National Survey Coordination Consultant (MICS), Yerevan, Armenia

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For every child, the right to peace

The Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) is an international household survey program developed and supported by UNICEF. It is recognized as the global standard for household surveys, providing statistically sound and internationally comparable data on key indicators related to households, with a special focus on women and children.

MICS will be conducted in Armenia for the first time. The last large-scale household survey measuring mostly similar indicators, the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), was implemented in Armenia in 2015. As a result, the data on many of these indicators are now outdated, creating a significant data gap for national monitoring and decision-making. MICS is included in the Statistical Program of the Statistical Committee of the Republic of Armenia (Armstat), highlighting the renewed importance placed on the MICS methodology and the data by the Government.  MICS Armenia will be implemented under the technical leadership of Armstat, with UNICEF support, ensuring national ownership and alignment with international standards.

MICS is a sample survey that provides up-to-date information on the situation of children, women and men, and measures key indicators that allow countries to monitor progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other internationally agreed-upon goals, targets and indicators. In MICS Armenia the envisaged sample size is approximately 10,000 households, covering all regions of Armenia.

During MICS surveys women and men are interviewed during face-to-face interviews in residential households that are randomly selected from a set of sample areas called clusters. A cluster usually corresponds to a census Enumeration Area (EA), or a small locality (e.g., village), although sometimes it may correspond to a group of EAs, or a portion of an EA. In Armenia, due to transition to administrative census and considering that existing sampling frames are outdated and non-digital, a newly developed digital national sampling frame – developed with support from the World Bank and consisting of geospatially defined pre-Enumeration Areas (pre-EAs) – will be used as the basis for selecting the MICS clusters.

Prior to the main fieldwork, a mapping and listing (M&L) operation is conducted, during which maps are validated and updated, all structures located in the sampled clusters are listed and households are identified. The main objective of the household mapping and listing operation is to create a complete and updated list of households for all selected clusters, so that the sampled households can represent the total population. It will also help to plan fieldwork logistics, prevent omissions and duplications, and reduce operational risks and errors. In case of Armenia integrated digital mapping and listing will be conducted, which will enable to further enhance accuracy and efficiency, enable real-time data integration and quality assurance, and improve visualization.

In MICS Armenia 2026, data collection will be conducted primarily using Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI). Data will be collected through CSPro-based CAPI applications, which incorporate standardized questionnaires, validation rules, skip patterns, and consistency checks in line with MICS global standards. CSPro will also be used for secondary editing, data validation, and generation of output files, which will then be transferred to SPSS for the creation of analysis datasets, application of sampling weights, computation of composite indicators, and production of tabulations.

While the MICS in Armenia is led and coordinated nationally by Armstat through a designated National MICS Coordinator, the scale and complexity of the survey with phases and multiple training and field pilot components require extensive engagement of multiple contractors, consulting firms, technical experts, and donors across all phases of implementation. To ensure effective coordination from the UNICEF side, dedicated technical and operational support is required to complement national coordination arrangements. The purpose of this assignment is to engage a Survey Consultant on behalf of UNICEF to support the Child Rights Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist in managing and coordinating UNICEF-supported components of MICS7, including liaison with contractors and consultants, consolidation of documentation, and timely communication with UNICEF Regional Office and MICS Global teams. The Consultant will contribute to ensuring that all survey processes are properly documented, aligned with global MICS standards, and implemented in a timely and coherent manner, thereby supporting quality assurance, institutional coordination, and effective reporting to national and international stakeholders.

How can you make a difference? 

Under the overall guidance of the UNICEF Armenia Child Rights Monitoring and Evaluation (CRM/E) Specialist, and in close coordination with the National MICS Coordinator at the Statistical Committee of the Republic of Armenia (ArmStat), the Survey Coordination Consultant will provide coordination, oversight, quality assurance and substantive technical support to the implementation of MICS Armenia 2026. The Consultant will not replace or duplicate national coordination functions but will complement them by supporting UNICEF in managing multiple consultants, contractors, and other stakeholders; ensuring quality assurance across survey phases; and guaranteeing that all processes, decisions, and outputs are properly documented and communicated to the UNICEF Regional Office and Global MICS teams.

