Consultant (Data Governance Fit for Children), Data Team, DAPM, NYHQ (Remote), Req # 576852

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

Vacancy Announcement: Consultant

Consultancy Title: Data Governance Fit for Children Consultant

Section/Division/Duty Station: Data Team (DaT), DAPM, NYHQ

Duration: 16 Dec 2024 to 16 Jun 2025

Home/ Office Based: Remote

About UNICEF

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries.

BACKGROUND

Purpose of Activity/ Assignment:

The Division of Data, Analytics, Planning and Monitoring (DAPM) was established in 2019 to drive decision making and organizational learning, improve effectiveness and achievement of results of UNICEF and its partners to realize the rights and improve the life of every child. DAPM promotes the use of data and monitoring to achieve transformative impact on the lives of children.

Within DAPM, the Data Team (DaT) is the global go-to for data on children. It leads the collection, validation, analysis, use, and communication of the most statistically sound, internationally comparable data on the situation of children and women around the world. For this purpose, both traditional and innovative data and analysis - including administrative and household survey data as well as geospatial analysis, big data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence - are used. DaT upholds the quality, integrity and organization of these data and makes them accessible as a global public good on the data.unicef.org website. 

The Chief Data Office in the DaT team is hiring a Consultant (Data Governance Fit for Children) as key support role to define and drive practices to ensure that data from and about children and data technologies (including statistics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence) are used to advance child rights, not (accidentally or intentionally) to erode them.

Combining hands-on field support with sustained dialogue with key stakeholders, including children and young people, the consultant will support the strategic expansion of the framework. The work will help derive practice-informed insight that will in turn inform the development of DG4C content, tools, frameworks, and guidance for self-enablement at UNICEF and beyond. The consultant will also support communication and advocacy efforts to strengthen the positioning of both DG4C as the global framework and UNICEF as the lead actor in responsible data and data technology practices concerning data for and about children.

Scope of Work:

Provide the following support:

• DG4C team in strengthening UNICEF's visibility and leadership in data governance grounded in children's rights;
• DG4C team in advancing programmes, systems and policies informed by children and youth perceptions, interests and needs.

Under direct supervisor of the Programme Manager, the consultant will be responsible for the following key assignments:

• Craft and roll out the DG4C communication strategy with relevant stakeholders, particularly children and youth.
• Support the roll out and expansion of the UNWDF Commitment to DG4C, particularly translating youth- generated insights into policy.
• Support the development and roll out of youth engagement activities to collect children and young people's voices and preferences across the glo