National Consultant-Development of SOP for Births and Deaths Registry, Accra Ghana ( Ghanaian nationals 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.

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, results

In Ghana, UNICEF cooperates with the Government and other partners to defend the rights of children and help them fulfill their potential. With offices in Accra and Tamale, the UNICEF team seeks to achieve results in strategic programme areas. The overall goal is for every child to survive and thrive, to live in a safe and clean environment, to learn, to be protected from violence and exploitation, and to have an equitable chance in life. The current Country Programme of cooperation is aligned with the Government priorities, the UN Sustainable Development Partnership (UNSDP) and Key Results for Children (KRCs) in the West and Central African Region (immunization, nutrition, learning outcomes, ending child marriage and ending open defecation). UNICEF main strategies include evidence-based advocacy, system strengthening, integrated programming across sectors, emergency preparedness and response, and innovation.

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A new Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 2020 (Act 1027) was passed by Parliament and received Presidential assent in 6th October 2020. The Act which replaces Act 301 and provides for the decentralisation of the Births and Deaths Registry (BDR) in line with the decentralisation programme of the country.

Ghana’s decentralisation programme is aimed at empowering local populations at the district level to take decisions that affect their lives. As a result, the Local Government Act, 1993 (Act 462) envisaged the reconstitution of the twenty-two decentralised departments at the district level into sixteen departments in the Metropolitan Assemblies, thirteen in the Municipal Assemblies and eleven in the District Assemblies through various forms of mergers. The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development was to bring about the creation of these decentralised departments through a Legislative Instrument. This was done by the Local Government (Department of District Assemblies) Commencement Instrument, 2009 (L.I. 1961). Some of the departments that were to be part of these decentralised departments as specified in the Second Schedule to L.I. 1961 were established by Acts of Parliament. The Acts establishing them, therefore, needed to be amended or reviewed to bring them in line with the general decentralisation framework.

The Registration of Births and Deaths Act 1965 (Act 301) was one such legislation. It created the BDR under the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development (MLGDRD) as a centralised department of government with local offices in designated places as registration districts. It made the BDR responsible for the registration of all births and deaths in the country, contributing to the generation of vital statistics, defining standards and quality control procedures for the collection and use of the records and information collected through the registration system and guarantees the privacy and security of those records.

The new Act 1027 is intended to assign responsibility for the registration of births and deaths to MMDAs who in consultation with the Registrar, are required to appoint a District Registrars and Registration Officers for the district office of the BDR. The purpose of the new act is therefore to allow for the registration of births and deaths in the whole country and make the District Registrar responsible to the MMDAs to ensure that all registration officers at post continue in employment. In order to make the implementation of the law easy, the Legislative Instrument (L.I) to the law has been passed.

The Births and Deaths Registry has an existing SOP but in light of the new Act and Regulations, it is imperative to review the SOP and bring it in line with the aspirations of the new laws. Based on this, a revised Standard Operating Procedure is required, detailing the management and processes to facilitate the registration of births and deaths at the decentralized levels in line with the Act 1027.

How can you make a difference?

Provide technical support for the development of a Standard Operating Procedure in line with the new Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 2020 (Act 1027), and Births and Deaths Regulations 2021 (L. I 2436) which aligns with Ghana’s current decentralisation process

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

• Academic qualifications – Master’s Degree in Law or related field with (5) years of progressive experience
• An understanding of the decentralisation mechanisms and the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics framework in Ghana particularly, the operations of the Births and Deaths Registry
• Fluency in Spoken and written English
• Excellent research, assessment and analysis skills with strong report writing abilities.
• Good computer skills and familiarity with standard software applications is required.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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.