1. Survey Coordination and Governance

• Coordinate the organisation and functioning of Steering Committee (Coordination body of MICS) and Technical Committee (Working group) meetings, including preparation of agendas, background materials, minutes, action points, and systematic follow-up.
• Ensure effective coordination and communication with Armstat MICS team, including facilitation of internal reviews and approvals of technical documents, plans, and deliverables related to MICS implementation.
• Coordinate meetings with other relevant national counterparts, donors, and stakeholders, ensuring meetings are well prepared, documented, and followed up.
• Support alignment and information flow between national coordination mechanisms and UNICEF Armenia, the Regional Office, and the Global MICS Team.

2. Updated MICS Armenia 2026 Survey Plan & Workplan Tracker

• Support regular update and communication to respective stakeholder MICS Armenia Survey Plan and workplan for coordination of institutions, consultants and others involved.
• Support the National MICS Coordinator in sequencing and synchronising consultants’ inputs across survey phases to avoid duplication and delays.
• Coordinate day-to-day interaction between UNICEF-contracted MICS consultants and relevant ArmStat MICS personnel, ensuring clarity of roles, timelines, and deliverables.
• Track progress of consultants’ assignments against agreed workplans and coordinate timely submission of deliverables for national and UNICEF technical review.
• Consolidate technical comments and recommendations from ArmStat, UNICEF Armenia, the Regional Office, and the Global MICS Team, and coordinate feedback loops with consultants.
• Coordinate and document technical missions, trainings, review meetings, and field monitoring visits involving consultants, national teams, UNICEF Armenia, the Regional Office, and the Global MICS Team.
• Coordinate and support submission of MICS package for ethical review as per UNICEF guidelines.

4. Coordination and Oversight of Sample Design, Listing, and Mapping

• Coordinate provision of required inputs and organisation of missions for the UNICEF Sampling expert/consultant.
• Support coordination of the sample design and implementation process with National Consultants and UNICEF MICS Team.
• Coordinate and ensure finalization of listing and mapping materials.
• Ensure that cluster geocodes and boundary shapefiles (including one administrative level below stratification) are properly compiled, documented, and communicated to the UNICEF MICS Team.
• Coordinate UNICEF MICS Team review of the final sample design, household selection, and sampling weights.
• Conduct monitoring missions during field pilot and actual Listing and Mapping operation.
• Ensure that sampling, listing and mapping decisions and outputs are documented and archived.

5. Leadership of Questionnaire Revision, Customisation, and Finalisation

• Coordinate and engage in discussions with sectoral ministries and other stakeholders on selection of questionnaire modules.
• Lead and coordinate methodological discussions on questionnaire customisation with UNICEF programme staff, the Technical Committee, national methodologists, and subject-matter experts.
• Review and finalize the questionnaires and manuals as per customization instructions and following discussions.
• Coordinate translation and back-translation of questionnaires and manuals.
• Coordinate and oversee questionnaire pre-testing, drafting and coordinating finalization of a structured pre-test report, and lead consolidation of findings.
• Coordinate submission of revised questionnaires to the UNICEF MICS Team (RO/HQ) and ensure all feedback is addressed prior to finalisation.
• Ensure all decisions, versions, and approvals are properly documented and archived.

6. Oversight and Coordination of Manuals and CAPI Finalisation

• Coordinate customisation and translation of country-specific MICS manuals (Listing & Mapping, Supervisor, Measurer, Interviewer).
• Coordinate technical discussions between ArmStat data processing staff, methodologists, and UNICEF Data Processing and Household Survey experts.
• Coordinate customisation and develop drafts of the CAPI application template, secondary editing guidelines, and Field Check Table tabulation plans and syntax.
• Ensure UNICEF MICS Team review and clearance of final manuals and CAPI applications.
• Ensure all final products are documented, archived, and communicated to UNICEF RO/HQ.

7. Coordination and Participation in Training Activities

• Coordinate development and finalisation of training schedules for testing listing and mapping, listing and mapping, pre-testing, CAPI testing, and main fieldwork.
• Coordinate preparation of training agendas, materials, and logistics.
• Participate in all training activities, field exercises, pilots, and validation activities, supporting consistent application of agreed methodologies.
• Ensure all trainings and field exercises are properly documented and reported to UNICEF RO/HQ.

