Consultant Institute for Statistics

Quality data and information are key to quality policy-making and developing effective planning. Quality and timely monitoring with timely data and indicators help monitor the effectiveness of the implementation of education policies and plans and make necessary changes in strategies to achieve the goals. In this regard, regular quality data compilation, analysis, and reporting to assess the progress of education development, particularly SDG4, are essential.

UNESCO Bangkok plays a pivotal role in coordinating and monitoring SDG4 at the regional level. In close collaboration with the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), UNESCO Bangkok compiles data, reviews regional progress towards SDG4, and publishes policy-relevant reports and briefs.

The UIS administers dynamic templates populated with publicly available raw administrative data that automatically produce SDG 4 and OPRI indicators. This process allows countries to directly validate the instantly generated indicators and check their consistency over time. It also enables them to immediately identify missing indicators, determine what data are needed to produce them, and work on filling these data gaps. The templates are an excellent tool for capacity-building, presenting the methodology of each indicator’s calculation in detail and increasing countries’ ownership of the produced data and indicators.

To support the regional office in ensuring the availability of quality data at regional levels and analyzing the data to monitor progress at the regional level, a junior-level consultancy has been foreseen.

Duties And Responsibilities:

The main purpose of the consultancy is to ensure the availability of quality education data, particularly administrative data, at the national and regional levels, and to build the capacity of countries in regularly providing data to the UIS. Specifically, the consultant will:

Improve data coverage in the region:

• Support countries in the region to submit education data to the UIS regularly using the UIS annual questionnaire and dynamic templates.
• Generate data review reports to provide guidance on improving data quality and coverage.
• Mine data from public sources to fill data gaps.

Perform data analysis and prepare regional policy-relevant reports and briefs:

• Support the finalization of the Asia and Pacific Regional SDG4 Mid-Term Review report.
• Support the preparation of a Pacific Regional SDG4 Mid-Term Review report.
• Prepare at least one policy brief focusing on emerging education issues in the region.

Organize regional, sub-regional, and national conferences and capacity development trainings:

• Support the organization of the Asia and Pacific Regional Meeting of Education (APMED 6).
• Support the organization of national training workshops on improving education data and its use.

Required Qualifications:

Education: 

• Master’s degree in Education, mathematics, statistics, or social sciences with a strong focus on quantitative fields.

Professional Work experience:

• At least 3 years of experience at the national or international level focusing on quantitative data collection, production, and dissemination.

Skills and Competencies:

• Strong quantitative data analysis skills.
• Desirable knowledge and skills in statistical packages, e.g., STATA, R Programming, or Python.

Languages: 

• Excellent knowledge of English; knowledge of other UNESCO official languages is an asset.

Source:  https://careers.unesco.org/job/Bangkok-Consultant-UNESCO-Institute-for-Statistics-(UIS)/796176602/