Senior Project Officer (Standards and Data Integration)

UNESCO

4d•Onsite

About The Position

Established in 1999, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) serves as UNESCO’s statistical agency for its 193 Member States and 12 Associate Members. Its mandate focuses on producing cross‑nationally comparable data to support global, regional, and national development agendas across the fields of education, science, culture, and communication and information. UIS is the official statistical agency of UNESCO and serves as the custodian agency for several indicators under the Sustainable Development Goals. UIS provides technical support to Member States to help them generate high‑quality, transformative data, guided by three core pillars: standards and methodologies, data production, and brokering and outreach. As outlined in its 2022–2029 Medium-Term Strategy, the UIS envisions a world in which countries’ policies and decision‑making are grounded in robust statistical information, enabling them to benchmark progress toward national and international goals and to learn from the experiences of others. The UIS provides data and technical inputs for global, regional, and funding mechanisms supporting education, including the UN Transforming Education Summit, the Global Education Cooperation Mechanism (GCM), the G7, the G20, and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Results Framework. As part of its mandate to strengthen data reporting, the UIS, in partnership with the Global Education Monitoring Report (GEMR), achieved global consensus on the adoption of an SDG 4 benchmarking process. As co‑leaders of the data and monitoring function of the GCM, the UIS supports countries in setting and monitoring their national targets for 2025 and 2030. Within this framework, the UIS is responsible for: Developing and maintaining international statistical standards. Supporting Member States in data production and reporting. Ensuring data comparability and interoperability across countries and sectors. Providing data to fuel policies and investments that transform lives and propel global development goals. The growing diversity of data sources—including administrative systems, surveys, learning assessments, and emerging data streams—requires enhanced capacity in data integration, metadata governance, and the application of advanced analytics, including artificial intelligence (AI). Under the overall authority of the Director of the UIS and the direct supervision of the Chief of the Education Section, the incumbent, as Head of the Standards and Data Integration Unit, will lead and coordinate the development and implementation of international statistical standards and data integration frameworks, including the use of modern data architectures, statistical software, and AI-driven approaches to improve data quality, timeliness, and usability. S/he will contribute to the timely update of the global education indicator database, maintaining high standards of quality, comparability, and relevance.

Requirements

Advanced university degree (Master’s) in statistics, data science, economics, or a related field with a substantial applied statistics / data sciences component.
Minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in official statistics, data systems, or related fields.
Developing statistical standards and classifications.
Managing large datasets integration and interoperability.
Extensive use of statistical software and data platforms.
Proven expertise in statistical framework, standards, methods and tools.
Proven expertise in statistical production processes and procedures, including data quality assurance standards and procedures.
Strong analytical skills for interpreting data and informed policymaking.
Ability to design long term plans and programs in line with strategic priorities.
Ability to manage an effective and collaborative team in a multicultural environment.
Excellent communication skills.
Strong knowledge of international statistical standards (e.g. SDMX).
Proficiency in statistical software (R, Python, Stata) and data management tools (SQL, data warehousing solutions).
Familiarity with cloud-based data platforms and APIs.
Demonstrated experience with AI/ML applications in statistics or data science.
Excellent knowledge of English (verbal and written).
Good knowledge of French (verbal and written).

Nice To Haves

Experience in a National Statistical Office, an international organization or UN system is desirable.
Knowledge of SDG monitoring frameworks is an asset.

Responsibilities

Lead the planning, coordination, and execution of the unit’s work plan, ensuring alignment with Education’s Section strategic priorities.
Contribute to the development of statistical processes ensuring efficiency and quality with a system of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and clear-cut defined workflows for the production and update of the indicators under the Education Section’s responsibility.
Take responsibility for the development, revision, and implementation of international statistical standards, classifications, and methodologies.
Contribute to the development and application of frameworks such as the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED).
Contribute to documents that support the work of governance mechanisms including the Education Data and Statistics Commission (EDSC) on the Indicators for SDG 4-Education 2030 (EDSC) and the Inter-agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IAEG-SDGs) as needed.
Design and implement frameworks for integrating multi-source data (administrative, survey, assessment, and alternative data sources).
Promote and operationalize interoperability standards (e.g. SDMX, APIs, data exchange protocols).
Lead initiatives to harmonize datasets across domains and countries.
Support the development of scalable data architectures (i.e data lakes, warehouses, cloud-based systems).
Contribute to the production of education indicators from household surveys and censuses, ensuring methodological rigor and comparability.
Oversee the integration of survey-based and administrative data to strengthen coverage of participation, completion, and learning indicators.
Contribute to the analysis of equity and socio-economic disparities in education, ensuring UIS reporting reflects inclusion and gender dimensions.
Develop and maintain comprehensive metadata systems aligned with international standards.
Establish and implement data quality assurance frameworks.
Promote transparency, reproducibility, and documentation of statistical processes.
Contribute to strengthen data governance practices, including data stewardship and compliance.
Lead the integration of statistical software tools (e.g. R, Python, Stata, SQL-based systems) into data production workflows.
Promote the use of AI and machine learning techniques for: Data validation and anomaly detection, Data imputation and estimation, Classification and coding of large datasets, Natural language processing for metadata and document analysis.
Ensure ethical and responsible use of AI in line with UNESCO principles.
Contribute to methodological development and reporting of SDG 4 indicators.
Support Member States in implementing standards and reporting mechanisms.
Prepare technical reports, analytical papers, and policy briefs as needed.
Design and deliver capacity-building programmes on standards, data integration, and advanced analytics.
Develop guidance materials, toolkits, and training modules.
Provide direct technical assistance to Member’s and regional organizations.
Facilitate knowledge sharing and communities of practice.
Represent the UIS in international, regional, and inter-agency forums and expert groups.
Collaborate with international partners (e.g. Eurostat, OECD, UNSD).
Build and maintain partnerships with national statistical offices, UN agencies, and research institutions.
Set clear expectations — Provide all staff under her/his supervision with clear objectives and performance expectations that are aligned with organizational strategy and policy, and offer the direction needed to achieve results.
Engage in continuous performance dialogue — Hold regular performance discussions, give timely and constructive feedback, identify learning and development goals, foster a supportive environment for personal and professional growth, and recognize both individual contributions and team achievement.
Develop and support staff — Manage, mentor, guide, develop, and train staff under her/his supervision to build capability and ensure high quality performance.