Individual Consultant: Regional MICS Consultant

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Location:  Remote, with travel to MICS implementing Caribbean countries, and UNICEF/CARICOM meetings.

Duration:  6 months (approx. 80 working days)

Start Date: May 4, 2026

End Date: November 30, 2026

Supervisor: Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist

 

BACKGROUND:

The Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) programme is UNICEF’s flagship global household survey initiative, designed to support countries in generating reliable, internationally comparable data on children, women, and households. Established in the mid‑1990s, it has become one of the largest sources of data for monitoring national development priorities and global commitments such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). MICS offers a comprehensive suite of standardised tools covering all stages of implementation—from planning and sampling to data collection, processing, analysis, and reporting—while allowing countries to adapt questionnaires to meet national needs. The surveys are fully led by National Statistical Offices (NSO), with UNICEF providing technical guidance throughout.

MICS supports monitoring for more than 40 child focused SDG indicators, making it one of the most important household survey mechanisms for SDG reporting. It reflects decades of methodological improvements and incorporates new thematic areas and tools to address emerging data needs globally. Because of its standardised structure and strong technical rigour, MICS is particularly suited for regional or multi‑country survey approaches, such as those being explored for the Caribbean, as most countries have never implemented a MICS, and those that have done so did so many years ago, leaving major gaps in SDG reporting and national statistics.

In 2026, CARICOM reported that more Member States are requesting MICS support to address SDG monitoring gaps. CARICOM formally invited UNICEF to support the June 2026 35th meeting of Advisory Group on Statistics (AGS) in June 2026, where UNICEF will introduce MICS Programme and Survey Tools and discuss how a regional MICS could help countries close SDG data gaps. This meeting leads into the October 2026 51st Meeting of the Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians (SCCS), the main decision‑making body in CARICOM that endorses Statistical recommendations in ensuring standards and harmonization thus resulting in regional comparability. This window creates an opportunity to prepare a regional MICS proposal, supported by a readiness assessment and technical consultations.

Given the complexity of coordinating several Caribbean countries and the technical demands of sampling evaluation, questionnaire harmonization, and design workshop preparation, a dedicated Regional MICS Consultant is required.

 

PURPOSE/SCOPE OF ACTIVITY/ASSIGNMENT:

Goal and Objective:  The overall goal of this consultancy is to determine the feasibility, readiness, and design of a Regional MICS initiative for the Caribbean Region, while supporting CARICOM and UNICEF in advancing the proposal through the June and November 2026 regional meetings.

Under the supervision of the Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation PME Specialist, the Consultant will achieve this goal by performing the following tasks, in consultation with NSOs in the participating countries:

• Develop and implement a tool to conduct a country specific comprehensive statistical readiness and feasibility assessment across participating countries, including reviews of sampling frames, census recency, NSO capacity, and existing data gaps.
• Develop detailed design options for a regional or sub‑regional MICS model, outlining sampling implications, operational requirements, cost estimates, and implementation timelines.
• Support CARICOM’s decision‑making by preparing high‑qua