Job Opportunity at UNHCR

Position Available: Assistant Statistics and Data Analysis Officer

Background:

The UNHCR Data Transformation Strategy 2020-2025 envisions that by 2025 UNHCR becomes a trusted leader on data and information related to refugees and other persons of concern, thereby enabling actions to protect and to empower persons of concern. The Strategy stipulates investing in four complementary priority areas: data management and governance; information systems; capacities and skill development; and culture for evidence-informed decision-making. The strategy envisages data and information management functions in UNHCR carried out in a complementary and inter- linked manner between Headquarters Divisions and Services, Regional Bureaux, Country Operations and key external partners, including persons of concern.
Under the supervision of the, Statistics and Data Analysis Officer, the Assistant Statistics and Data Analysis Officer is responsible for supporting statistical and data analysis activities in the relevant offices or service for evidence-informed planning, advocacy, and coordination. As a member of the data and information management team within an office or a service, the incumbent supports statistical and data analysis activities and liaises with other UNHCR Offices, technical sectors and partners on related statistical and data issues. This includes programme and protection colleagues, technical units (e.g. health, livelihoods, shelter, energy, and education) as well as key external stakeholders and other agencies, including Government partners in the national statistical system.
The Assistant Statistics and Data Analysis Officer will provide technical support for the design, data collection, processing, analysis and dissemination stages of the statistical process. In coordination with others in the DIMA, S/he will provide technical inputs to facilitate the necessary quality assurance and technical support for statistical and data analysis activities to Headquarters, the Regional Bureau, and operations; help ensure these processes are in accordance with technical and ethical statistical standards; and undertake regional or country-specific statistical and data analysis activities.
Relevant activities include coordination of or support to: the production of official statistics; statistical support for assessment, targeting, and monitoring activities; indicator development and reporting; application and evaluation of statistical and analytical methodologies and tools; statistical analysis and dissemination; sampling and survey design; statistical estimation and triangulation; data anonymization; and promotion and monitoring of ethical standards for statistics in UNHCR and partner activities. Together with others in the DIMA, s/He will provide support on statistical matters to the technical services, country and regional offices, depending on location; support liaison with relevant global, regional and national bodies on statistical matters; monitor the quality of statistics and application of statistical methods in country/regional offices or Headquarters; support the implementation of global, regional or country-based data and information management strategies and systems; and support capacity building of staff, partners and national authorities on statistics and data analysis; and communication of the status, value and importance of statistics and analysis.
S/he will support multi-stakeholder, multi-sector, and multi-country activities in relation to planning, funding and advocacy efforts, as well as internal and external assessments, regional and country-based planning and monitoring activities. All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR’s core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.

Operational Context
The Asia-Pacific region is home to some 11.3 million persons of concern (POCs), including 4.4 million registered refugees, people in refugee-like situations and asylum-seekers; 4.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs); 1.1 million IDP returnees,2.4 million stateless persons (which also includes 1.2 million Rohingyas who are refugees or IDPs); and 0.28 million others of concern. Eighty per cent of the population of concern in Asia reside in urban or peri-urban areas, while the remainder reside in camps or settlements. In 2021, the region saw significant political upheaval in Myanmar and Afghanistan – countries of origin for over 81% of persons of concern to UNHCR in Asia and the two major situations covered by the RBAP. UNHCR continues to operate in 45 countries and territories in the Asia Pacific region that offer a diverse set of geo-political and socio-economic contexts and span more than nine time zones. It has representation or arrangements covering 31 States, with 13 country offices and 2 national offices; 3 multi-country offices in Australia, Kazakhstan, and Thailand; and 7 States under direct purview of the Bureau.
Under the supervision of the Statistics and Data Analysis Officer and in close coordination and collaboration with the IMO, RIDMO and the Regional Data Curator, the Assistant Statistics and Data Analysis Officer is responsible for supporting statistical and data analysis activities in the region for evidence informed planning, advocacy, and coordination. The incumbent supports statistical and data analysis activities and liaises with other UNHCR Offices, technical sectors, NSOs and partners on related statistical and data issues. This includes PRG and PRT colleagues, technical sectorial units as well as key external stakeholders and other agencies, including Government partners in the national statistical system.
S/he will support the design, data collection, processing, analysis and dissemination stages of the statistical process. In coordination with colleagues in the DIMA, s/he will provide technical inputs to facilitate the necessary quality assurance and technical support for statistical and data analysis activities to HQ the Regional Bureau, and operations; help ensure these processes are in accordance with ethical and international statistical standards; and support regional or country- specific statistical and data analysis activities.

