Statistician (Statistics)

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the 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.

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

Organizational Setting

The Statistics Division (ESS) develops and advocates for the implementation of methodologies and standards for data collection, validation, processing and analysis of food and agriculture statistics. In these statistical domains, it also plays a vital role in the compilation, processing and dissemination of internationally comparable data and provides essential capacity building support to Member Nations. In addition, the Division disseminates many publications, working papers and statistical yearbooks that cover agricultural and food security relevant statistics (including prices, investments, production, trade and agri-environmental statistical data).

The incumbent will work for the Agricultural Census Team, that is responsible for developing the methodological guidelines for the FAO World Programme for the Census of Agriculture (WCA), as well as conducting agricultural surveys to document country practices. The team is also responsible for assisting countries in strengthening their national agricultural statistical systems by providing technical assistance to carry out national agricultural census at least once every decade and to run a continuous programme of agricultural surveys, using standard international concepts, definitions and methodologies.

The position is located in the Statistics Division (ESS) at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy.

Reporting Lines

The Statistician (Statistics) reports to the Senior Statistician/Leader of the Agricultural Censuses Team under the overall guidance of the Director, ESS.

Technical Focus

Agricultural Censuses and surveys.

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.

•Coordinates the collection, review, processing and/or analysis of key social/economic/environmental indicators, based on either traditional statistical methods/sources or on unstructured sources and data science methods to support the delivery of economic and social development programmes of work whether focused on products, projects, publications or services.

•Designs and develops improved/updated technical, statistical and/or analytical tools, systems and databases.

•Designs and conducts research, data collection, validation, analysis and/or reporting in support of the development of technical standards, international instruments, innovative tools and methodologies to be used within the Organization or by external stakeholders.

•Coordinates the production of a variety of technical reports and provides input in flagship publications, technical documents, Divisional publications and/or web pages.

•Coordinates and provides responses to requests and provides technical and/or policy advice, assistance and solutions to Regional, Subregional and Country Offices including technical backstopping of field projects.

•Coordinates and provides capacity development services, including the planning and organization of training workshops and seminars and the preparation of related information, materials, on-line tools and information kits.

•Coordinates the organization, conduct and follow-up of meetings, consultations and conferences, the development/production of required materials and the provision of information and assistance to partners.

•Participates in resource mobilization activities in accordance with Strategic Framework and Divisional plans.

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

Specific Functions

·Identifies and formulates food and agricultural statistics development projects and assists with their implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

·Contributes to support the World Programme for the Census of Agriculture (WCA) and FAO's Agricultural Survey programme.

·Develops and updates conceptual, methodological and operational guidelines to collect statistical information on the agricultural sector at national level through agriculture censuses and agricultural surveys.

·Coordinates and implements technical support to FAO units and member countries in the design, planning, and implementation of agricultural censuses and surveys, including formulation of country projects, the design of questionnaires and manuals, the implementation of cognitive and pilot testing, sample design, training of field staff, the use of advanced data collection technologies, and the dissemination of census and survey data and microdata.

·Coordinates the preparation and delivery of training and dissemination materials on agricultural censuses and surveys to country officials and field staff.

·Provides hands-on support to national institutions in applying statistical methods to large farm datasets, including editing, validation and analysis of the data with statistical software.

·Coordinates and supports the monitoring and documentation of countries' censuses, prepares metadata reviews and main census results.

·Coordinates and implements the processing and dissemination of census data from WCA rounds to the FAOSTAT (FAO database) domain.

·Coordinates and supports the preparation of technical articles, working papers, books and training materials and documents best practices in agricultural censuses and surveys.

·Supports the mobilization of extra-budgetary resources in support of the implementation of agricultural censuses and surveys.

·Performs other duties as required.

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CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

·Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in statistics, mathematics, 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.

·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, ANOVA; Chi-square and goodness of fit tests; nonlinear models: maximum likelihood estimation; elements of survey and questionnaire design.

·Extent and relevance of knowledge and experience in collecting, compiling and disseminating agricultural statistics.

·Extent and relevance of experience in the formulation of technical assistance projects as well as the planning and the provision of capacity development programmes and technical support at the country level foragricultural censuses and surveys.

·Extent of knowledge and experience in agricultural survey methodology, including survey design, sampling, questionnaire design, data collection and validation methods.

·Extent of proficiency and experience in CAPI survey tools and in using software tools for validating, processing and analysing microdata from large-scale agricultural surveys.

·Extent of experience in microdata dissemination and knowledge of statistical disclosure control methods and tools.

·Relevant practical experience in the design and implementation of agricultural censuses and surveys methodology, including data validation and dissemination.