National Consultant - Local Government Budgeting and Expenditure Analysis (Devolved Health Function), Freetown, Sierra Leone, (50 working days over 8 months) - For Sierra Leonean Nationals O

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

Please access UNICEF Sierra Leone information here

How can you make a difference?

Purpose of the Assignment

UNICEF Sierra Leone is looking for a National Consultant to conduct a detailed Local Government Budgeting and Expenditure Analysis (LGBEA) of DHMTs (District Health Management Teams) and district hospitals that deliver devolved health services at the district level.

A detailed Local Government Budgeting and Expenditure Analysis (LGBEA) will shed light on resources flowing to the districts in support of devolved health services, how they are spent, on what they are spent, who benefits, etc. It will also provide a basis for better sector coordination and integrated planning at the district level. If this is achieved, it is more likely that delivery of local public service will be improved, and the country can move towards achievements of the SDGs and improvement of the social status of children and other vulnerable groups.

The LGBEA will provide an in-depth knowledge of the level and type of expenditure that are being undertaken by local councils. The focus of this review will be the DHMTs (District Health Management Teams) and district hospitals that deliver devolved health services at the district level. The review will assess the adequacy, effectiveness, equity, and efficiency of the processes and spending of local councils, specifically as they relate to DHMTs and district hospitals.

UNICEF will coordinate the study and serve as Secretariat for a Technical Working Group (TWG) that will include representatives of the Government of Sierra Leone. The Consultant shall work with the Ministries of Health and Finance in data collection and shall report to the TWG and the Government through UNICEF Sierra Leone.

Scope of Work

The review will cover Bonthe District, Kono District, Koidu New Sembehun City, Tonkolili District, Kambia District and WARDC. The sectors to be covered will include DHMTs and district hospitals. The period of the review is 2018-2021.

The Consultant will:

1. Design data collection instrument and work with MoHS (Ministry of Health and Sanitation) and MoF (Ministry of Finance) to collect data on devolved activities implemented by local councils and district offices, including in-kind transfers such as drugs, and to classify them by economic and functional classifications.
2. Analyse the data collected to determine priority spending, trends, per capita analysis, actual vs budgeted, efficiency and equity analysis, etc. for each sector. At the minimum, the analysis should include:
   1. How much is spent on each health services from all sources – public, private, donor and NGO expenditure?
   2. What is the total public expenditure on each as a percentage of total grants received by the local council? Of total public expenditures?
   3. What are the priority spending areas of LC/DHMT using devolved funds?
   4. What is the distribution of budget allocation by PHUs/chiefdoms/wards?
   5. What is the executed public budget for health as a percentage of planned public budgets for social sectors? How does this compare with planned vs. executed budgets for other sectors?
   6. Are there budget arrears in the health sector? If so, in what expenditure categories?
   7. How dependent are local councils on transfers and donors to finance the sectors? What share of donor support is general budget support to the sectors vs. project-specific support?
   8. What mechanisms of financial accountability are in place including reporting and public awareness?
   9. Are public resources being used efficiently and effectively?
   • Allocative efficiency: is money being spent on the right things?
   • Technical efficiency: is money being spent efficiently, given allocative decisions?
   • Internal efficiency: what are the social and private costs of failures in the health services?
   10. Prepare a comprehensive report
   11. Present the findings in the report to stakeholders for validation

The Consultant will be responsible for the following deliverables:

1. Inception report - background / theoretical framework for the study; lines of inquiry and justification based on initial scoping / mapping; proposed methodology for the in-depth research and analysis to be reflected in the actual report; an assessment of the time it will take to undertake the research and analysis
2. Draft Report
3. Final Report
4. Policy Brief of key findings

Products will be delivered in English and the Consultant will ensure the documents are edited to a publishable standard. Whereas the TWG should be fully capacitated to participate in the analysis, the Consultant will retain responsibility for overseeing and quality checking the analysis and for writing up the final report. The contractual responsibility for high quality deliverables will remain with the contracted consultant.

Management, Organization and Timeframe:

The position will be managed and supervised by the Evidence, Policy and Social Protection section of UNICEF Sierra Leone and the incumbent will provide regular updates on the activities implemented and deliverables achieved.

The duration of the consultancy is 50 working days over a period of 8 months.

Please find attached the full ToR for this consultancy: VA ToR_ LGBEA_200323.pdf

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

Education

• Advanced university degree in Social Sciences, Economics, Public Policy, Accounting/ACCA, Public administration, or other relevant areas.

Experience

• A minimum of five years’ experience in public finance management, local government, or related fields.
• Knowledge of public finance concepts including value for money in social sectors, budget cycle and processes, and costing methods
• Good analytical skills, especially applied to economics and public finance
• Familiarity and knowledge of the health sector is an asset.
• Advanced quantitative analysis and capacity to synthesize large data sets and information in a clear and user-friendly manner.
• Knowledge of the Sierra Leonean budget cycle, key budget documents and key actors is required.
• Demonstrated understanding of local governance structure, government policies, guidelines, legislation, and strategies in Sierra Leone.
• Strong experience in providing technical assistance to national and local government, including through participatory approaches.
• Excellent computer skills and knowledge of Microsoft Office Package, particularly Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Excellent written and spoken English.

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.