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ECONOMETRICS SPECIALIST

Rome

  • Organization: FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
  • Location: Rome
  • Grade: Consultancy - Consultant - Contractors Agreement
  • Occupational Groups:
    • EST
  • Closing Date: Closed

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device

  • 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 member nations, and person 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 our values. FAO has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and FAO, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination
  • All selected candidates, therefore, will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
  • All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality
  • The incumbent may be re-assigned to different activities and/or duty stations depending on the evolving needs of the Organization

The scope of this Call of Expressions of Interest is to build a Roster of qualified personnel (internal or external to FAO)

Organizational Setting

The Markets and Trade Division (EST) focuses on global issues that affect agricultural trade and markets, including policy analysis of trade measures and agreements, and their implications for food security and development. The Division monitors international, regional and national agricultural markets, collects and disseminates comprehensive market and policy information; undertakes analyses and forward-looking outlook studies; provides technical support and capacity building to FAO Members in trade policy issues; and, is responsible for the publication of the FAO flagship report The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets (SOCO).

The post is located in FAO Headquarters in Rome, in the Commodity Markets and Development Team (CMD), Markets and Trade Division. The Team undertakes research on the linkages of food and agricultural trade and sustainable development, is responsible for the preparation and publication of The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets, and leads the technical engagement of FAO in the work of G20 and G7.

FAO International Consultants and Call purpose

The Organization frequently engages experts to work on short-term projects as international consultants. The functions of a consultant are results-oriented and normally involve analysing complex issues, directing seminars or training courses, preparing documents for conferences and meetings, or writing reports on matters within their area of expertise. An international consultant is engaged by the Organization to provide expertise, skills or knowledge for the performance of a specific task or piece of work, which would be short- term by nature. The assignment may involve full-time or part-time functions similar to those of staff members. The assignment can be from 1 month up to 11 months on a When-Actually-Employed (WAE) basis. The possibility of extension is subject to satisfactory performance and depending on the resources and needs of the Organization.

The purpose of this Call is to attract qualified candidates for consultancies in the area of economic analysis and econometric modelling focused on trade and market issues to populate the divisional roster for this profile. Individuals who satisfactorily meet or exceed the requirements of the Call will be included in the divisional Roster of Economists. Candidates who are registered in the Roster will be considered for future contracts when relevant opportunities arise.

Reporting Lines

Consultants and PSA subscribers will work under the immediate supervision of the Senior Economist, Commodity Markets and Development, Markets and Trade Division. They are required to work in close collaboration with the other staff in EST and with the relevant teams across the Organization.

Technical Focus

The ideal candidate will have demonstrated technical skills in one or more of the following areas: (i) exploring the underlying economic relationships between trade and dimensions of sustainable development, including economic growth, poverty and inequality, natural resources and climate change, and healthy diets and nutrition; (ii) use national and international datasets (e.g. FAOSTAT, Comtrade, UNCTAD, World Development Indicators, IFS) to undertake the specification, estimation and validation of econometric models to unravel the impacts of trade on sustainable development dimensions; (iii) conduct simulation exercises to inform trade policy discussions. Specific thematic expertise in the areas of trade and trade policy is preferred.

Tasks and responsibilities

The generic functions include, but are not limited to, the following:

For C and B level Consultants and PSAs (HQ-based).

Under the supervisor of the Senior Economist leading analytical portfolio of the Commodity Markets and Development team, the incumbent will:

  • Review the empirical literature on various issues related to international food trade, including trade policy, geographical characteristics, linkages with economic growth, technology diffusion, environmental, health and social impacts;
  • Support the collection and organization of data sets and conduct preliminary statistical diagnostic tests;
  • Specify, estimate and validate econometric models that quantify the underlying economic relationship in the context of international food trade and markets;
  • Conduct simulations experiments to inform trade policy discussions, contributing to the policy recommendations of the FAO;
  • Provide input to reports and briefs produced by the CMD team; and,
  • Contribute to other duties as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

  • University degree (PH.D. preferred) in Economics, Econometrics, or related field.
  • Minimum 1 year of relevant experience in applying econometric modelling methods.
  • Working knowledge of English, and limited knowledge of French, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic or Russian for COF.REG.
  • Working knowledge of English for PSA.SBS.

FAO Core Competencies

  • Results Focus
  • Teamwork
  • Communication
  • Building Effective Relationships
  • Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Selection Criteria

  • Experience in analysing trade and other economic data (e.g. FAOSTAT, Comtrade, UNCTAD, World Development Indicators, IFS).
  • Knowledge of and experience in applying advanced statistical and econometric methods.
  • Prior experience in trade and trade policy.
  • Knowledge of or direct experience working on development and sustainability issues would be an advantage (economic growth, poverty and inequality, natural resources and climate change, and healthy diets and nutrition).
  • Good knowledge in one or more statistical software package like R, MATLAB, GAUSS, STATA.

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency

This vacancy is now closed.