OVERVIEW

Parent Sector : UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)

Duty Station: Montreal

Classification of duty station: [[filter12]]

Standard Duration of Assignement : [[filter13]]

Job Family: Education

Type of contract : Non Staff

Duration of contract : From 1 to 6 months

Recruitment open to : External candidates

Application Deadline (Midnight Paris Time) : 28/02/2025

UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism

OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST

Background
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) is the statistical office of UNESCO and is the UN depository for global statistics in the fields of education, science, technology and innovation, culture and communication. Over the past 25 years, the UIS has significantly improved UNESCO’s statistical program, delivering timely, accurate and policy-relevant statistics essential in today’s increasingly complex and rapidly changing social, political and economic environments.
The international development community has entrusted the UIS with the mandate to develop the methodologies, standards and indicators crucial for achieving SDG 4 – Education 2030 as well as key targets in science and culture, in close consultation with partners. UIS efforts span several areas, including setting measurement standards, developing indicators, collecting and disseminating data, and building capacities of countries to produce their own data to report on and monitor progress towards SDG 4 and other targets.

The UIS has positioned itself at the center of key debates of global development agenda in recent years and is continually seeks ways to strengthen its delivery. The Transformation Proposal endorsed by the UIS Governing Board in 2022 called for reinvigorating and re-specifying the UIS mandate and spirit, and for adopting a new, streamlined, organizational structure aligned with its core functions. A key aspect of the transformation process is concentrating resources on the fundamental functions the Institute must perform, those functions that no other institution can (naturally) play and which serve the strategic education goals set by the international community.

To revise and implement the recommendations of the Transformation Proposal, UNESCO UIS is seeking expertise in carrying out an analysis of the current fitness of staff allocation across units to tasks, whenever possible benchmarking against relevant organizations or specific units/initiatives within them.

Purpose
The UIS would like to carry out an analysis of the cost and efficiency of its education statistics functions with a particular focus on current fitness of staff allocation (across units) to tasks. The analysis will include benchmarking against relevant organizations (UN bodies, non-profit/academic organizations) or specific units/initiatives within them and lead to a set of recommendations on organizational structure and staffing.

Long Description

Main Responsibilities and Tasks
A. Data Analysis on UIS Efficiency
Activity 1 – Calculation of Inputs and Outputs at UIS

• Develop an analytical framework for assessing UIS efficiency for each key priority organizational unit that includes measuring UIS inputs against its outputs, and evaluating the current fitness of staff allocation to tasks. To the extent possible, utilize a recognized methodology for measuring organizational efficiency, and take into account that units collaborate, so it is not always possible to calculate a fully attributable output to each unit Thus, both the overall output and some estimate of unit output, are of interest.
• Compile and measure the level of UIS outputs, including statistical output (via the UIS portal and other outlets), reports, presentations, etc., for priority UIS units.
• Compile the staffing and budget data for those units and estimate costs for key outputs.
• Compare UIS outputs against inputs, utilizing metrics such as output-per-staff or total cost per unit of output. Summarize data in tables or graphs, by unit/department.
• Produce a short summary document that includes methods, data, findings and recommendations

Activity 2 – Benchmarking on Organizational Efficiency

• Select comparator/peer organizations and their relevant units/departments, in consultation with the consultancy team and UIS senior staff.
• Identify data sources to help compile and measure relevant outputs and inputs in the comparator organizations. This can include publicly available information (annual reports, public financial statements or annual budgets) or other sources.
• Compare outputs with their associated inputs and costs, for each of the comparator organizations, similar to Activity 1. This should have a particular focus on outputs per staff.
• Produce a short document that includes summary tables comparing UIS efficiency to that of relevant units at comparator organizations.

