The Position: 

Nepal will be conducting the 12th National Population and Housing Census (NPHC) in June 2021. The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), under the National Planning Commission (NPC), will lead planning and management of all census activities, including data collection, data processing, data editing, tabulation plan and final dissemination of the census results.

The Census, being the largest and most significant statistical activity undertaken in the country, will provide the government, international organizations, civil society, the private sector, academia, researchers, and the general public with detailed demographic data for every province, district, local units (municipality and rural municipality), and wards besides ecological zones etc. The provision of this vital information and data is central to the country’s policy development and planning processes. Quality data and indicators are crucial for planning, implementation and monitoring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) among others. 

The 2021 Census is first census to be conducted under the country’s new socio-political and governance structure in line with the new Constitution of Nepal promulgated in 2015. Therefore, the need and demand for data from the census for development planning by the three tiers of federal governance structures (federal, provincial and local) is extensive. High quality data are imperative to capture how well Nepali citizens across the country are enjoying their fundamental human rights to basic services, among others, as enshrined in the Constitution. The role of the government and non-governmental agencies, development partners/donors, political parties, private and cooperative sector, civil society, academia and experts is very important at the federal, province and local level to meet this end.

The CBS is in the midst of preparations for the 2021 NPHC including consultations with a wide range of stakeholders, namely policy makers, planners, development partners, researchers, academics, and other data users at federal, provincial and local levels. The Government of Nepal (GoN) has endorsed the Census Project Document (CPD) that outlines the key strategies and milestones, technological, operational and budgetary requirements for the 2021 NPHC. Accordingly, the GoN has approved the National Population Census Operation and Management Order 2019, which has been published in the National Gazette. Further, the government has approved a dedicated budget line for the Census 2021 under the national budgetary system in due consideration of the importance of the census as per the Order. As a priority programme of the government, CBS has been implementing various preparatory work for the 2021 NPHC from the fiscal year 2018/19. Crucial preparatory activities including questionnaire design and manuals, census mapping, preparation of advocacy, publicity and communications, trainings, and preparations for pilot census in February 2020 are progressing.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has been supporting the Government of Nepal in the census preparatory activities with the aim of building national capacities to plan and implement a high quality census in accordance with scientifically established and internationally recognized standards and procedures.  Accordingly, UNFPA has prepared technical assistance plan to support CBS in key areas including, census mapping, IT handling, data processing and dissemination, among other technical areas. UNFPA is also supporting advocacy and communications efforts, and resource mobilization, as needed. As the lead agency among External Development Partners (EDP) for census support, UNFPA is recruiting a Census Coordinator, to liaise with CBS on the implementation of the census plan; mobilize technical and financial support, as needed and promote quality assurance throughout all stages of the census operation; and convene and coordinate support provided by EDPs, keeping them appraised of the progress on a regular basis.

The incumbent will work closely with the P&D team and will be supervised by the UNFPA Representative/head of office.

How you can make a difference:

UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled.  UNFPA’s new strategic plan (2018-2021), focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices. 

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards, and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction.

UNFPA is seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high impact and sustained results; we need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them and who commit to deliver excellence in programme results.

Job Purpose:

The Census Coordinator will support CBS/NPC and UNFPA in providing strategic guidance for the census operations to ensure the highest quality standards are maintained throughout the process. S/he will liaise with CBS on the implementation of the census plan; mobilize technical and financial support, as needed; promote quality assurance in all stages of the census operations; and convene and coordinate support provided by EDPs, keeping them appraised of the progress on a regular basis.

Requirements:

Education 

• Advanced university degree in Demography, Statistics, Social Sciences or equivalent.

Knowledge and Experience: 

• A minimum of 7 years of relevant, progressive experience in the field of census and/or statistics. 

• Knowledge and experience in population and housing censuses preparation and implementation phases;

• Knowledge and experience of programming for using new technologies, especially with digital census operations, would be an asset;

• Knowledge and experience with census data processing software (CSPro, REDATAM), demographic data analysis, statistical packages (SPSS, Stata) and projection programmes;

• Experience in the dissemination of census data and socio-demographic analyses to broad audiences as well as in motivating the utilization of data and results in development planning and policy issues;

• Experience in providing technical assistance to national counterparts on data quality, analysis, and report writing;

• Communication skills especially for transfer of know-how.

Languages: 

Fluent in English (reading, writing and speaking). Working knowledge of Nepali language is an asset.