Statistician at World Bank in Tanzania

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) of Tanzania in collaboration with other government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) has embarked on a comprehensive reform program of the statistical sector with the assistance and funding from the Government of Tanzania, the World Bank, the Department for Foreign Affairs, Development and Trade Canada (DFATD), the UK Department for International Development (DfID) and other development partners. The program is implemented under the Tanzania Statistical Master Plan (TSMP 2009-2014) and aims at developing the National Statistical System (NSS) through a range of initiatives within, institutional reform, human resource and capacity development, development of statistical infrastructure, data development and dissemination as well as physical infrastructure and equipments.

In order to achieve this objective, the World Bank, DfID and DFATD have agreed to support NBS through a basket fund arrangement. The World Bank is the largest donor to the Basket Fund through an IDA-credit of $30 million. To supervise the implementation of activities funded by the Basket Fund and to advise the statistical authorities of Tanzania, the partners have decided to recruit an in-country statistician to supervise the basket fund (funded by DfID). The in-country statistician will be based in the World Bank's Country Office in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and report to the Bank's manager of the Development Data Group (DECDG). The in-country statistician will represent all basket partners in meetings.

The in-country statistician will be recruited on a one-year Extended-Term Consultant (ETC) contract with an option of a one-year extension. The assignment is expected to commence on or around 1 October 2014. The statistician will work closely with World Bank colleagues in Washington DC, the World Bank Country Management Team in Tanzania and other development partners in Tanzania mainly DFATD and DfID. The post is located in the World Bank Tanzania Country Office in Dar es Salaam.

Duties and Accountabilities:

The objective of the post is to scale up donor capacity to:

a) engage Government of Tanzania (GoT) in high-level policy dialogue in the statistics sector,

b) mobilize and coordinate donor support to the sector,

c) enhance harmonization of donor support modalities and alignment with the sector policy as set out by the TSMP,

d) support the NBS in the planning, budgeting, implementation and reporting on statistical activities.  

Scope of Work

There is some room for flexibility in the tasks of the in-country statistician depending on experience and expertise. Generally, the statistician will be expected to assist and support the government of Tanzania in implementing the TSMP by:

• Working closely with staff and management of the NBS.

• Advising on work planning, budgeting, and procurement plus giving technical advice on areas of legal reform, institutional reform, statistical data collection and dissemination.

• Working with a broad range of partners providing support across the NSS.

• Encouraging a harmonised approach (e.g. support to proposed agricultural statistics strategy, labour market information system, etc.).

• Advising the donors, especially the World Bank Task Team Leader with regards to project management, financial management and procurement issues related to the project.

The following specific outputs, which are the responsibility of NBS, are items where hands-on support from the in-country statistician will come in handy.

• Execution of the annual work programs and quarterly and annual reporting to stakeholders;

• High quality statistical surveys being implemented according to an agreed calendar for Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar;

• Reforming the national statistical service, and restructuring the NBS, with more motivated and increasingly skilled staff and improved producer-producer collaboration;

• Better communication between users and producers of statistics in Tanzania.

• More and improved data available and used by the government of Tanzania and its development partners.

Desired Skills and Experience

• A first degree and a master's degree preferably in statistics, economics, social sciences or another relevant discipline and a minimum of 8 years of relevant work experience;
• Experience working in and/or with, producers of official statistics, preferably in both developed and developing countries;
• Knowledge of international standards for official statistics, e.g. the General Data Dissemination System (GDDS), the Special Data Dissemination System (SDDS) and Enhanced Data Dissemination Initiative (EDDI), the UN Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, and the African Charter on Statistics etc.;
• Familiarity with the most common frameworks for quality assessment and assurance, e.g. IMF's Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF), Reports on Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) etc.;
• Knowledge of sources and methods in one or more domains of economic and social statistics;
• Understanding of the principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness;
• Experience with basket funding arrangements;
• Work experience in a developing country context;
• Experience in institutional/organizational reform and capacity building;
• Experience in design/implementation of National Statistical Development Strategies (NSDSs) and M&E systems;
• Experience in making data available in user-friendly formats;
• Proven track record at leading high level policy dialogue;
• The ability to work in a multi-cultural environment;
• Ability to work with multiple stakeholders;
• A self-starter with excellent team playing skills;
• Excellent communications skills (written and oral);
• Fluency in English.

The World Bank Group is committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality, culture and educational background. Individuals with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence.

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