Consultancy: SMART Survey Manager, Beirut, Lebanon

UNICEF is looking for a consultant to plan, design, and train survey team, lead and over-see the data collection, analysis and reporting process for SMART Survey exercise in Lebanon.

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PURPOSE OF ASSIGNMENT
To plan, design, and train survey team, lead and over-see the data collection, analysis and reporting process for SMART Survey exercise in Lebanon. This is for generating baseline data to inform the collective nutrition response.

BACKGROUND
The nutrition response has been coordinated under the Food Security Sector, as a Nutrition Taskforce from August to September 2020. This was a temporary arrangement for a period of 3 months to respond to the Beirut Blast with the primary aim to secure a platform to coordinate, harmonize and implement nutrition activities, ensuring that the response helps prevent malnutrition for the most vulnerable (newborn, infants, young children, pregnant women and mothers of children less than two years of age) affected by the blast. With the dramatic increase in poverty, food prices due to the deepening economic crisis, compounded by the socio-economic impact of COVID19, the nutritional status of vulnerable populations in Lebanon is deteriorating and is likely to continue to deteriorate in the coming months; chronic malnutrition is also expected to increase. Therefore, in order to ensure that the nutrition response is effectively meeting all the requirements outlined by the Child Rights Convention, and in order to address vulnerabilities beyond the Beirut Blast, the Lebanon Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) agreed to establish Nutrition as a standalone sector under the Emergency Operation Cell (EOC) in October 2020. The nutrition sector continues to work under the Food Security and Health sectors in the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (LCRP).
The nutrition sector has developed a 6-month emergency plan that provides a framework to guide the implementation of nutrition specific interventions among partners. However, there has been no national/regional nutritional representative nutrition assessments or surveys conducted to assess and provide updated data on the nutritional status children and women living in Lebanon since 2009. Several Rapid qualitative assessments led by nutrition partners conducted between June and September 2020 confirmed that infant and young child feeding (IYCF) remains suboptimal 

How can you make a difference?

 TERMS OF REFERENCE
United Nations Children’s Fund | Lebanon Country Office across all populations, with the majority (50 to 60 per cent) of women with infants less than six months using infant formula and/or other products that have the potentiality of increasing the risk of malnutrition related mortality among infants and young children. To respond to the data gaps, the nutrition sector has unanimously agreed to conduct a SMART survey to commence immediately after the Holy Ramadhan period. The SMART Survey results are expected to provide baseline data to further inform the scope and scale of the nutrition response. The survey will also support evidence based advocacy to reposition the nutrition response and support the mobilization of the required resources to support implementation of prioritized nutrition interventions at scale. UNICEF, as the sector lead will coordinate and provide technical oversight to the overall survey process, in addition to providing financial support alongside other sector member agencies.

SURVEY METHODOLOGY
The survey will be developed using the SMART methodology (ENA 2020 (January 11, 2020)). The survey will assess demography, anthropometry, anemia, Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices, Household Food consumption score and sanitation practices. Anthropometric samples will be generated and analyzed using ENA software whilst nonanthropometric indicators will be analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences Software (SPSS).

SCOPE OF ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.
Under the overall supervision of the Nutrition manager, the SMART Survey consultant will undertake the below task.
‐ Finalize the SMART documents (Concept Note, questionnaires, tools, and manuals).
‐ Provide a one-day training to SMART Survey Coordinators and 7-day SMART Survey training to the enumerators
and interviewers, including a one-day standardization and one day field pilot test.
‐ Provide technical and administrative support on the listing process and data collection process, as per the SMART
guidelines.
‐ Ensure that the Ethical Protocol and other ethical recommendations are addressed in the survey implementation
process and that all SMART related documents are shared with the Ethical Committee (Institutional Review Board
(IRB) through UNICEF RO) on time for approval.
‐ Support other nutrition stakeholders in overseeing each stage of the survey process and ensure that the SMART
protocols and standards are followed, more specifically during training and field monitoring visits, which feeds
into the over quality control of the implementation.
‐ Conduct and submit daily plausibility checks and give feedback and corrective actions to survey teams.
‐ Communicate regularly with the UNICEF CO to all SMART survey related issues in a timely manner.
‐ 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,)
‐ Participate in all Technical Committee meetings.
‐ Present the SMART Survey findings to UNICEF Country Office, Nutrition Sector and humanitarian teams.
‐ Develop the SMART Survey Report with all the relevant annexes and ensure its endorsement.
‐ Ensure that lessons learned, challenges and good practices are documented throughout the SMART process and
the UNICEF CO.

Work Assignment Expected Results

Tasks/Milestone: Deliverables/Outputs: Timeline Estimate Budget 

Development of SMART Survey protocol and data collection materials 
Finalized SMART Survey Protocol and Questionnaire/ODK 10 Days

Finalized household listing and sampling methodology report 10 Days

Complete survey teams with geographical allocations Complete survey teams with geographical allocations 10 Days

SMART Survey Training Report 5 Days 

Data collection and Analysis Final validated ENA and SPSS Data sets and plausibility report 25 Days 

SMART Survey Report SMART Survey Preliminary report with a power point presentation 15 Days 

Documentation of Lessons Learnt and Best Practices
Final endorsed SMART Survey Report with SMART Survey Lessons Learnt and Best Practices report. 15 Days

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

An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Public Health, Statistics, Nutrition or any other relevant area with specific competency in nutrition surveillance.

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

A minimum of 7 years of relevant professional experience in undertaking national level nutrition surveys (design and methodologies, staff recruitment and training, field supervision and data analysis/write up).
‐ Advanced knowledge in SMART survey methodology/ ENA for SMART and SPSS
‐ Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, be fluent in English with excellent writing and presentation skills. Knowledge of Arabic and French languages and experience working in Lebanon is an asset.
‐ Demonstrated leadership, managerial and supervisory ability; Ability to travel extensively in-country.
‐ Demonstrated ability to work in a multicultural environment and to establish harmonious and effective relationships both within and outside the organization, more specifically with National Statistical Offices.

For every Child, you demonstrate Integrity

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

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.

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:

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.