Senior Econometrician Associate at Lebanon

Added Date: Friday, 10 October 2025

Tags: finance English language Environment
Organization: UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees)
Country: Lebanon
City: Beirut
Post Level: Unspecified

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Deadline for ApplicationsOctober 23, 2025

Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)C

Family Type (not applicable for home-based)

Family

Staff Member / Affiliate TypeUNOPS LICA7

Target Start Date2025-12-01

Terms of ReferenceOperational Context:

Lebanon hosts the highest number of refugees per capita globally, with over 1.3 million displaced Syrians and thousands of other refugees and asylum seekers. Refugees live across nearly all municipalities, relying heavily on humanitarian assistance amid deepening economic, financial, and political crises, compounded by recent hostilities and large-scale internal displacement. Cash assistance is a core part of UNHCR’s response, preferred by affected populations for its dignity, flexibility, and impact. It supports access to essential services and stimulates local economies, delivered through secure financial systems with strong data protection.

UNHCR’s Multipurpose cash assistance (MCAP) programme in Lebanon is among the largest cash programmes for UNHCR globally and has for years been recognized as a flagship model, particularly for its advanced targeting systems. In 2025, UNHCR continues to lead the targeting for cash assistance in close collaboration with UN partners and other stakeholders. The selected candidate, a key member of the Cash Based Interventions Team, plays a key role in ensuring the credibility and technical integrity of this system, supporting data-driven decision-making and maintaining trust with partners, donors, and stakeholders.

Desired Candidate Profile:

The ideal candidate brings:
- Proficiency in statistical and data processing software (e.g., STATA, R, Python, SPSS, SQL) and econometric modelling techniques.
- Competence in visualization tools like Power BI and Tableau.
- Strong quantitative and analytical skills, including experience with regression analysis, time-series, and panel data models.
- Experience with advanced modelling techniques (deep learning and natural language processing).
- Strong communication skills particularly ability to interpret and communicate complex analytical results to non-technical audiences.
- Strong problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
- Ability to work independently with minimal supervision, while contributing effectively.
- Experience with socio-economic indicators, survey design, and data visualization tools.
- Exposure to displacement dynamics, vulnerability drivers, and socio-economic conditions in crisis settings is considered an asset.

TERMS OF REFERENCE:

1. General Background

According to government estimates, Lebanon hosts just over 1 million displaced refugees from Syrian and other nationalities. The 2025 Vulnerability Assessment of Syrian Refugees (VASyR) highlights 72% of families living in poverty and 60% in extreme poverty. In 2025, UNHCR, WFP, and partners provided monthly multipurpose cash and food assistance to around 176,500 vulnerable refugee families.

Given the scale of needs and growing funding constraints, a reliable targeting system is essential. UNHCR, WFP, and sectoral partners use an econometric model—based on VASyR expenditure data and applied to UNHCR’s database—to predict household vulnerability. This proxy means test is recalibrated annually to maintain accuracy.

To enhance protection sensitivity, the proxy means test approach is complemented by a categorical/profiling layer to address prevalence of specific needs enduring higher expenses.

The incumbent will be part of UNHCR’s Cash-Based Interventions Unit in Beirut, reporting to the Assistant Econometrician Officer and under the overall supervision of the Senior Programme CBI Officer. The unit comprises two international and four national staff, and collaborates closely with Programme, Protection, Registration, Communication with Communities, ICT, and other teams.

2. Purpose and Scope of Assignment

The Senior Econometrician Associate will assist with continuous analysis on the statistical acceptability of the econometric formula and its appropriateness for targeting the most vulnerable families for assistance. The tasks will also contain some work to support data analysis related to the financial transactions that UNHCR undertakes while delivering humanitarian assistance through Cash-Based interventions.

The Senior Econometrician Associate will:
• Assist in the planning, implementation, and post-implementation phases of UNHCR’s targeting exercises including design, development, re-estimation, validation and operationalization.
• Assist the ongoing refinement of the hybrid targeting approach.
• Contribute to the design of an effective grievance and redress mechanism.
• Support the assessment of UNHCR’s operationalization of the targeting formula, ensuring technical soundness, appropriate risk mitigation, and compliance with standard operating procedures and internal systems.
• Assist in ensuring data quality by developing validation procedures that guarantee targeting results and eligibility changes are accurately represented in operational systems.
• Contribute to technical checks and recalibration of the econometric model, ensuring that results are statistically valid and errors fall within acceptable ranges.
• Conduct targeted analysis to support understanding and refinement of the targeting formula, based on requests from UNHCR units.
• Assist in preparing and verifying files related to eligibility and SMS loading. Support automation of file preparation to enhance efficiency and reduce errors.
• Contribute to the sampling design and implementation of monitoring exercises related to targeting and assistance delivery.
• Contribute to joint targeting strategies and harmonization efforts, in collaboration with the Cash Working Group.
• Prepare regular reports and presentations for internal and external stakeholders, translating complex analytical concepts into clear, actionable insights.
• Provide assistance with additional tasks as needed, in alignment with programme priorities and under the guidance of the supervisor.

3. Monitoring and Progress Controls
• Provide regular updates—either written or verbal—on the status and progress of tasks related to the Assistant Econometrician Officer. The format and delivery method will be agreed upon with the supervisor.
• Prepare and present regular reports (in PowerPoint and/or written format) summarizing progress and key findings from targeting activities or other assigned tasks. These reports will be submitted to the Senior Programme CBI Officer for dissemination to Senior Management, the Cash Working Group, and other relevant internal and external stakeholders. The reporting format will be determined in consultation with the supervisor.

4. Qualifications and Experience

a. Education (Level and area of required and/or preferred education)
• For G7 - 4 years relevant experience with High School Diploma; or 2 years relevant work experience with Bachelor or equivalent or higher
• Relevant university degree in Economics, Finance, Statistics, Mathematics, Data Science is preferred.
• Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.

b. Work Experience
• Competent in tools like R, Python and SQL for modeling and data manipulation is required. Competent in tools like STATA or SPSS is desirable.
• Competent in visualization tools like Power BI and Tableau.
• Strong understanding of econometrics, and proved experience with data wrangling, predictive modeling, and data science methodologies.
• Experienced with model selection, evaluation and optimization techniques.
• Ability to design, calibrate, and validate proxy means tests or other predictive models using individual and household-level data.
• Skilled in analyzing large datasets to identify patterns of vulnerability.
• Ability to assess model performance and contribute to post-distribution monitoring and impact analysis.
• Familiarity with displacement dynamics, vulnerability drivers, and socio-economic conditions in crisis settings is considered an asset.
• Experience with time series analysis is desirable.
• Experience with data privacy and ethics is desirable.
• Experience with advanced modelling techniques (deep learning and natural language processing) is desirable.
• Experience working with UN agencies, NGOs, academia, research bodies, consultancies and government.

c. Key Competencies
• Communication: Ability to communicate complex findings into actionable insights for non-technical audiences.
• Problem Solving: Capacity to adapt models and approaches to changing contexts and data limitations.
• Attention to detail: Precision in data handling, model calibration, and documentation.
• Teamwork: Ability to effectively work in a multi-cultural environment with colleagues in different disciplines (e.g., Programme, Protection) contributing to joint efforts.
• Adaptability: Comfortable working in dynamic resource-constrained environments.