Consultancy: Geospatial Data Consultant - Req#581394

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! Consultancy Title: Geospatial Data Consultant Section/Division/Duty Station: DH&IS, MNCAH, Health Section - Programme Division, NYHQ Duration: June 2025 to May 30, 2026 Home/ Office Based: REMOTE (New York/Nairobi time zones) 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 over 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 for developing 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: Connectivity is a key health determinant, ensuring accessible, equitable health services for children, especially marginalized populations. It enables efficient data management, improves healthcare access, and supports poverty reduction through healthier, more productive populations. Despite LMIC progress in internet accessibility over the past decade, gaps remain in marginalized communities. Only 34% of African health facilities have internet connectivity (WHO 2021). As governments digitalize health services, the digital divide risks excluding citizens from digitally-enabled healthcare. Rising data costs compound this challenge, yet many governments lack financing strategies or partnerships to address it. UNICEF and ITU launched Giga in 2019 to connect every school globally to internet. Active in 19 countries, Giga has connected 5,600+ schools. UNICEF expanded this through \"HealthConnekt\" to include Primary Health Care Centres and Community Health Workers. Effective advocacy and planning require quality data, including national Health Facility Master Lists (HFML). However, governance issues, accuracy problems, inadequate data standards, and misaligned Health Facility Registries (HFRS) prevent optimal data use. Other UNICEF initiatives requiring quality HMFLs and HFRs include: MasterCard Foundation partnership for CHW master lists and spatial analysis; WHO's Global Health Facilities Database; Global Fund's Digital Health Impact Accelerator and Resilient Systems for Health programmes; and World Bank's electrification initiative. Scope of Work: UNICEF seeks a Geospatial Consultant who will provide technical and analytical support to activities related to assessing and strengthening connectivity of health programs under both the HealthConnekt and MasterCard Foundation initiative.  The geospatial consultant will support the design, production, delivery and dissemination of spatial information products that will inform analysis of gaps in the availability of internet connectivity at health facilities, CHW distribution, the geographic coverage of health services and target population.  The consultant will support country personnel to identify spatial information needs in each country, gather necessary data for the analysis, assess the quality of core input datasets such as HMFLs, CHW master lists and associated registries, and enhance them with connectivity information. The consultant will perform spatial analysis, produce information products for communication with countries and global audiences, and make the outputs available on a global platform.  The consultant will complement the HealthConnekt Country Engagement consultant under the oversight of the DHIS team senior health advisor and geospatial health specialist, as well as the ICTD Digital Centre of Excellence team based in Nairobi.  The consultant will support UNICEF Regional and Country Offices in engaging with government counterparts as needed. Additionally, the consultant will be expected to engage with Africa CDC, the UNICEF GIGA and the Community Health team in UNICEF Programme Group. The consultant will perform the following duties:  1. Technical support to scaling health connectivity analysis in 5 countries under Healthconnekt : 1.1. Quality control and enrichment of Health Facility Master List (HFML) data: In close collaboration with Country offices and identified Government counterpart, gather, asses, document and provide procedural documentation to improve the HFML, including: • Identify authoritative HFML datasets and managing authorities • Document quality of HFML (accuracy, completeness, consistency, level of update and compliance of formatting against global requirements standards) • Develop recommendations for improvement of HFML by government counterparts • Support government counterparts performing quality improvement on HFML dataset as required to integrate connectivity, coverage, and electricity data into HFML. This will not include expansion of the HFML master list. • Integrate connectivity, coverage, and electricity data into HFML • Develop procedural documentation on HFML data validation, improvement, and augmentation practices • Rapid assessment of digital systems utilized to manage the HFML against global requirements for Health Facility Registries (HFRS), and recommendations for achieving compliance 1.2 Perform spatial analytics to inform health system connectivity investment cases:  highlight the link between connectivity at health facilities, population distribution and health outcomes contextualized to country health programmatic needs. Specifically:  • Identify spatial information required in each country based and programmatic needs, and translate into required input data, spatial methods and products  • Conduct spatial analyses by integrating HFML data enriched with connectivity, coverage, and electricity data with other relevant geospatial datasets, such as population distribution, travel time, and additional contextual data.  • Produce geospatial products that will inform assessment of connectivity gaps of the health system, including current and future connectivity scenarios  • Produce country-specific technical report  2. Technical support to Community Health Systems coverage and connectivity analysis in at least 5 countries under MasterCard Foundation initiative. The analysis might extend to the assessment of connectivity of CHWs where dictated by the country proposals.  Specific tasks will include: • Review existing CHW master lists data with focus on quality of georeferenciation of CHW (and where relevant, internet connectivity)   • Identify spatial information required to inform analysis of Community health systems coverage based and country programmatic needs, and translate into required input data, geospatial methods and products • Perform data cleaning and quality control of CHW master lists as required to perform spatial analysis. This will not include expansion of the CHW master list. If relevant, triangulate internet connectivity and coverage data into CHW master lists • Conduct spatial analyses by integrating CHW data with relevant geospatial datasets, such as health facility locations, population distribution and, where relevant, internet connectivity • Produce procedural documentation outlining CHW data validation, quality improvement and spatial analysis and provide recommendations to the Ministry of Health for routine replication 3. Implement a geospatial dashboard of health system connectivity analysis for 5-10 countries. (including HealthConnekt and MasterCard initiative countries). Specific tasks will include • Identify platform based on agreed criteria on hosting, licensing, cost, required functionalities, data ownership and sharing, and public access.  • Implement customizations required to align with the standards, functionalities and stakeholder needs of the health system connectivity analysis • Package and upload on the dashboard the geospatial content for 5-10 countries 4. Liaise internally and externally to harmonize efforts related to electrification and connectivity infrastructure for health and other related sectors, including but not limited with Africa CDC, ITU, and the UNICEF GIGA team. Specifically: • Provide technical support to meetings with internal and external partners to ensure alignment of core geospatial data, analytical outputs and information products. • Create documentation on agreed-upon data standards and protocols for health connectivity analysis to ensure consistency across datasets. • Track, respond and document to requests for HealthConnekt data by external and internal partners 5. Provide ad-hoc technical support to UNICEF health section related to the use of geospatial data and technologies for health planning and monitoring. Specifically:  • Technical review of at least five (5) products, including global guidelines, operational guidance, training materials and/or similar • Provide technical advice to at least 20 meetings • Undertake ad-hoc technical analysis to respond to UNICEF Programme Division requests, including data gathering, quality control, analysis, and/or visualization (for a total of 20 days of effort) 6. Dissemination of results of health connectivity analysis under HealthConnetk and MasterCard Foundation initiatives • Create dissemination material for communication with country stakeholders  • Create dissemination material for global internal and external audience detailing outcomes across the project countries. • Develop a public-facing SharePoint knowledge management site to organize and sharepoject resources, and update regularly. Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables: 1.1 Technical support to scaling health connectivity analysis in at least 5 countries under HealthConnekt initiative: Quality control and enrichment Health Facility Master List (HFML) data - An improved Health Facility master lists dataset with integrated connectivity, coverage, and electricity data - 30 September 2025 - Country-specific report on HFML dataset quality - 30 September 2025 - Country-specific procedural guide on HFML quality validation and integration of connectivity, electricity, and coverage data - 30 September 2025 - Country-specific report detailing assessment of health facility registry, including recommendations for upgrading to compliant registry - 31 July 2025 1.2 Technical support to scaling health connectivity analysis in 5 countries: Spatial analytics to inform health system connectivity assessment and investment cases - Country-specific analytical products, including connectivity, power and population (Geospatial datasets should be packaged as standard geodatabases format ) - 31 January 2026 - Country-specific technical reports   - 30 March 2026 2. Technical support to Community Health Systems coverage and connectivity analysis in at least 5 countries under MasterCard Foundation initiative - Country-specific CHW master list data quality report with recommendations on improving CHW geodata accuracy - 30 November 2025 - Country-specific procedural documentation detailing CHW location data collection,  validation, quality improvement and spatial analysis  - 30 November 2025 - Country-specific analytical products integrating CHW data with health facility, population, and travel time metrics. - 31 December 2025 3. Implement a geospatial visualization dashboard to display health system connectivity analysis for 5-10 countries (HealthConnekt and MasterCard foundation