Junior Monitoring Consultant, LACRO, Panama (Home-Based South America - 11.5 months) Part-Time

Consultant Programme & Policy Monitoring & Evaluation

Overview

Assist in cleaning, analyzing, and visualizing children's data for UNICEF.

You have:

• University degree in a social science, data science, economics or related field with a strong component of quantitative data analysis.
• At least 1 year of work experience conducting data cleaning, analysis, manipulation, visualization, etc.
• Proven experience in manipulating large data sets, including merging, reshaping and filtering.
• Proven experience with writing code/script in R, Python, SPSS or similar statistical package.
• Fluency in English and Spanish is required.
• Familiarity with Shiny app or similar tools is considered an asset.
• Strong ability to think structurally and methodically.
• Detailed and results-oriented with a strong commitment to deliver high-quality products.
• Ability to work with tight deadlines, take initiative, be pro-active and work in a multi-cultural environment.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

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, hope

UNICEF promotes the rights and well-being of all children and adolescents. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to transform this commitment into practical actions that benefit them all, with a special focus on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded around the world.

UNICEF works to put the rights and well-being of the most disadvantaged children at the center of the social, political and economic agenda, in line with our focus on equity, working across our organization and with our partners in government, civil society and the private sector to support changes in public policy, drive social engagement and increase investment for children.

UNICEF's Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is based in Panama and provides technical and strategic support to the 24 country offices covering 36 countries and territories in the region.

To fulfill its mandate, the availability and utilization of high-quality, timely data on the situation of children in the region as well as the progress towards programmatic results, both in humanitarian settings and regular work, is indispensable. UNICEF LACRO has identified a number of strategic challenges the monitoring function is facing in the region. These include a lack of timely and in-depth data analysis, the underutilization of available data for planning and decision making, and a weak data culture.

How can you make a difference?

This consultancy will contribute to strengthening data culture in the regional and country offices by improving data analysis and visualization capabilities. Under the supervision of the Regional Monitoring Specialist, the incumbent will be responsible for assisting in the cleaning, analysis and visualization of data related to children, with a focus on making existing data available and accessible to programme managers for decision-making.

The tasks will include, but are not limited to, automatizing data manipulation, conducting section-specific analyses and visualizing findings. The consultant is expected to contribute to the interpretation of the analysis and present technical information and findings in an easily understood way for programme sectors and the office’s management.

Specific Tasks:

Under the overall guidance of LACRO’s Monitoring Specialist, the consultant will support the analysis and visualization of program and situation data for quality control and to facilitate their use in decision making. With this goal in mind, the consultant will clean and organize existing data related to children, as well as produce both static and dynamic visualization to communicate findings. Particularly, the consultant will work on:

1. Update the region’s Statistical Panorama
2. Support ongoing monitoring initiatives in various sectors and the region’s cross-cutting priority areas, including developing automatized data cleaning, merging and analysis
3. Further develop and refine full text search of qualitative information, including the further methodological development and making the search accessible via a user interface
4. Support the quality control, cleaning and analysis of regularly collected data and reports, both from internal systems as well as official statistics
5. Support requests for assistances related to data and analytics from all goal areas in the regional office

Expected Results:

• Update of the region’s Statistical Panorama
• Script/ code for automatized data cleaning of internal data generated through end of year reporting
• Customized analytical reports for the five cross-cutting regional programming priorities
• Full text search of qualitative information
  • final annotated script
  • user interface for customized searches
• Conduct additional data analysis and visualization as required

All deliverables will be received in digital format. Finally, note that tasks will not take place in sequential order. As such, a monthly report will be submitted to keep track of work done in each area. The monthly reports will include copies of the syntax, statistical reports, and other deliverables described above.

Deliverables

Description

Duration

[in days]

Update of the region’s Statistical Panorama

15 days

Script/ code for automatized data cleaning of internal data generated

through end of year reporting

15 days

Customized analytical reports for the five cross-cutting regional

programming priorities

20 days

Full text search of qualitative information

final annotated script

user interface for customized searches

20 days

Conduct additional data analysis and visualization as required

10 days

Total

80 days

All deliverables will undergo several rounds of review, feedback and adjustments and will be received in digital format. Finally, note that tasks will not take place in sequential order. As such, a monthly report will be submitted to keep track of work done in each area. The monthly reports will include copies of the syntax, statistical reports, and other deliverables described above.

