RLC in the work of the Technical Data Coordination Group (DCG-T) on FAO statistics and data for statistics.

• Supports the Analytical Support Mechanism for Agrifood System Country Programming and Evidence (SCOPE)providing assistance to country offices in the preparation of the UN Common Country Analysis and the FAO Country Programming Frameworks (CPFs), particularly to ensure adequate prioritization of statistical capacity building, and the implementation of country-level actions guided by CPF, sub-regional and regional priority frameworks and corporate strategic frameworks to transform FAO's knowledge products into country-level results and impacts.

• Cooperates with FAO headquarters’ Divisions and FAO Subregional Offices, other agencies and regional institutions and develops partnerships to promote effective and efficient food and agricultural statistics systems.

• Promotes regional cooperation in agriculture and food security statistics by representing FAO in regional statistical bodies such as the Statistical Conference of the Americas and building new partnerships with national and subregional organizations

• Provides inputs for region-wide annual and bi-annual exercise, work plans and other reports.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in statistics, mathematics, economics, agricultural economics or a related field.

• Seven years of relevant experience in the compilation and analysis of food and agricultural statistics in national or international organizations and in the coordination of high-level statistical publications and management of statistical dissemination platform.

• Working knowledge (proficiency - level C) of English and intermediate knowledge (intermediate proficiency - level B) of another FAO official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish).

Competencies

• Results Focus

• Teamwork

• Communication

• Building Effective Relationships

• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions.

• Knowledge of wide range of topics in official agricultural statistics including quality assurance, use of alternative data sources, methodological and operational aspects of agricultural censuses and surveys, sampling, etc.

• Strong command of statistical methods including\: data presentation, analysis and descriptive statistics; main continuous and discrete random variables (binomial, normal, standard normal, log-normal) and their properties; probability distributions; conditional probability, probabilities of intersections of events, Bayes' theorem; correlation and rank correlation; sampling and sample size\: simple, stratified, and multistage random sampling; Inference, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing and significance; linear regression (single and multiple) comparison of population means and variances, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA); Chi-square and goodness of fit tests; nonlinear models\: maximum likelihood estimation; elements of survey and questionnaire design.

• Extent and relevance of experience in the compilation, validation and analysis of statistics.

• Extent and relevance of knowledge and experience in survey methodology.

• Extent and relevance of knowledge of the main data sources used for the compilation of food and agricultural statistics.

• Extent and relevance of knowledge and experience in software used for processing and analysing data.

• Working knowledge (proficiency - level C) of Spanish is highly desirable.

• Demonstrated ability to mobilize resources.
  

_________________________________________________________________

FAO staff are expected to adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency.

_________________________________________________________________

• Extension of fixed term appointments is based on certification of performance and availability of funds
• FAO reserves the right not to make an appointment.
• Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.

CONDITIONS OF SERVICE

• To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, and language skills
• Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile
• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application
• Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http\://www.whed.net/. These qualifications should be in alignment with the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) mappings.
• Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications
• Incomplete applications will not be considered
• Personal information provided on your application may be shared within FAO and with other companies acting on FAO’s behalf to provide employment support services such as pre-screening of applications, assessment tests, background checks and other related services. You will be asked to provide your consent before submitting your application. You may withdraw consent at any time, by withdrawing your application, in such case FAO will no longer be able to consider your application
• Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered
• Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile
• We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.

If you need help or have queries, please create a one-time registration with FAO’s client support team for further assistance\: https\://fao.service-now.com/csp

FAO IS A NON-SMOKING ENVIRONMENT