Statistics and Monitoring Specialist

Organizational Setting

FAO Representation in Bangladesh is responsible for identifying, planning, implementation and leading FAO's response to regional priorities and assists the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh (GoB) to formulate policies, programmes, and projects to address the root causes of hunger and malnutrition, develop the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors, and utilize environmental and natural resources in a sustainable way. In this connection, the Country Office oversees preparing for and effectively responding to food and agricultural threats and crises, with the support from the Office of Emergency and Resilience (OER). As part of the OER, the Needs Assessment team oversees generating quality and timely evidence to inform decision-making and programming, including anticipatory action and emergency response, through three workstreams:

• A dynamic monitoring system of agricultural livelihoods and food security in the context of various shocks, consisting of periodic household and non-household data collection (through phone and in-person surveys) and analysis. • Ex-post assessments of the impacts of shocks on agricultural livelihoods and value chains, using phased methodological approaches such as remote-sensing, damage and loss analyses, Post-Disaster Needs Assessments (PDNA), and other food security and livelihood surveys. • Risk profiles, which are derived from geographic baselines of past events and their impacts on agricultural livelihoods.

The various outputs of these three streams are processed, visualized and disseminated through FAO’s Data in Emergencies hub.

Reporting Lines

The Statistics and Monitoring Specialist is a SC-8 level position and the incumbent will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Bangladesh, the direct management of Assistant FAO Representative (Programme) and the technical supervision of the Senior MEAL Specialist and the Regional Assessment Advisor. S/he will work in close collaboration with the global Needs Assessment team and with other country colleagues involved in evidence for programming.

Technical Focus

The Consultant is responsible for coordinating and conducting the needs assessment activities in Bangladesh. S/he will be accountable for the timely implementation of activities related to the monitoring system in accordance with the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

Tasks and responsibilities

Monitoring system • Contribute to the development of a country roadmap (or annual workplan) and regularly liaise with the country management team and the Regional Assessment Advisor on the alignment of the roadmap with strategic, technical and operational requirements. • Coordinate with national stakeholders (government, UN Agencies, NGOs, Food Security Cluster) involved in food security and livelihoods analysis. • Develop partnerships for data collection as required, including identification of partners, processing of Letters of Agreement and briefing/training of partners on the monitoring tools. • Lead the design of the surveys (instruments, sample, questionnaires, data collection modalities) by using and adapting the standard tools to the country circumstances and roadmap. • Coordinate data collection with partners (remotely for Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviews, with direct supervision and programming of digital tools for in-person surveys) and monitor data quality (including questionnaire testing and piloting, enumerator training, continuous control of interim datasets, quotas and audio recordings, production of a data quality report). • Collect and monitor key secondary data and contextual information to inform questionnaire design, sample frames, weights, as well as data validation and interpretation. • Abide by the data management standards of the monitoring system, including data protection and storage, and hub-related workflow. • Lead data analysis (including weights, statistical analysis and qualitative analysis). • Lead the exploration and interpretation of dashboards on the staging hub, including the formulation of highlights and operational recommendations, and facilitate their validation by a panel of internal experts before publication. • Contribute to the production of various analytical products including reports, presentations, meta-analyses, and StoryMaps, using standard templates. • Contribute to the dissemination of results and promotion of the Data in Emergencies hub. It can include hub demos and presentations of the survey findings to FAO country teams, Ministry of Agriculture, donors or Food Security Cluster partners. • Ensure the availability of data for other analytical processes such as IPC, Harmonized Framework, Anticipatory Action scenario building, and Humanitarian Needs Overview, and participate to these processes as required. • Promote and monitor the use of data and analytical products and participate to response analysis as required. • Document lessons learnt and data uses. • Participate to global and regional training workshops and contribute to the worldwide Community of Practice

Impact assessments and risks profiling

• Provide technical inputs to country decision-makers in the aftermath of hazards by proposing a combination of adequate and phased assessment methodologies (remote-sensing, rapid field assessment, damage & loss assessment, joint needs assessment, other thematic assessments). • Coordinate the implementation of impact assessments with relevant expert units, including the global Geospatial unit and other country units. Field assessments will involve the coordination of all steps of the data collection and analysis cycle while remote-sensing analyses imply the definition of areas of interest and objectives, the provision of relevant secondary data, the interpretation of remote-sensing results in light of socio-economic data, and reporting. • Develop an impact assessment preparedness plan for the main hazards identified in the country. The plan should include the gathering of baseline data, the identification of existing Early Warning Systems to be monitored, the identification of relevant methodologies and potential partners, the contextualization of Standard Operating Procedures, and the briefing/training of relevant country colleagues and partners on the SOPs and tools. • Any other task assigned by the Supervisor.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Minimum Master’s degree in Statistics, Agricultural economics, Rural Development, relevant Social or Natural Sciences, or other related discipline. • Minimum of 6 years of proven knowledge and experience in assessments, surveillance systems, data/information management, statistical analysis or monitoring and evaluation in the context of emergencies, agriculture and food security. • Working knowledge (level C) in English and Bangla. • National of Bangladesh.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Ability to work under pressure and adapt to an evolving and complex humanitarian context and within multidisciplinary and diverse cultural background teams. • Strong analytical skills and knowledge of humanitarian architecture, agriculture, food security, livelihoods, food systems and value chains in the context of Bangladesh. • Experience or familiarity with food security, household economy, livelihoods and risk/vulnerability assessments methodologies, including surveillance or monitoring systems, joint needs assessments, damage and loss assessments, agricultural production and cost-benefit assessment, market analysis, and/or value chain analysis. • Experience in survey design, sampling, data collection, data analysis, and interpretation for assessment processes in agriculture and food security. • Working knowledge of advanced statistics with ability to use statistical software packages (in particular SPSS, STATA and/or R along with MS Excel). • Experience in using and programming questionnaires in digital data collection tools (Kobo toolbox, ODK). • Expertise in coordinating remote data collection including phone or web-based surveys. • Proven data visualization (PowerBI/Tableau/Google Data Studio) and reporting skills. • Knowledge of GIS and remote sensing would be a plus. • Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written. • Coordination skills with strong individual planning capacity. • Knowledge of humanitarian principles.

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
• Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/
• For additional employment opportunities visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/
• Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.