Current vacancies

The period from birth to six years of age is considered early childhood. In Brazil, indicators reveal significant challenges for this age group. Vaccination coverage, although it has increased over the past two years, remains below the recommended level, leaving millions of children vulnerable to preventable diseases. In nutrition, food insecurity still affects nearly one-third of Brazilian households (27.6%). Moreover, according to data from the Ministry of Health, 13.5% of children under five years of age are overweight (SISVAN, 2023). Despite historic progress, 20.2 thousand infant and fetal deaths from preventable causes were still recorded in 2023, which could have been avoided through qualified primary care and equitable access to health services.

Regarding adolescence, Brazil today has more adolescents than children — approximately 29 million aged 10–19 years, representing 10% of the national population (IBGE, 2022). Despite their demographic relevance, indicators reveal persistent challenges. Between 2013 and 2023, over 90,000 adolescents aged 15–19 died violently, 83% due to firearm homicides (IPEA, 2023). In 2023, there were 289,000 births to adolescent mothers aged 15–19 and 14,000 births among girls aged 10–14, many resulting from sexual violence. The National School Health Survey (PeNSE – IBGE, 2019) shows that 1 in every 6 adolescents exhibits symptoms of depression, anxiety, or self-destructive behaviour, and half report frequent emotional distress. Condom use among sexually active adolescents dropped from 70% in 2009 to 60% in 2019, while the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs increased in the same period. In addition, 1 in every 5 adolescents aged 15–17 is overweight — around 1.8 million young people at risk of chronic diseases in the future (PNS, 2020). These data highlight that adolescence is a phase of great opportunities but also of vulnerabilities that require urgent and integrated policy responses.

Within this context, UNICEF has been developing two initiatives: the UAPI (Friendly Unit for Early Childhood) and the UAA (Friendly Unit for Adolescent). The UAPI aims to promote excellence in service delivery for early childhood through technical assistance, training, monitoring, follow-up and certification to improve the quality of services in health units, early childhood education centres, and Social Assistance Reference Centres (CRAS). The initiative is currently implemented in nine capitals participating in the #AgendaCidadeUNICEF.

UNICEF is developing the UAA in partnership with the Ministry of Health and other national actors to strengthen adolescent public health services. The UAA model combines technical support, professional training, participatory monitoring and certification of Primary Health Care units, ensuring more qualified responses to adolescent demands. The certification process of the UAAs is guided by a robust monitoring and evaluation system based on indicators aligned with WHO and UNICEF global reference frameworks for adolescent health and well-being. These indicators translate the units’ commitments into concrete evidence, measuring both service provision and quality. The initiative is currently in a pilot phase in partnership with the federal government and the municipal governments of Manaus, Recife, and Rio de Janeiro.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

Scope of Work

The objective of this consultancy is to support the analysis of health data and indicators for both initiatives: UAPI and UAA. The consultant will review indicators, collect data from official systems, organize and structure data, create an interactive dashboard, and make data available.

 

Deliverable

1.       Product 1 – Workplan

1.1. Deliverable: Detailed description of the proposed workplan for the consultancy period.

1.2. Deadline: 15 days after the start of the consultancy.

1.3. Budget: 5% of the total contract value.

2.       Product 2 – UAPI Baseline

2.1. Deliverable: One structured file (CSV or XLSX) with raw and processed data on agreed indicators for UAPI.

2.2. Deadline: 30 days after Product 1 delivery.

2.3. Budget: 10% of the total contract value.

3.       Product 3 – Feasibility Analysis of UAPI and UAA Indicators with Ministry of Health Systems

3.1. Deliverable: Feasibility analysis of all indicators from both initiatives through meetings with information system teams at the Ministry of Health.

3.2. Deadline: 45 days after Product 2 delivery.

3.3. Budget: 10% of the total contract value.

4.       Product 4 – UAPI Interactive Dashboard

4.1. Deliverable: Development of an interactive dashboard (Power BI or equivalent) for UAPI, including georeferencing of health, education and social assistance units adhering to the initiative. The dashboard must include filters by capital city, unit, and agreed indicators.

4.2. Deadline: 30 days after Product 3 delivery.

4.3. Budget: 15% of the total contract value.

5.       Product 5 – Feasibility Analysis of UAA Indicators

5.1. Deliverable: Detailed description of indicators, including feasibility analysis for use by local managers, health professionals and information management staff.

5.2. Deadline: 45 days after Product 4 delivery.

5.3. Budget: 10% of the total contract value.

Note: This product includes field visits of at least 2 (two) days to the three pilot municipalities (Recife, Manaus, and Rio de Janeiro) .

6.       Product 6 – UAA Baseline

6.1. Deliverable: One structured file (CSV or XLSX) with raw and processed data on agreed indicators for UAA.

6.2. Deadline: 60 days after Product 5 delivery.

6.3. Budget: 15% of the total contract value.

7.       Product 7 – Creation of Adolescent Health and Well-Being Indices

7.1. Deliverable: Development of an index on adolescent health and well-being, displayable in an interactive dashboard, based on domains from the Global Action for Measurement of Adolescent Health (GAMA) indicators.

7.2. Deadline: 30 days after Product 6 delivery.

7.3. Budget: 5% of the total contract value.

8.       Product 8 – UAPI Trend Analysis Report

8.1. Deliverable: Monitoring report for UAPI based on new data exploration and comparison with baseline results, identifying persistent challenges and proposing solutions. The report should be presented online to the nine participating health departments.

8.2. Deadline: 30 days after Product 7 delivery.

8.3. Budget: 10% of the total contract value.

9.       Product 9 – UAA Midline Dataset

9.1. Deliverable: One structured file (CSV or XLSX) with raw and processed data on agreed indicators for the UAA midline.

9.2. Deadline: 30 days after Product 8 delivery.

9.3. Budget: 10% of the total contract value.

10.   Product 10 – Participation in Two National Strategic Meetings

10.1. Deliverable: Technical presentation and discussion of UAPI and UAA indicators.

10.2. Deadline: 45 days after Product 9 delivery.

10.3. Budget: 10% of the total contract value.

 

 

Contract Duration

12 months

 

Travel Plan

The consultant shall prepare a travel plan for field visits and meetings with information system teams in the three cities (Manaus, Recife and Rio de Janeiro) and two national events in Brasília. The plan must include tickets and daily subsistence allowances for at least two days in each city. The field visit to the three cities will be necessary for the feasibility analysis of the indicators for the UAPI and UAA. The two national events are for disseminating the results of the consultancy.

Required Qualifications

• University degree in Public Health, Epidemiology or related areas.
• Background in health indicators and measurements related to children and adolescents is an asset.
• At least five years of professional experience working with public policies and information systems at national, state or municipal levels.
• Strong oral and written communication skills, particularly in critical analysis, organisation and systematisation of public datasets and government information systems.
• Ability to work in a team, meet tight deadlines and work independently.
• Experience with UN agencies or similar organisations is an advantage.

Financial Proposal

A financial proposal, including the fee for the assignment based on the deliverables and number of days, must be submitted. Consultants are asked to stipulate all-inclusive fees, including lump sum, administrative cost, travel cost, and subsistence costs, as applicable.

LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY

Portuguese – fluent
English – intermediate

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic. 

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.  

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 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. Consultants 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.  

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.  

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.