International consultant, head of mission, to support the preparation of the Common Country Assessment for Mali's new 2025-2029 FC

Result of Service At the end of the CCA exercise, the Consultant will provide the country team with a Final Report based on the analysis work, giving a clear and objective assessment of the in-depth and independent analysis of the development and humanitarian situation in Mali about the SDGs, based on the evidence and causes of the major problems, and strategic and concrete recommendations to inform the formulation of the new 2025-2029 Cooperation Framework. In addition to the final report, it will make available methodological and technical tools for the formulation of the BCP and the organization of workshops and training tools on the theory of change, interim progress reports on the work of the thematic groups (consolidated report of the documentary review; consolidated report on partial context analyses; report on country context assessment and causal analysis; report on analysis of UNS comparative advantages in assisting the country; targeting strategy in line with the principle of "targeting those furthest behind") and reports on exchange and validation workshops.

Work Location Mali

Expected duration 1.5 months

Duties and Responsibilities The United Nations Country Team in Mali is seeking the services of an international Consultant to facilitate and support the Common Country Assessment (CCA) exercise aimed at providing an in-depth and independent assessment of the development and humanitarian situation in Mali about the SDGs, based on evidence and an analysis of the causes of major problems, to enable the strategic alignment of the 2025-2029 Cooperation Framework. The exercise will focus on analyzing the main trends and difficulties observed in terms of economic, social, and environmental development, governance, politics, conflict prevention and management, human rights, gender equality, discrimination, social protection, vulnerable populations including refugees, migrants, internally displaced persons, etc., which influence the achievement of the 2030 Agenda in Mali. Cross-border issues, including security and development in the central Sahel region, will be examined. Particular attention will be paid during the exercise to the themes of the Secretary-General's agenda for accelerating the achievement of the SDGs, namely: food systems; education transformation; digital transformation; climate and environment; energy; employment and social protection; financing the SDGs.

The CCA exercise management mechanism comprises a Steering Committee to ensure leadership of the CCA exercise, a CCA Exercise Management Technical Committee, and an Exercise Manager, responsible for overall coordination and supervision of the CCA process. The CCA will be led intrinsically by the country team through a participatory and inclusive approach involving all resident and non-resident UNS entities, and in consultation with national partners (government, civil society, and private sector), groups left behind (LNOB), as well as technical and financial partners. The process will mobilize the internal capacities of agencies, funds, and programs organized into different thematic working groups, with the support of a team of consultant-facilitators, including an international one. Under the general supervision of the CCA exercise manager appointed by the country team, the International Consultant, the leader of the team of consultants, will interact with the CCA Exercise Management Technical Committee, which constitutes the reference group for the exercise. He will submit all deliverables (Thematic Group Analysis Reports and CCA Global Report) to the Committee for technical review.

The International Consultant, consultant team leader, will have overall responsibility for the methodological and technical quality of the analyses, the thematic group reports, and the overall BCP report. In this role, he/she will guide the analysis methodology, facilitate, and support the work of collecting, analyzing, synthesizing, and producing the thematic group reports, consolidating all the analyses carried out, and preparing the overall Common Country Assessment report. Its specific tasks will be to: i) support the establishment of a clear work schedule with precise dates for the expected deliverables; ii) guide the data collection and analysis methodology and propose appropriate technical tools for data review, country situation assessment and causal analysis, and comparative advantage analysis; iii) inform and train the stakeholders involved in the CCA exercise, mainly the staffs of the agencies, funds and programs designated to the various thematic groups, on the methodology and tools and on the construction of the theory of change; iv) guide and facilitate the documentary review and proceed with the synthesis of data informing the country's situation; v) support the analysis of Mali's situation and highlight the major development problems with regard to the Sustainable Development Goals and the effects induced by the persistent political and security crisis since 2012; vi) facilitate the analysis, as far as possible, of regional disparities, inequalities and specificities, and of cross-cutting issues such as gender equality, vulnerability and equity, the promotion of the rights of children, women, people living with HIV and people with disabilities, employment, food insecurity, environmental sustainability, the resilience of populations to climate change, energy sustainability, good governance, etc. vii) support the identification of gaps in the capacities of rights-holders to claim their rights, and of duty-bearers to meet their obligations; viii) facilitate the identification of the people left behind and the analysis of the geographical distribution of vulnerable groups, indicating how interdependent links can be established with the geographical distribution of the SDGs in the indicator frameworks of the respective targets; ix) facilitate the establishment of the causes, in particular the immediate, underlying and deep-rooted causes of the development problems and gaps, and the factors of the conflicts identified; x) support the analysis of the capacities, risks and opportunities of the political, legislative and institutional environment to address the weaknesses of development through the achievement of the SDGs ; xi) support the analysis of the United Nations' individual and collective comparative advantages in Mali, by identifying niches and priority areas where the United Nations System's support to the development process would bring maximum added value; xii) help identify a number of priority areas for defining the strategic axes of cooperation between the United Nations and Mali for the period 2025-2029; xiii) support analysis of the partnership framework, including the involvement and contribution of civil society and the private sector as stakeholders in Mali's development process; xiv) contribute to the analysis of national capacities to respond to sectoral challenges in financial, technical, organizational, institutional, infrastructural, policy and strategy and human resources terms; xv) coordinate and support the production of the various progress reports, the reports of the exchange workshops and the final report of the Common Country Assessment; xvi) facilitate the various workshops for the appropriation and validation of the progress reports and the final report.

Qualifications/special skills An advanced university degree (Bac+5) in economics, planning, international relations, political science, development studies, social sciences, or any other related discipline is required. At least 10 years of experience in conducting analyses of public policies, development programs, and projects is required; Good professional experience (7 to 10 years) relevant to the United Nations, including good knowledge of the UN development system and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is required; Proven experience in analyzing complex national frameworks and/or strategic development plans involving multiple stakeholders is required; Professional experience in conducting the Common Country Assessment exercise will be an advantage is required.

Languages Fluency in oral and written French is required, knowledge of English is desirable.

No Fee THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.