Consultancy to provide technical assistance on improved Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in The Gambia

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

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

One of the basic responsibilities of a state is the provision of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) services, which include the registration of Births, Deaths and Cause of Death, Marriages, and Divorces, as well as issuance of births, death, marriage, and divorce certificates. It serves as a foundation and breeding document for other registration processes in The Gambia, including documents such as National Identification Card, Passport, Driver’s License, Social Security Card, Voter Registration Card, and National Health Insurance Card, etc.

Currently, civil registration processes are taking place in all regions in The Gambia, with different levels of performances, highlighting certain challenges.

The expansion of maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) service coverage, combined with the introduction of new technologies, offers many opportunities to strengthen the CRVS in The Gambia. In 2004, birth registration was integrated into maternal and child health clinics throughout the country, and public health workers were mandated as registration officers. However, the lack of uniformity and aligned procedures of how the registration is done in all centers hinders its effectiveness. Thus, an SoP on how birth registration can be stimulated through sensitizing pregnant women during antenatal care, by having immediate notification of births post-delivery of all institutional births, or in the absence, by follow-up of all children at immunizations clinics to ensure that they are all registered is needed.

How can you make a difference?

Objectives

The aim of the consultancy is to firstly conduct a mapping and review of the Business Process on CRVS in The Gambia. This is to obtain a good understanding of current approaches and outline best practices by pointing to possible directions and strategies for its improvement, including the costing and prioritizing of the recommended actions.

As part of the objectives to have an integration of other health services, mainly maternal health and immunization with the birth registration process, an Integrated Standard Operating procedure is vital to effectively integrate the birth registration process in the health system of the Gambia.

Deliverables

The Consultant should work with the CRVS Technical Working Group (TWG) and relevant stakeholders to develop an Integrated Standard Operating procedure and present it to the TWG mentioned for review and validation.

1. Business Mapping Process (BMP) document on CRVS in the Gambia.
2. Integrated Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on birth registration and the health system in the Gambia.

Duration of Contract, Duty Station & Timeline

• The consultant will be engaged under short-term individual contract on part-time basis, for a total period of 60 working days within the timeframe from April to June 2023.
• It is an office-based assignment. The Consultant will be based at the Birth Registration Unit’s office in Banjul and will have weekly meetings with UNICEF staff
• The Consultant is held by strict confidentiality rule regarding all aspect of his/her work with the Ministry and UNICEF.

Please find attached the TOR for more details.

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

• In-depth knowledge and understanding on developing and maintaining a Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) System.
• Demonstrated experience in working in a cross-sectoral environment and ideally having worked with the government institutions.
• Familiarity and prior experience with the UN system, or with the international development/humanitarian/emergency community highly desirable.
• Professional experience in working or conducting research in the areas of CRVS, M&E, data collection and reporting on development interventions (5years minimum).
• Strong analytical and technical expertise in the current CRVS system in the Gambia.
• Excellent report writing and presentation skills in English.

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 here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors 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 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. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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.

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.