Relevant activities include: the production of official population statistics (e.g. Annual Statistical Report, Mid-Year Statistics, population planning figures); statistical support for assessment, targeting, and monitoring activities; indicator development and reporting; application and evaluation of statistical and analytical methodologies and tools; statistical analysis and dissemination; sampling and survey design; statistical estimation and triangulation; and promotion and monitoring of ethical standards for statistics in UNHCR and partner activities. The incumbent will also be involved with applying innovative methods (e.g. machine learning / AI, data mining, remote sensing, topic extraction, predictive analytics, etc.) and exploring the use of innovative data sources (e.g. big data, geospatial data and imagery, etc.) to improve the production, analysis and dissemination of data in global forced displacement and statelessness situations. S/he will work closely with relevant colleagues in delivering the expected outcomes for the concerned entity. The incumbent will also liaise with external partners and stakeholders as/when required.

Duties
Strategy/Standards/Policy

– Support quality assurance and provision of technical advice on statistical analyses and indicators; take part in regional planning processes (regional RRP, regional migration response plans, etc.) and in those at the country level as appropriate and where support is needed.
– Contribute to the development or revision of statistical concepts, definition, standards and classifications used in UNHCR for research and decision-making.
– Contribute to the development of new or improved statistical methods and quantitative models for analyses and projections on forced displacement and statelessness.
– Support implementation of coherence and compliance with organisational standards, methodologies, and support for data analysis activities such as surveys, secondary data reviews, targeting and vulnerability assessments, indicator definition, population estimation, statistical analysis, predictive analytics, big data, international recommendations, data visualisation, official statistics and other statistical and data analysis activities.
– For all data collection or statistical analysis activities, contribute to developing plans and monitor implementation to ensure statistics and analysis are of highest standards.
– Help to ensure that statistical and analytical products produced by UNHCR or with partners meet required standards and are compliant with relevant policies to uphold integrity, veracity, reliability and credibility.

Implementation/Delivery/Support
– Compile, consolidate, validate and disseminate official statistics on populations of concern to UNHCR at country, region or global level, including annual statistics.
– Support the development or revision of methodological approaches and standards for statistical surveys conducted by UNHCR or partner organizations in support of monitoring, assessment, targeting, evaluation, operational plans and results reporting.
– Support the design and implementation of relevant statistical analytical products and input into their production, including quality assurance.
– Support data analysis activities, including on persons of concern derived from UNHCR’s data systems such as, registration and identity management, results-based management, back office or other sectoral data systems.
– In coordination with sectoral and other data staff, apply statistical scenarios and models based on historical, recent and seasonal information to support comparative country, regional and global analysis, including political and sociodemographic trends.
– Advise on the appropriate methods and tools to be used in statistical and data analysis activities to be undertaken in region or country, or by other Headquarters units.
– In coordination with sectoral and other data staff, review indicators to be used to report on UNHCR’s populations of concern and develop new ones in line with international standards (SMART).
– In close collaboration with relevant experts, support the analysis of technical and sectoral reports and recommend required follow-up actions with regard to the strengthening of statistics and data analysis.
– Draft statistical reports for UNHCR and/or with partners.
– Contribute to the preparation of analytical reports, manuals and web sites in the area of forced displacement and statelessness in the region, notably with regard to statistical methods.
– With information management staff, support consistency in the analytical approach at global, regional and/or country level, including for the purpose of cross-border analysis and response.

