Individual Consultancy: Deep dive into the social protection system in Suriname for children, adolescents and adults - 2015-2022 (Open to Nationals of Suriname only)

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.

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Background

The Government of Suriname and its partners are focused on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, including those focused on the rights of children and adolescents. Suriname has a small population based on the 2012 Housing and Population Censuses i.e., about 560,741 of which 35.2 percent are children i.e. persons under the age of 18 years. Suriname is categorized as an upper-middle-income country with a human development index of 99 of 191.

However, according to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), more than 26 percent of Suriname’s population was (monetarily) poor in 2017. Nearly half (48 percent) of the people living in the rural interior of the country are poor, revealing high discrepancies based on geographic location. Moreover, multidimensional poverty among children 0-17 years reaches 36.2 percent, with high variability across age groups and areas of residence. Children living in rural areas (39.8 percent), and especially in the rural interior (79.1 percent), face much higher multidimensional deprivation rates in comparison to children living in urban areas (26.6 percent).

Although Suriname is classified by the World Bank as a high-middle-income country, the living conditions and income of about half of the population do not reflect this welfare level. The current estimated GDP per capita is USD 4,784.5 but there are huge disparities at the district level. Besides the inequality among households of different geographical areas, the deterioration of the economy affected households at the national level. Between 2015 and 2022 the purchasing power of all households has declined significantly. International commodity shocks and the high fiscal and debt burden have weakened the financial-economic situation and social security system. The government has set out its policy strategy, based on its homegrown recovery plan, support from the IMF, and its medium-term policy framework aligning with the Multi-annual Development Plan 2022-2026.

These Terms of Reference are for an individual Consultant to conduct a deep dive into the social protection system in Suriname for children, adolescents, and adults - 2015-2022. This exercise will inform a deeper understanding of the social protection system in Suriname, which is critical to inform national strategies for at-scale programming. This exercise will also inform the mid-term review of the Government of Suriname-UNICEF Country Programme - 2022-2026 inter alia prioritizing and programming for children and adolescents. The Government of Suriname – National Planning Office (NPO) of Suriname is partnering with UNICEF to conduct this deep dive exercise.

How can you make a difference?

Scope of work

This consultancy is to conduct a deep dive into the social protection system in Suriname for children, adolescents and adults - 2015-2022. It is expected to inform deeper trends and point-in-time understanding of the social protection sector of Suriname and provide evidence for programme-and-policy decisions to strengthen the infrastructure for an optimal SP system for children.

The scope of this exercise is national and will consider the social protection systems in Paramaribo and Wanica where ± 67% of the population reside, and to the extent possible, other districts of Suriname. It will examine both the supply and demand of the system, highlighting pockets of deprivation where they exist. It will deep dive into strengths and gaps in the service provision, and the enabling environment and provide an evidence-informed conclusion on risks and responses that will ensure coverage for children, especially the most deprived and disadvantaged.

Some of the questions this exercise intends to answer include: • Which SP rights of children are unfulfilled and why? • Which are the most deprived groups of children and why? Where are they located? • What forms of deprivation and exclusion do these groups face? What are the determining factors/bottlenecks and underlying causes that give rise to and perpetuate their exclusion? • What are the immediate, underlying, and structural barriers and bottlenecks to children accessing and utilizing basic social services and other critical resources and why? • What risks (conflict, natural hazards, climate, environment, etc.) exist that are likely to affect the patterns of deprivation and exclusion of children, exacerbate or create barriers and bottlenecks and why? • What existing social, institutional, and political factors (e.g., social norms, institutional capacities at all levels of government, accountability and coordination mechanisms, policy, and legal frameworks) impede or could potentially support the creation of an enabling environment for the realization of the rights of children? • Have the ‘drivers’ of inequity among children changed over time? If so, how has that been accomplished? If not, why not? Does the policy environment proactively address disparities and deprivations among children through legislation, policies, and budgets? What gaps are there in policy response and implementation? • What capacities exist at national, sub-national and community levels for children to participate in analytical processes that examine the causes and consequences of shortfalls and inequities and to what extent are children involved in such efforts and with what results? • What programme interventions and resource mobilization, allocation options and systems approach should be considered in the future, to address specific dimensions of inequity and pervasive vulnerabilities among children?

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

A Master’s degree in Social Sciences demography, economics, sociology, anthropology, Research; Education; or related fields relevant to this assignment. • At least 5 years of proven experience in social research (qualitative and quantitative) and report writing for Situation Analyses/mixed-method data generation exercises. • Contextual technical knowledge of children’s issues in Suriname, related to health, education, protection learning and development, adolescents and participation in water and sanitation, etc. • Excellent interviewing, facilitation, and coordination skills. • Ability to conduct causality analyses. • Excellent Knowledge of and demonstrated competency in Human Rights-Based Approach to Programming (HRBAP) and Results-based Management (RBM) • Sound understanding of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

Please access our complete ToR here: ToR-for-deep-dive-SP-sector.pdf

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. All candidates should submit a technical and financial proposal.

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.