Mission and objectives

Since its inception in 1972, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has been the global authority that sets the environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. UNEP’s mission is to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, UNEP works through its divisions as well as regional, liaison and out-posted offices and a growing network of collaborating centres of excellence.

Context

UNEP’s Science Division provides highly credible, relevant, and salient scientific assessments, data, and statistics to underpin inter-governmental negotiations, support transformational policy development and action. As science is the foundation for all environmental policy making, for monitoring progress, making course corrections, and understanding both successes and failures, UNEP consistently integrates extensive data analysis across all aspects of its work. Data Analytics – You Can’t Know What You Don’t Measure: Statistical analysis is essential to understanding and developing effective solutions to environmental issues. UNEP is investing heavily in building a World Environment Situation Room (WESR) that will provide the contextualized and interpreted data on changes to the environment over space and time.

Task description

Under the direction of and reporting to the Head of the Environment and SDG Statistics Unit of the Capacity Development and Innovation Branch of the Division for Early Warning and Assessment, the Junior Statistical Analyst will undertake the following activities: • Assists in the exploration, identification, and acquisition of sources of statistical data to determine their suitability for use in advancing the goals of the organization. • Enables broader use of statistical data sources by applying quality methods to structure, clean, format, parse, and standardize for analytical use. • Assists in capacity building of Member States to leverage the use of statistical analysis in support of their national sustainable development priorities • Supports UNEP’s work on nature, pollution, and climate with statistical analytics that assist in accomplishing UNEP’s mandates. • Contributes to the design and develops environmental statistics products to reveal insights and provides an understanding or knowledge of environmental data that would otherwise not be detected without the application of advanced analytical methods such as artificial intelligence, use of relevant algorithms, and computational approaches. • Assists in promoting the use of statistical analysis through capacity development and the development of products, tools, and processes to extend member state statistical capabilities. • Guides, trains, and supervises general service staff, as required. • Implements databases, data collection systems, data analytics, and other strategies that optimize statistical efficiency and quality. • Contributes to statistical data content and quality, etc. in UNEP’s World Environment Situation Room.

Interested applicants can apply via this link.