Organizational Context and Scope

Under overall supervision of the Deputy Regional Director (DRD) for Operations, the direct supervision of the Regional Thematic Specialist (Data and Research), and the secondary supervision of the Chief Strategy Officer, Global Data Institute and guidance of the Chief, GMDAC, the Regional Data Analyst will focus on generating and communicating analyses and insights in support of decision-making processes. The successful candidate is responsible for leading Regional Data Hub (RDH) work on migration data analysis, focusing on migration and human mobility dynamics including mixed migration movements, drivers, trends, and characteristics across the region.

The successful candidate will work within the RDH Team to pursue its core objective to enhance, strengthen and promote the regional evidence base on migration and human mobility, including by addressing existing primary data gaps through innovation, insight generation, foresight and scenario building, and consolidating primary and secondary data and analysis work in the region covering migration, displacement, and human mobility.

Responsibilities and Accountabilities

Data Processing and Data Use:

• Locate and define new data analysis process improvement opportunities.
• Identify appropriate data sources for analytics projects.
• Ensure accurate and reliable data centralization to support analytical work.
• Collaborate with Data Engineers and Data Scientists to improve data flows, data quality, etc.
• Coordinate the development and implementation of databases, data collection systems, data analytics and other strategies that optimize statistical efficiency and quality.

Data Analysis and Reporting:

• Conduct and coordinate regional, sub-regional, geographic and thematic analyses and reports on issues of relevance to the current human mobility and migration dynamics in the region, paying attention to routes, trends, and patterns which may necessitate additional analysis.
• Identify gaps in migration and human mobility data, specific data needs for local, national, regional, sub-regional and global policy making, and capacities of relevant actors on migration and human mobility data. Respond to queries on gaps identified by thematic experts. Coordinate the development of tools and mechanisms to complete data gaps, in close alignment with international approaches and standards and existing IOM supported global mechanisms.
• Support the analysis and validation of internal, cross border and international migration and human mobility data collected at various points along the migration journey – at departure, en-route, in destination and upon return, stranded or in need of assistance, voluntary and forced, humanitarian evacuations, support to migrants on socioeconomic inclusion and reintegration and strengthening their development contributions to societies.
• Use existing IOM data from global, regional, sub-regional and national projects and initiatives for data triangulation to enhance cross-thematic data analysis for regional and national reporting within region and to strengthen evidence-based policy formulation, national and regional humanitarian and development planning and operations. Coordinate and support cross-regional analysis where relevant.
• Coordinate and support desk reviews and carry out extensive and in-depth analysis of data-sources identified under the desk review.
• Identify, analyze, and interpret trends or patterns, using basic machine learning techniques, qualitative, visualization, narrative and statistical methods to identify relevant features and variables in structured and unstructured sources of information and data.
• Coordinate the development and implementation of various analysis, reporting and quality control capabilities.
• Provide analytical support to Country Offices in the Region as needed.

Good Data Practice, Knowledge Management and Dissemination:

• Ensure timely preparation and generation of information products.
• Adhere to IOM data protection, governance, and security standards.
• Consider ethical data collection, use, sharing, and dissemination.
• Participate in working groups and provide strategic input on behalf of IOM.

Cross-Cutting Issues:

• Evaluate new applications related to information systems, to new technologies and processes to manage information in response to RDH needs.
• Ensure the integration of disaggregated data analysis to inform gender-responsive programming including for specific needs of people such as pregnant women, persons with disabilities, the elderly, children as well as other highly vulnerable groups within all emergency and transition activities.
• Perform other duties as may be assigned.

Required Qualifications and Experience

EDUCATION

• Master’s degree in Migration Studies, Demography, Political or Social Science, Statistics, Econometrics, Public Health, Sustainability Science, Data Science or a related field from an accredited academic institution with five years of relevant professional experience; or,
• University degree in the above fields with seven years of relevant professional experience.
• Applicants with PhDs in related discipline are strongly encouraged to apply.

EXPERIENCE

• Experience in information management, reporting, coordination and analysis of data triangulation and analysis from multiple large and complex information systems;
• Data analysis experience (including field experience) in the area of demographic and population studies, human mobility, internal and international migration, and refugees/IDPs in developed and developing countries; remote sensing and/or GIS analysis experience are also an advantage;
• Practical field experience and analysis expertise in geographic (region and/or specific countries) and thematic (displacement, migration) relevant domain;
• Experience in data collection, data processing (incl. cleaning) data analysis for research, policy and report writing;
• Experience in internal and/or international mixed migration data analyses is required;
• Experience with database or programming languages (SQL, Python, R) is desirable, other data analysis software may be advantageous (e.g. STATA, QGIS);
• Professional experience in coordinating multi-cultural teams and field-based staff; and,
• Experience in survey and questionnaire design and sampling is an advantage.

SKILLS

• Excellent drafting skills;
• Proven skills to analyse statistical information;
• Knowledge of IOM data, analytical methodologies and standards is an advantage;
• Self-service analytics and data visualization applications (MS PowerBI, Qlik, Tableau or similar), or business intelligence tools (SAP Business Objects, etc.) is desirable;
• Ability to formulate IM-related technical requirements and operating procedures;
• Ability to translate planning-specifications into technical briefs for data capture and analysis, and vice versa;
• Ability to compile and holistically analyse diverse datasets;
• Demonstrated team building and information management skills; and,
• Demonstrated understanding of different data analysis methodologies.