International Consultant (MICS Coordinator), Accra, Ghana

TERMS OF REFERENCE

 Background

Statistically sound and internationally comparable data are essential for developing evidence-based policies and programmes, as well as for monitoring countries’ progress toward national goals and global commitments. Since 1995, UNICEF has supported the implementation of Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), assisting countries in generating high quality data on the situation of children and women. Over the last 17 years and four rounds of MICS, 240 MICS surveys have been conducted in more than 100 countries.

MICS enables countries to produce statistically sound and internationally comparable estimates of a range of indicators in the areas of health, education, child protection, water and sanitation, and HIV and AIDS. For many countries, MICS surveys are among the most important sources of data used for situation analyses, policy decisions and programme interventions, and for influencing the public opinion on the situation of children and women.

Beginning in 2016, UNICEF will support the sixth round of MICS surveys. MICS will be generating information for a range of SDG indicators and will be, along with other nationally representative household surveys, critically important for SDG reporting.

MICS surveys are usually carried out by government organizations, with the support and technical assistance of UNICEF. The entire MICS process can last 12 to 14 months with UNICEF working closely with the implementing agency to ensure that MICS guidelines and international standards are met at all stages.

Justification

Ghana MICS6 has recently concluded the data collection phase and is now entering the data cleaning, analysis, report writing and dissemination stages. During this next phase the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) will require technical support and assistance in order to ensure data quality is maintained, data analysis is comprehensive and a quality report is produced and disseminated. To this end UNICEF Ghana Country Office will hire a full time consultant to oversee the remaining stages of the MICS process.

Purpose

Under the overall supervision of the M&E Specialist, the UNICEF MICS Consultant (UMC) will provide guidance and hands-on support to the UNICEF Ghana Country Office (CO) and GSS for data cleaning, data analysis, report compilation, dissemination and archiving. The UMC will work closely with the Survey Coordinator and Data Processing team to ensure that data cleaning and analysis process is on track and adheres to MICS protocols. The UMC will facilitate coordination between UNICEF GCO and GSS on MICS6. The UMC will be responsible for coordinating and supporting the work of other resource persons/consultants 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

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.    Oversee each stage of the survey process and ensure that the MICS protocols and standards are followed by the GSS, more specifically during data merging, cleaning, analysis and report writing;

4.    Communicate regularly with the UNICEF CO, RO and/or Headquarters (HQ) responding to all MICS related issues in a timely manner;

5.    Provide Monthly progress reports on MICS activities to the UNICEF CO/RO/HQ;

6.    Coordinate and work with GSS experts and UNICEF Regional Consultants and other resource persons assigned by the UNICEF CO and/or RO to support different survey stages;

7.    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 GSS;

8.    Ensure that all survey related documents and deliverables (questionnaires, sampling frame, datasets, tabulation plan, scripts, manuals, expert reports, summary and final reports, dissemination materials, etc.) are properly archived throughout the survey process;

9.    Ensure proper documentation of all MICS stages, including those in the past that could now be identified with gaps

10.  Financial tracking of the MICS budget, expenditures, Direct Cash Transfers (DCTs)/Direct Payments(DPs) and funding

11.  Participate in and provide support towards the development of presentations for all MICS Steering and Technical Committee meetings as well as preparation of documents for dissemination and other adhoc meetings

12.  Ensure that lessons learned, problems, and good practices are documented throughout the MICS process and rapidly shared with the supervisor, the MICS community (other MICS implementing countries, RO, and HQ) through all means available.

