Consultancy Title: Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys GIS Expert Consultant

Section/Division: Data and Analytics Team (DAT), DAPM NYHQ (remote-based)

Duration: 20 November 2023 to 20 November 2024 (12 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

Purpose of Activity/Assignment

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, and nutrition.  For many countries, MICS surveys are among the 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 6^th round while 7^th round started earlier 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. The 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 currently mainstreaming into the Programme.

One such aspect is to work on mainstreaming geospatial data availability in MICS surveys titled “the MICS GIS Initiative”.

Scope of Work

In order to continue the roll-out and mainstreaming of the MICS GIS initiative in MICS7, UNICEF HQ intends to engage a mid-level GIS expert consultant with previous MICS or similar household survey GIS 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, such as integrating GIS into sampling related activities (mapping & listing activity, degrees of urbanization) and to enable and automate multiple geospatial covariates on the final data sets. 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.

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 incoming Statistics Specialist (GIS), the following tasks are to be supported by the GIS expert consultant.

1. Support integration of MICS GIS to MICS Website – review and operationalize designs.
2. Support maintenance of GIS protocols across existing MICS7 tools, global tools, and the technical collaboration framework.
3. Support updates to GIS package – Support Methodological Paper, instruction manuals, Covariates Extract Data Description paper, training videos of GPS Data Collection from the field, training videos of the MICS GIS tools for MICS YouTube channel, webinar/workshop packages.
4. Data collection applications – support review of design and support field test of Listing app, Fieldwork app as related to GIS, as well as overall functionality.
5. Support maintenance of shapefile repository.
6. Support work on anonymization of geocoded surveys.
7. Software programming – QGIS updates.
8. Support work on generating geospatial covariates for MICS7 and existing geocoded surveys.
9. Support to integration of degrees of urbanization.
10. Ad-hoc GIS related analytical support.

Terms of Reference / Deliverables

Task 1

New MICS website including MICS GIS related space and mainstreamed download ability.

Deliverable

1. Support to drafting of proposed designs, reviews, website integration and sharing of cluster geocodes, covariates, and shapefile repository.
2. Support to preparation and finalisation of GIS related aspects of the new MICS website.

Timeline: 29 December and 01 March 2023

Task 2

GIS protocols maintained in all MICS7 tools, global tools, and Technical Collaboration framework.

Deliverable

1. Support drafting of template GIS analytical report.
2. Support maintenance of all existing MICS7 tools, including new MICS website.

Timeline: 29 December 2023 and 22 November 2024

Task 3

GIS package.

Deliverable

1. Draft methodological papers.
2. Draft Covariates Extract Data Description paper.
3. Support tool updates.

Timeline: 01 March 2024, 29 July 2024, and 22 November 2024

Task 4

Data collection applications.

Deliverable

1. Review, test, finalise listing app v2 (GIS).
2. Review, finalise listing app documentation.
3. Review, test fieldwork app v1 (CSPro).
4. Review, test fieldwork app v2 (CSPro).

Timeline: 01 March 2024, 29 July 2024, 01 March 2024, and 29 July 2024

Task 5

Shapefile repository

Deliverable

1. 10 surveys
2. 25 surveys

Timeline: 29 December 2023 and 29 July 2024

Task 6

Anonymisation of cluster geocoding.

Deliverable

1. 5 surveys
2. 5 surveys
3. 5 surveys
4. 5 surveys

Timeline: 29 December 2023,01 March 2024, 29 July 2024, and 22 November 2024

Task 7

Software programming

Deliverable

1. Support maintenance of QGIS plug-in.

Timeline: 01 March 2024

Task 8

Geospatial covariates for MICS7 and existing geocoded surveys.

Deliverable

1. Support finalisation of template data file.
2. Add covariates to existing and new geocoded surveys

Timeline: 29 July 2024 and 22 November 2024

Task 9

Integration of degrees of urbanization.

Deliverable

1. Support development of sample post-stratification method.
2. Support development of sample design stratification method.

Timeline: 29 July 2024

Task 10

Ad-hoc GIS related analytical support.

Deliverable

1. Support ad-hoc GIS analyses, e.g., emergency contexts.

Timeline: 22 November 2024

Travel International

1. Istanbul, Turkey: February/March 2024, one trip to MICS 7 Survey Design Workshop.
2. Belmopan, Belize: December 2023, one trip to test Mapping and Listing Application.

Qualifications

Education

• University degree in Geography or Social Sciences with significant GIS-related coursework and significant measurement or analysis components. A minimum of two (2) years of experience with geospatial work in household surveys is required. Experience with MICS data in this aspect is preferred

Work experience

• Expert skills in QGIS and ArcGIS is a requirement.
• Experience with SPSS is highly desirable.
• Experience with the MICS CSPro data collection platform through fieldwork assignments (Supervisor or Interviewer) during the 6th round of MICS is preferred.
• Knowledge of the Global MICS Programme is desirable.

 Competencies

• Excellent knowledge of MS Office is necessary.
• Fluency in English is a requirement. Knowledge of other official United Nations. languages, in particular Arabic, French, Russian or Spanish is an advantage.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a multicultural environment and establish harmonious and effective relationships with national partners.

 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.

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.