Organization: UN Children"s Fund
Country: United States of America
Closing date: 14 Aug 2015
Background Over the last several years, UNICEF and its partners have undertaken many new activities to address the need for comparable and reliable data on children with disabilities.
The Washington Group on Disability Statistics (WG) is a United Nations sponsored City Group commissioned in 2001 to improve the quality and international comparability of disability measures. The main purpose of the WG is the promotion and coordination of international co-operation in the area of health statistics focusing on disability measures suitable for censuses and national surveys. The WG has already developed and endorsed a short set of questions to be used on censuses and surveys covering six core functional domains. This set of questions was intended primarily for the adult population. The WG recognized the need for a separate set of questions on child functioning and disability that would produce internationally comparable data. At the 10th WG meeting in 2009, a sub-group was established to focus on the development of questions intended to measure child (and youth) disability in surveys. In 2011, UNICEF joined the sub-group on children to collaborate with the WG on the development of a joint module.
The new WG/UNICEF questionnaire reflects current thinking around child disability and can produce internationally comparable data. The module covers children between 2 and 17 years of age and assesses speech and language, hearing, vision, learning (cognition and intellectual development), mobility and motor skills, emotions and behaviours. To better reflect the degree of disability, each area is assessed against a rating scale. The questionnaire has undergone cognitive testing in 5 countries and field testing has taken place in two countries. UNICEF and the WG are also working with a consultant to develop and draft all the necessary background documentation to accompany the module, including tabulation plans, templates for reporting, instructions for interviewers and training materials. The new module is expected to be ready for actual data collection in early 2016.
In addition, UNICEF and the WG have recently begun working to develop a survey module on measurement of the school environment and participation. The aim is to measure the barriers/facilitators to education for children with/without disabilities. The module will complement the questionnaire on functional limitations mentioned above. Together, they will provide a comprehensive assessment of disability to assess functional limitations and their interaction with the environment. The new module is expected to be ready in 2016.
UNICEF is also developing a general manual to provide guidance for those considering collecting data on children with disabilities. The manual discusses conceptual and theoretical issues related to measuring disability and reviews methods that have previously been used to assess disability in children, with particular attention to those used in low-resource settings. Considerations for designing, planning and implementing a child disability data collection effort are presented.
Additionally, UNICEF is working with a selected group of international experts to create a toolkit and methodological guidelines for disability assessment in children. The package will consist of protocols, instructions, tools and training materials for in-depth assessment of disability in children based on existing best approaches in resource-poor settings. The guidelines utilize the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health – Children and Youth version (ICF-CY) as the conceptual framework for an approach to disability where the focus is on activity limitations and barriers and support to participation. The package includes survey instruments and interview guides, methodological guidelines, training program/materials, staff recruitment guidance and overall logistics. It will also comprise an analytical framework for the analysis of the findings, including indicators for reporting and main tables, and a strategy for validation and field testing. UNICEF is currently working on a first draft of the guidelines and it is expected that the final document will be ready for distribution in early 2016.
Finally, UNICEF has complied data on disability from more than 600 sources and plans to develop a web-based databases that will document the methods used to collect data on child disability.
Purpose
To develop data collection tools, conduct data analyses, contribute to key UNICEF publications, organize expert consultations and prepare dissemination materials related to child disability.
Major results and deliverables:
1) Maintained and updated global database on child disability with any new surveys, censuses etc. with data on the prevalence of child disability, as well as web-based electronic database of data sources on child disability for inclusion in UNICEF website for statistics.
2) Revised and finalized data collection tools on child disability through support to ongoing work being conducted in collaboration with the WG, including:
- Supporting the development of the new module on measurement of the school environment
- Review and provide inputs and feedback on the instruction manual for the new WG/UNICEF modules on disability
- Supporting and contributing to the planning and preparation necessary for cognitive and field testing of the two modules
- Prepare and draft materials to be used for dissemination including PowerPoints, briefing notes, key fact sheets, website updates, meeting reports
- Assist with the planning, coordination and preparation of various events and meetings as they arise
3) Revised and final UNICEF manual on the production of statistics on children with disability trough:
- Supporting the review of the draft document
- Providing background documentation and conducting literature reviews for inclusion in the manual and draft necessary missing pieces
- Prepare and draft materials to be used for dissemination including PowerPoints, briefing notes, key fact sheets, website updates, meeting reports
- Assist with the planning, coordination and preparation of various events and meetings as they arise
Duty Station
The consultant will be based in New York for the entire duration of the assignment and will be provided office space in UNICEF HQ.
Timeframe
This will be a full-time contract for a period of 6 months initially, with the possibility of extension. The expected start date is 1 September 2015.
Start date:1 September 2015 End date:27 February 2016
Key competences, technical background, and experience required
Education:
· Education: University Master’s Degree or higher in statistics, demography or social sciences
· 3 to 4 years of progressively responsible professional Mid-level work experience in monitoring and data analysis
· Familiarity and previous experience with research/data collection on disability or child protection
· Previous experience compiling and presenting country-level data, with a focus on child disability and/or child protection topics
· Proven experience in working with data from household surveys and its use in policy and programming
· Proven experience in data analysis and report writing to disseminate key data and findings to non-technical audiences, particularly related to child disability and/or protection
· Excellent command of English required; working knowledge of another UN language is an asset
· Analytical, methodical and precise style of writing
· Proven coordination and organization skills
· Good communication and advocacy skills
· Good knowledge of SPSS and/or STATA
· Ability to work in an international environment and under tight deadlines
How to apply:
How to Apply
Applicants are requested to send their submissions to <**pdconsultants@unicef.org>with a subject line:“Statistics and Monitoring Consultant, Child Protection and Disability”**by 14 August, 2015, 5:00pm EST.
Applications must include:
· Cover letter,
· CV, and
· Indicate where you heard about this advertisement
Please indicate your ability, availability and daily rate (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference above. Applications submitted without a daily/monthly rate will not be considered.
NOTE: Files should not exceed 5.0MB limit
UNICEF is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.
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