Information Management Consultant, Individual Consultancy, 19 Months ( 413 days), home based

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, support

UNICEF Lebanon is seeking an Information Management Consultant to support the Makani Programme, an integrated initiative aimed at providing comprehensive services to vulnerable children and youth.

The Makani Programme aims to provide integrated services to 58,000 vulnerable children and youth aged 3 to 18 years and their caregivers in 198 centers across eight governorates in Lebanon. The Makani centers offer a range of services, including education support, child protection and psychosocial support, youth empowerment and engagement, early childhood development support, health and nutrition services, parental and caregiver support, social and behavioral change, digital literacy, disability inclusion, and cash support.

One primary responsibility involves overseeing the data entry process, ensuring timely and accurate reporting by all Makani partners. This includes conducting regular checks to verify information completeness and accuracy. If discrepancies or missing data occur at the child, center, or facilitator level, the consultant will promptly address these issues, analyzing data trends and providing accurate numerical insights in a timely manner.

Furthermore, the consultant will provide actionable recommendations to rectify reporting inefficiencies, conducting a rigorous review of the program’s data system. This involves validating diverse data, including children’s demographics, performance metrics, caregiver details, and program activities. The focus on securing a complete and accurate dataset is pivotal for informed decision-making and effective program evaluation.

Moreover, as part of their responsibilities, they will conduct regular data cleaning of the outreach data and Makani data, ensuring consistency and accuracy. The consultant will meticulously review and refine the datasets, addressing any discrepancies or anomalies promptly. Clean extractions of the data will be consistently shared with partners to ensure uniformity and reliability in reporting standards.

Recognizing the program’s evolving needs, the consultant will actively suggest improvements to the existing data system. Additionally, conducting a comprehensive review of existing data related to children and their performance metrics remains a crucial aspect of their role. This analysis aims to enhance data quality, reporting protocols, and overall program effectiveness.

In addition, the consultant will also provide technical and operational support for the Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) longitudinal mixed-methods research study for the UNICEF LCO’s Makani programme. The GAGE research will support UNICEF LCO 1) to understand the experiences and lives of vulnerable children and adolescents in Lebanon, 2) to examine how and if Makani programme are supporting vulnerable children, adolescents, youth, and caregivers to reach their full capabilities, and 3) provide evidence-based recommendations to inform programme improvement and development.

The consultant will work to establish a unified data management system for non-formal education (NFE) sector partners that supports an evidence-based education response so that the information can be used in making administrative/managerial decisions and to facilitate transitions by archiving the evidence. 

The work assignment for the consultant will cover a duration of 18 months period, with the primary focus on facilitating effective information management and reporting for the Makani Programme. The key areas of support are highlighted below:

1. Ensure data from partners are consistently collected and stored and is available for regular analysis to support decision making.
2. Provide timely data collection, information management, analysis, and reporting including infographics and maps for donor and reports.
3. Provide technical and operational support for GAGE’s longitudinal mixed-methods research study for the UNICEF Lebanon Makani programme.
4. Establish a unified data management system for NFE sector partners.

How can you make a difference? 

Tasks/Milestones:	Deliverables/Outputs:	Timeline:
Task 1: Develop and implement data collection methods to track programme activities and outcomes.	Data collection methods created and utilized	End Feb 2024 End of April 2024
Task 2: Ensure timely and accurate data entry and management.	Monthly reports	By the end of each month throughout the contract.
Task 3: Collaborate with field staff and partners to collect and verify data.	Monthly reports	By the end of each month throughout the contract duration.
Task 4: Generate regular reports on programme progress and outcomes. Compile data for donor reporting and internal use.	Programme and centre briefing notes, along with Monthly reports.	By the end of each month throughout the contract duration.
Task 5: Create data visualization tools to facilitate decision-making Identify opportunities to improve information management systems.	Quarterly report submitted	By the end of every quarter
Task 6: Recommend and implement changes to streamline data collection and reporting. Support the monitoring and evaluation processes, including surveys and evaluations.	Quarterly report submitted	By the end of every quarter

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

• A Bachelor’s degree in Information management, statistics, data science, or a related field.
• Minimum 4 years’ experience in Information management or monitoring and evaluation.
• Fluency in English and Arabic is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish)  is an asset.

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:  Data management, writing skills, communication skills, proficiency in using Microsoft tools, capacity to work autonomously.

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. 

Please indicate your ability, availability and a detailed cost proposal  to undertake the terms of reference above (including travel and daily subsistence allowance, if applicable).  Applications submitted without a daily rate will not be considered. ( you can refer to the table of deliverables above)

UNICEF does not charge any fee during any stage of the recruitment process.