Long Description

Activity 3 – Analysis of UIS Organizational Structure & Benchmarking

• UIS Analysis: Analyze the internal organization (size, structure and composition) of relevant units (“Sections”) within UIS, describing staff composition by function and seniority level. This will also include analyzing the size, structure and composition of ‘support units’ (e.g., IT, Human Resources) at UIS.
• Comparative Analysis: Analyze the internal organization (size, structure and composition) composition of the relevant units at the comparator organizations (selected for Activity 2), describing staff composition by function and seniority level. This will also include analyzing the size, structure and composition of ‘support units’ (e.g., IT, Human Resources) at select peer institutions, in consultation with UIS senior staff.
• Produce a short document that includes summary tables comparing UIS organizational structure to that of other institutions. State, where apparent, existing imbalances at UIS relative to other institutions, and relative to the functions proposed by the Transformation Proposal.

Activity 4 – Organizational and Staffing Review and Recommendations

• Based on the organizational recommendations in the 2022 Transformation Proposal (to be provided), any updates in intention since then and any adjustments proposed by the consultancy team, produce a short (draft) document that puts forth a recommendation on staffing (size and composition) for key sections at UIS.

Activity 5 – Contributions to Project Deliverable (Report)

• Revise the draft of Deliverable 4 (Activity 4) by responding to initial feedback from the project team and UIS senior staff. This product will be a section of a larger report, which will be co-produced with other team members, and which will contain other analyses (on the UIS mandate, business model, benchmarking, etc.). This will require close collaboration with team members to a) ensure that organizational and staffing recommendations are also grounded on the team’s other analyses, and b) to produce a coherent, integrated report.
• Produce report section on staffing recommendations.

Long Description

Deliverables
The consultant will submit the following deliverables to the UIS related to the following activities:

Activity 1 -Calculation of Inputs and Outputs at UIS

• Short summary document (10-15 pages) that includes methods, data, findings and recommendations

Activity 2 – Benchmarking on Organizational Efficiency

• Short document (10-15 pages) comparing UIS efficiency to that of relevant units at comparator organizations.

Activity 3 – Analysis of UIS Organizational Structure & Benchmarking

• Short document (10-15 pages) comparing UIS organizational structure to that of other institutions.

Activity 4 – Organizational and Staffing Review and Recommendations

• Short draft document (10-15 pages) with a recommendation on staffing at UIS, building on 2022 Transformation Proposal

Activity 5 – Contributions to Project Deliverable (Report)

• Report section on organizational and staffing recommendations.

COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial)

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REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) in Business, Business Administration, Economics, Data Science, Public Policy, or related field.

Experience

• A minimum of 5 years of relevant work experience
• Proven experience in measuring and optimizing organizational efficiency, with a focus on comparing organizational inputs to outputs using established frameworks and metrics.
• Proven experience in organizational efficiency and design, with a focus on organizational structure, staffing optimization, and resource allocation.

Skills

• Proficiency in both quantitative (statistical analysis, accounting, financial modeling) and qualitative methods (process mapping, stakeholder interviews) to assess performance and identify improvement opportunities.

Language

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

Experience

• Experience in analysis of public sector organizations in the knowledge or data sectors is considered an asset.

Language

• Good knowledge of other UN languages is an asset.

APPLICATION PROCESS

APPLICATION PROCESS

Interested candidates should complete the on-line application, download and complete the Employment History form (Word file). At the end of the Word file, insert extra pages with the following required information:

1. An up-to-date curriculum vitae (CV).
2. A statement indicating how your qualifications/experience make you suitable for the assignment.
3. A work plan with the indication of the approach you would adopt to carry out the assignment, the timeline, and any inputs that may be required from UNESCO.
4. A payment scheme against clear and specific set of deliverables and milestones as reflected in your work plan, including

• The monthly fee, quoted in USD, CAD, GBP, or EUR (without travel cost)
• In case travel is expected, indication of from/to destinations, and the number of days required (travel costs will be calculated separately by the UIS based as per UNESCO rules)

Only the proposals that include all the four aforementioned elements will be considered. Failure to provide any of those will result in an incomplete application which will not be considered.

UNESCO places significant importance on achieving the objectives outlined in the Terms of Reference. Consequently, the evaluation of proposals will prioritize the technical components. From the proposals that meet the criteria specified in the Terms of Reference, UNESCO will select the one that provides the best value for money for the Organization.

SELECTION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS

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