Consultancy: Data Processing Consultant - Req.#581681

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 Processing Consultant Section/Division/Duty Station: Division of Data, Analytics, Planning and Monitoring (Health and HIV Unit/D&A/DAPM), New York HQ  Duration: July 2025 to July 2026 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. 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 Immunization team within the Health and HIV Unit, Data and Analytics Section, Division of Analysis, Planning and Monitoring (DAPM) of UNICEF New York Headquarters is developing an integrated package to promote data use for decision-making, and provide timely and actionable data analytics to support global, national, and subnational advocacy and immunization delivery efforts. The package consists of a set of analytical products including cleaned subnational and monthly-level administrative datasets, and slide decks for visualizing subnational and monthly analytics, triangulated with other immunization-related data. These products will be used by a wide range of stakeholders for activities related to monitoring, planning and advocacy.  When working with administrative data, there are often multiple data quality challenges that need to be addressed. As such, there is a need for support with cleaning data from administrative systems, compiling and reconciling shapefiles, and production of cleaned subnational and monthly-level databases to materialise this vision.  The consultant will work under the guidance and supervision of the Statistics and Monitoring Specialist (Immunization) of the Data and Analytics Section, DAPM to support the development of these data packages and provide technical support. Scope of Work: The consultant will contribute to enhancing the accuracy and consistency of immunization databases and related analytics and visualizations, with a specific focus on Big Catch-Up (BCU) Monitoring. The Big Catch-Up (BCU) is an initiative designed to reverse the decline in childhood vaccination rates caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The BCU aims to close immunization gaps, restore global vaccination levels, and strengthen immunization systems, ensuring that catch-up activities become an integral part of immunization programs worldwide. The consultant will support the integration and analysis of core BCU data to inform global, national, and subnational monitoring and decision-making. Under the direct supervision of the Statistics and Monitoring Specialist (Immunization) in the Data and Analytics Section (DAPM), the consultant will focus on enhancing the quality and consistency of immunization and related health databases. This includes expanding and integrating databases to incorporate additional health indicators and environmental factors that may affect immunization coverage. The consultant will also develop and implement a robust BCU monitoring methodology to assess data quality, analyze trends before and after BCU activities, and evaluate performance at national and subnational levels. The overarching goal is to establish a comprehensive and actionable framework for BCU monitoring that supports decision-making and prioritization at all levels. Specifically, the consultant will: • Develop and refine methodologies to address key data reporting and quality challenges, such as the lack of age-disaggregated data or misclassification of child age during vaccination. • Clean and integrate data from various sources (e.g., vaccine supply, immunization coverage) within the context of BCU monitoring. • Analyze subnational BCU data based on the methodologies to identify inequities and priority areas for targeted interventions. MAJOR TASKS TO BE ACCOMPLISHED   • Conduct a comprehensive review of existing BCU and related data (admin and survey data). • Develop a robust analytical approach for BCU monitoring, including strategies to assess data quality, address reporting challenges, and ensure data consisten