Population Data Adviser

Job Description

The Position

The Regional Population Data Adviser post is placed in the West and Central Africa Regional Office (WCARO). The adviser will work with the WCARO, Country Offices and UNFPA HQs global technical advisors to formulate and generate strategic UNFPA contributions toward advancing ICPD PoA and 2030 agenda in the West and Central Africa Region, particularly focusing on data generation and utilization for policies and programming for achieving the Transformative Results, the 2030 SDG Agenda and the AU agenda 2063. The Adviser will work under the overall guidance and leadership of the Regional Director and reports directly to the Deputy Regional Director who supervises this position. S/he is the principal adviser at the regional level for demographic and population and development data with a focus on population data including census, administrative data, vital statistics (CRVS), surveys, data portals, and big data. S/he works in an integrated manner with the technical, operations, programme and communications staff in the WCARO and in collaboration with other data experts in other UNFPA regions and UNFPA HQ.

How you can make a difference

UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. UNFPA’s strategic plan (2022-2025), reaffirms the relevance of the current strategic direction of UNFPA and focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices. These results capture our strategic commitments on accelerating progress towards realizing the ICPD and SDGs in the Decade of Action leading up to 2030. Our strategic plan calls upon UN Member States, organizations and individuals to “build forward better”, while addressing the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on women’s and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, recover lost gains and realize our goals.

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards, and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction.

UNFPA is seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high impact and sustained results; we need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them and who commit to deliver excellence in programme results.

Job Purpose

The Adviser provides strategic technical and programmatic leadership for population data especially census and surveys for the region to ensure that WCARO and the UNFPA Country Offices in the region play a leadership role in advancing the Strategic Plan, ICPD PoA, the 2030 Agenda and the AU Agenda 2063. S/he maintains primary responsibility for coordination of provision of technical assistance and policy and programme support to the countries of the region in population data focusing on census, population and housing data, demographic health surveys, CRVS, administrative data, social surveys, and big data.

You would be responsible for:

The primary roles of the Population Data Adviser are:

• Strategic Technical Leadership, Monitoring and Oversight
• Quality Technical Support and Capacity Development
• Evidence and Knowledge Management
• Technical Representation, Strategic Partnerships and Strategic Positioning

Strategic Technical Leadership, Monitoring and Oversight

• Provide technical and related programme leadership, management advice and strategic support and guidance to countries in the region, in population data, including for emergency preparedness and humanitarian assistance, in collaboration with technical and programme staff in the RO;
• Identify and provide analytical based advice, in population data, on UNFPA’s comparative substantive role and specific contribution in the changing development agenda, and participate in policy dialogue;
• Contribute to the development and implementation of an integrated strategy for the delivery of technical assistance and programme support in the region;
• In population data, manage substantial inputs and provide support to implementation of a regional programme, grounded in evidence and responsive to regional and countries’ priorities;
• Contribute to the development, implementation and monitoring of regional strategies in the region;
  Identify and analyze trends, threats and risks in population data and statistics that may affect the ICPD agenda, SDGs and UNFPA’s work with the region, especially with respect to the Population and Housing Censuses;
• Scan the environment and statistical landscape in the region to identify issues and trends related to population data and ensure they are appropriately addressed;
• Identify requirements for and contribute to the development of new or updated policies, methodologies, frameworks, guidance, standards, instruments and tools especially for censuses, CRVS, administrative data, surveys and big data, disability data, humanitarian data and big data;
• Advise and provide technical inputs to COs and national counterparts in the design, preparation and conduct of national population and housing censuses including hybrid modalities, CAPI and satellite imagery;
• Contribute to the capacity development of relevant regional institutions in the delivery of technical assistance in census planning, questionnaire design, data processing and in-depth analysis of census data including use of new technologies in data collection, remote sensing data, satellite imagery among others;
  Introduce new approaches such as engendering census, incorporation of relevant questions to ensure reliable data on maternal mortality, gender and diversity and disability data;

Quality Technical Support and Capacity Development

• Advise country offices on the implementation and proper application of UNFPA policies and strategies, guidelines and tools on population data, including the Population Data Platform, census, CRVS and surveys to ensure coherence and consistency across the region;
• Ensure that state of the art thinking and analysis and research of population data is integrated within the work of the regional office and partnership networks and also at the time of the country programme development processes including CCAs, UNSDCF, Strategic Dialogues on CPDs;
• Organize and contribute to regional and national training programmes on population data that enhance the capacity of staff, national statistical offices, and other ministries and partners;
• Support the regional adaptation of training materials, manuals and tools in population data and ensure their availability and use for capacity development;
• Provide guidance to country offices for South-South Cooperation for generation, analysis and use of population data, including censuses, CRVS, administrative data, surveys, big data;
• Provide advice to National Statistical Offices for upgrading national data systems with modern technologies and methodologies for population data;
• Coach and manage junior professional staff and associates, direct expert consultants, census CTAs, and facilitate working groups and task teams;

