Senior Project Officer (Data and Analytics)

Overview

Develop and manage the Global Education Observatory to enhance education data accessibility.

You have:

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in statistics, economics, demography or a related discipline with strong statistical and data management component.
• Minimum 10 years of progressively responsible relevant professional experience working with administrative, finance, survey, and/or assessment data relating to education.
• Preferably 3 years acquired at international level.
• Experience in designing, managing and implementing project and programme activities pertaining to data collection, analysis and dissemination.
• Experience working in developing countries for National Statistical Offices or Planning Units.
• Demonstrated ability to explore innovative options to deliver data and analytical products.
• Excellent data management skills.
• Excellent knowledge of English.
• Working knowledge of French (desirable).

Contract

This is a P-5 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 10 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 171,293 USD and 214,668 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.

**OVERVIEW** ------------ Post Number : 1CAUIS0063PA Grade : P-5 Parent Sector : UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Duty Station: Paris Job Family: Education Type of contract : Project Appointment Duration of contract : 1 year Recruitment open to : Internal and external candidates Application Deadline (Midnight Paris Time) : 27-AUG-2021 UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism ***Duration of contract: initially 1 year, with possibility of extension subject to availability of funds and satisfactory performance*** **BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST** -------------------------------------------------------- The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) is the statistical office of UNESCO and is the UN depository for global statistics in the fields of education, science, technology and innovation, culture and communication. The UIS is the official source of internationally comparable data used to monitor progress towards the Sustainable Development Goal on education. With custodianship of SDG 4 Global and Thematic Frameworks, the UIS hosts and co-chairs the Technical Cooperation Group on the indicators for SDG 4. The UIS was established to improve UNESCO's statistical programme and to develop and deliver the timely, accurate and policy-relevant statistics needed in today’s increasingly complex and rapidly changing social, political and economic environments. Within this mandate, the UIS has initiated and supported regions and countries in developing benchmarks for selected SDG 4 indicators and region-specific education indicators; and, under the leadership of the African Union, is responsible for reporting against the CESA framework. As part of its strategy for collaboration, brokerage and the generation of public goods the UIS has coordinated with UNICEF, World Bank, OECD and the GEMR on the Joint Survey of national education responses to COVID 19 and is developing resources to support the monitoring of commitments for Mission: Recovering Education 2021. The Learning Data Compact launched recently with the World Bank and UNICEF will build on the work done by the UIS to establish a Global Proficiency Framework for Reading and Mathematics, and on methodologies and toolkits to measure learning outcomes to make measurements internationally comparable. PURPOSE ------- The UIS is developing a Global Education Observatory (GEO), with the vision of providing Member States and the international community with a gateway to education-related data that fulfils the need of national, regional and global stakeholders for easy access to information for decision making, which responds flexibly to short, medium and long-term priorities. To achieve this vision, the proposed Observatory has the following objectives: - In the short-term, collect, crowdsource and present in visually attractive ways up-to-date information on education policy practices and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic; - In the medium-term, populate the gateway with data on the most important education policy priorities and form strategic partnerships with clear value added and complementarity, to ensure this gateway fulfils most stakeholders’ need with reference to achieving SDG 4. The GEO will compile and integrate information from existing data collection mechanism including the UIS annual data release and rapid response data collection mechanisms, providing policy makers with real time data, particularly for emergencies such as COVID-19. It will implement strategic partnerships; crowdsource existing data as needed; and leverage innovative data collection such as big data techniques. The Senior Project Officer will provide statistical expertise, technical support and contribute to the development and management of data systems and the dissemination of key education indicators. This position will oversee the development, management and maintenance of all datasets being disseminated through the GEO Data Hub platform and will provide significant expertise around modelling of statistical datasets which adhere to global standards. The Senior Project Officer will manage the programme’s budget, staff, and strategy, and is responsible for resource mobilization, reporting to supporting partners, and building the partnership required for the GEO Data Hub to realise its potential. In particular, the incumbent’s main activities will include the following: MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS ------------------------------- ***1. Vision*** - Provide intellectual leadership and guidance to Global Education Observatory project in order to develop, drive and ensure the delivery of a comprehensive programme of work aligned to the Institute’s strategy, and the design of relevant approaches, partnerships, policies, objectives and deliverables. - Lead alignment of work with national and UN development frameworks. - Define priorities and agendas and proactively mobilize funds and ensure diversification of resources. - Identify and pursue improvements to systems, services, processes, networks, and cooperation in order to further the objectives of the GEO. ***2. Directly responsible for the technical content of the Global Education Observatory*** Develop and implement a programme of work to meet the objectives of the GEO: - Lead the development of the content framework of the GEO, develop the outline and propose focus areas of the GEO. - Systematically report on indicators to track and monitor on relevant policy commitments for SDG4, Regional Frameworks for Education, and other relevant global accountability frameworks for education including for