initiative countries)  - First instance of dashboard live with full functionalities and content for at least 2 countries - 31 July 2025 - Geospatial visualization dashboard live and publicly accessible, with content for at least 5 countries -  30 April 2026 - Delivered Live demo of dashboard to country representatives - 30 May 2026 4. Engagement with external organizations and other UNICEF units related to electrification and connectivity infrastructure for health and other related sectors - Technical documentation of data standards, protocols, and methods/analyses utilized for health system connectivity assessment - 31 July 2025 - Regularly updated Log of connectivity data request - 30 May 2026 - Meeting reports for a minimum of 24 meetings in total (at least two 1-hour meetings held each month) - 30 May 2026 5. Provide ad-hoc technical support to UNICEF health section related to the use of geospatial data and technologies for health. - Technical review provided and documented for at least five (5) technical products, including but not limited to global guidelines, operational guidance, training materials, and similar - 30 May 2026  - Participate in at least 20 meetings to provide technical advice (1hr each) - 30 May 2026 - Spatial analysis undertaken to respond to ad-hoc requests from UNICEF Programmed Division (total of 20 days effort) - 30 May 2026 7. Dissemination of results of health connectivity analysis for HealthConnetk and MasterCard Foundation initiatives - Country-specific dissemination material for communication with country stakeholders  - 30 March 2026 - Packaged dissemination material for global internal and external audience summarizing  outcomes across project countries. - 30 March 2026 - Public-facing SharePoint site live with project information for at least 2 countries - 31 July 2025 - Public-facing SharePoint site maintained and populated with country-specific material for minimum 5 project  - 30 May 2026 Qualifications Education: Advance University degree (Masters) in Health Geography, Geography, Geographic Information Systems, Information Technology, Data Science, or similar applied discipline, or equivalent work experience Language Proficiency: • Fluency in English is required. Working proficiency of another official UN language is highly desirable.  Work experience:  Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required: • A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in spatial analysis applied to health programs or alternatively closely related development programs • Experience managing and working with georeferenced Health Facilities master lists, including management through registries  • Experience undertaking geospatial data analytics involving national-scale datasets independently or under limited technical supervision • Experience with geospatial processing, manipulation, data quality check and editing of all common data types (raster, vector line and point) independently or under limited technical supervision • Experience with spatial analysis utilizing spatial datasets related to population density, population health indicators and health services • Technical proficiency with: o Standard GIS software (ArcGIS, QGIS) o Geospatial databases management and organization o Basic statistical analysis  • Experience producing narratives and data visualizations material for technical and non-technical audiences  • Proven experience managing communication with representative and technical personnel from LMIC government agencies in an independent manner and with appropriate cultural sensitivity • Experience developing shared online resources, repositories or project webpages using MSF SharePoint or similar tools Desirable • Experience developing user-friendly geospatial visualization dashboards customized to serve specific use cases requirements and user profiles • Experience undertaking spatial analysis such as geographic accessibility, geographic coverage or network analysis for health or closely related development programs • Experience with common platforms to perform travel-time based accessibility analysis (e.g., AccessMod)  • Experience with analysis of health-related datasets such as health outcome indicators • Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with low resource settings and interaction with government officials • Familiarity with Machine Learning algorithms and satellite image recognition methods • Experience working within the UN system • Proficiency in French Requirements:  Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system and  - Upload copy of academic credentials  - Financial proposal that will include/ reflect : o the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference. o travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR.  o Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable. o 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 values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).    To view our competency framework, please visit here.  UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits. According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. 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. Remarks:   Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.  Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract 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 and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors 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.