Consultancy – Qualitative Research Consultant (Disrupting Harm) – GORaF – Florence, Italy – 1 year

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

For every child, Research

UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight is the dedicated research office of UNICEF. It undertakes and commissions research and foresight on emerging or current issues of relevance for children to inform the strategic directions, policies and programs of UNICEF and its partners. The Global Office explores emerging issues, identifies research gaps, brings together existing researchers, and supports or undertakes research, foresight and data collection to address critical questions and inform global debates relevant to children.

UNICEF Innocenti conducts research on child well-being and rights, including cross-cutting research on how the digital development impacts children and society. Access to digital technology can be an important enabler for children to develop the skills and literacies necessary to achieve learning objectives and to prepare for an increasingly digitalized world. At the same time, internet access may compound existing risks to children that, unless managed, could undermine their well-being.

To understand how digital transformation of society affects children and ensure their well-being and rights are protected and supported in a digital age, UNICEF Innocenti and partners have conducted and supported research on children’s use of digital technology for the past 8 years in more than 40 countries across the world. Primarily, UNICEF Innocenti has led or supported the implementation of comparative, cross-national household surveys with children and parents, focusing on their online use, risks and opportunities.

UNICEF Innocenti is recruiting a qualitative research consultant to support our research on child internet use, with a specific focus on supporting research on online child sexual exploitation and abuse under our Disrupting Harm project. This project has already been implemented in 13 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa and Southeast Asia, and similar research is currently being conducted in another 12 countries in Latin America, Middle East and North Africa, and Eastern Europe.

How can you make a difference? 

Major areas of work and responsibility:

1. Oversee local qualitative researchers/teams to conduct the data collection in each of 12 countries, together with the Research Manager and UNICEF country offices.
2. Localize the global research protocols together with national research teams.
3. Support data collection in each country, including identifying the samples and support recruitment of participants.
4. Develop the coding frame and analysis protocols for all qualitative research activities.
5. Train local qualitative researchers on the data collection tools and coding frame.
6. Analyze qualitative data from each country and activity.
7. Write up the final report by contributing to mixed-methods analysis, together with the rest of the team.
8. Support with in-country partner meetings, national consultations, and project launches.
9. Provide other support to the Digital team as needed to deliver the Disrupting Harm project.

Methodologies and Tools

• The candidate must be familiar with at least one common software package for analyzing qualitative data (e.g., nVivo).

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have:

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in  a relevant social science discipline
• A minimum of four years of progressively responsible professional work experience at national or international levels as a qualitative researcher, with developing country experience desirable.
• Experience with design of qualitative research and use of qualitative methods essential; experience with quantitative research considered an asset.
• Experience with research on digital technology, violence against children, or child rights is desirable; experience of conducting research with vulnerable groups considered an asset.
• Experience managing multi-country data collection and related training is considered an asset.
• Strong analytical skills and extensive knowledge of common software packages (e.g. nVivo).
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and excellent attention to detail.
• Strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to work well as part of a geographically dispersed team and across sectors, and of managing partnerships.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a multicultural environment; experience working in the UN or other international development organization an asset.
• Fluency in English is required; Fluency in Spanish, French or Arabic considered an asset.

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. 

Conditions of Consultancy

1. This consultancy requires the consultant to travel in order to complete the required deliverables effectively and efficiently. The full cost of travel should be included into the bid for the contract. While UNICEF Innocenti does not make travel arrangements for consultants, there are value for money rules that apply to consultant travel. The consultant will arrange their own travel, clear the anticipated cost with UNICEF and invoice UNICEF for the travel cost as soon as the travel has been completed.
2. UNICEF Innocenti will assist consultants with arrangements for visas, work permits, vaccinations, etc.
3. UNICEF does not regard Individuals engaged under a consultancy contract as “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures. Consultants are therefore not entitled to benefits such as leave, pension 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.
4. Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed 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.
5. Consultants are encouraged to ensure that they fully understand (a) the requirements of each deliverable and (b) the workload associated with reaching a deliverable.
6. UNICEF Innocenti recognizes that, due to the locations of some of its research, events may occur that either delay deliverables or prevent them from being completed. These events need to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine the impact on the payment schedule of the contract. It is UNICEF Innocenti’s objective to be fair to consultants in situations where deliverables are delayed or no longer attainable through no wrongdoing of the consultant.
7. Consultants 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.

Payment schedule

Deliverable/Output:	To be paid on:
Deliverables package 1: • Fieldwork training outcomes report • 1st Draft of localized qualitative research protocols (1 country) • 1st Draft of localized safeguarding protocols (1 country)	31 March 2024
Deliverables package 2: • Localized qualitative research protocols finalized (4 countries) • Localized safeguarding protocols finalized (4 countries) • Qualitative research implementation plan and recruitment strategies (5 countries) • Preliminary reports of 1st wave of data collection (3 countries)	3 May 2024
Deliverables package 3: • Qualitative preliminary reports of 1st wave of data collection (3 countries) • Qualitative preliminary reports of 2nd wave of data collection (2 countries)	8 July 2024
Deliverables package 4: • Qualitative preliminary reports of 1st wave of data collection (1 country) • Qualitative preliminary reports of 2nd wave of data collection (1 country) • Mixed-methods analysis framework (delivered with team)	30 August 2024
Deliverables package 5: • Qualitative preliminary reports of 2nd wave of data collection (4 countries) • Qualitative chapters for country reports (2 countries) drafted	4 October 2024
Deliverables package 6: • Qualitative chapters for country reports (2 countries) drafted	29 November 2024
Deliverables package 7: • Qualitative chapters for country reports (2 countries) drafted	31 January 2025
Deliverables package 8: • Qualitative chapters for country reports (1 country) drafted	28 February 2025

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.