UNDP Jobs - 74400- Official Statistics Audit and Quality Control Spec

Official Statistics Audit and Quality Control Specialist

Location :

Kuwait, KUWAIT

Type of Contract :

Other

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

04-Dec-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

Other

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

Arabic English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

12 months

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

UNDP and the State of Kuwait, represented by the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council of Planning and Development (GSSCPD), strive to enhance institutional capacities at various government agencies by providing them with necessary technical support to strengthen their capacities and skills to perform their expected duties.

Under the framework of the Institutional Capacity Development for Implementation of the Kuwait National Development Plan (ICDI/KNDP) project, UNDP and GSSCPD attempt to support the Central Statistics Bureau (CSB) to create an enabling environment for KNDP results. The aim is to enhance institutional and human capacities of the CSB for evidence-based plans and policies on sustainable development.

Within this context, CSB is seeking to recruit a Specialist in Audit and Quality Control of Official Statistics to support the Technical Office Department in development of the quality of official statistics published by the CSB, through reviewing current system for quality and audit of official statistics, and support development of an “Audit and Quality Assurance Framework for the collection, processing, and dissemination of official statistics in accordance with international standards and best practices. Specialist will also provide on the job training relevant national staff at CSB in this area. The consultancy will also contribute to the following:

Purpose:
The main purpose of the assignment is to support the Central Statistics Bureau by Setting up an Audit & Quality Assurance Framework (AQA) for the collection, processing and dissemination of statistics in accordance with international standards, as well as helping to develop an action plan for executing the duties of the Audit & Quality Assurance function of the Technical Office Department, and support the capacity development in this area, The main objectives of this consultancy will be:

Apply and implement international standards to enforce quality control of official statistics;
Develop a clear and user-friendly Quality Assurance Manual for the official statistics; the manual should contain audit frameworks and mechanisms to control the quality of statistical outputs at all levels (collection, processing and dissemination) of statistics at CSB;
Observe the terms and conditions of relevant regional and international agreements;
Improve credibility of and confidence in official statistics; and
Train CSB staff on audit and quality assurance frameworks of statistics

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the head of Technical Office Department and in close coordination with the GSSCPD, and the ICDI/KNDP project Management unit, the national accounts specialist will assume the following tasks:

Provision of technical support for the enhancement of official statistics’ audit, quality assurance, and quality control systems of CSB:

Support the application of international standards to enhance the quality of official statistics and outputs of the CSB to assure the legitimacy of CSB’s data.
Assess the current quality of statistical products, including the collection, processing, dissemination, and the review of statistics by comparing them with global standards, and considering international minimum and maximum caps of international standards;
Set up mechanisms for audit and quality assurance of statistical output at all levels of collection, processing and dissemination of statistics.
Apply basic quality assurance methods incompliance with the resources of the statistical institution, objectivity, relevance, methodology, accuracy, credibility, and ease of access.
Provide necessary technical support to ensure quality control of projects and statistical surveys using latest methodologies;
Provide technical support to assist the Audit and Quality Control Unit of the Technical Office in the application of international audit and quality control standards;
Provide necessary technical support for continued cooperation with the various government agencies to ensure the quality of data produced from the various entities outside of the CSB control is in-lined with international standards.

Development of knowledge products to support sustainability of strengthened quality and Audit systems developed:

Develop a clear and user-friendly Quality Assurance Manual to control the quality of official statistics; the manual should contain audit frameworks and mechanisms to control the quality of statistical output at all levels from the collection, processing, to the dissemination of statistics at CSB, while focusing on the seven dimensions of data quality (consistency, completeness, relevance, accuracy, timeliness, consistency, comparability, clarity);
Prepare a manual on the various international standards of methods and approaches for the dissemination of data to bridge a link between data collectors at CSB and other data producers and users at all levels to help develop common understanding.

