Consultancy – Data Policy and Governance Consultant, DATA team (CDO), DAPM NYHQ (remote-based)

As an organization championing the well-being and rights of every child, UNICEF relies on data-driven insights to inform decision-making, prioritize interventions, and measure progress towards its mission. Correspondingly, UNICEF identifies data as a change strategy to accelerate progress across all its programme areas in its Strategic Plan 2022-2025. In the rapidly evolving landscape of data and data technologies including artificial intelligence (AI), UNICEF recognizes the critical importance of robust policies, procedures, and guidance notes to safeguard the integrity and confidentiality of data while maximizing its potential to drive positive outcomes for children worldwide. Clear and comprehensive data governance frameworks are essential to ensure that data is managed, protected, and utilized responsibly and effectively across all facets of UNICEF’s operations

Consultancy Title: Data Policy and Governance Consultant

Section/Division/Duty Station: Data Team (CDO), DAPM NYHQ (remote-based)

Duration: 5 months, 22 April 2024 – 04 October 2024

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

As an organization championing the well-being and rights of every child, UNICEF relies on data-driven insights to inform decision-making, prioritize interventions, and measure progress towards its mission. Correspondingly, UNICEF identifies data as a change strategy to accelerate progress across all its programme areas in its Strategic Plan 2022-2025. In the rapidly evolving landscape of data and data technologies including artificial intelligence (AI), UNICEF recognizes the critical importance of robust policies, procedures, and guidance notes to safeguard the integrity and confidentiality of data while maximizing its potential to drive positive outcomes for children worldwide. Clear and comprehensive data governance frameworks are essential to ensure that data is managed, protected, and utilized responsibly and effectively across all facets of UNICEF’s operations.

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

Scope of Work:

The consultant will actively contribute to reinforcing UNICEF’s commitment to data-driven decision-making and ensuring that every action taken by the organization is guided by a steadfast dedication to advancing the rights and well-being of children worldwide. Through this work, UNICEF aims to cultivate a culture of data stewardship and collaboration, empowering its workforce to leverage data effectively while upholding the highest standards of integrity and accountability. To carry out this work, the Data Strategy and Data Governance team in the office of the Chief Data Officer at UNICEF is seeking the support of a consultant with the following objectives:

• Identify analyse existing UNICEF policies, procedures, and guidance notes pertaining to data to identify overlaps and gaps in governance.
• Draft a data policy complementing existing policies and frameworks.
• Define roles and accountabilities for the data function complementary to adjacent functions (planning, monitoring, analytics, knowledge management, evaluation, research).
• Propose revisions to existing policies pertaining to data to reduce double governance and for alignment with the new data policy flagging any remaining gaps for follow-up action.
• Propose necessary procedures and guidance notes under the new data policy.
• Provide input into ongoing policy, procedure, and guidance revision processes led by UNICEF sections, divisions and offices outside the Chief Data Office.

This work builds on an assessment of existing data capabilities in country offices and complements the ongoing development of a framework for the structure of the data function and data capability building in UNICEF country offices (“data capability framework”). The work is informed by ongoing efforts to define the vision for a strategic Planning, Monitoring, Data, and Analytics function (S-PMDA-F) in UNICEF country offices supported by regional offices and headquarter divisions. UNICEF requires the services of an external consultant for the following activities:

• Activity 1: Identification and Analysis of Existing Policies
  • Review existing UNICEF policies, procedures, and guidance notes related to data.
  • Document key provisions and identify overlaps or gaps in governance.

• Activity 2: Drafting the Data Policy
  • Develop a first draft of the data policy, incorporating insights from the analysis of existing policies and frameworks and including roles and responsibilities for the data function at global, regional, and country level and as complementary to adjacent functions (planning, monitoring, analytics, knowledge management, evaluation, research) drawing on the data capability framework and the vision for the S-PMDA-F.
  • Integrate data governance best practices with the objective to improve data discoverability, accessibility, quality, and interoperability to drive data use and a culture of data stewardship.
  • Ensure alignment with relevant legal and regulatory requirements, including but not limited to the UNICEF data protection and privacy policy.
  • Prepare an overview of recommended procedures and guidance notes to be issued under the new data policy.
  • Conduct one-round of consultations with relevant offices and divisions on the draft data policy including with representatives from regional and country offices of various sizes (small, medium, large)