8. Monitoring and Quality Assurance of Sampling, Fieldwork, and Data Processing

• Coordinate and personally participate in monitoring and QA activities during listing and mapping, pre-testing, CAPI testing, and main fieldwork.
• Coordinate production and review of weekly Field Check Tables, ensure timely feedback to field supervisors, and share findings with the Regional MICS Coordinator.
• Coordinate and participate in monitoring of sample selection, data collection, data processing, and secondary editing.
• Ensure monitoring findings, risks, and corrective actions are documented and communicated to UNICEF RO/HQ.

9. Oversight and Support to Data Analysis

• Coordinate inclusion and review of sampling weights.
• Coordinate customisation and review of the MICS tabulation plan and standard syntax.
• Coordinate substantive review of datasets and tables (including the wealth index) prior to report writing.
• Facilitate communication on anonymisation between ArmStat and the UNICEF MICS Team.
• Ensure final datasets and documentation are anonymized, archived and communicated to RO/HQ.

10. Coordination of Report Writing, Dissemination, and Archiving

• Coordinate and contribute substantively to preparation of the Survey Findings Report and Statistical Snapshots using MICS templates.
• Coordinate UNICEF MICS Team technical reviews and consolidation of feedback.
• Coordinate printing, distribution, and national dissemination seminar.
• Support wide dissemination of survey results through briefings and presentations.
• Ensure the complete MICS survey archive is produced by ArmStat in line with MICS requirements and shared with UNICEF RO/HQ.

11. Coordination of Administration, Logistics, and Contracted Institutions

• Coordinate administrative and logistical arrangements with the Survey Administration and Logistics Support Consultant.
• Ensure survey supplies are procured and distributed in time for trainings and data collection.
• Facilitate and oversee work of contracted institutions and companies across survey stages, ensuring follow-up on deliverables and reporting.
• Oversee and coordinate translation activities and ensure that versions are correctly marked and archived.

12. Reporting

• Participate in weekly meeting and update on progress.
• Prepare regular progress reports, summarising activities, challenges, mitigation measures, and including relevant annexes.

• Draft of donor progress and results reports, ensuring consistency with survey implementation status.

Support coordination of financial reporting inputs related to donor-funded MICS components, in collaboration with UNICEF programme and operations staff.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  TOR_Survey Coordination Consultant (MICS) VA.pdf

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

Minimum requirements:

Education:  Advanced university degree (Master’s level or equivalent) in Statistics, Demography, Economics, Sociology, Data Science, Computer Science, Information Systems, Public Health, or another relevant quantitative or data-focused discipline.

Work Experience: 

• Minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible professional experience in the design, coordination, implementation, or quality assurance of large-scale household surveys, population-based studies, or official statistical operations.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating or supporting large-scale and complex national surveys (e.g. MICS, DHS, LSMS, census-related surveys or comparable), including interaction with national statistical offices and multiple technical teams.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating the work of multiple consultants, contractors, or institutions, including tracking deliverables, consolidating technical feedback, and supporting technical review and clearance processes.
• Demonstrated experience in data quality assurance and support to survey outputs, including basic data processing tasks and coordination of survey analysis, reporting, and dissemination activities, such as analytical report drafting and national dissemination events.
• Strong working knowledge of survey methodology, including sampling design, household listing and mapping, questionnaire development and pre-testing, CAPI-based data collection, and survey data processing workflows.
• Demonstrated understanding of data protection, confidentiality, and ethical standards in household surveys, including handling of personal and child-related data.
• Strong organisational, coordination, and documentation skills, with proven ability to manage complex workflows and tight timelines.

Language Requirements: Fluency in Armenian and English are required.

Terms of the application:

The deadline for the submission of applications is 24 December 2025. Applications should include:

• Cover letter;
• on-line application;
• Financial Proposal (lumpsum fee for the consultancy in ALL and inclusive of travel and other expenses and all taxes).

All qualified applicants should apply online, using the UNICEF E-Recruitment system and following the online application link. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

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

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness

(3) Drive to achieve results for impact

(4) Innovates and embraces change

(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity

(6) Thinks and acts strategically

(7) Works collaboratively with others 

[add the 8^th competency (Nurtures, leads and manages people) for a supervisory role]. 

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

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 a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility jobs-near-me.org 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.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:  

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable candidates with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason. 

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.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.