Partnerships/Coordination
– Contribute to partnerships and activities relevant to statistics and data analysis in the country, region, or globally and engage with country operations, partners and Governments, as appropriate.
– Participate on behalf of UNHCR in meetings or conferences as needed.
– Where relevant, represent UNHCR’s position in regard to refugee statistics and statistical methods with external bodies or provide technical inputs to this representation.

Capacity Building
– Support the implementation of capacity strengthening activities for UNHCR and other stakeholders, including national statistical partners on statistics.
– Support the organization of, and participate in, missions, workshops, seminars, working groups and expert meetings as a regional technical resource person, providing technical documents and drafting relevant reports.

 

Minimum Qualifications
Years of Experience / Degree Level
For P1/NOA – 1 year relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or no experience with Graduate degree; or no experience with Doctorate degree
Field(s) of Education
Social Sciences, Statistics, Demography, Geography/GIS, Epidemiology, Economics, Physical Sciences, Data Science or related field

Certificates and/or Licenses
Operational Data Management Learning Program

Relevant Job Experience
Essential:
1 year in data or statistical field or relevant academic training. Knowledge of national and/or international statistical systems. Experience with data analysis, ideally in developmental or humanitarian contexts. Understanding of the principles and concepts of international protection and UNHCR. Experience with data collection and analysis, ideally in field situations. Ability to translate planning-specifications into technical briefs for data collection and analysis, and vice versa. Understanding of different data collection methodologies.
Desirable:
Experience in international context and/or in humanitarian or development situation. ; Experience in data collection, management, cleaning, processing, and applied analysis using statistical software or computer/programming languages such as Python, Stata, SAS, R, SPSS, MATLAB, SQL etc. Experience working with Big Data and/or Statistical Learning methods. Experience writing technical reports. Experience presenting work to both technical and non-technical audiences. Field experience, preferably in the context of UNHCR. Knowledge of international protection, human rights and international
humanitarian law. Knowledge of UNHCR and interagency policies, standards, programmes and operations. Knowledge of GIS and geospatial systems and techniques. Understanding of civil registration and other national population registration systems. Experience working with or in national statistical offices. Familiarity with planning, programming, strategic planning, project development, budgeting and resource mobilization. Experience working with partners, including host and donor Governments, humanitarian and development partners.
Functional Skills
DM-Data collection methodologies
DM-Data Management
DM-Database Design & Development
MS-Data Collection Analysis
DM-Metadata Creation & Management
MS-Statistics Analysis
DM-Open Source Software & Data
DM-Population census and econometrics
DM-Protection Data Management Systems
PR-Cluster Information Management Tools, Resources and Approaches
PG-Needs Assessment and Response Analysis
DM-Data governance, quality assurance and preservation
DM-Data Interoperability
DM-Data science methodologies
DM-Development of and revision of data standards
DM-Qualitative data analysis
DM-Quantitative data analysis

Language Requirements:
Fluent in English and Thai

Core Competencies:
Accountability
Communication
Organizational Awareness
Teamwork & Collaboration
Commitment to Continuous Learning
Client & Result Orientation
Managerial Competencies:
Empowering and Building Trust
Cross-Functional Competencies:
Analytical Thinking, Innovation and Creativity, Technological Awareness

All UNHCR workforce members must individually and collectively, contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe, and empowered to perform their duties. This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment including sexual harassment, sexism, gender inequality, discrimination, and abuse of power.
As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.

Eligibility:
Candidates must be Thai nationals.
In line with the Administrative Instruction on Recruitment and Assignment of Locally Recruited Staff (RALS, UNHCR/AI/2020/1/Rev.1), the below categories of candidates are eligible to apply for NPO positions:
Group 1 candidates: Current NPO staff members holding an indefinite or fixed-term appointment are eligible to apply to advertised positions in the NPO category at their personal grade and one grade below or above, as Group 1 candidates.
External candidates: All other candidates are eligible to apply to positions in the NPO category as external candidates, including GS staff members holding a university degree and fulfilling eligibility requirements, regardless of grade or length of service, who may apply to any vacant NPO position in their country of assignment for which they qualify. External candidates must meet the essential minimum requirements of the position.