National Consultancy on Strengthening Public Finance For Children, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 6.5 months (home-based)

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, an advocate.

UNICEF offices is supporting countries on strengthening on the correlations between fiscal equity and social outcome for children and seeks to influence and support the mobilization, allocation, and utilization of domestic public financial resources for greater, more equitable, and sustainable results for children through its Public Finance for Children (PF4C) programme area. The activities aim to increase the effectiveness and impacts of PF4C through a package of four core actions: i) Empower citizens, including children, to track spending and participate in national budgeting processes; ii) Engage in the budget process to influence allocation decisions and improve public spending performance; iii) Support data and evidence generation; iv) Support domestic resource mobilization.

The Ministry of Finance of Mongolia (MOF) and the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection (MLSP), with the support of UNICEF are working together to strengthen sustainable public financing mechanism on child protection services in a way that is consistent with the sustainable development. In this context, relevant laws have been amended and procedures and tariffs for effective and efficient allocation of funding for child protection services have been approved. Although steps have been taken to improve child protection measures beyond current levels, there is still a need to comprehensively and rationally evaluate existing child protection measures to improve planning and budgeting processes. UNICEF will work with national authorities and partners to ensure that state budget allocations and expenditures are adequate for the progressive realization of child and adolescent rights and generate evidence that is instrumental to leveraging resources. UNICEF continue to support in building capacity of social sector ministries and its stakeholders in public finance management to transition to results-based budgeting.

How can you make a difference?

The purpose of the assignment is to provide technical expertise support to MOF and MLSP on strengthening the fiscal efficiency, transparency and accountability of the child related programmes with an improved results and monitoring and evaluation framework, building capacity to respond to the medium and annual budget circular and execution reporting with a focus on aligning these with national priorities for children.

Scope of Work:

1. Undertakes budget analysis and thematic situational assessments to inform UNICEF’s advocacy and technical assistance to MOF, the Ministry of Economy and Development, MLSP, and other social sector ministries to improve equitable allocations for essential services for children.
2. Support and work with sector colleagues to build capacity by conducting training to improve costing and cost effectiveness analysis on priority interventions to help inform policy decisions on child-focused investments.
3. Undertakes and builds capacity of partners for improved monitoring and tracking of public expenditure to support transparency, accountability and effective financial flows for essential service delivery, including through support to local government level planning, budgeting and public financial management as well as facilitating citizen’s/community participation.
4. Support on the submission on 2024 Budget to the Parliament on child protection and social protection with collaboration under the flagship initiative with UNDP to roll out of Results-Based Budgeting by documenting the financing gaps (Follow-up on the UNDP-UNICEF and EU-UNICEF finance flagship programmes if required).
5. Support and provide technical assistance with Child Protection team at UNICEF to the Department of Performance Audit at the National Audit Office in cooperation with MOF and MLSP on conducting performance evaluations on Child Protection Policies and planning1 and strengthen capacities to reporting and auditing on performance aligned to financing and fundings.
6. Recommendations and policy options on reporting and disclosure of budget tagging and classification in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, International Classification of Violence against Children (ICVAC), and UNICEF relative Core Standard Indicators (CISs) and support in generation of data availabilities.
7. Draft a concept note on PF4C for Children Roadmap and technical assistance proposal plan to be implemented during the CPD 2023-2027 period, including Integrated National Financial Framework on Public finance for Children under guidance with UNICEF Regional Office (RO) and Headquarter (HQ).
8. Identifies policy options for improved domestic financing of child-sensitive social protection interventions.
9. Support in other initiatives and reports required from UNICEF HQ, UNICEF RO, UNICEF Mongolia, and MOF, responding promptly to P4FC initiatives requests and analysis related needs and issues as they arise.

Contract duration: The consultant is expected to start the assignment from 15 August 2023 for the duration of 6.5 months period.

Type of engagement: Deliverable-based

Deliverables, Timeframe and Payment Schedule:

Key deliverables

Timeline

Payment Schedule

Review and finalize the Child Protection Budget Brief in both English and Mongolian languages and Inception report and plan approved by MOF

8 September 2023

20% of the payment

Submission of 2024 Budget to the Parliament on child protection and social protection

1 October 2023

15% of the payment

Consolidated budget analysis and thematic situational assessments and further recommendations in cooperation with MOF and relative Ministries (by UNICEF thematic areas: health, education, child protection and WASH)

18 November 2023

20% of the payment

A concept note drafted on PF4C for Children Roadmap and policy options for improved domestic financing of child-sensitive social protection interventions.

25 December 2023

10% of the payment

Recommendations and policy options on reporting and disclosure of Budget tagging and classification

5 February 2024

15% of the payment

Final report

29 February 2024

20% of payment

The consultant will be paid upon the presentation and acceptance of the satisfactory monthly progress report with the completion of key deliverables in both English and Mongolian.

Project Management:

Direct supervisor: Chief of Social Policy and Deputy Representative Programme (in absence of CSP)

Frequency of performance review: The contract supervisor will be reviewing the monthly deliverables, linked to the monthly payment. Weekly catch-up meeting with the supervisor and follow up progress update is required.

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

Educational Qualifications:

• Advanced university degree (Master's degree or higher) in Economics, Finance, Public Finance Management and other closely related fields;

Experience

• Minimum 5 years of work experience in the areas of public financial management reform, fiscal policy analysis, development and economic policy, employment policy, budget systems, revenue and expenditure reviews, data analysis and management;
• Prior experience of work with central, sectoral ministry or sub-national government finance departments would be an asset;
• At least 3 assignments demonstrating analytic and report writing skills (references or samples to be submitted with the application);
• Good understanding of results-based management and related prior work experience would be an asset;

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.