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) : 18/04/2025
UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism
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’s efforts span several areas, including setting measurement standards, developing indicators, collecting and disseminating data, and building the capacities of countries to produce their own data for reporting on and monitoring progress towards SDG 4 and other targets.
The UIS has positioned itself at the center of the key debates in the global development agenda in recent years and 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, benchmarking where possible against relevant organizations or specific units/initiatives within them.
Purpose
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) seeks to improve the efficiency of its education statistics functions by analyzing staff allocations and operational costs. This analysis will benchmark UIS's organizational structure against comparable entities to develop recommendations for optimizing resource distribution, supporting its mission to provide high-quality, internationally comparable education data.
Main Responsibilities and Tasks
A. Data Analysis on UIS Efficiency
Activity 1 – Calculation of Inputs and Outputs at UIS
i. Develop an analytical framework for assessing UIS efficiency that includes measuring UIS inputs against outputs and evaluating the current fitness of staff allocation to tasks. Where possible, utilize a recognized methodology for measuring organizational efficiency.
ii. 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.
iii. Compile the staffing and budget data for those units and estimate costs for key outputs.
iv. Compare UIS outputs against inputs, utilizing metrics such as output-per-staff or total cost per unit of output. Summarize the data in tables or graphs by unit/department.
v. Produce a short summary document that includes methods, data, findings, and recommendations.
Activity 2 – Benchmarking on Organizational Efficiency
i. Select comparator (peer) organizations and their relevant units/departments, in consultation with the consultancy team and UIS senior staff.
ii. Identify data sources to help compile and measure relevant outputs and inputs in the comparator organizations. This may include publicly available information (annual reports, public financial statements, or annual budgets) or other sources.
iii. Compare outputs with their associated inputs and costs for each of the comparator organizations, similar to Activity 1, with a particular focus on outputs per staff.
iv. Produce a short document that includes summary tables comparing UIS efficiency to that of relevant units at comparator organizations.
Activity 3 – Analysis of UIS Organizational Structure & Benchmarking
i. 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.
ii. Comparative Analysis: Analyze the internal organization (size, structure, and 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.
iii. Produce a short document that includes summary tables comparing UIS organizational structure to that of other institutions. Identify, where apparent, existing imbalances at UIS relative to other institutions and to the functions proposed by the Transformation Proposal.
Activity 4 – Organizational and Staffing Review and Recommendations
i. Based on the organizational recommendations in the 2022 Transformation Proposal 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)
i. 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 in the team’s other analyses, and b) produce a coherent, integrated report.
ii. Produce a report section on staffing recommendations.
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 that includes methods, data, findings, and recommendationsActivity 2 – Benchmarking on Organizational Efficiency
Short document comparing UIS efficiency to that of relevant units at comparator organizations.Activity 3 – Analysis of UIS Organizational Structure & Benchmarking
Short document comparing UIS organizational structure to that of other institutions.Activity 4 – Organizational and Staffing Review and Recommendations
Short draft document with a recommendation on staffing at UIS, building on the 2022 Transformation ProposalActivity 5 – Contributions to Project Deliverable (Report)
Report section on organizational and staffing recommendations.Education
Advanced degree (MBA, Master’s, or PhD) in Business, Economics, Data Science, Public Policy, or a 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.Experience
Experience in analysis of public sector organizations in the knowledge or data sectors is considered an asset.