Education Response to COVID 19. - Select the most appropriate data sources and carry out relevant data analysis. - Identify data, methodological and visualisation gaps, propose a research programme and lead the commissioning of background papers and supervise consultants. - Build and maintain partnerships with multilateral partners (notably GEMR, UNICEF and the World Bank), bilateral donors (and their programmes), and academic institutions, to ensure alignment with major initiatives. - Support the identification of an advisory panel, lead presentations to the group as well as revisions based on its feedback. Long Description ---------------- ***3. UIS initiatives to disseminate education data*** - Implement a GEO dissemination plan that provides easy and needs appropriate access to key stakeholders with a focus on member states. - Select and document the data, visualize levels and trends, and organize their presentation in innovative and thought-provoking ways. - Put in place dashboards to track commitments to SDG4, benchmarks and other relevant commitments in education. - Provide country profiles that present observed levels and trends in individual countries and groups of countries. - Lead the extension of GEO to: presenting cases of interlinkages between SDG4 and other SDGs; and with other contextually relevant data for specific policy interests (e.g. health data for education response to COVID 19) - Support events, outreach, stakeholder engagement and peer learning mechanisms, with a focus on the use of data and evidence to support policy and institutional reform. ***4. Support ongoing core UIS work*** - Contribute relevant quantitative and analytic work in support of the preparation of UIS reports, papers and publications and its outputs (e.g., regional reports, methodology papers etc.). - Develop innovative ideas for methodological development data for education monitoring. - Contribute inputs to the Technical Cooperation Group on SDG 4 indicators meetings. - Present UIS outputs and represent the team in public events. ***5. Management*** - Lead management of the project, including backstopping, technical, financial and human resources management. - Lead/manage cross group activities, maximize synergies in the work of the UIS. **COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial)** ------------------------------------ Communication (C) Accountability (C) Innovation (C) Knowledge sharing and continuous improvement (C) Planning and organizing (C) Results focus (C) Teamwork (C) Professionalism (C) Building partnerships (M) Driving and managing change (M) Leading and empowering others (M) Making quality decisions (M) Managing performance (M) Strategic thinking (M) **-** ----- For detailed information, please consult the [UNESCO Competency Framework](https://en.unesco.org/sites/default/files/competency_framework_e.pdf). **REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS** --------------------------- ***Education*** - Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in statistics, economics, demography or a related discipline with strong statistical and data management component. ***Work experience*** - Minimum 10 years of progressively responsible relevant professional experience as a researcher and/or analyst working with administrative, finance, survey, and/or assessment data relating to education, especially with developing countries, of which preferably 3 years acquired at international level. - Experience in designing, managing and implementing project and programme activities pertaining to data collection, analysis and dissemination, and developing innovative and effective information management systems. - Experience working in developing countries for National Statistical Offices or Planning Units. - Experience in partnership development and management. ***Skills/competencies*** - Demonstrated ability to explore innovative options to deliver data and analytical products, including understanding how to leverage on emerging methodological opportunities. - Demonstrated capability to prepare analytical and dissemination products on complex technical issues suitable for a general policy audience. - Familiarity with SDG 4/global, regional and national education monitoring frameworks. - Demonstrated capability to plan and manage projects. - Abilit to manage and establish an effective and collaborative team in a multicultural environment. - Excellent data management skills. ***Language*** - Excellent knowledge of English. **DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS** ---------------------------- ***Education*** - A post graduate degree in public policy, technology, data management, or a closely related field or equivalent experience. - An advanced degree in applied statistics / data science is highly desirable. ***Languages*** - Working knowledge of French. **BENEFITS AND ENTITLEMENTS** ----------------------------- UNESCO’s salaries consist of a basic salary and other benefits which may include if applicable: 30 days annual leave, family allowance, medical insurance, pension plan etc. For full information on benefits and entitlements, please consult our [Guide to Staff Benefits.](https://en.unesco.org/sites/default/files/unesco-staff-compensation-booklet_en.pdf) **SELECTION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS** ------------------------------------- Please note that all candidates must complete an on-line application and provide complete and accurate information. To apply, please visit the [ UNESCO careers website.](https://careers.unesco.org/careersection/2/joblist.ftl) No modifications can be made to the application submitted. The evaluation of candidates is based on the criteria in the vacancy notice, and may include tests and/or assessments, as well as a competency-based interview. UNESCO uses communication technologies such as video or teleconference, e-mail correspondence, etc. for the assessment and evaluation of candidates. Please note that only selected candidates will be further contacted and candidates in the final selection step will be subject to reference checks based on the information provided. **Footer** ---------- UNESCO applies a zero tolerance policy against all forms of harassment. UNESCO is committed to achieve and sustain gender parity among its staff members in all categories and at all grades. Furthermore, UNESCO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities, as well as nationals from non-and under-represented Member States [(last update here)](https://en.unesco.org/careers/geographicaldistribution) are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the highest level of confidentiality. Worldwide mobility is required for staff members appointed to international posts. UNESCO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process.

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