Statistician / Data scientist Consultant roster

1. Purpose of the Position

The purpose of the consultancy is to provide support to WHO European Office for Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases in the area of data analysis and management.

2. Organizational context

The European Office for Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCD Office) in Moscow is an integral part of the WHO Regional Office for Europe and plays a leading role in providing support to Member States in the WHO European Region for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). The work of the NCD Office is driven by the strategic objectives of the European Programme of Work (EPW) in reducing burden, increasing equity, and stepping up leadership for prevention and control of NCDs and plays in important contribution towards the attainment of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), while putting countries in the focus by responding to demands for support. The deliverables of the Office are contributing to the implementation of the Global Action Plan on the Prevention and Control of NCDs 2013-2030 as well as the respective and related European policy frameworks. As such, and under the guidance of the Director of Country Health Programmes, the NCD Office will also collaborate in projects of a Regional or Global nature that are consistent with its technical profile.

Monitoring and surveillance of NCDs is one of the areas of work of the NCD Office. This includes development of specific NCD-related sources of data in countries, collating and analyzing data at national and sub-national level and their feeding in to the regional and global monitoring frameworks. NCD office is responsible for several major, comprehensive data sources, including WHO STEPwise approach for Surveillance (STEPS), an integrated, population based risk factor survey, Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) and Country Capacity and Response Survey (CCS), which collects data on policy response from all WHO Member States. NCD office regularly collates and curates a regional dataset related to NCDs, including mortality, disease burden, risk factors, health systems and policy response, and other.

3. Description of duties

• Analysis of data from population based / household surveys such as STEPS with complex survey designs. Types of analysis could include:
o Descriptive analysis of population and specific sub-populations (e.g. age group, sex, region)
o Regression analysis
o Primary component and factor analysis
• Analysis of data from Country Capacity Survey and other policy surveys
• Analysis of mortality, cause of death, hospital discharge and other registry-based health data.
• Curation and update of data in the regional NCD surveillance system used for country and regional analysis. Examples of data include:
o NCD risk factor data
o Data related to health system response to NCDs
o Demographic and cause of death data
• Creation of data visualizations:
o Charts/ visualization of above-mentioned data for inclusion in reports and scientific publications
o Interactive visualizations for inclusion in web pages and apps
• Contribution to report writing and scientific publications
o Checking of data accuracy
Contributing to the publications by describing statistical methods used and their limitations

4. Recruitment Profile

The minimum academic and professional experience required to apply for the roster is outlined below. The actual grade for each individual contract will be determined in accordance with WHO guidelines on minimum requirements at the time of contract issuance.

Functional Knowledge and Skills

Essential:
• Analysis of health data
• Advanced knowledge of R package for statistical analysis
• Strong analytical skills
• Visualization of information
• Broad knowledge of health data and NCDs
• Fluency in using Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
• Teamwork

Desirable:
• Knowledge of SQL
• Knowledge of Shiny
• Knowledge of PowerBI, Tableau or similar Business Intelligence systems
• Knowledge of Geographical Information Systems
• Knowledge of international and European classifications used in health and statistical systems
• Knowledge of other programming languages, software development, and statistical packages and tools

Education Qualifications

Essential: First university degree in Epidemiology, Public Health, Biostatistics, Demography, Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Informatics, Information Management, Geography, Science or related field.
Desirable: graduate or postgraduate degree in a field that requires extensive analysis of large data sets.

Experience

Essential: At least three years of relevant work experience in data analysis and statistics, preferably in international setting and with UN agencies.

Languages

Essential: Expert knowledge of English
Desirable: Knowledge of Russian, German, French or another official UN or European language

5. Contract duration

6 Months

6. Location

This consultancy can be completed at the NCD Office in Moscow, Russian Federation, or remotely.

7. Remuneration

Remuneration is based on classified requirements of the Terms of Reference of the Individual Consultant Contract with related academic and professional experience applied for the grade in accordance with WHO’s consultant’s pay band ranges:

Band Level A, daily rate: USD 198 - 349

Band Level B, daily rate: USD 350 - 499

Band Level C, daily rate: USD 500 - 625

8. Additional information

Interested applicants must submit a publication record. This vacancy notice may be used to fill other similar positions.
A written test and / or interview may be used as a form of screening.
Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.