Evidence and Knowledge Management

• Build, coordinate, update and monitor the regional knowledge platform for population data and promote dissemination of state-of-the-art technical knowledge, evidence, lessons learned and success stories especially related to innovative practices for population data;
• Develop a mechanism for sharing technical knowledge in population data among country offices and partners;
• Maintain a database of best practices, roster of consultants, roster of institutions for population data including censuses, and support effective accessibility by country offices;
• Participate in the UNFPA technical network in population data and provide input into corporate thinking for the advancement of the three transformative results and ICPD PoA in the region;
• Promote the use geospatial analytical work to ensure identification of the population groups that are most left behind and ensure realization of SDGs;
• Develop a mechanism for harnessing quality data from administrative systems such as Health MIS, Gender MIS, Education MIS, Population Registration Systems, Common Operational Data sets in the context of humanitarian data;

Technical Representation, Strategic Partnerships and Strategic Positioning

• Develop and co-ordinate the substantive elements of partnerships and collaboration in population data with other UN agencies, including in the context of the UNDG the Africa Regional Collaborative Platform (RCP) and opportunity and issue-based coalitions (OIBCs) including the one on Africa Data strengthening, particularly with the regional technical arms of these agencies, as well as with regional institutions;
• Participate and represent UNFPA in regional and global fora at convenings centering on population data and statistics, including censuses, CRVS, administrative data, surveys and big data, and promote UNFPA’s regional and global perspectives on these issues;
• Initiate, develop, strengthen and monitor substantive and intellectual regional partnerships in population data and statistics, including censuses, CRVS, administrative data, surveys and big data, for South-South and triangular technical support to countries and for the implementation of the regional programme;
• Collaborate with UN agencies, academia, research and training institutions, think tanks, centers of excellence, professional societies in the region on population data and statistics, including censuses, CRVS, administrative data, surveys and big data;
• Act as focal point for inter-agency working groups including through the OIBCs in population data and statistics, including censuses, CRVS, administrative data, surveys and big data;

Carry out any other duties as may be required by the Regional Director or the Deputy Regional Director

Qualifications and Experience

Education

Advanced degree, preferably Ph D, in demography, statistics, population studies, economics or other related fields directly related to the substantive area identified in the title of the post.

Knowledge and Experience

• 10 years of increasingly responsible professional experience in population data, including censuses, administrative data and surveys, of which 7 years at the international level;
• Demonstrated expertise in the substantive area of work; and programme experience;
• Population census, DHS, CRVS, administrative data systems experience is essential;
• Experience in population related policy development is an asset;
• Understanding of human rights perspectives of population and development an asset;
• Strong track record of technical leadership, and proven ability to produce demonstrable results;
• Strong verbal and written communications skills, especially for transfer of knowledge;
• Demonstrated ability to network within the academic and development community;
• Familiarity with management and monitoring tools is desirable;
• Familiarity with ICT/ERP is an asset;
• Field experience is strongly desirable;

Languages:

Fluency in English is required and French is desirable to enable effective communication with English speaking and French speaking country coordination groups and local organizations (West and Central Africa region).

Required Competencies

Values:

• Exemplifying integrity,
• Demonstrating commitment to UNFPA and the UN system,
• Embracing cultural diversity,
• Embracing change
• Core Competencies:
• Achieving results,
• Being accountable,
• Developing and applying professional expertise/business acumen,
• Thinking analytically and strategically,
• Working in teams/managing ourselves and our relationships,

Functional Competencies

• Conceptual innovation in the provision of technical expertise
• Leveraging the resources of national governments and partners / building strategic alliances and partnerships
• Delivering Results Based Programmes
• Generating, managing and promoting the use of knowledge and Information and adaptation in different contexts

Job/knowledge and technical expertise

Managerial Competencies (if applicable):

• Providing strategic focus
• Engaging in internal/external partners and stakeholders
• Leading, developing and empowering people, creating a culture of performance
• Making decisions and exercising judgment

Compensation and Benefits

This position offers an attractive remuneration package including a competitive net salary plus health insurance and other benefits as applicable.

Closing date : 10 May 2024.