Consultancy - Child and Adolescent Mental Health Measurement Research Analyst Consultant,Data & Analytics Section, OSE, Florence, Italy,12 Months (Remote)

Consultancy
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Measurement Research Analyst Consultant,Data & Analytics Section, OSE, Florence, Italy,12 Months (Remote) Job no: 596545 Contract type: Consultant Duty Station: Florence Level: Consultancy

Location:
Italy Categories: Research, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation 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 learn. TERMS OF REFERENCE Purpose of Activity/Assignment: Efforts to improve the mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of children and adolescents are critically constrained by the absence of robust, reliable, and actionable approaches to measurement, particularly in low
- and middle-income countries where over 90 per cent of children reside. While global attention to child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) has increased, existing data systems remain fragmented, under‑coordinated, and insufficiently contextualized, resulting in a partial and often underestimated picture of mental health needs, determinants, and outcomes. Available evidence indicates that more than 13 per cent of adolescents aged 10–19 live with a diagnosed mental disorder, with anxiety and depression accounting for approximately 40 per cent of cases. Suicide and self‑harm remain among the leading causes of death among adolescents globally, while behavioral, anxiety, and depressive disorders account for millions of years lived with disability. Despite this burden, mental health data are frequently underutilized in decision‑making, poorly integrated across sectors, and inconsistently communicated to policymakers and practitioners. UNICEF is uniquely positioned to address these challenges. Through its global presence, long‑standing partnerships with governments, and leadership in population‑based data collection, including the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), UNICEF has demonstrated its capacity to generate and translate high‑quality data into action. The Measuring Mental Health among Adolescents and Young People at the Population Level (MMAPP) initiative exemplifies this role, providing validated, culturally adaptable tools developed in partnership with young people and country teams. As global momentum builds toward the post‑SDG agenda, the Data & Analytics Section within UNICEF Office of Strategy and Evidence – Innocenti (OSE) is seeking to strengthen its leadership in CAMH measurement to ensure that mental health data are systematically generated, harmonized, and used to drive policy, programming, and investment. UNICEF is also developing a parallel child and adolescent non‑communicable disease (NCD) measurement portfolio, drawing on shared expertise in survey methodology, indicator development, and global data infrastructure. Together, these workstreams constitute a growing and complex global measurement portfolio with active engagement across country offices, academic partners, donors, and youth stakeholders. As the portfolio expands across multiple simultaneous workstreams — including active country implementation studies, TAG establishment, toolkit dissemination, repository development, youth network building, and donor‑funded research agenda implementation — UNICEF requires dedicated research analyst(s) to support the CAMH Measurement Technical Lead in delivering the portfolio with quality and coherence. This consultancy is designed to provide substantive support across the portfolio’s core workstreams during a critical period of growth and external launch. The Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Research Analyst will provide substantive programmatic and technical support to the CAMH Measurement Technical Lead, contributing to the execution and coordination of the CAMH measurement portfolio across its active workstreams. The consultant leads designated workstreams — including the CAMH measurement repository, country implementation coordination and quality assurance, and youth network development — while also supporting the Technical Lead across the broader portfolio. The consultant works with a high degree of initiative and organizational independence within the strategic direction set by the Technical Lead, escalating technical and methodological decisions as appropriate. To qualify as an advo