• Activity 3: Revising Existing Policies
  • Identify existing UNICEF policies, procedures, and guidance notes requiring revision to reduce double governance. Propose revisions to align these documents with the new data policy.
  • Develop a timeline for implementing these revisions in coordination with relevant departments.
• Activity 4: Providing Input into Ongoing Revision Processes
  • Participate in policy, procedure, and guidance revision processes led by teams outside the Chief Data Office. Specifically, the Technology Playbook, a guidance on identifying and addressing data protection risks resulting from the use of digital technology vendors, and the Research policy. Provide expertise and recommendations to ensure alignment with the new data policy and best practices in data governance.

Terms of Reference / Deliverables

Deliverable 1: Review existing policies that touch on aspects of data governance, analyse these policies for gaps and overlaps (double governance)

Deliverables/Outputs: Report providing a brief overview and summarizing the analysis of existing policies and the proposed data policy.

Delivery deadline: June 14, 2024

Deliverable 2: Produce a draft of the data policy that includes a section on roles and accountabilities regarding data for key roles in country and regional offices and in HQ divisions.

Deliverables/Outputs: First draft of the data policy document and plan for consultations including participants and timeline.

Delivery deadline: July 12, 2024

Deliverable 3: Identify existing policies and procedures that require revisions.

Deliverables/Outputs: Overview of recommended revisions to existing policies and proposed timeline.

Delivery deadline: July 26, 2024

Deliverable 4: Identify required procedures and guidance notes to be developed under the data policy, state their purpose and who needs to be consulted during development.

Deliverables/Outputs: Procedures and guidance notes developed under the new data policy.

Delivery deadline: August 16, 2024

Deliverable 5: Consult on the data policy draft with relevant divisions and offices.

Deliverables/Outputs: Revised draft of the data policy incorporating first round of feedback from relevant divisions and offices.

Delivery deadline: October 4, 2024

Deliverable 6: Provide input into the Technology Playbook, a guidance on identifying and addressing data protection risks resulting from the use of digital technology vendors (existing draft), and the Research policy.

Deliverables/Outputs: A section on data in the Technology Playbook, an advanced guidance on data protection risks resulting from the use of digital technology vendors, inputs on the Research policy.

Delivery deadline: October 4 ,2024

No travel is envisaged for this consultancy.

Qualifications

Education

• An advanced university degree (Masters and/or PhD) in one of the following fields/disciplines is required: in law, in a data related field, in international development, in public policy, or another area relevant to the work outlined above.

Work experience

• A minimum of 5 years of professional experience in policy analysis for digital/data transformation and/or in data governance, meaning, best practices aimed at improving data accessibility, discoverability, quality, and interoperability.
• Experience in the development of policies, policy frameworks, procedures, and guidance documents
• Experience in project and stakeholder management with a proven track records to establish and keep to project plans and timelines.
• Experience in data protection and privacy programme design and implementation is considered an asset.
• Exposure or experience working with or implementing tools for implementation or partial automation of data governance is considered an asset.
• Experience working in a UN organization is required, prior experience in a policy or policy-adjacent (e.g., planning) role is highly desirable.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language is considered an asset.

Competencies

• Demonstrated strong writing and presentation skills. Strong analytical and interpersonal communication skills, attention to detail.
• Valuing teamwork and collaboration including the ability to foster excellent work relationships and to build alliances with multi‐cultural and multi‐disciplinary stakeholders simultaneously.
• Ability to manage and execute multiple tasks with little supervision while meeting sometimes inflexible deadlines.
• Demonstrated creativity, ability to think systematically, willingness, and ability to incorporate innovative solutions.

Requirements:

• Completed profile in UNICEF’s e-Recruitment system
• Upload copy of academic credentials
• Financial proposal that will include:
• the costs per each deliverable and the total all-inclusive (lump-sum) fees for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference.
  • travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR.
  • Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, 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.

Health Insurance:

The Consultant is fully responsible for arranging at their own expense, such as life, health, and other forms of insurance covering the term of the Contract as he or she considers appropriate.  The Consultant is not eligible to participate in the life or health insurance schemes available to UNICEF and United Nations staff members.

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

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.