MNCAH Data Engineering Consultant, UNICEF Office of Strategy and Evidence – Integrated Health Data Analytics Unit, Data and Analytics Section, Florence, Italy, 14 months (remote) #596115

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built. We offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

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

For every child, the right to Safety.

How can you make a difference?  

This assignment aims to strengthen UNICEF’s MNCAH data and analytics systems by maintaining and expanding the global MNCAH database, improving data workflows, and supporting global reporting and SDG monitoring. The consultant will also develop data pipelines, dashboards and analytics products, provide technical support to country offices and ministries of health, and strengthen the use of health data for programme planning and decision-making.

If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here:  TMC0006724 ToR.pdf

Minimum requirements:

• Education:
  • A bachelor’s degree in computer science, Data Science, Big Data, Engineering, Applied Statistics, Bioinformatics, or a closely related computational field.
  • Additional certifications or training in data engineering, data visualization, or advanced statistical methods using R is an asset.
• Work Experience:
  • A minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible professional experience in data science, data engineering, or health data analytics, with proven experience applying advanced data techniques to public health or development contexts.
  • Experience supporting decision-makers in the use of data for decision-making, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
  • Familiarity with global health indicator frameworks, especially those related to maternal health, newborn health, child health, primary health care, and health systems performance.Language requirement:
• Language Requirement:
  • Excellent written and oral communication of technical content in English.
  • Proficiency in another UN language is highly desirable.
• Skills:
  • Demonstrated experience in:
    • Designing and maintaining reproducible data pipelines and automated reporting tools using R.
    • Handling large, complex datasets, particularly routine health information system (RHIS) data (e.g., DHIS2), administrative datasets, or survey data (e.g., DHS, MICS).
    • Developing statistical models and conducting data quality assessments (e.g., imputation, outlier detection, validation).
    • Building interactive dashboards and data visualizations using R or Python packages.
    • Supporting version control workflows using GitHub, GitLab, or other collaborative platforms.

Desirables:

• Experience working with cloud-based database systems (e.g., Azure Postgres, AWS RDS) and building ETL pipelines that integrate geospatial and facility-level data.
• Understanding of data governance, privacy, and ethical use of health data.
• Proven ability to work in a multicultural, interdisciplinary team and coordinate across HQ, regional, and country levels.
• Prior experience contributing to capacity-building efforts through trainings, documentation, or mentoring is a strong asset.

 

For every Child, you demonstrate...

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 promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

Qualified candidates are invited to submit the following documents via the online recruitment portal, TMS (Talent Management System):

• An up-to-date TMS profile and curriculum vitae (CV)
• Cover letter
• A separate financial proposal  TMC0006724 Financial proposal template.docx

Remarks:  If the TOR or financial proposal documents are not visible on certain recruitment platforms, please visit our official page Vacancies | UNICEF Careers.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.