National Consultancy for Epidemiology and Biostatistics Coaching in Maternal, Perinatal, Sexual and Reproductive health

How you can make a difference:

UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled.  UNFPA’s strategic plan (2022-2025), reaffirms the relevance of the current strategic direction of UNFPA and focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices. These results capture our strategic commitments on accelerating progress towards realizing the ICPD and SDGs in the Decade of Action leading up to 2030. Our strategic plan calls upon UN Member States, organizations and individuals to “build forward better”, while addressing the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on women’s and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, recover lost gains and realize our goals.

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards, and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction.

UNFPA is seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high impact and sustained results; we need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them and who commit to deliver excellence in programme results.

Purpose of consultancy:

The purpose of the consultancy is to enhance the capacity of health managers, particularly aimag and Ulaanbaatar district health officers, in maternal, perinatal, sexual, and reproductive health by enhancing their knowledge and skills in statistical analysis. This will enable them to perform statistical tests, interpret key health indicators, and apply evidence-based insights to improve decision-making, program planning, and reporting.

Scope of work:

Background: Within this framework of Government of Mongolia and UNFPA Seventh Country Programme (CP7, 2023-2027), working with government and partners, UNFPA aims to contribute to the acceleration of the national progress towards the elimination of preventable maternal and perinatal mortality, and the unmet need for family planning in Mongolia. 

It is important that policies and programmes are based on robust epidemiological evidence. Mongolia health information systems produce a wide range of data on maternal and child health. However, often these data are not presented to decision makers, stakeholders, and clinicians in a form that they are easily understood, so they can lead to tangible actions. Moreover, the annual report of the Maternal and Child Health Surveillance Unit lacks proper statistical analysis and clinical interpretation leading to formulation of specific targeted response. The information is usually presented in percentages with limited descriptive statistical analysis without accounting for the compounding factors. The interpretation is usually lacking, which limits the involvement of clinicians in the analysis and response development.

Therefore, under project “Accelerating the progress towards the elimination of preventable maternal and perinatal mortality” funded by the Government of Luxembourg, UNFPA purposes to improve the quality of analysis and interpretation of maternal and perinatal health data by exposing the health officers and statisticians working at health departments of the capital city and aimags in a systematic training course to better formulate, compile, interpret, and represent the data for policy and programming, as well as writing research articles to peer reviewed journals.

The training will be intended for three groups of trainees:

Therefore, UNFPA is seeking a qualified Individual Consultant (IC) on epidemiology and biostatistics training programme for the health professionals working in area of maternal, perinatal, sexual and reproductive health.

Objectives:  The IC will provide training to three distinct groups: (1) health policy makers and managers at the NCMCH, (2) health statistical and surveillance staff at the NCMCH and CHD, and (3) provincial and district health officers. It’s crucial that the training objectives are specifically designed to address the unique needs of each category. 

Scope for health policy makers and managers : Develop and deliver two comprehensive one-day workshops tailored specifically for policy makers and health managers,         focusing on the following core areas:

1.1 Interpretation and contextualization of key maternal, perinatal, sexual, and reproductive health indicators, emphasizing their relevance for policy formulation and program monitoring.

1.2 Critical appraisal of epidemiological evidence, including fundamental concepts such as uncertainty, statistical variability, bias, confounding, and causality, with practical examples relevant to the Mongolian context.

1.3 Effective communication strategies for presenting complex statistical findings in clear, accessible, and decision-focused formats, including the use of data visualization tools that enhance comprehension among diverse stakeholders.

1.4 Facilitate interactive exercises where participants practice drafting policy briefs or evidence summaries utilizing real national or subnational datasets, reinforcing skills in synthesizing and communicating key findings.

1.5 Provide participants with standardized templates, guidelines, and checklists for preparing policy brief grounded in epidemiological evidence.

2.For Health Statisticians and Surveillance Staff at the NCMCH and CHD, the focus will be on providing advanced training on epidemiological methods, hypothesis testing and SPSS software utilization to improve data analysis, reporting quality, and writing research publication

Scope for health statistical and surveillance staff :

2.1 Design and implement an 8-week intensive coaching programme with two half-day interactive sessions per week, covering:

2.2 Use real-world datasets from SISS or NCMCH Surveillance to provide practical learning opportunities, enabling participants to apply theoretical knowledge in authentic analytic contexts.

2.3 Provide technical mentorship and support for participants to draft, review, and finalize a chapter of the annual maternal and child health report, incorporating rigorous statistical analyses, interpretation of results, and high-quality graphics that effectively communicate findings.

2.4 Offer guidance and collaborative support for participants interested in preparing manuscripts for submission to peer-reviewed journals, enhancing local research dissemination capacity.

2.5 Conduct formal pre- and post-training knowledge and skills assessments to quantitatively measure learning gains and identify areas needing additional focus.

3. For Provincial and District Health Officers - Conduct practical training on accurate data compilation, quality reporting, and the use of descriptive statistics to support l     local-level decision making and program monitoring.

