National Consultant In Statistics

Job Title: National Consultant in Statistics /  Vacancy number: FVAC 16.06 Division/Department: FAO RNE/FAO-Lebanon Programme/Project Number:     GCP/LEB/023/EC – Support to the Ministry of Agriculture in Strengthening and Modernizing                                  the Agricultural  Statistics System   Location: Beirut, Lebanon Expected Start Date of Assignment: ASAP Duration: Initial assignment of 3 months, renewable upon satisfactory performance until December 2016   Reports to:     Mr. Maurice Saadé, FAO Representative in Lebanon                             Mr. Mohammed Barre, Regional Statistician Officer /FAO RNE     General Description of task(s)andobjectives to be achieved   Duties and Responsibilities: Under the direct supervision of the FAO Representative in Lebanon and RNE Regional Statistician, and in collaboration and coordination with the National Project Coordinator and the Project Manager as well as with project core team, the national consultant statistician will carry out the following tasks: •     Support the Ministry of Agriculture in conducting agricultural surveys (annual production survey, cost of production survey, market price statistics, other thematic surveys…) Support the project team in the process of carrying out agriculture surveys implementation (questionnaire design, preparation of manuals, field surveys follow-up, data management, data processing, data analysis, data tabulation and  dissemination) ; Provide on-the-job training to MoA staff on data processing, and data analysis (using SPSS) and data tabulation and dissemination of agricultural survey results; Review the existing agricultural statistical database of the MoA and come up with  recommendations on how to improve the database  and regularly update; Evaluate quality of data collected from agricultural surveys and propose improvements for future surveys; Explore and apply new visualization techniques and create infographics to increase visibility of data to be disseminated; Support in the development  of the online statistical database of the Ministry of Agriculture; Evaluate and assess the quality of the relevant administrative data for use in agricultural statistical systems; Prepare quarterly progress  report and final report including main findings, conclusions and recommendations for follow-up and for future surveys; •     Perform any other duties as required.   MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:   Candidates should meet the following criteria: Advanced university degree in Statistics, Economics or closely related technical fields; Minimum 7 years of experience in statistical analysis field applied to economic and agricultural studies to design, plan and manage data collection and processing for large scale surveys; Extensive experience in survey methodology and implementation (including data collection methods, computing and applying statistical techniques in data analysis and database development…); Deep knowledge of sampling methodology and estimation techniques; Proven experiences and familiarity with statistical software (SPSS/SAS, R etc…); Demonstrated inter-personal and communication skills with a good team work spirit; Working knowledge of Arabic and English.