Current vacancies

Consultancy Title: Strategic Data Management Consultancy

Division/Duty Station: DAPM, Chief Data Office/NYHQ, USA

Duration: 15 July 2025 – 31 December 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 fordeveloping 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:

This consultancy offers a unique opportunity to work directly with UNICEF’s Chief Data Officer in identifying and cataloguing key data assets that will be used to scope the data governance framework. The consultant will play a key role in strengthening UNICEF’s data maturity by developing a validated inventory of enterprise data assets, facilitating cross-divisional collaboration, and refining strategic documents that will underpin organization-wide data management practices—promoting visibility, reusability, and accountability. 

Scope of Work:

• Conduct structured stakeholder engagement across HQ, regional, and country offices through a questionnaire and interviews to identify critical data assets.

• Develop a metadata-rich UNICEF Data Asset Catalogue including descriptions, ownership, stewardship, platform location, and classification, drawing from available technical data inventories and from the results of the stakeholder engagement.

• Facilitate four virtual consultative workshops with cross-functional stakeholders to validate strategic direction and inform document refinement.

• Refine and finalize UNICEF’s draft data strategy, policy and procedures, ensuring alignment with governance structures, organizational priorities, and implementation mechanisms

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

Work Assignment Overview/Deliverables and Outputs/Delivery deadline

1. Stakeholder engagement plan & questionnaire

- Design and deliver a validated questionnaire to identify key data assets across at least 5 divisions, aligned with the draft Data Governance Framework

1 September 2025

2. Data asset catalogue 

- Develop and submit a data asset catalogue containing at least 50 validated data assets, each with metadata fields including division/office, owner, steward, custodian, and storage location 

30 October 2025

3. Consultative sessions summaries 

- Summary report from 4 high-level sessions with outcome summaries 

30 November 2025

4. Final Drafts of Data Strategy, Policy & Procedures 

- Revised final drafts documents aligned with organizational goals and the findings of the stakeholder engagement

15 December 2025

Qualifications

Education: University degree in Data Engineering, or a related discipline 

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required *: 

- Certified Data Management Professional / Data Governance professional or equivalent

- At least five years' experience in Data Governance

Requirements:

Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system and

- Upload copy of academic credentials

- Financial proposal that will include/ reflect :

• • the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference.
  • travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR.
  • Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.
  • Indicate your availability

- Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.

- At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.

- Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

U.S. Visa information:

With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. View our competency framework at: Here

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors 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