National Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) Consultant, Ukraine, 18 months (Remote)

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…

UNICEF Ukraine 

The full text of the TOR is available here  TOR MICS Consultant.pdf. 

Background:

In Ukraine, the last population census was conducted in 2001, making the accurate estimate of the current population in Ukraine extremely difficult . The effect of full-scale war worsened the situation. Millions of people are internally displaced (over 3.5 million), or fled abroad as refugees (over 6.8 million), while many more remained on the non-government controlled areas (NGCA). The most recent population estimation was done by UNFPA in 2024. However,the martial law in Ukraine has limited the scope of the data collection that would otherwise has been included in the regular data collection calendar and this impacted the capabilities of the State Statistics Office of Ukraine (SSSU) to carry out their regular work due to the security constraints and funding limitation.

The war that escalated in 2022 has had a profound impact on children’s rights and well-being in Ukraine. Since the escalation of the war, millions of children have been displaced, facing severe risks to their physical safety, mental health, and access to essential services like education and healthcare. The war has disrupted their lives, causing significant emotional distress and increasing the likelihood of long-term psychological issues.

The Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) is an international household survey programme developed and supported by UNICEF. MICS is designed to collect estimates of key indicators that are used to assess the situation of children and women. Over the past three decades, MICS has evolved to respond to changing data needs, expanding from 28 indicators in the first round to more than 250 indicators in the current seventh round, including over 40 SDG indicators.

In terms of data, the last MICS conducted in Ukraine was in 2012. This outdated data environment poses challenges for accurately assessing and addressing the current needs of children and families affected by the full-scale war. The lack of recent, comprehensive data makes it difficult to develop effective policies and interventions to support the most vulnerable populations.

As government develops national frameworks to monitor progress toward the SDGs, strategic planning and investments will be required to collect robust, more frequent, and timely data. This round of MICS presents a unique opportunity to support this process.

To fill critical gaps in updated, disaggregated data on children and families, to provide updated data for SDG indicators, and to support establishing a baseline of the 2025-2029 Country Programme for UNICEF Ukraine Country Office (CO) will support the Government of Ukraine to conduct a MICS as part of the 7th round of the survey programme in 2025-2026. To ensure that the implementation of the MICS survey runs smoothly, specific deadlines are met and that the national partner, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine (SSSU) receives the technical assistance necessary to produce statistically sound and reliable data, the UNICEF Ukraine CO will hire a full-time consultant to oversee the MICS process from preparatory work to release of results.

How can you make a difference? 

Main Tasks:

1. Provide technical and managerial support to the Ukraine MICS;
2. Present the MICS methodology, tools, and guidelines to partners/stakeholders (e.g. ministries, UN Agencies, etc.);
3. Finalise, in collaboration with national partners and UNICEF CO, the Survey Plan and Budget, including timetable, and share with the Regional MICS Coordinator,
4. Ensure that the Ethical Protocol and other ethical recommendations are addressed throughout survey design and implementation process and that all MICS-related data collection tools and materials are shared with the Ethical Review Board (ERB) on time for approval,
5. Oversee each stage of the survey process and ensure that the MICS protocols and standards are followed by the SSSU and survey teams, more specifically during training and field supervision visits,
6. Communicate regularly with UNICEF CO and/or the UNICEF MICS Team, responding to all MICS-related issues in a timely manner,
7. Provide monthly updates on MICS activities to UNICEF CO and the Regional MICS Coordinator,
8. Coordinate the work of SSSU specialists and the UNICEF MICS Team, and other resource persons assigned by UNICEF CO and/or the UNICEF MICS Team to support different survey stages,
9. Ensure that external technical reviews by experts (i.e., Sampling, Data Processing, and Household Survey experts and consultants) are carried out at key survey stages and coordinate the feedback and response between the CO, the UNICEF MICS Team and the SSSU,
10. Ensure that all survey-related documents and deliverables are properly archived in line with the UNICEF and Government of Ukraine data protection policies throughout the survey process (for example: Memorandum of Understanding, Survey Plan and Budget, questionnaires, manuals, sample design, training/pre-test reports, expert reports, CAPI application, field check tables, output and tabulation plan tables, syntaxes, datasets, cluster geocodes, boundary shapefiles, Survey Findings Report, Statistical Snapshots, dissemination materials, etc.),
11. Participate in all MICS Steering and Technical Committee meetings,
12. Participate in, and contribute to MICS Regional Workshops,
13. Organise, as required, and facilitate the national Data Interpretation and Report Compilation Workshop,
14. Ensure that lessons learned, problems, and good practices are documented throughout the MICS process and rapidly shared with the MICS community (other MICS implementing countries and the UNICEF MICS Team) through all means available,
15. Support planning and customisation of other MICS initiatives (MICS Plus, MICS GIS, MICS Link) in collaboration with the relevant experts of these initiatives from the Global MICS Team.

 

Deliverable	Deadline	# of w/days
1. Survey Planning Stage/preparatory works are fully completed, and the following activities are successfully carried out..	February 28, 2025	22
2. Sampling design stage is fully completed, the following activities are successfully carried out.	April 15, 2025	33
3. Listing and mapping stage is fully accomplished, ensuring that the following activities are successfully carried out.	May 31, 2025	33
4. Questionnaires preparation stage is completed, ensuring that the following activities are successfully carried out.	June, 15, 2025	11
5. CAPI application customization stage is completed, ensuring that the following activities are successfully carried out.	June 30, 2025	11
6. Training stage is completed, ensuring that the following activities are successfully carried out.	August 31, 2025	44
7. Fieldwork stage is completed, ensuring that the following activities are successfully carried out.	November 30, 2025	66
8. Data Analysis stage, ensuring that the following activities are successfully carried out.	March 31, 2026	88
9. Report Writing stage is completed, ensuring that the following activities are successfully carried out.	July 31, 2026	88
Total:		396
A Before any field mission, Safe and Secure Approaches in Field Environments (SSAFE) and Individual First Aid Kit (IFAK) trainings must be completed. The 4-day training schedule must be agreed upon with the security team.		4

Travel Plan 2025-2026:

Estimated assignment-related travel days – 40 days (exact number of travel days will be identified in the course of the he MICS workplan finalization and ad-hoc needs) .

Please provide an all-inclusive financial proposal including travels to carry out the deliverables listed above.