International Consultant : IT Support Services for Zamstats 2022 Census of Population and Housing, Zambia, P4

Overview

Provide IT support for the census data editing process.

You have:

• Proven experience in large scale data management.
• Experience with digital census processes.
• Knowledge of data quality assurance procedures.
• Ability to implement statistical tabulation plans.
• Strong analytical skills for error detection in data sets.

Contract

This is a P-4 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 7 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 130,087 USD and 167,720 USD.

Please keep in mind that the salary displayed here is an estimation by UN Talent based on the location and the type of contract. It may vary depending on the organization. The recruiter should be able to inform you about the exact salary range. In case the job description contains another salary information, please refer to this one.

Background

The Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats) conducted Zambia’s post-independence 6th Population and Housing Census in August 2022, an exercise that is usually conducted in Zambia once every ten years. It allows the country to determine how many people reside within its borders, who they are and where they live. The 2022 Census Preliminary results were released in December 2022 three months after field data collection. The immediate follow up process is census data editing which is underway.

The Census is critical to the mission of Zamstats, as it contributes to national development through the provision of quality statistics to enable effective planning and decision-making, It also provides information for development planning, policy formulation and services delivery, and for monitoring and evaluating development programmes and plans.

The Census is also a vital resource for other data users such as entrepreneurs, civil society groups, faith-based organizations, researchers and students. Hence, it is important that the data collected is of high quality.

Justification

The 2022 Census of Population and Housing was Zambia’s first digital population and housing census, following previous censuses that were less underscored with information and technological innovations. While the conduct of a digital census promotes the achievement of complete coverage and ensure quality data. However, this can only be guaranteed after thorough data processing stage.

To this end, Zamstats desires to have final census data set with minimal errors. To achieve our desire, data must be free, to the greatest extent possible, from errors and inconsistencies, especially after the data processing stage. The procedure for detecting errors in and between data records, during and after data collection and capture, and on adjusting individual items is known as population and housing census editing. Editing is the process of reviewing the data for missing, invalid or inconsistent items and correcting of errors in order to improve the quality and accuracy of the data and make it suitable for the purpose for which it was collected.

Purpose

The purpose of these terms of reference (TORs) is to contract the services of an IT expert (hereafter referred to as ‘the IT Support Consultant’) with demonstrated knowledge and experience in large scale data management. The IT Support Consultant will be required to resolve all post-data capturing issues that will arise. The IT support services are critical to the successful implementation of the 2022 Census data editing.

Objective of the Consultancy

The objective of the Consultancy is to implement micro and macro editing of census data and run relevant tables in accordance with the tabulation plan. The consultant will specifically implement

• Micro edits;
• Macro edits; and
• Tabulation plan.

Potential interview questions