Statistician

1M021M02

• 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
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• 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.

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 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 Countries. 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 Dissemination and Outreach Unit is responsible for disseminating timely and reliable food and agricultural statistics globally through FAO's dissemination platforms (FAOSTAT and RuLIS). It coordinates publications, working papers and statistical yearbooks across the different teams in the Division that cover food security and nutrition, crop and livestock, economic, social and environmental statistics.
Under the general supervision of the Director, ESS, the incumbent leads the Dissemination and Outreach Unit of the Division. He/she coordinates across teams in the Division the timely dissemination of statistical data on food and agriculture produced by ESS, on the respective FAO platforms and by means of official publications and technical documents. He/she coordinates communication and outreach activities.
The post is located in the Dissemination and Outreach Unit of the Statistics Division (ESS) at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy.

Reporting Lines
The Statistician reports to the Director, ESS, in close coordination with ESS management.

Technical Focus
Statistical dissemination and statistical publications.

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 multi-disciplinary 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 Corporate Strategies 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

• Leads the Dissemination and Outreach Unit of the Statistics Division, developing and implementing the data dissemination programme of work; establishes work plans and objectives of professionals and consultants supporting data dissemination and monitors their performance.
• Designs policies for dissemination of statistical domains and publications following corporate standards.
• Coordinates FAOSTAT development, maintenance activities and processes and provides support to the agency-wide project on the Statistical Data Warehouse.
• Coordinates the operational implementation of the RuLIS platform in collaboration with the Data Team that produces the data to update the system.
• Oversees, implements and ensures the timely dissemination of food and agriculture data produced by ESS on FAO's dissemination platforms FAOSTAT, RuLIS and Country Profile Tool.
• Coordinates the production of various statistical publications, yearbooks, visualization tools, analytical briefs and technical documents in liaison with ESS team leaders; in particular directs the productions of the Statistical Yearbook and the Statistical Pocketbook.
• Supports the development and implementation of effective communication and outreach strategies for ESS in liaison with team leaders and the Office of Communication (OCC); in particular coordinates the proper update of the Divisional websites and social media accounts.
• Participates in the peer review process of new data releases and assists in the production and editing of the related analytical briefs and other ESS publications.
• Identifies new communication and visibility opportunities for ESS.
• Liaises with OCC to ensure compliance with OCC standards (including FAOSTYLE, FAO terminology), appropriate review and clearance processes and to produce communication materials.

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CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements
• Advanced university degree in statistics, mathematics, economics, agricultural economics or a related field.
• Seven years of relevant experience in the compilation, analysis and dissemination of food and agriculture statistics in national or international organizations and in the coordination of high-level statistical publications and management of statistical dissemination platforms.
• Working knowledge (proficient – level C) of English and limited knowledge (intermediate – 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 experience in the compilation, validation and analysis of agricultural and food data; ability to analyse complex statistical-related issues.
• Extent and relevance of knowledge and experience in the dissemination of statistical data.
• Extent and relevance of knowledge and experience in the publication of high-profile statistical publications and reports.
• Extent and relevance of experience in the preparation, editing and revision of outreach and communication materials.
• Extent and relevance of experience in software used for processing and analyzing statistical data, such as R, Python, SPSS and STATA.
• Extent and relevance of knowledge of and experience with TABLEAU and other data visualization software.
• Demonstrated experience in drafting technical reports/documents in English and French.
• Proven ability to translate complex technical information into compelling messages, writing in a clear and concise manner.
• Knowledge of and familiarity with FAO's statistical dissemination platforms FAOSTAT and RuLIS is considered a strong asset.
• Working knowledge (proficient – level C) of French is considered an asset.