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 hope.

UNICEF Ukraine 

Welcome to UNICEF Ukraine - YouTube

How can you make a difference? 

Background: 

Data-driven decision-making in education is essential for improving learning outcomes, optimizing resource allocation, and ensuring equity. By systematically collecting and analyzing data—such as student performance, attendance, teacher effectiveness, and school infrastructure—educators and policymakers can identify gaps, monitor progress, and implement targeted interventions to address bottlenecks brought on by the start of war. This approach enables evidence-based strategies that are responsive to the needs of students and schools, rather than relying on assumptions or outdated practices. Ultimately, data utilization fosters accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement across all levels of the education system.

In the context of Ukraine’s ongoing war, the role of data in education has become even more critical. With over 3,700 educational institutions damaged or destroyed and millions of students displaced or learning under emergency conditions, data is vital for tracking access, equity, and learning continuity. For instance, data collected by the Ministry of Education and Science has revealed that more than one-third of students are not learning in classrooms, and 11% rely solely on online education. These insights inform emergency responses such as the deployment of mobile preschools, the establishment of shelters in schools, and the prioritization of psychological support for students and teachers. Moreover, data helps identify the most vulnerable communities, assess learning losses, and guide the rebuilding of infrastructure. In a war-torn environment, where resources are scarce and needs are urgent, data ensures that interventions are both strategic and impactful - supporting not just survival, but the long-term resilience and recovery of Ukraine’s education system.

Recognising the efficiencies which result from data analysis for the identification of effective humanitarian interventions, UNICEF is seeking the services of a qualified individual to create data analytics products that support the Ministry of Education and Science as well as local level administrations to improve their planning and monitoring within the education sector

Purpose of assignment:

The purpose of this assignment is to support the Ministry of Education and Science and local level administrations to improve their planning and monitoring through the creation of data and analytics products. Three specific products are to be supported through this assignment:

1 – Quantification of the disruption of educational activities due to alarms: Due to the ongoing war, educational activities are frequently disrupted due to the use of shelling, drones or other projectiles that can directly or indirectly impact school facilities. During air raid alerts students and teachers interrupt learning activities in order to proceed to shelters. The interruptions are variable in terms of duration and can span from a few minutes to a few hours. The accumulated amount of time lost through these disruptions is believed to contribute directly to learning losses and would require compensatory measures to promote learning recovery. This assignment will build a model to identify the volume of learning time lost due to alarms and the corresponding time of students in shelters. The model will be presented in a dashboard format for release and utilization by the Ministry of Education and Science and local level authorities.

2 – Support decentralized planning at hromada for optimization of resources: As part of their regular accountability, local level administrations are requested to budget and plan their network of education services for each school year. Due to the current war context, most of the investments are made to cover regular costs and insufficient funding is left for potential investments. With a focus on Early Childhood Education, it is expected that under this assignment an optimization of resources model can be created to support local level authorities in their planning exercises. The model should contemplate existing data on number of students and distribution per school and grade, information on available infrastructure/early childhood centers, number of educators and support staff, availability of pedagogical materials, etc. By mapping and organizing all this information it is expected that, among other potential insights, local administrations will be enabled to make programmatic decisions about class size, opening or closing of educational facilities or distribution of staff leading to an optimized distribution of resources for enhanced impact and access to education for children. The model will be field tested and prepared for public presentation and utilization by the Ministry of Education and Science and local administrations.

3 – Modelling of Energy resilience and Winter preparedness: In previous years, UNICEF supported schools' preparedness for winter by providing grants to repair or upgrade energy, heating and insulation systems, addressing critical infrastructure needs. As the war continues, energy infrastructure remains a target and energy shortages impair education activities. To ensure a more resilient education system, a model to indicate a priorization of schools for investments will support the Government of Ukraine and development partners to better plan corresponding investments. Through the combination of several existing datasets the model will combine risk assessment, average temperatures, energy needs, refurbishment needs, number of students supported, Internally Displaced Students or Other Vulnerable Students data to create a ranking of high, medium and low priority.

To ensure sustainability and utilization of the data products, they will be designed in close consultation with the Ministry of Education and Science teams (General Secondary; Preschool; Local Administrations). The Institute of Education Analytics (IEA) is particularly relevant as it maintains a majority of the relevant data sets as well as hosting of Government visualizations and the completed data products of this consultancy should be transferred to IEA management.

Work assignment overview:

Deliverable

Deadline

# of w/days

Inception Report

December 2025

5

Model for quantification of the disruption of educational activities due to alarms and dashboard for visualization

January 2025

42

Model of Energy resilience and Winter preparedness, visual presentation of data and recommendation report

March2026

22

Modelling report for optimization of resources that supports decentralized planning at hromada level

May 2026

42

Final consultancy report

June 2026

10

Total:

121

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:

Estimated assignment-related travel days - 8 days.

Destination

Period
[month, year]

 Odesa

February 2026 

 Kharkiv

January 2026

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

Minimum requirements:

Education: Master’s degree in public policy, project management, mathematics, statistics, computer science, or related fields. Work Experience: At least 3 years of experience in M&E, data analytics, or public sector performance monitoring. Minimum of 2 years previous experience working with official Education data (AIKOM; NUS reform data; other Education relevant data systems) and strong familiarity with Ukraine’s education data landscape. Minimum of 2 years’ experience in developing and managing M&E frameworks and indicator systems for social services, preferably Education data systems. Experience with international organizations, preferably UNICEF or other donor-funded education projects Skills:  Demonstrated knowledge of Python (R) and SQL Ability to translate complex data into actionable insights Strategic thinking, problem-solving, and presentation skills Excellent data analysis and reporting skills Knowledge of business intelligence / data visualization / reporting tools (Power BI, Looker Studio or equivalent) Language Requirements: Ukrainian: Proficient/Native [C2] English: Proficient/Native [C2]

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…

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 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:  

Please indicate your all-inclusive (lump sum) fees in USD against the deliverables listed above, including all associated administrative and travel costs (if applicable), in the cover letter. The office selects the individual based on best value for money.

Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed 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.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy 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. Consultants 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 consultant 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 consultant 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. The vaccine mandate, 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. UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.