Consultancy – Researcher/Data Analyst – Migration, Data and Analytics (D&A) Section, DAPM NYHQ (home based)

Consultancy Title: Researcher/Data Analyst – Migration

Section/Division/Duty Station:  Data and Analytics (D&A) Section, DAPM, New York (home based)

Duration: 4 months

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

Over the last decades, UNICEF and UNHCR have been collaborating to provide high-quality assistance to asylum seeking, refugee, returnee, stateless and IDP children. This collaboration covers thematic sectors (education, child protection, gender-based violence, WASH, nutrition, health), cross-cutting topics (community engagement, early childhood development, gender, cash, protection against sexual exploitation and abuse or PSEA) and operational matters (supply, CSO partnerships) at global, regional and local level.

Most recently, in December 2019, following the adoption of the Global Refugee Compact and to further strengthen the collaboration, UNICEF and UNHCR agreed on a “blueprint” to strengthen collaboration, support for and advocacy on the inclusion refugee and returnee children in national education, WASH and child protection systems and to ensure a measurably better response for refugee children and their families. Through joint actions, the Blueprint initiative aims to transform the quality of life for refugee children and their families by improving comparable, reliable, timely, disaggregated and accessible data on the situation of refugee children and their families, and the extent of receipt of essential services.

Terms of Reference / Deliverables

UNICEF seeks to engage a consultant to support the development of a technical paper on data disaggregation needs and risks in collaboration with UNHCR. The objective of the paper is to map out requirements for appropriate disaggregation, provide recommendation of modifications of institutional definitions and data standards where appropriate, and to establish a shared approach to assessing risk and subsequent alternatives to identifying or counting children by their refugee status or other disaggregation, where it is not considered appropriate or safe to do so, while improving our understanding of inclusion. This will build on available disaggregation standards such as the UNICEF Child Functioning Module and Washington Disability Group standards.

The scope of work will include:

In close collaboration with staff of UNHCR, the consultant is expected to carry out the following tasks as contributions to the technical paper:

1. Conceptualisation of the paper:

• Conducting a desk literature review on data disaggregation standards, data disaggregation risks for children/refugees, etc.
• Facilitating the mapping of key population and sectoral data disaggregation needs in coordination with sectoral specialists, including data to monitor SDGs and GCR indicators
• Providing inputs to defining of the paper outline, focus and scope

The above activities will require the consultant to maintain contact with sectoral specialists for consultation and technical guidance and incorporate comments and suggestions into the paper.

2. Drafting the paper

• Work with the UNHCR representation to outline and draft the technical paper that outlines key data disaggregation needs and a joint approach to assess risks and possible solutions by country teams

3. Piloting the paper recommendations

• Conduct consultations with pilot countries to assess the usefulness/relevance of recommended approaches and tools to assess disaggregation needs and risks in population and sectoral systems and data sources.
• Conduct consultations with sectoral data experts and pilot countries to test the recommendations

4. Revision and validation

• Incorporate lessons learned from piloting into revised paper/tools for final validation and dissemination.

Qualifications

1) Education

• University degree (M.A.) in Statistics, Economics, Sociology and another discipline with strong focus on quantitative methods.
• The individual should be highly proficient in a range of PC/web applications, including but not limited to: MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint and MS Outlook;

2) Work experience

• Minimum 2 years proven professional work in research, social sciences, public health, or demography is required
• Previous experience with conducting literature reviews and/or systematic reviews is required
• Previous experience with writing research results is required.
• Strong technical and analytical writing skills in English is required

3) Competencies

• Advanced communication skills both orally and in writing;
• Strong organizational, planning, and analytical skills;
• Ability to work independently in a timely manner
• Attention to detail
• Ability to meet deadlines
• Fluent in English

Requirements

• Completed profile in UNICEF’s e-Recruitment system and provide Personal History Form (P11) Upload copy of academic credentials
• Financial proposal that will include:
• your daily/monthly rate (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference (can be downloaded here: https://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index_consultancy_assignments.html 
  • Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.
  • Indicate your availability
• Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.
• At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.
• Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

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) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

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.