The consultant will respect the confidentiality of any data used for the project. Unless publicly available, the documents and datasets shared with the consultant can only be used of the tasks outlined in these terms of reference. Each deliverable will undergo several rounds of review and feedback by the regional monitoring specialist. All products compiled and/or produced under this contract are the intellectual property of UNICEF. The consultant will work from home using own equipment and stationery. No travel is expected for this consultancy.

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

• Education: University degree in a social science, data science, economics or related field with a strong component of quantitative data analysis.
• Work experience: At least 1 year of work experience conducting data cleaning, analysis, manipulation, visualization, etc.
  • Proven experience, through work or classroom assignments, in manipulating large data sets, including merging, reshaping and filtering.
  • Proven experience with writing code/ script in R, Python, SPSS or similar statistical package.
  • Experience with data visualization, including specialized apps such as Shiny, is an asset.
  • Prior exposure to UN data systems and/or analysis of data of large organizations is considered a strong asset.
• Languages: Fluency in English and Spanish is required
• Technical Knowledge:
  • Proficiency in R, Python and/or other data manipulation and statistical analysis software is required
  • Familiarity with Shiny app or similar tools is considered an asset
  • Familiarity with a search engine database tool such as Mongo or Solar is considered an asset

• O****ther skills:

  • Strong ability to think structurally and methodically
  • Detailed and results-oriented with a strong commitment to deliver high-quality products

  • Proven ability to communicate complex findings in simple and impactful ways

  • Ability to work with tight deadlines, take initiative, be pro-active and work in a multi-cultural environment.

  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
  • Demonstrated ability to work in a multicultural environment and establish harmonious and effective relationships with UNICEF country offices.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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

UNICEF competencies: building and maintains partnerships, demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness, drive to achieve results for impact, innovates and embraces change, manages ambiguity and complexity, thinks and acts strategically and works collaboratively with others.

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

Administrative details:

Supervision: The consultant will work under direct supervision of the regional Monitoring Specialist.

Workplace: Home-based. (South America home-based an advantage)

Visits to countries will be defined as per-country needs and approval by UNICEF regional office. In case travel, travel will be covered by UNICEF as per policy.

• Travel costs will be estimated and added to the contract once they are determined based on UNICEF Financial Rules and Regulations.

• For agreed country visits, the contractor/consultant will be responsible in administering their own travel. UNICEF will reimburse travel related expenses based on actual costs or on the below criteria whichever is lower and upon presentation of receipts.

• Any travel involved should be budgeted according to UN Travel Standards as a ceiling.

• UN Secretariat Administrative Instruction on Official Travel, ST/AI/2013/3: Sect. 4, para. 4.2, numerals (d) and (e)

• For information on Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA), can be found on the International Civil Service Commission website (all countries and destinations can be found by navigating on the map).

How to Apply? Application should be submitted online and should include:

• Resume (no longer than two pages)
• Cover Letter (no longer than one page)
• Financial proposal for the products
• Two (2) samples of past work related to data manipulation and/or analysis. These can include scripts/ codes in R, Python or similar software, data visualizations or similar. The submitted samples of past work need to be original work completed by the candidate only and may be submitted as files or provided via links.
• Only complete applications will be accepted, which include a financial proposal and samples of past work. The financial proposal should include the cost for medical insurance coverage during all the consultancy period.

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.

Duration of contract: Estimated start date of this consultancy is the first week of December 2022 for a period of 11.5 months - Part-time)

Insurance: The selected contractor must demonstrate a proof of medical insurance prior to the beginning of the consultancy and must be valid for the entire duration of the contract. In duty stations where UNICEF provides medical evacuation, the medical insurance that the contractor holds should include provisions for medical evacuation.

Vacancy Announcement Remarks:

Please note only short-listed candidates will be contacted. UNICEF reserves the right to make additional assessment of the pre-selected candidates.

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, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and 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.

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.

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Potential interview questions

Added 3 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unicef.org