Data Analyst

Organizational Setting:

For more than four decades, FAO has been working with the Government of the Philippines, civil society, community-based organizations and the private sector to address challenges in the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sector. Joint efforts have included increasing sustainability in agricultural production, promoting value-adding practices, improving post-harvest management, enhancing productivity and increasing the resilience of agriculture-based livelihoods to natural disasters, climatic hazards and armed conflict.

Reporting Lines:

The Data Analyst will be under the overall guidance of the FAO Representative in the Philippines ad interim, direct supervision of the Assistant FAO Representative (Programme), day to day guidance of the Mindanao, Emergency Response and Preparedness Group (MERG) through the National Emergency Coordinator and the technical supervision of the needs assessments team of the Office of Emergencies and Resilience based in Rome and FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.

Technical Focus:

Since late 2019, an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) – an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus – has rapidly spread across the world, devastating lives and livelihoods. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is particularly concerned about the potential impacts of the virus and related containment efforts on food security and livelihoods in contexts of high vulnerability and where populations are already experiencing food crises. Within the United Nations Global COVID-19 Humanitarian Response Plan, FAO is seeking USD 350 million to protect the food security of the most vulnerable rural populations in 34 priority countries, most of which are already faced with food crisis contexts.

The FAO Office of Emergencies and Resilience (OER) has recently been awarded a grant by USAID to establish a global data and analysis facility to create a common understanding of COVID-19 related impacts on agricultural livelihoods and critical value chains in the 34 food crisis countries. At the core of the data and analysis facility is a structured assessment framework which is sequenced to respond to different information needs as the crisis unfolds and interacts with other stressors and shocks. The assessment framework is driven by a set of questionnaires which will be administered on a periodic basis over the July 2020 – June 2021 period to monitor key risk factors and to understand the occurring and potential impacts on agricultural production, market chains, food security and livelihoods. The COVID-19 data facility is expected to pave the way for a sustainable system of data collection and analysis on food availability and livelihoods in food crisis countries beyond the pandemic.

The data and analysis facility information system relies principally on remotely collected data (mobile phone and on-line), collected either by FAO offices themselves or through international service providers. Field assessments may also be conducted at a later stage using data collection tools such as Kobo or ODK.

Tasks and responsibilities

The Data Analyst is responsible for leading the COVID-19 monitoring system to inform the impacts of COVID-19 on agriculture, food supply and rural livelihoods. Overall strategic direction to the data and analysis facility will be guided by a cross-departmental task force within FAO.

The Data Analyst will carry out the following main tasks:

1. Regularly liaise with the country management team, regional assessment advisors, and the global team on the progress of the monitoring exercise and the alignment with strategic, technical and operational requirements;
2. Develop and promote strategic linkages, synergies and partnerships between FAO and other actors from the UN, Government, Donor Community, Academe, Private Sector and Civil Society;
3. Design surveys by adapting standard tools;
4. Contribute to the preparation and implementation of surveys, including data collection, quality control of data entry and creation, analysis, interpretation, and visualization;
5. Collect and analyse baseline and secondary data to enable comparisons and triangulation. Secondary data can refer to food prices, agricultural inputs prices, international trade, food production and stock changes, food security outcomes, containment measures, social protection measures, remote-sensing-based seasonal monitoring, farming systems etc.
6. Conduct quantitative and qualitative data analysis, collation, and validation;
7. Conduct additional semi-structured interviews with key informants in order to dig for specific issues, as needed;
8. Contribute to the programming and utilization of digital data collection tools and open sources (in particular Kobo toolbox and other ODK);
9. Help draft and review monitoring reports and visual products (e.g. dashboards), using standard templates;
10. Communicate results and reports to other actors, including national stakeholders involved in the development of response plans in the country, through Food Security Clusters for instance;
11. Contribute to COVID-19 response analysis and programme design as requested;
12. Contribute to FAO corporate learning processes and documentation about COVID-19 impact assessments;
13. Serve as focal point for other needs assessments
14. Carry out other relevant duties within his/her technical competence as requested by the FAO Representative.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in statistics, data science, economics, or other related discipline relevant to the assignment;
• Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in data collection, statistical analysis on large datasets, data visualization and reporting;
• Extensive experience with statistical software (e.g. R, Stata, SPSS, etc.)
• National of the Philippines

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Strong analytical skills and knowledge of agriculture, food security, livelihoods, food systems and value chains in the context of the Philippines;
• Expertise in remote data collection including phone or web-based surveys and/or remote-sensing would be a plus;
• Working knowledge of advanced statistical and data analysis methods/techniques
• Experience in using and programming questionnaires in digital data collection tools (Kobo toolbox, ODK);
• Proven data visualization and reporting skills;
• Ability to work under pressure and adapt to an evolving and complex humanitarian context and within multidisciplinary and different cultural background teams.
• Language requirement: Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and Tagalog

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing)
• Incomplete applications will not be considered. If you need help please contact: [email protected]
• Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted
• Only language proficiency certificates from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT) will be accepted as proof of the level of knowledge of languages indicated in the online applications
• For additional employment opportunities visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/