Scope for provincial and district health officers: Develop and conduct five half-day in-online courses specifically designed for provincial and district health officers, encompassing:

3.1 Procedures for accurate data collection, rigorous cleaning, and validation techniques tailored to maternal and reproductive health indicators, ensuring high-quality data inputs at local levels.

3.2 Application of basic epidemiological concepts and descriptive statistical measures, including frequencies, proportions, rates, means, medians, and measures of dispersion relevant to health program monitoring.

3.3 Training on the use of standardized reporting formats and data entry protocols, fully aligned with Mongolia’s national health information systems to promote uniformity and comparability of reported data.

3.4 Facilitated practical exercises and group problem-solving sessions using real national or subnational datasets to reinforce learning and foster collaborative troubleshooting of common reporting challenges.

3.5 Collect and analyze pre- and post-training evaluation data, participant feedback surveys, and conduct follow-up monitoring to assess training impact on data reporting quality and health program management.

3.6 Develop and provide comprehensive training materials, user-friendly manuals, and job aids to facilitate ongoing learning and reference post-training

4. For all three groups - Facilitating the interpretation and communication of epidemiological findings across all participant groups to strengthen data-driven maternal and reproductive health programming and policy implementation.

Duration and working schedule: 

The consultancy is expected to 4 non-consecutive months in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from October 15, 2025 to February 15, 2026. This role is deliverable-based and not restricted to specific working hours.

A place where services are to be delivered: 

The selected IC will work from own workplace. 

Deliverables and Due Dates:

Inception Report : An Inception Report describing the details of capacity building for each target group (A) - By 31 October 2025

Policy Makers and Health Managers   

Health Statisticians and Surveillance Staff      

Provincial and District Health Officers

All Groups (Cross-Cutting Deliverables)         

Monitoring and progress control, including reporting requirements, periodicity format, and deadline:

The IC should work in close consultation with the UNFPA SRHR team and Planning and Monitoring and Evaluation Officer and provide progress updates through a weekly email as per the schedule jointly confirmed upon the start of the consultancy. The reporting requirements, formats, and deadlines will be refined during the first briefing session.

Supervisory arrangements: 

The selected IC will work under the direct guidance and supervision of the SRHR/AY Program Specialist, who will have direct oversight responsibility in ensuring timely completion of the work and provide technical guidance in ensuring quality deliverables. 

Expected travel: No travel is expected.

Required expertise, qualifications, and competencies, including language requirements:

Education:  

 Knowledge and Experience: 

Languages: 

Required Competencies: 

*See annex 1 for a sample programme (the sample programme will be refined upon discussion with the selected candidate)

** See annex 2 for a sample programme (the sample programme will be refined upon discussion with the selected candidate)

*** See annex 3 for a sample programme (the sample programme will be refined upon discussion with the selected candidate)

Annex 1. Sample programme for Policy Makers and Health Managers

1. Principles of Epidemiology

Descriptive Epidemiology, Standardization

2. Surveillance

3. Population Sampling Methods

4. Screening

5. Study Designs

6. Measures of Association, Hypothesis Testing, Confidence Intervals

7. Confounding Bias, Effect Modification, Selection Bias, Information Bias, 

8. Causal Inference

Annex 2. Sample programme for Health Statisticians and Surveillance Staff

1. Principles of Epidemiology

Descriptive Epidemiology, Standardization

2. Surveillance

3. Population Sampling Methods

4. Screening

5. Study Designs

6. Measures of Association, Hypothesis Testing, Confidence Intervals

7. Confounding Bias, Effect Modification, Selection Bias, Information Bias, 

8. Causal Inference

9. SPSS training

Introduction

Non-random variables: 

Random Variables

Simple statistics for random variables

Differences between random variables

Relations between two variables: correlation

Introduction of regression

Regression with discrete dependent variable

Bias: Survey sample to achieve unbiased estimate

10. Practical research training

Annex 3. Sample programme for Provincial and District Health Officers

1. Principles of Epidemiology

Descriptive Epidemiology

2. The Where, Why, and How of Data Collection

Collect data 

Present data

Characterize data

Making statements about a population by examining sample results

Tools for Collecting Data

Types of Questions

Sampling Techniques

Data Types

3. Graphs, Charts, and Tables – Describing Your Data

Frequency Distributions

Histograms in Excel

4. Describing Data Using Numerical Measures

5.  Discrete Probability Distributions

6. Continuous Probability Distributions

7. Introduction to Sampling Distributions

8. Estimating Single Population Parameters

UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, diversity, integrity and healthy work-life balance. We are committed to ensuring gender parity in the organization and therefore encourage women to apply. Individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community, minority ethnic groups, indigenous populations, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. UNFPA promotes equal opportunities in terms of appointment, training, compensation and selection for all regardless of personal characteristics and dimensions of diversity. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is at the heart of UNFPA's workforce - click here to learn more.

Disclaimer:

Selection and appointment may be subject to background and reference checks, medical clearance, visa issuance and other administrative requirements. 

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process and does not concern itself with information on applicants' bank accounts. 

Applicants for positions in the international Professional and higher categories, who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment.