Statistics Associate

Deadline for ApplicationsSeptember 1, 2025

Hardship LevelH (no hardship)

Family TypeFamily

Family TypeFamily

Residential location (if applicable)

GradeGS6

Staff Member / Affiliate TypeGeneral Service

ReasonRegular > Regular Assignment

Target Start Date2025-10-01

Standard Job Description

Statistics Associate

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships

UNHCR aims to be a trusted leader in data and information related to forcibly displaced and stateless people, enabling actions to protect, include, and empower them. To achieve this vision, UNHCR is investing in priority actions related to data governance, information systems, capacities and skills, as well as the cultural changes needed to strengthen the generation and use of data and evidence. These investments are designed to be informed by data responsibility principles, foster accountability, leverage technology, comply with data protection and information security requirements, and effectively connect information and knowledge across the organization.

Under the supervision of the (Senior) Statistics and Data Analysis Officer, (Senior) Statistician, (Senior) DIMA Coordinator, or another designated manager, the Statistics Associate assists in coordinating and supporting statistical activities at each stage of the statistical production process in the relevant office(s) or service. These statistical activities underpin evidence-informed response, planning, advocacy, and coordination in the context of forced displacement and statelessness. This includes liaising on related statistical and data issues with other UNHCR offices and colleagues in protection, programme, and technical sectors (e.g. health, livelihoods, settlement and shelter, WASH, energy, and education), as well as with key external stakeholders and other agencies, including government partners (e.g. national statistical offices).

The Statistics Associate undertakes global, regional, or country-specific statistical activities. This includes providing technical support for the design, data collection, processing, analysis, and dissemination stages of statistical work. It also involves contributing to the governance of relevant statistical outputs. S/he provides the necessary quality assurance and technical support for statistical activities to HQ, regional bureaux, and operations, helping to ensure these processes align with relevant technical and ethical statistical standards. All statistical activities undertaken by the Statistics Associate will be guided by humanitarian data principles.

All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR’s core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.

Duties

Contribute to fostering an evidence-led environment and the development of a strategic vision for further improving the production of statistics within UNHCR, at the country, regional, and HQ levels, as appropriate.

Assist with statistical activities that lead to an improved understanding of global forced displacement and statelessness situations, and strengthen the monitoring and evaluation of the impact of UNHCR policies and programmes. This includes contributing to statistical activities in each stage of the statistical production process to generate population and official statistics, survey-based outputs, and statistical modelling.

Support communication with internal and external stakeholders, including governments, to develop a common understanding of the rationale and technical requirements for statistical activities. Contribute to ensuring that the outputs from these processes (e.g. assessments of the population’s needs, vulnerabilities, etc.) inform evidence-based decision-making, meeting the needs of stakeholders in operational, policy, and research contexts.

Contribute to designing statistical activities, including data processing, analysis, and analytical outputs, applying common statistical principles and international statistical standards.

Support the building of tools and methods used in statistical activities, such as survey questionnaires, survey samples, and statistical disclosure controls.

Contribute to organising and implementing primary and/or secondary data collection, including related statistical infrastructure activities and the compilation of UNHCR official statistics.

Support the processing of the collected data and the preparation of the data for analysis, including estimation of indicators.

Assist with the analysis of the data and the preparation of statistical outputs that meet users’ needs and support evidence-based decision-making.

Contribute to the dissemination of statistical products (e.g. statistical summaries, reports) through relevant internal and external channels (e.g. websites and data stories).

Support the monitoring and evaluation of statistical activities to inform improvements, including applying relevant feedback and corporate recommendations.

Contribute to the development of robust statistical quality assurance protocols in line with UNHCR’s Statistical Quality Assurance Framework for Official Statistics to ensure that all statistical activities meet the required standards, including the timeliness and reliability of the statistics and their consistency with relevant statistics produced by other organisations.

Support the application of corporate and industry-standard data protection guidelines to ensure that any personal data is handled responsibly throughout the statistical production process.

Provide inputs to research and innovation of best-practice statistical activities, collaborating with statistics colleagues and other thematic focal points, including contributing to the development and application of new sampling and analytical approaches, supporting statistical modelling, and assisting the production of engaging statistical outputs.

Support collaboration with other organisations on relevant statistical production activities, including participating in relevant conferences and statistical fora, capacity building, and joint communications and coordination platforms.

Contribute to guidance about the consistent and accurate use of statistics on forcibly displaced and stateless people by assisting with the production and maintenance of relevant technical documentation and guidance on statistical production activities within the organisation, and supporting the review of relevant internal and external statistical outputs for consistency.

Support capacity-building activities for colleagues in UNHCR and partner organisations to design and build reliable statistical production activities that include forcibly displaced and stateless populations and communicate the statistical outputs.

Support the identification and management of risks and seek to seize opportunities impacting objectives in the area of responsibility. Ensure decision making is risk based in the functional area of work. Raise risks, issues and concerns to a supervisor or to relevant functional colleague(s).

Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Education & Professional Work Experience

Years of Experience / Degree Level

For G6 - 3 years relevant experience with High School Diploma; or 2 years relevant work experience with Bachelor or equivalent or higher

Field(s) of Education

Not applicable

Certificates and/or Licenses

Social Sciences; Statistics; Demographics; Geography;

Epidemiology; Economics; Data Management; or related field.

