The Temporary Assignment for a Technical Specialist, Data Analysis is located in the Population and Development Branch (PDB) of the Technical Division, HQ. S/He provides technical support to meet the data needs of UNFPA in the areas of population dynamics and projections, population estimates for humanitarian preparedness and response, and estimates relevant to UNFPA programming, particularly in support to UNFPA’s work on female genital mutilation (FGM) and other harmful practices. The incumbent will work with PDB Technical Advisers, under the direct supervision of the Technical Specialist for Health and Social Inequalities, and the overall direction of the Chief, Population and Development Branch. The Technical Specialist works within an integrated, coordinated, and systems strengthening approach which is fundamental to the Division’s and UNFPA’s overall strategy.
Job Purpose
The purpose of this TA post is to provide UNFPA with a Data Analyst who will support the ongoing production of data on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), measure the impact of interventions, and strengthen humanitarian data. The candidate should be familiar with a variety of common health and population data sources, including household surveys (DHS and MICS), registry data and population censuses, and be capable of producing up-to-date estimates of demographic trends and projections, incidence and prevalence values for SRHR outcomes in both humanitarian and development settings, and provide expertise in demographic and statistical approaches such as regression analysis, hierarchical linear modeling, survival analysis, Bayesian (probabilistic) estimations, and small area estimation.
The incumbent will support the scale-up of activities at country, regional and global level to use population census and related data for humanitarian preparedness and response, to meet growing demand for national Common Operational Datasets on Population Statistics within relevant UNFPA programme countries; actively participate within the joint UN efforts to improve the scope and precision of vulnerable subpopulations of concern (e.g. pregnant women, youth/adolescents, etc.) – including enhancements to UNFPA’s Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) calculator and engagement in Multi-sectoral Initial Rapid Assessments (MIRA); as well as provide analytic support to periodic estimations of those at risk of key reproductive health outcomes and/or human rights violations, e.g. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), child marriage, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) – in both development and humanitarian settings.
The Technical Specialist will support the development and maintenance of innovative data dissemination tools and displays within the Population Data Platform, and the online Demographic Dividend Atlas.
In all activities, the incumbent works with Branch staff and other Branches in the Technical Division, particularly the Gender and Human Rights Branch, and fosters collaboration with the Policy and Strategy Division, the Humanitarian Office, and Regional and Country Offices to ensure the timeliness, adequacy, relevance and quality of substantive outputs.
The primary roles of the Technical Specialist, Data Analysis are:
• Technical support
• Capacity development
• Evidence and knowledge development and dissemination
• Technical representation
Education:
Post-graduate university degree or equivalent in the quantitative social sciences, such as public health epidemiology, statistics, demography, sociology, economics or related discipline. The graduate or post graduate degree should be directly related to the substantive area identified in the post.
Knowledge and Experience:
5 years of experience in data collection, analysis, visualization, dissemination, database management and research within an academic or development institution;
Strong knowledge of statistical methodologies, including strong competencies in the use of one of the following statistical packages: R, STATA or SPSS.\;
Mastery of methods and techniques for data quality assessment, processing and analysis using a variety of health and population sources (DHS, MICS and population census);
Ability to provide advice and guidance on the analysis, interpretation and application of data from project information;
Strong interpersonal communication skills;
Excellent capacity in written English and oral presentations;
Familiarity with the UN system is desirable