Individual Consultant (BiH national) on Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) Duration: minimum of 12 months and a maximum of 18 months

Under the overall supervision of the Child Rights Monitoring/Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, the National MICS Consultant (NMC) will support and provide guidance to UNICEF Country office and BiH Agency for Statistics (BHAS) and other key implementing partners for the preparation, implementation and completion of the MICS survey in BiH

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Backgorund:

The Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) is an international household survey programme developed and supported by UNICEF. MICS is designed to collect estimates of key indicators that are used to assess the situation of children and women. Over the past 20 years, MICS has evolved to respond to changing data needs, expanding from 28 indicators in the first round to more than 200 indicators in the current sixth round, and becoming a key source of data on child protection, early childhood education, and a major source of data on child health and nutrition. In addition to being a data collection tool to generate data for monitoring the progress towards national goals and global commitments for promoting the welfare of children, MICS provided valuable data for MDG monitoring as a major source of data for the UN Secretary General’s Final Millennium Development Goals Report.

Purpose of the Job

Under the overall supervision of the Child Rights Monitoring/Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, the National MICS Consultant (NMC) will support and provide guidance to UNICEF Country office and BiH agency for Statistics (BHAS) and other key implementing partners for the preparation, implementation and completion of the MICS survey in BiH . The NMC will advise the BHAS and other key implementing partners’ , 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 recommendations are being followed at all times. The NMC will communicate effectively between the UNICEF CO and BHAS and other key implementing partners responding promptly to MICS related needs and issues as they arise.

The NMC will be responsible for coordinating and supporting the work of other resource persons hired by UNICEF to provide technical assistance to the MICS process. The consultant 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. The NMC will also work in close collaboration with the regional MICS Coordinator and the Global MICS Team in UNICEF HQ.

Main Tasks Related to the Job

1. Provide technical and managerial support to the MICS survey;
2. Present the MICS methodology, tools, and guidelines to partners/stakeholders (e.g. ministries, UN Agencies, etc.);
3. Finalise, in collaboration with national partners and UNICEF CO, the Survey Plan and Budget, including timetable and share with UNICEF Regional Office (RO);
4. Ensure that the Ethical Protocol and other ethical recommendations are addressed in the survey implementation process and that all MICS related documents are shared with the national Ethical Committee on time for approval;
5. Oversee each stage of the survey process and ensure that the MICS protocols and standards are followed by the BHAS and other key implementing partners, more specifically during training and field supervision visits;
6. Communicate regularly with the UNICEF CO, RO and/or Headquarters (HQ) responding to all MICS related issues in a timely manner;
7. Provide monthly updates on MICS activities to the UNICEF CO/RO/HQ;
8. Coordinate the work of BHAS  and other key implementing partners specialists and UNICEF Regional Consultants and other resource persons assigned by the UNICEF CO and/or RO to support different survey stages;
9. Ensure that external technical reviews by experts (i.e. Regional Sampling Consultant, Regional Data Processing Consultant, and Regional Household Survey Consultant) are carried out at key survey stages and coordinate the feedback and response between the CO/RO/HQ and BHAS and key implementing partners;
10. Ensure that all survey related documents and deliverables are properly archived throughout the survey process (for example: Memorandum of Understanding, Survey Plan and Budget, questionnaires, manuals, sample design, training/pre-test reports, expert reports, CAPI application, output and tabulation plan tables, syntaxes, datasets, Survey Findings Report (and Final Report), dissemination materials etc.);
11. Participate in all MICS Steering and Technical Committee meetings;
12. Participate in, and contribute to, MICS Regional Workshops;
13. Ensure that lessons learned, problems, and good practices are documented throughout the MICS process and rapidly shared with the MICS community (other MICS implementing countries, RO, and HQ) through all means available.

Qualifications and Competencies

• University degree in, Demography, Statistics, Social Sciences, Epidemiology or any other related technical field is required.
• Proven minimum of 5 year experience in the coordination and/or management of quantitative household surveys (prior MICS or Demographic and Health Survey (DHS)requested; 
• Strong computer skills and strong expertise in statistical analyses (familiarity with data processing and data analysis software, particularly SPSS);
• Experience with CAPI data collection;
• Training experience and ability to organise and facilitate training and presentations;
• Experience in data analysis and survey report writing.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent oral and written communications in English and BHS language(s) required;
• Familiarity and previous experience of working in BiH and/or in the region highly desirable.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a multicultural environment and to establish harmonious and effective relationships both within and outside the organisation, more specifically with National Statistical Offices;
• Demonstrated leadership, managerial and supervisory ability; Ability and willingness to travel extensively in-country and to attend regional workshops.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

Please indicate your ability, availability and lump sum amount (in USD or BAM) to undertake the terms of reference above.  Applications submitted without a lump sum fee will not be considered. Only the short-listed candidates will be contacted.

The duration of consultancy should cover a minimum of 12 months and a maximum of 18 months, depending on the time it will take to finalise the whole MICS process. Only candidates that can commit for this whole duration will be considered.

For further details please contact Human Resources at UNICEF Office in Sarajevo, Ms. Marina Kadic at 387 33 293 606, mkadic@unicef.org