Provide on the job training to enable the relevant team to implement their role in audit and quality control:

Provide at least 1 workshop or focus group for employees every month.
Provide training on the basic quality assurance conditions including the following:
- Legal institutional environment.
- Statistical institution resources
- Relevance
- Objectivity:
  - Professionalism
  - Transparency
  - Ethical standards
- Methodology:
  - Concepts and definitions used in statistical work
  - Completeness
  - Classifications
- Accuracy and reliability:
  - Reliability level of data sources
  - Evaluation of preliminary data
  - Statistical methods used in statistical work
  - Evaluation and approval of intermediate data and statistical outputs
  - Examples of assumptions used in the analysis: data modification procedures and disclosure of assumptions used in adjustments
  - Advance notification of any modification to the methodology used in the work.
- Utility:
  - Periodicity and modernity
  - Data consistency
  - Modification policy and practices
- Ease of access to statistical data and metadata

Outputs and Deliverables:

Inception Report – (1 week after contract start);
Prepare a concept note covering the preparation and implementation of the National Quality Official Statistics Program in accordance with the decisions of the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) – (One Month After Start Date).
Prepare a General Framework for quality of official statistics of the State of Kuwait - (2 Months after start date).
Prepare an action plan to help provide adequate technical support for the Audit & Quality Control (AQA) function of the Technical Office - (2 Months after start date).
Prepare a manual for quality control of official statistics - (End of contract ).
Conduct at least 1 training workshop every month on auditing and quality control of official statistics to the relevant department - (Ongoing).
Final Report (End of contract)

Required Methodologies / Alignments
The specialist should be guided by the following:

International Standards on auditing and quality control of statistics that is in line with Kuwait’s laws and regulations;
The Resolutions of the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC);
The agreements with the Gulf Statistics Center, the ESCWA and the Arab League;
Ensure commitment to quality of official statistics in accordance with Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF), the General Data Dissemination Standard (GDDS) and the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Roles and Coordination Requirements

The Specialist will work under the direct supervision of the Head of Technical Office Department at CSB. The Specialist will also report to GSSCPD and the ICDI/KNDP project management unit based with the International Cooperation Department at the GSSCPD by submitting regular reports on progress and impact of the assignment.

Competencies

Competencies:
The Official Statistics Audit and Quality Control Specialist should be able to demonstrate the following competencies:

Functional competencies:
Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing

Makes the case for innovative ideas documenting successes and building them into the design of new approaches;
Identifies innovative approaches and strategies that promote the use of tools and mechanisms;
Develops and/or participates in the development of tools and mechanisms, including identifying new approaches to promote individual and organizational learning and knowledge sharing using formal and informal methodologies.

Core Competencies:

Promoting ethics and integrity, creating organizational precedents;
Building staff competence, creating an environment of creativity and innovation;
Building and promoting effective teams;
Creating and promoting enabling environment for open communication;
Sharing knowledge across the organization and building a culture of knowledge sharing and learning. Promoting learning and knowledge management/sharing is the responsibility of each staff member;
Fair and transparent decision making; calculated risk-taking.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Minimum Master Degree in Statistics related to statistical quality assurance/control related. PhD is preferable.

Experience:

Minimum 10 years’ experience working with official statistics and national statistics bureaus.
5 years’ experience in in the execution of basic quality requirements (preference is given to accredited applicants)
3 years’ experience in designing and reviewing of AQA forms;
3 years’ experience in the execution of quality official statistics according to DQAF, GDDS and SDDS published by the IMF (preference will be given to accredited applicants);
Experience in using statistical computer programs, and Excellent computer skills with MS. Office (Word, Excel, Power Point).
Preference is given to applicants who have knowledge of the social, economic and statistical traits of Kuwait;

Language requirement:

Fluency in oral and written English and Arabic is a must.

Type of Consultancy: GSSCPD Contract

Duty Station: Kuwait / GSSCPD

Note:

This position will be a Governmental contract administered by the General Secretatirat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Develoment (GSSCPD).
As part of the application, the applicant must attach a CV.