Statistician

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device
The length of appointment for internal FAO candidates will be established in accordance with applicable policies pertaining to the extension of appointments.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture
• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAO’s values
• FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination　　
• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality
• FAO staff are subject to the authority of the Director-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the Organization.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.

Organizational Setting
The Statistics Division (ESS) develops, and advocates for the implementation of methodologies and standards for data collection, validation, processing and analysis of food and agriculture statistics. In these statistical domains, it also plays a vital role in the compilation, processing and dissemination of internationally comparable data, and provides essential capacity building support to Member Nations. In addition, the Division disseminates many publications, working papers and statistical yearbooks, that cover agricultural and food security relevant statistics (including prices, investments, production, trade and agri-environmental statistical data).
The position is within the Crops, Livestock and Food Statistics Team which is responsible for compiling data on agricultural production, trade, and utilization as well as the compilation of food balance sheets and food supply and utilization accounts. The team is also responsible for the methodological development and capacity development activities in this area of work.
The post is located in the Statistics Division, ESS, at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy.

Reporting Lines
The Statistician reports to the Senior Statistician/Team Leader of the Production, Trade and Food Balance Sheets Team.

Technical Focus
Updates and improvements of statistics on crops, livestock and food supplies, i.e. the Production, Trade and Food Balance Sheets (FBS) domains published in FAOSTAT. Guidance on methodological innovations in these data domains. Implementation of new methods within the Statistical Working System (SWS). Availability and updates of related capacity development material. Involvement in capacity development programs.

Key Results
Research and analysis of information, data and statistics, statistical methods, statistical and econometric modelling. Development and maintenance of specialized tools, methodologies, systems and/or databases, and the technical assistance services to support the implementation/delivery and monitoring of the programme of work and related products, projects, publications and services.

Key Functions
• Collects, reviews, processes and/or analyses key social/economic/environmental/indicators, based on both traditional statistical methods/sources or on unstructured sources and data science methods, to support the delivery of economic and social development programmes of work, which can be focused on products, projects, publications or services.
• Develops improved/updated technical, statistical and/or analytical tools, systems, databases.
• Conducts research, data collection, validation, analysis and/or reporting in support of the development of technical standards, international instruments, innovative tools and methodologies to be used within the Organization or by external stakeholders.
• Produces a variety of technical reports and provides input in technical documents, divisional publications and/or web pages.
• Provides response to requests and provides technical and/or policy advice, assistance and solutions to Regional, Subregional and Country Offices, including technical backstopping to field projects.
• Participates in multidisciplinary teams, collaborates with other Divisions and agencies on work groups and committees and promotes best practices.
• Provides capacity development services, including the planning and organization of training workshops and seminars, and preparation of related information, materials, on-line tools and information kits.
• Participates in divisional teams, Organization-wide committees, project teams and working groups and provides specialized expertise on international technical networks and or technical policy and standard setting bodies.
• Supports the organization, conduct and follow-up of meetings, consultations and conferences, the development/production of required materials and the provision of information and assistance to partners.
• Participates in resource mobilization activities in accordance with the Corporate Strategy and divisional plans.
• Promotes international cooperation and collaboration, advocates best practices, knowledge sharing, increased policy dialogue and provides technical expertise at international meetings and conferences.

Specific Functions
• Produces, processes, analyses and disseminates statistics of agricultural Production, Trade, Food Balance Sheets and Supply Utilization Accounts using different type of data sources and advanced statistical and data science methods.
• Collaborates on the development and implementation of new approaches to enhance the efficiency of the statistical workflow, pursuing the achievement of faster updates and extensions of Production, Trade, Supply Utilization Accounts and Food Balance Sheet time series; and increases in the response to FAO’s statistical questionnaires.
• Contributes to the implementation of the corporate quality assurance framework for all basic data domains in FAOSTAT (FAO database).
• Contributes to the enhancement of the presentation and accessibility of FAOSTAT data and addresses the needs of users for further statistical and economic analyses.
• Prepares briefs, papers, and other communication materials for publication on ESS websites and delivers presentation in relevant international fora on subjects related to agricultural production, trade, food Balance sheets and Supply Utilization Accounts statistics.
• Performs other related duties as necessary.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements
• Advanced university degree in statistics, mathematics, economics, agricultural economics, or a related field.
• Five years of relevant experience in the compilation and analysis of food and agricultural statistics in national or international organizations, as well as in the production and analysis of agricultural production and trade statistics, and in the compilation of food balance sheets, supply and utilization accounts.
• Working knowledge (proficient – level C) of English and limited knowledge (intermediate – level B) of another FAO official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish).

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

Technical/Functional Skills
• Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions.
• Strong command of statistical methods including: data presentation, analysis and descriptive statistics; main continuous and discrete random variables (binomial, normal, standard normal, log-normal) and their properties; probability distributions; conditional probability, probabilities of intersections of events, Bayes’ theorem; correlation and rank correlation; sampling and sample size: simple, stratified, and multistage random sampling; Inference, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing and significance; linear regression (single and multiple) comparison of population means and variances, ANOVA; Chi-square and goodness of fit tests; nonlinear models: maximum likelihood estimation; elements of survey and questionnaire design.
• Extent and relevance of experience in applying statistical methods, including for the preparation of accounting frameworks such as national accounts, economic accounts for agriculture, or food balance sheets.
• Extent and relevance of knowledge and experience in the use of quantitative statistical and econometric methods.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct independent research under minimal supervision, present statistics materials lucidly and effectively and produce high quality research papers in English
• Extent and relevance of experience in the advanced use and programming of statistical software, preferably R, Stata or Phyton.
• Extent and relevance of experience in designing and delivering capacity development programmes at country level.

_________________________________________________________________

FAO staff are expected to adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency.

_________________________________________________________________

• Extension of fixed term appointments is based on certification of performance and availability of funds
• FAO reserves the right not to make an appointment.
• Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.

CONDITIONS OF SERVICE

• To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, and language skills
• Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile
• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application
• 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/
• Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications
• Incomplete applications will not be considered
• Personal information provided on your application may be shared within FAO and with other companies acting on FAO’s behalf to provide employment support services such as pre-screening of applications, assessment tests, background checks and other related services. You will be asked to provide your consent before submitting your application. You may withdraw consent at any time, by withdrawing your application, in such case FAO will no longer be able to consider your application
• Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered
• Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile
• We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.

If you need help or have queries, please create a one-time registration with FAO’s client support team for further assistance: https://fao.service-now.com/csp

FAO IS A NON-SMOKING ENVIRONMENT