Principal Statistician (National Accounts) - ECST2 at African Development Bank - AfDB

Reference: ADB/18/170
Location: Côte d’Ivoire
Grade: PL4
Position N°: 50065436

The Complex

• The Economic Governance and Knowledge Management Complex (ECVP) mission is to generate, promote, and disseminate high-quality economic policy-oriented research to strengthen AfDB policy advice, technical assistance, and lending-and to improve governance, capacity, and policymaking for improving lives in Africa
• Its role is to encourage and support learning by all development stakeholders, ensure that the best and most up-to-date knowledge from economic and other social sciences is continually available, customized, owned, and used effectively in all AfDB operations and in the development policies of African countries

The Hiring Department/Division

• The Statistics Directorate is responsible for the Bank’s statistical activities that focus on two main components:
  • Providing support for effective development of statistical capacity and systems in African countries for the provision of timely and reliable data to support development results measurement for the High 5s and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda across Africa; and
  • Mainstreaming results measurement in Bank operations to ensure their operational effectiveness as well as to support the Bank’s research, policy and financial services
• As part of the Statistics Directorate, the Economics and Social Statistics Division ensures that regional member countries (RMCs) provide the Bank with timely, reliable, consistent and regionally comparable data on economic activities (trade, industry, agriculture, finance, infrastructure, etc.)
• Its principal activities are: to develop and manage statistical systems needed to support the operational work of the Bank Group and its development research activities; and to prepare the Bank Group’s official statistical publications and provide statistics and statistical analysis for the Bank Group’s Annual Report, the African Development Report and other important Bank’s publications.

The Position

• The purpose of this position is to enhance capacities in RMCs and RECs in statistical production and dissemination for evidence-based policy-making and monitoring and evaluation.
• The statistics produced include the areas of Economic statistics (Economic and social statistical classifications; Environmental accounting; Industry statistics; Trade statistics; Integrated economic statistics; etc.); National accounts; Statistical Business Registers; Labour Statistics; and Purchasing Power Parities (PPPs).

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the supervision and guidance of the Division Manager, the Principal Statistician will:

• Provide technical assistance to RMCs to compile national accounts (including estimating or rebasing GDP and other national accounts aggregates) using the 2008 System of National Accounts or any subsequent version thereof;
• In line with the Strategy for the Harmonization of Statistics in Africa (SHaSA), develop the Bank’s strategy and action plan to improve economic statistics and national accounts in RMCs;
• Promote the harmonization of economic statistics and national accounts across RMCs;
• Provide technical assistance and training to RMCs in strategic and technical matters related to economic statistics and national accounts;
• Provide leadership in ensuring that RMCs integrate the requirements of the International Comparison Program (ICP) related to estimating detailed components of GDP expenditure values in yearly compilation of National Accounts;
• Help RMCs entrench price data collection for selected goods and services related to private education, dwelling services, compensation of government employees, machinery and equipment as well as construction and civil engineering in their regular activities of sourcing input data for national accounts;
• Provide leadership in developing manuals, guidelines and tools on concepts, definitions, classifications, methods, and standards related to the production and use of economic statistics and national accounts that are adapted to the African context;
• Provide leadership in deploying and scaling up Statistical Business Registers (SBR) systems in RMCs using appropriate guidelines and generic SBRs. This will entail revising the SBR guidelines by taking into account the latest international recommendations; translation of the guidelines into French for Francophone countries; training workshops for SBR practitioners in RMCs; and conducting sensitization workshops for heads of National Statistical Offices (NSOs);
• Contribute to the improvement of Labour Force Statistics and Labour Market Information Systems in Africa;
• Enhance partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO) in conducting joint capacity-building activities on labour force statistics and labour market information systems in RMCs. This includes developing a monitoring and evaluation framework for the Bank’s Jobs for Youth in Africa (JfYA) program and working on the Enabling Youth Employment (EYE) Index for Africa;
• Help RMCs integrate economic statistics through adequately re-engineered statistical production processes and institutional arrangements;
• Promote partnership and collaboration among development agencies involved in statistical development activities in RMCs. The Bank collaborates with regional agencies like UNECA, AUC, and RECs as well as international and bilateral partners on various regional and sub-regional statistical development programs. This will be achieved under the SHaSA.

Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience

• Hold at least a Master's Degree or its equivalent in Statistics, Economics and/or other related fields;
• Hold a minimum of 6 years of relevant working experience in statistical production, with specific focus on national accounts. Additional experience in SBRs and labour statistics would be an advantage;
• Solid experience in statistical operations and management;
• Proven experience in national accounts;
• Client and results oriented individual holding “a can-do attitude” ;
• Effective consulting and advisory skills that enable clients and help them build their confidence and skills to deal with HR issues;
• Ability to deal with sensitive issues in a multi-cultural environment and to build effective working relations with colleagues;
• Ability to work independently with little supervision as well as part of a multicultural team;
• Ability to drive change;
• Ability to be flexible, open minded with integrity;
• Communication, Problem Solving, Client Orientation and Team working and relations;
• Broadly skilled in information and communications technology mainly in applying statistical methods, including multivariate analysis, survey analysis, economic modelling through the use of statistical computer programs (STATA, R, SPSS, etc.) is essential; and
• Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English or French, preferably with a working knowledge of the other language.