(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience

Essential

Experience in data or statistical field. Experience with national and/or international statistical systems. Experience in translating specifications into technical briefs for statistical activities, and vice versa. Understanding of different data collection methodologies and statistical production activities, including generating statistical outputs. Familiarity with planning, programming, strategic planning, project development, budgeting and resource mobilization. Experience working with partners, including host and donor governments, humanitarian and development partners.

Desirable

Experience with data and statistics in developmental or humanitarian contexts. Understanding of the principles and concepts of international protection and UNHCR. Experience with statistical production activities in field situations preferably in the context of UNHCR. Knowledge of international protection, human rights and international humanitarian law. Knowledge of UNHCR and interagency policies, standards, programmes and operations. Knowledge of GIS and geospatial systems and techniques. Understanding of civil registration and other national population registration systems. Experience working with or in national statistical offices.

Functional Skills

DM-Data Management

IM-Statistics Analysis

DM-Open Source Software & Data

DM-Data governance, quality assurance and preservation

DM-Data Interoperability

DM-Development of and revision of data standards

DM-Quantitative data analysis

(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Language Requirements

For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Fluency in English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.

For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.

For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.

Competency Requirements

All jobs at UNHCR require six core competencies and may also require managerial competencies and/or cross-functional competencies. The six core competencies are listed below.

Core Competencies

Accountability

Communication

Organizational Awareness

Teamwork & Collaboration

Commitment to Continuous Learning

Client & Result Orientation

Managerial Competencies

not applicable

Cross-Functional Competencies

Analytical Thinking

Innovation and Creativity

Technological Awareness

All UNHCR workforce members must individually and collectively, contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe, and empowered to perform their duties. This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment including sexual harassment, sexism, gender inequality, discrimination, and abuse of power.

As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.

This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR jobs with this job title and grade level. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position. Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates.

Desired Candidate Profile In addition to the skills noted in the job description, the ideal candidate will demonstrate as many of the following skills as possible:

- Creating innovative solutions to statistical challenges.

- Coordinating and building consensus around statistical activities within multi-functional teams.

- Experience with designing, building and maintaining statistical production processes. This should include comprehensive data technical skills including data collection, compilation and statistical analysis, and proficiency in all phases of the data lifecycle.

- Knowledge of and experience with applying data protection, data governance and quality assurance to statistical production processes.

- Strong analytical skills in conducting research and supporting the development of policy and concept papers.

- Crafting accessible and engaging statistical outputs for users, including online content. This should include experience with using standard web technologies (HTML, JavaScript and CSS) to produce easy-to-use, rich user experiences when interacting with UNHCR’s statistics.

Additional Relevant Skills

Desirable

- IM - Statistics Analysis

- CO-Data Visualisation Techniques/Software

- CO-Digital Journalism

- CO - Blogging

- CO - Website development

- IT-Front-end web development (HTML/CSS)

Required languages (expected Overall ability is at least B2 level):

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Desired languages

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Operational context

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations:

To view occupational safety and health considerations for this duty station, please visit this link:

Nature of Position:

The incumbent will be based in Copenhagen, Denmark and serve within UNHCR’s Global Data Service, a central pillar in the organization’s evolving approach to evidence-informed decision-making. The operational environment is undergoing significant transformation, both at the institutional level and within the data ecosystem itself. This includes the modernization of data architecture, advancing on analytics, and the strengthening of data governance frameworks to better support protection and solutions delivery.

As part of this dynamic context, the incumbent will be expected to bring both depth of technical expertise, relevant to UNHCR, and the agility to adapt to shifting conditions and priorities. The role requires a proactive mindset, capable of navigating ambiguity and institutional change, whilst contributing to the design and implementation of scalable, sustainable data solutions. The incumbent will work closely with internal stakeholders across regional bureaux, country operations, and headquarters divisions, as well as with external partners, to ensure that data is leveraged effectively to inform operational planning, advocacy, and accountability. All of these levels will be undergoing substantial transformations for the coming months, if not years.

Given the pace and complexity of change, the role requires a comfortable operating in a fast-evolving environment, contributing to evolving strategic initiatives while also responding to short-term operational demands. A strong understanding of humanitarian data principles, combined with the ability to translate technical insights into actionable delivery, will be essential to succeed in this role and to serve as a trusted asset to UNHCR.

The incumbent will be a member of the Asylum Statistics and Demographics Unit of the Statistics, Data Science and Surveys Section (SDSS) in the Global Data Service. The Unit coordinates the compilation, analysis and dissemination of UNHCR’s global population statistics which are currently collected twice a year. This is done in close coordination with the Data, Identity Management and Analysis units (DIMA) in the Regional Bureaux. The incumbent will also support the drafting and production of UNHCR’s main statistical publications, i.e. Global Trends and Mid-Year Trends as well as data stories published on the Refugee Data Finder. To fulfill the Unit’s mandate, advanced statistical skills are a prerequisite including applied experience using statistical software or languages such as R, Stata, SPSS, Python, SAS etc. with a preference for R. Experience with publishing data stories, in terms of drafting the content, visualizing the statistics and producing