CHIEF TECHNICAL ADVISOR, STATISTICIAN (AGRICULTURAL CENSUS AND SURVEYS)

Organizational Setting

The main aim of the FAO Representation in Eritrea (FRERI), which is headed by the FAO Representative (FAOR), is to assist the host government in developing policies, programs and projects to achieve food security and to reduce hunger and malnutrition, to develop the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors, and to use their environmental and natural resources sustainably.

The Government of The State of Eritrea will significantly benefit from the systematic availability of structural information on its food and agriculture sector collected with a census of agriculture. Such information is essential for evidence-based development policy planning and monitoring and the basis for subsequent surveys to estimate annual productions.

The FAO funded Technical Cooperation Project (TCP) "Support to the preparatory phase of the Agricultural Census of Eritrea and initiation of a permanent agricultural statistics system" (TCP/ERI/3802) with a budget of USD 500 000 contributes to poverty reduction and food security through practical agriculture and rural development policies and programmes well defined and implemented, in line with the International 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, based on relevant, reliable and up-to-date structural data on agriculture and an integrated and sustainable agricultural information system.

The FAO Representation in Eritrea (FRERI) is the project executing agency, and the FAO Representative in Eritrea (FAOR) is the project budget holder. FAO Subregional Office for Eastern Africa (SFE) provides project supervision and technical backstopping in collaboration with FAO Statistics Division (ESS). The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) coordinates and implements the project through an assigned National Project Coordinator (NPC) in overall coordination and liaison with FAOR. The implementation of this project requires shared responsibility amongst stakeholders. All reports and summaries are channeled through the NPC to the MoA and FAOR. All technical reports require clearance from the Lead Technical Officer (LTO).

The position of the Chief Technical Advisor directs the National Agricultural Census and Survey Team within The FAO Representation in Eritrea (FRERI), which is responsible for implementing the TCP/ERI/3802 in selected pilot regions in The State of Eritrea. The Team is adapting the methodological guidelines of the 2020 Round of the FAO World Programme for the Census of Agriculture (WCA) for Eritrea, establishing and documenting national country good practices in collaboration with the Government of The State of Eritrea for organizing their first national agricultural census using standard international concepts, definitions and methodologies. The Team is also responsible for coordinating all the capacity development activities conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture of Eritrea to establish the national agricultural statistical system.

The position is home-based with substantial missions to Asmara, Eritrea.

Reporting Lines

In line with UN/FAO policies and guidelines, in full harmonization with internationally established standards and recommendations for the World Programme for the Census of Agriculture 2020, the Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) works under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Eritrea, the direct supervision of the Statistician at the Subregional Office for Eastern Africa with the guidance of the Senior Statistician/Leader of the Agricultural Censuses and Surveys Team at the Statistics Division and is responsible for the coordination, implementation, and operational management of the Technical Cooperation Project (TCP/ERI/3802). The CTA works closely with the National Project Coordinator (NPC) and guides other consultants, experts, and managers. The CTA also liaises via the NPC continuously with the Ministry of Agriculture of the State of Eritrea and with other national stakeholders and partners, including donors and the United Nations Country Team as necessary.

Key Results

(1) Piloted and prepared the work plan and budget of the Eritrea Census of Agriculture;

(2) Initiated and prepared data and metadata of the Eritrea Agricultural Statistics System.

Reporting Lines

In line with UN/FAO policies and guidelines, in full harmonization with internationally established standards and recommendations for the World Programme for the Census of Agriculture 2020, the Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) works under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Eritrea, the direct supervision of the Statistician at the Subregional Office for Eastern Africa with the guidance of the Senior Statistician/Leader of the Agricultural Censuses and Surveys Team at the Statistics Division and is responsible for the coordination, implementation, and operational management of the Technical Cooperation Project (TCP/ERI/3802). The CTA works closely with the National Project Coordinator (NPC) and guides other consultants, experts, and managers. The CTA also liaises via the NPC continuously with the Ministry of Agriculture of the State of Eritrea and with other national stakeholders and partners, including donors and the United Nations Country Team as necessary.