13.  Organize wide dissemination of the Final Report and main results

Specific Activities

In consultation and collaboration with the UNICEF CO and Ghana Statistical Service, the UMC will be responsible for ensuring the following activities have been undertaken following the MICS guidelines and will contribute to the coordination of these activities:

Secondary Data Processing and Data Analysis

• Sampling Weights are included in the datasets and reviewed by sampling expert of GSS with the guidance and review of the UNICEF Regional Sampling Consultant;
• MICS tabulation plan and standard syntax are used in generating SPSS dataset and tables.
• Dataset/Tables including the wealth index are substantively reviewed by technical (e.g. sampling expert) and subject matter experts at GSS, as well as by UNICEF RO and HQ MICS Team before the report writing commences;

Report Writing:

• Coordinate planning and facilitate Survey Findings Report workshop
• Coordinate and contribute substantively to the writing of the Summary Findings Report and Final Report, using MICS templates and according MICS standards to ensure a timely release;
• Ensure that the reports (Summary Findings and Final) undergo the technical review process by RO and HQ;
• Coordinate the printing and distribution of the Final Report;
• Organize and facilitate the presentation of the Final Report through a national seminar;
• Organize wide dissemination of the Final Report and main results;
• Ensure that the MICS survey archive (questionnaires, manuals, sampling frame, field reports, database, tables, final reports, dissemination materials, etc.) is being produced by GSS.

Deliverables

1.    Monthly Progress Report of activities to CO that on a minimum includes expenditure analysis (budget lines utilized and funds remaining), next actions, identified risks and their suggested mitigation;

2.    Weekly updates on activity progress through email and UNICEF M&E Unit meetings

3.    Specific reports at the end of each of the following survey activities: Data processing/cleaning, tabulation, Report writing; and Dissemination

4.    Meeting minutes for interactions with GSS

5.    Survey Findings Report Workshop write-up and key infographic summaries on results;

6.    Presentations and training materials used in trainings, workshops, and other meetings.

7.    End of consultancy report that documents overall activities undertaken for each of the stages (Data cleaning, analysis/tabulation, SFR workshop and MICS report launch), challenges, lessons learned and best practices that can be implemented in future MICS

Estimated Duration of the Contract

The duration of the contract is 5 months which should cover the remaining phases of MICS process:. Only candidates who can commit for a minimum of 5 months continuous stay in-country will be considered.

The UMC should remain on board until the final report and the survey archive are produced. Without significant and unforeseen delays, the MICS survey can be completed within 5 months period.

Reporting

The consultant will report to the M&E Specialist in the UNICEF Ghana Country Office.

Confidentiality of Data and MICS Documents

The UMC must respect the complete confidentiality of the MICS data as well as any specific MICS documents that will be produced throughout the MICS process. The UMC can use the documents and the datasets only for the tasks related to these terms of reference.

Payment Terms

Consultant will be paid on a monthly basis subject to satisfactory performance.

Required qualification and Experience

• Advanced University degree in Social Sciences, Demography, Statistics, Epidemiology or any other related technical field is required.

• At least eight  years’ experience in the coordination and/or management of national quantitative household surveys (prior MICS or Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) coordination experience highly desirable);
• Strong computer skills and strong expertise in statistical analyses (familiarity with data processing and data analysis software, particularly SPSS. CSPro and/or Stata will be an advantage);
• Training experience and ability to organize and facilitate training and presentations;
• National or international level experience in data analysis and survey report writing;
• Excellent oral and written communications in English required;
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Familiarity and previous experience of working in Ghana and/or in the region highly desirable.
• Ability and willingness to travel extensively in-country.
• Experience in UNICEF or UN, an asset.

Other competencies:

• Demonstrated ability to work in a multicultural environment and to establish harmonious and effective relationships both within and outside the organization;
• Demonstrated leadership, managerial and supervisory ability.

 Submission Requirements

• Candidates should submit their CVs and cover letter, and clearly fill on-line application form showing relevant work experience with similar assignments. Applicants are required to indicate on their application, their proposed monthly fees in US Dollars.  Please attach a two-page write up on your approach to successfully achieve desired result and also within set time frame. As part of the selection process, candidates might be required to complete a written assessment.

General Conditions: Procedures and Logistics

• All field trips  outside his/her regular duty station (Accra) for work purpose will be arranged by the office and the consultant will be provided with the applicable UNICEF DSA rate.
• UNICEF Ghana Country Office will arrange office space and office equipment which will not include a laptop computer..

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for further action