The Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) is an integral part of UNESCO, and the organization’s Category 1 institute focusing on education for peace and sustainable development. Promoting peace and sustainable development through education is one of UNESCO’s core missions and is now enshrined in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 4.7 as one of the goals which nations around the globe aspire to achieve.
In keeping with its mandate to mainstream social and emotional learning (SEL) in education systems, MGIEP recognizes the need to build a strong science-policy nexus, informed by strong and rigorous empirical research from statistical modelling and quantitative analysis to strengthen the evidence to support policy. In this context, learner analytics has emerged as an exciting new area of research and practice that uses statistical computational analysis of learning data to better understand and improve learning. MGIEP seeks to harness such learner learning data and evidence to inform education policymaking and implementation. For this purpose, MGIEP seeks to identify a professional, technically qualified officer with training in statistical analysis and research design to support the development of such empirical research.
Under the overall authority of the Director and direct supervision of the head of the Policy and Advocacy Section, the incumbent will serve as the National Data and Quantitative Research Policy Officer with the following responsibilities:
Duties and Responsibilities
Review existing methods of learner learning data analysis and statistical models to develop a solid understanding of existing mathematical\statistical and computational research methods.
Develop creative ways to harness existing well-being data collected across member states to gain a better understanding of the relationship between learning and student well-being.
Develop models based on insights of existing data to design appropriate research interventions to study the effect of SEL on student well-being and flourishing.
Provide statistical and quantitative expertise to other relevant areas of education policy.
Position Related Skills and competencies
Commitment to the Organization's mandate, vision, strategic direction, and priorities
Integrity, reliability, and a sense of commitment in the execution of duties.
Excellent coordination and organizational skills.
Ability to work under pressure, manage heavy workloads, and meet tight deadlines, paying close attention to detail and quality of work.
Good interpersonal skills, including the ability to work in a team and multi-cultural environment.
Good analytical and problem-solving skills.
Responsible, Proactive, and a self-starter
Support institute-wide activities as they arise.
Required Qualifications
Education
Ph.D. degree in statistical analysis, education design modelling, cognitive science, mathematical modeling, econometrics, or other relevant quantitative fields.
Advanced knowledge of statistical tools (e.g. R or Stata).
Work Experience
2-4 years of relevant experience in conducting independent research, literature review, learner analytics, in collaboration with researchers and experts, and working in a multi-disciplinary environment
At least two publications in international peer-reviewed journals.
Experience in research design and data analysis
Experience oral and written communication of scientific results
Experience in drafting/preparing policy documents
Languages
Excellent knowledge (written and spoken) of English
