Consultant – Advisory Assignment on Social Protection System in Thailand, UNICEF Thailand Country Office, Bangkok, Thailand, Job No

Contract

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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, a better future

UNICEF works to ensure the rights of all children in the East Asia and Pacific Region. This means the rights of every child living in this country, irrespective of their nationality, gender, religion or ethnicity, to:

• survival – to basic healthcare, peace and security;
• development – to a good education, a loving home and adequate nutrition;
• protection – from abuse, neglect, trafficking, child labour and other forms of exploitation; and
• participation – to express opinions, be listened to and take part in making any decisions that affect them

How can you make a difference?

The purpose of this assignment is to support the Social Protection team at UNICEF Thailand in their efforts to provide relevant technical assistance to the government partners in designing and implementing social protection programmes that best benefit children in normal and emergency situations.

Under the general guidance of the supervisor, the incumbent is responsible for providing technical support to the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of all stages of social policy programming and related advocacy from strategic planning and formulation to delivery of concrete and sustainable results. This includes programmes aimed at improving (a) public policies to reduce child poverty; (b) social protection coverage and impact on children; (c) the transparency, adequacy, equity and efficiency of child-focused public investments and financial management; and (d) governance, decentralization and accountability measures to increase public participation and the quality, equity and coverage of social services. This encompasses both direct programme work with government and civil society partners as well as linkages and support to teams working on education, ECD, health, child protection, water and sanitation, and young people.

The assignment is not considered as “Elevated Risk Role” from a child safeguarding perspective.

Work Assignment, Expected Deliverable and Delivery Schedule:

1. Assignment: Strengthening social protection coverage and impact for children

• Supports the development of social protection policies, legislation and programmes with attention to increasing coverage of and impact on children, with special attention the most marginalized. Identifies, generates and presents evidence to support this goal in collaboration with partners.
• Promotes strengthening of integrated social protection systems, providing technical support to partners to improve the design of cash transfers and child grants and improve linkages with other social protection interventions such as health insurance, public works and social care services as well as complementary services and intervention related to nutrition, health, education, water and sanitation, child protection and HIV.
• Undertakes improved monitoring and research around social protection impact on child outcomes and use of data and research findings for strengthening programme results.

Expected deliverable 1:

1.1. Assist in coordination of UNICEF’s technical inputs to address the gaps in coverage and adequacy of the Child Support Grant

1.2. Assist in coordination of UNICEF’s technical inputs to address the gaps in coverage and adequacy of the Disability Grant

1.3. Assist in coordination of the work on enhancing linkages between social protection and other services for children, including the on-going initiative on nutrition sensitive social protection

Delivery schedule: throughout the course of the consultancy

2. Assignment: Strengthening capacity of local governments to plan, budget, consult on and monitor child-focused social services.

• Collaborates with central and local authorities to improve policies, planning, budgeting, consultation and accountability processes so that decisions and child-focused service delivery more closely respond to the needs of local communities.
• Collaborates with the central and local authorities to strengthen capacity on quality data collection, analysis for policy development, planning, implementation, coordination, monitoring of essential social services, with emphasis on community participation and accountability.

Expected deliverable 2:

2.1 Coordinate the piloting of the model of integrated services for children with disabilities in the two selected districts

Delivery schedule: Throughout the course of the consultancy

3. Assignment: Strengthened advocacy and partnerships for child-sensitive social policy

• Supports correct and compelling use of data and evidence on the situation of children and coverage and impact of child focused services – in support of the social policy programme and the country programme overall.
• Establishes effective partnerships with the Government, bilateral and multilateral donors, NGOs, civil society and local leaders, the private sector, and other UN agencies to support sustained and proactive commitment to the Convention of the Rights of the Child and to achieve global UN agendas such as the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Identifies other critical partners, promotes awareness and builds capacity of partners, and actively facilitates effective collaboration within the UN family.

Expected deliverable 3:

3.1 Assist in coordination of the advocacy on universal Child Support Grant

3.2 Assist in coordination of the advocacy on improved coverage and adequacy of Disability Grant

Delivery schedule: throughout the course of the consultancy

4. Assignment: UNICEF Programme Management

• Supports and contributes to effective and efficient planning, management, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the country programme. Ensures that the social planning project enhances policy dialogue, planning, supervision, technical advice, management, training, research and support; and that the monitoring and evaluation component strengthens monitoring and evaluation of the social sectors and provides support to sectoral and decentralized information systems.

Expected deliverable 4:

4.1 The Social Protection workplan (2022-2023) is implemented in a timely and quality manner.

4.2. The Social Protection plan for 2024-2025 is drafted in consultation with internal and external stakeholders based on the Social Policy Strategy Note and the Country Programme priorities.

Delivery schedule:

4.1. by end of 2023

4.2. by end of Nov 2024

Duration of Contract: 1 May 2023 – 30 April 2024

Duty Travel: The assignment may entail duty travel, which will be managed based on UNICEF rules and regulations

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

Education:

• Advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: Economics, Social Policy, Social Sciences, International Relations, Political Science, or another relevant technical field.

Experience:

• A minimum of five years of relevant professional work experience in the field of assignment is required.
• Demonstrated and good track record of Experience working with the public sector in Thailand on social policy and social protection is considered as an asset.
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.

Language and Computer literacy:

• Fluency in English and Thai.
• Fluency in working with MS Office

Interested candidates are requested to submit CV, full contact information of minimum 3 references, availability, and proposed daily professional fee in USD by 7 May 2023****.

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.