National Consultant on MICS (Open to Iraqi Nationals only)

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.   At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.   UNICEF is a place where careers are built. We offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built. We offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

How can you make a difference? 

UNICEF Iraq Country office is currently carrying out MICS that began in the year 2025 and will continue into 2026, which will be referred to as MICS7. The MAPLE Section in the CO is responsible for ensuring that all necessary pre-requisites are complete, and necessary human resources are in place to provide support to the UNICEF survey team and the Association of Statistics and GIS (ASGIS) and the Kurdistan Regional Statistical Office (KRSO). To ensure that the implementation of the MICS survey runs smoothly, the UNICEF Iraq Country Office plans to hire a full-time consultant to provide technical support to UNICEF and government counterparts.

Under the overall supervision of the Chief of Social Inclusion, the UNICEF MICS Consultant will support and provide guidance to UNICEF Iraq Country Office and the Association of Statistics and GIS (ASGIS) for the preparation, implementation, and completion of the MICS survey in country. The Consultant will advise (ASGIS) and (KRSO), especially the Survey Coordinator and sampling and data processing experts, during survey planning, questionnaire design, sampling, training, fieldwork, data processing, data analysis, dissemination, and archiving, ensuring that MICS protocols and recommendation are being followed at all times. The Consultant will communicate effectively between the Survey team in UNICEF CO, RO and  ASGIS , responding promptly to MICS related needs and issues as they arise

Goal / Objective – Programme Group Result/Intermediate Result (PCR/IR) relevance

MICS surveys are usually carried out by government organizations, with the support and technical assistance of UNICEF. Since 2025, UNICEF has been working closely with the implementing agency (ASGIS) and (KRSO) to undertake MICS7 and ensure that MICS guidelines[1] and international standards are met at all stages.

MICS 7 will is being managed by relevant MAPLE staff but the volatile situation and changing work priorities in context of Iraq necessitates that a full-time support capacity is available to the MICS team within UNICEF. The MICS team, however, will continue to work on the planning aspects along with the chosen consultant.

Specific Tasks

The Consultant will be responsible for coordinating and supporting the work of other resource persons hired by UNICEF to provide technical assistance to the MICS process. He/she will work in close collaboration with the survey team, the stakeholders, and Steering and Technical Committees and will represent UNICEF in meetings and workshops in relation to the survey as needed.

Main Tasks Related to the consultancy

• Provide specialized technical and managerial support on MICS Data Cleaning and Processing
• Deliver presentation  on the MICS methodology, tools, and guidelines to partners/stakeholders (e.g. ministries, UN Agencies, etc.).
• Provide technical inputs of key methodological discussions arising from MICS technical meetings
• Amend when needed in collaboration with national partners and UNICEF CO, the Survey Plan and Budget, including timetable and share with UNICEF Regional Office (RO);
• Provide technical outputs including datasets, tabulation plans, and analytical reports.
• Communicate regularly with the UNICEF CO, RO and/or Headquarters (HQ) responding to all MICS-related issues in a timely manner.
• Provide progress reports on MICS activities to the UNICEF CO/RO/HQ on monthly basis.
• Provide technical inputs to external expert reviews (e.g., Regional Sampling Consultant, Regional Data Processing Consultant, and Regional Household Survey Consultant) and support the incorporation of technical recommendations into survey outputs
• Provide technical advice on the documentation and archiving of survey-related materials (questionnaires, manuals, datasets, reports, and related outputs) in accordance with MICS standards
• Contribute technical expertise during MICS Steering Committee and Technical Committee meetings, as required.
• Contribute technical inputs and knowledge sharing during MICS regional workshops and technical consultations
• Document technical lessons learned, methodological challenges, and good practices during the MICS process and provide recommendations for sharing with the broader MICS community.

In consultation and collaboration with the UNICEF CO, ASGIS and KRSO the National MICS Consultant will provide technical guidance, quality assurance and methodological support  to ensure the following activities have been undertaken following the MICS guidelines and will contribute to the coordination of these activities:

Data Processing, Analysis and Report Writing:

• Provide technical review of the tabulation plan and SPSS syntax to ensure alignment with standard MICS tabulation requirements.
• Provide technical inputs to UNICEF Regional Data Processing Consultant with necessary information and support to his/her country visits (as necessary), including to the national Data Processing Workshop.
• Provide technical guidance on the calculation and application of sampling weights  included in the datasets and reviewed by sampling expert of ASGIS with the guidance and review of the UNICEF Regional Sampling Consultant.
• Provide technical inputs and recommendations during the drafting of the Survey Findings Report and Final Report, ensuring alignment with MICS reporting templates and methodological standards
• Conduct technical review of datasets, tables, and derived indicators, including the wealth index, prior to the preparation of analytical reported HQ.
• Provide technical support to the review process conducted by UNICEF Regional Office and Headquarters and incorporate technical feedback into revised outputs.
• Provide technical advice related to the preparation, presentation, and dissemination of key survey findings, including participation in national dissemination events as required, including a national data validation workshop.
• Provide technical guidance on the documentation and archiving of survey outputs, including datasets, questionnaires, manuals, tabulations, and reports in accordance with MICS standards.
• Provide technical guidance and review of secondary data editing processes and contribute recommendations to ensure data quality and consistency

For further information on the tasks please check the attached TOR.

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

Advanced University degree in Social Sciences, Demography, Statistics, Epidemiology

Proven skills, knowledge, and/or experience in the following:

• At least five years’ experience in the coordination and/or management of quantitative household surveys (prior MICS or Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) coordination experience highly desirable).
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including proven experience and skills in survey report writing
• Familiarity and previous experience of working in Iraq or the Middle East and/or in the region highly desirable
• Ability and willingness to travel extensively in-country and to attend regional workshops.

Language:

Excellent oral and written communications in English and Arabic.

Other skills:

• Strong computer skills and strong expertise in statistical analyses (familiarity with data processing and data analysis software, particularly SPSS).
• Training experience and ability to organize and facilitate training and presentations.

Competencies:

• Demonstrated ability to work in a multicultural environment and to establish harmonious and effective relationships both within and outside the organization.
• Demonstrated leadership and managerial ability.
• Planning and organizing.
• Networking

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness

(3) Drive to achieve results for impact

(4) Innovates and embraces change

(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity

(6) Thinks and acts strategically

(7) Works collaboratively with others 

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

Remarks:  

Duration of the assignment is 138 days within 8 months.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Applicants must submit a financial quotation indicating consultant fee (USD) against monthly deliverables as part of the application.

Consultant is remote with 1 travel Amman, Jordan and 2 in-country (Travel to Erbil and Suli.)

Consultant needs to produce a copy of their health insurance coverage at the time the contract is awarded.

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason. 

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.