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• 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 person 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’s commitment to environmental sustainability is integral to our strategic objectives and operations.

Organizational Setting

FAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and supports the 2030 Agenda by helping transform agrifood systems to be more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable.

The FAO Statistics Division (ESS) develops and promotes methodologies and standards for food and agriculture statistics, including the Food Security and Nutrition, Food and Diet, data domains disseminated through FAOSTAT. In close coordination with ESS and the Office of the Chief Statistician (OCS) in Rome, the FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (RLC), in Santiago, Chile, supports countries in strengthening their statistical systems and in using information to monitor food security, nutrition and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The selected candidate will support the regional statistics programme, in coordination with HQ.

Reporting Lines

The Consultant will work under the immediate supervision of the Regional Advisor on Statistics of FAO RLC and will collaborate with ESS, FAO Country Offices, national statistical offices and other partners

Technical Focus

Under the supervision of the Regional Advisor on Statistics, and in coordination with the Better Nutrition team in the region, the Consultant will provide technical assistance and support related to the compilation, processing, validation, analysis, and dissemination of data, microdata, and metadata for food security and nutrition statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean, in order to improve national agricultural statistical systems following FAO-endorsed methods.

Tasks and responsibilities

Under the guidance of the Regional Advisor on Statistics, the Consultant will contribute to the following tasks:

• Supports the calculation and monitoring of the SDGs on hunger and food security (indicators 2.1.1 and 2.1.2) and data analysis for other indicators under FAO custodianship, ensuring comparability across countries and overtime.
• Training in data collection, analysis and use of results, questionnaire development, survey validation in coordination with FAO HQ and, with the Better Nutrition team, FIES-based Prevalence of Food Insecurity, and SOFI publications, including awareness meetings on the FIES and small area estimation
• Contribute to calculating the cost of a healthy diet, the cost by food group, and the percentage and number of people who cannot afford it; support the update of the Healthy Diet Basket and the review of LAC country data.
• Support the compilation, processing and analysis of dietary diversity indicators, including the Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W), and prepare tables, charts and country notes on healthy diets and dietary quality for the region.
• Provide technical assistance and training to National Statistical Offices and relevant national counterparts — including travel as required by regional needs and under the LARC37 commitments — respond to information requests from FAO Country Offices and national partners.
• Support the design, review and pilot testing of agricultural census questionnaires and manuals, in line with FAO's World Programme for the Census of Agriculture (WCA) guidelines and international standards.
• Support the development, configuration and maintenance of CAPI-based survey instruments using Survey Solutions (SuSo) for agricultural censuses and surveys, including validation rules, skip logic and training materials.
• Support the processing, validation and analysis of large farm datasets from agricultural censuses, surveys and administrative registers, using statistical software such as R, Stata or SPSS, and contribute to the production of statistical tables and analytical outputs, developing reports providing recommendations for improving.

In addition to other tasks as needed.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced University degree/University degree from an institution recognized by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/UNESCO in statistics, economics, data science, mathematics, agricultural economics, social sciences, or a closely related field, or any other discipline relevant to the work of the Organization. Consultants with bachelor's degree need two additional years of relevant professional experience
• At least 2 years of relevant experience in survey data analysis, food security and nutrition statistics and/or technical assistance to national statistical systems for Junior Level / Level C Consultant (internships, research assistantships, and academic projects evaluated).
• Working knowledge of English, French, Spanish Arabic, Chinese or Russian (C1)
(A second FAO language can be inserted if needed for the assignment)

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Solid knowledge of basic statistics: data presentation and descriptive statistics; probability distributions (binomial, normal); correlation; sampling (simple random, stratified and cluster); inference, confidence intervals and hypothesis testing; linear regression; and fundamentals of survey and questionnaire design.
• Proficiency in at least one data analysis programme (R, Stata, SPSS or SAS) and basic knowledge of statistical programming; Python and SQL are considered an advantage.
• Basic knowledge of data sources used in food security and nutrition statistics (household surveys, income and expenditure surveys, price data, food balance sheets).
• Basic knowledge of national agricultural statistical systems and their key data sources, such as agricultural censuses, surveys and administrative registers.
• Desirable: familiarity with Rasch models, models, small area estimation techniques, food security indicators (FIES, PoU), Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W), and healthy diet indicators (CoAHD).
• Desirable: Ability to write quickly, clearly and concisely, and to communicate effectively in Spanish; sufficient English to read technical documentation and draft simple texts.
• Ability to work in a team and to receive and apply technical guidance, with increasing autonomy in defined analytical tasks.
• Desirable: Ability to coordinate technical assistance activities with national counterparts, lead meetings and deliver capacity-building and training sessions on food security measurement, including the FIES methodology.
Considered an advantage: Strong technical writing, analytical synthesis, and data visualization capabilities in Spanish and English, previous experience with FAO or its partners, experience in national statistical services or in technical assistance to countries

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency

HOW TO APPLY

• 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/. These qualifications should be in alignment with the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) mappings.

• 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

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