Back Consultancy - Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys GIS Expert Consultant (Junior), Data and Analytics (D&A) Section, DAPM NYHQ (remote based)

Consultancy Title: Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys GIS Expert Consultant (Junior)

Section/Division/Duty Station: Data and Analytics (D&A) Section; Division of Data, Analytics, Planning and Monitoring; NYHQ (remote based)

Duration: 24 October 2022 – 29 September 2023

About UNICEF

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries.

BACKGROUND

Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) enable countries to produce statistically sound and internationally comparable estimates of a range of indicators on the situation of children and women, in areas such as health, education, early childhood development, child protection, water and sanitation, nutrition and HIV/AIDS.  For many countries, MICS surveys are among most important sources of data used for situation analyses, policy decisions, programme interventions, and for informing the public about the situation of children and women. 

Currently, the MICS programme is completing its 6th round, and preparing for the MICS7, which will start in 2023.

Activities relating to this include rigorous reviews of every single tool and process of the global programme to identify what aspect can be improved. Outside the more visible and in-focus central tools of the List of Indicators and associated questionnaires, tools range from simple templates of terms of references for committees to complex under-the-hood data collection and analysis programming. Processes include guidance and methodology on every aspect of household surveying. A new round naturally also kicks off an opportunity to align priorities of work and survey content, i.e., what will the standard package of the Global MICS Programme contain.

In parallel to this core maintenance and development of the traditional MICS package, the Programme is engaged in a large number of innovations that are expected to become mainstream aspects of the Programme in the near future, many of which as soon as MICS7 begins.

One such aspect is to work on mainstreaming geospatial data availability in MICS surveys. The working title of this is “the MICS GIS Initiative”.

In order to prepare for the roll-out and smooth transition to mainstreaming of the MICS GIS initiative in MICS7, UNICEF HQ will hire two GIS consultants: A senior/mid-level household survey expert consultant with significant GIS expertise and a junior/mid-level GIS expert consultant with previous MICS experience.

The integration of GIS in MICS entails operational tweaks, mostly of minor pieces in processes and protocols, but with a few larger course changes. The GIS domain will also include retrospective survey work, including finalization of a geospatial data repository and availability of GIS data for surveys in previous rounds of MICS.

Terms of Reference / Deliverables

In consultation with the HQ MICS Team members, as required, under the overall supervision of the Statistics Specialist (Household surveys), and under the leadership of the household survey consultant (GIS), the following tasks are to be supported by the GIS expert consultant.

The consultancy is for 11.5 months.

Qualifications

Requirements: 

U.S. Visa information:

With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA). 

To view our competency framework, please visit here. 

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check. 

Remarks:  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.