Position Summary:

The Kingdom of Swaziland is in the process of undertaking its sixth National Population and Housing Census (PHC) in April/May 2017 in the new era of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The census will provide timely, relevant data for overall national development   planning. The results of this PHC will be used for informing SDG-based development frameworks and decision-making at all levels and for raising the standard of living of the population of Swaziland, good governance and maintaining equity and equality among all population sub-groups and to ensure that no one is left behind.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) together with the other sister UN agencies is supporting the Government of  Swaziland in conducting this census with a view to strengthen technical and  management capacities in Swaziland to plan and implement a high quality PHC and in accordance with scientifically established and  internationally recognized standards and procedures.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) with support from UNFPA has so far produced a census project document which is a detailed plan to guide the preparation and implementation of the 2017 PHC. It provides a census operational project in terms of planning, organization, budgeting, implementation, and management of the census operations across the country. The 2017 PHC represents a paradigm shift in the history of census undertaking in Swaziland because it is the first census to utilize handheld devices for both digital mapping and data collection. Cartographic work has started and will be completed by end of 2016.

Under the guidance of the UNFPA Representative of Swaziland and the direct supervision of the Director of the CSO, the Chief Technical Specialist (CTS) for the Census will ensure effective coordination between the CSO, the national institution implementing the census project, and the UNFPA Country Office. The coordination will focus on the preparation and implementation of the census activities. The CTS, in close collaboration with UNFPA, advises the CSO at all levels for the successful implementation of the census. The overall responsibility of the CTS is to provide high quality technical assistance to the CSO and to strengthen national capacities with regard to strategically planning and managing the census process.

Requirements and Qualifications:

a.       Advanced university degree in Demography, Statistics, Population Studies, Social Sciences or related subjects.

b.      At least 7 years of relevant, progressive experience in the field of population and housing censuses, particularly in a developing country.

c.       Experience in providing on-the-job training to local staff in data quality, analysis and report writing.

d.      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.

e.       Knowledge and experience with census data processing software (CSPro, REDATAM, etc.), demographic data analysis (MORTPAK, FERTPAK, PAS), statistical packages (SPSS, STATA) and population projection programs (People, Spectrum, RUP).

f.       Communication skills especially for transfer of knowledge, and fluency in spoken and written English.

g.      Experience in the implementation of census using mobile devices will be an advantage.