Technical Focus

FAO Eritrea is seeking the services of an international consultant as Chief Technical Adviser (CTA) to be hired under the project "Support to the preparatory phase of the Agricultural Census of Eritrea and initiation of a permanent agricultural statistics system" (TCP/ERI/3802). He/she coordinates the overall project, provides technical, managerial support and ensures an exemplary implementation of the activities in line with the project result framework, work plan and approved budget.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Lead the overall coordination, management, execution and supervision of the TCP/ERI/3802 project;
• Provide technical guidance and supervise implementation of the TCP/ERI/3802 activities, in compliance with the FAO technical standards and the reliability of the data in all phases of the TCP/ERI/3802, specially using the Manual of World Programme for the Census of Agriculture 2020 (FAO Statistical Development Series 15 and 16);
• Assist in the implementation of the TCP/ERI/3802 governance structure in close cooperation of the Ministry of Agriculture and provide substantive methodological support, including the proposal of agenda topics, identification of participants, and preparation of relevant methodological documents. presentations and minutes;
• Ensure the effective capacity building with the different institutions participant in the preparatory phase of the Census of Agriculture preparing different mechanism for the a proper knowledge transfer in term of census methodology, data analysis among others;
• Manage outreach activities related to the project, and supports design and implementation of preparatory phase of the Census of Agriculture related training workshops and seminars;
• Supervise the work and support the international consultant working for TCP/ERI/3802 reviewing their work plan, preparing assessment and review methodologic support to the country according the different specialists;
• Supervise and support the revision, development and finalization of the methodology and technical documents for the preparatory phase of the Census of Agriculture considering gender equality (questionnaires, instruction manuals for different categories of field staff, sampling plan, tabulation plan, analysis plan, communication strategy);
• Prepare preparatory phase of the Census of Agriculture’s work plan and strategy of implementation; including the preparation of Census Thematic and Central Modules;
• Support in the organization of the national field staff for (enumerators and supervisors);
• Establish and maintain strong relationships with National Project Coordinator, local counterparts to ensure effective coordination of project activities with relevant ministries and agencies, and locally represent FAO TCP/ERI/3802 during field activities for the implementation of census;
• Support in the evaluation of the data quality as well as its confidentiality;
• Lead teams of analysis and writing reports and other analysis support of the results of the preparatory phase of the Census of Agriculture;
• Ensure delivery of all TCP/ERI/3802 outputs according to the project document, timely preparation and submission of work plan, progress reports, operations and analysis reports, final report of the project with the technical support of the FAOR Programme; also assist the drafting of the technical report of the TCP/ERI/3802 and collaborate presenting the preparatory phase of the Census of Agriculture results at national level;
• Oversee preparation of reports, presentations/documents for conferences and meetings to highlight TCP/ERI/3802 project achievements;
• Assist the National Project Coordinator of the project in any technical activity necessary to the good progress of the project;
• Act as the focal point for FAO TCP/ERI/3802 at a project level;
• Write and submit an end of the Mission Report as well as the original version of the Terminal Project Report following the standard formats in use by the Organization;
• Perform any other related duties as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree in agricultural statistics or agricultural economics, or a related field with a specialization in survey design, statistical methods, crop monitoring;
• Twelve years of relevant experience in agricultural census and surveys and their organization in developing countries;
• Working knowledge of English and limited knowledge of another FAO official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, or Spanish).

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• Relevant work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions, is essential.
• Relevant knowledge and work experience in planning, budgeting, design, sampling, data collection, processing, analysis and dissemination of census of agriculture and agriculture surveys in national or international organizations are essential; familiarity with the 2020 World Census of Agriculture is an asset.
• Relevant knowledge and work experience in the establishment and/or management of statistical information systems for enhanced decision making towards food and nutrition security is an asset.
• Familiarity with developing and implementing projects in developing countries and collaboration with government executives and functionaries in African Countries is an asset.
• Demonstrated ability in team leadership and project management (including work planning and budgeting) is essential; familiarity with PRINCE2 or equivalent project management approaches is an asset.
• Demonstrated ability of oral as well as written communication and presentation skills in English is essential.
• Demonstrated proficiency in current MS Office software applications and familiarity with census and survey software (Survey Solutions, CSPro, REDATAM), demographic data analysis (Mortpak, Pas), statistical packages (R, SPSS, Stata), projection programs (Spectrum, RUP) is essential.