NATIONAL OR INTERNATIONAL INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANCY FOR TECHNICAL SUPPORT TO DEVELOP NEW UNICEF COSTA RICA COUNTRY PROGRAMME DOCUMENT (CPD) 2023 -2027, 6 months

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Please review the complete Terms of Reference here: https://www.unicef.org/costarica/media/4586/file

Background

Costa Rica is an upper middle-income country with notable progress in human development as a result of its universal health, education and social protection programmes. Nevertheless, the country faces an accelerated increase in inequality, which has been intensified by the socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Again in 2021, the double blow of the central government’s fiscal insolvency and the country’s economic recovery eroded the funding sources for many key areas of human development such as social institutions and focalized anti-poverty social programmes.

Children and adolescents account for nearly 26% of the total population of 5.1 million habitants: 30% are aged 0–5 years, 30% are aged 6–12 and the remaining 40% are aged 13–17. During the last 20 years the proportion of children and adolescents has been constantly declining, from 38.3% in 2000 to its current level. This demographic shift, and the consequential gradual rise in rates of dependence, is bringing greater challenges to education and care during childhood and old age.

According to the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC) July 2021 National Household Survey (ENAHO), the incidence of monetary poverty at the national level decreased to 23% from its previous 2020 high of 26.2%. Although an overall positive result, it is important to note that all the poverty reduction was concentrated in urban areas, as rural monetary poverty stayed stagnant at 26.3%. The percentage of children and adolescents living in monetary poverty rose from 32% in 2020 to 34.8% in 2021, of which 10.7% are living in extreme poverty.

As of December 2021, health authorities and the National Emergency Commission confirmed that COVID-19 cases were still significantly high – with a fifth wave of the pandemic being a reality due to the arrival of the Omicron variant. The country began immunization of the population aged over 12 years old in 2021 and pediatric immunizations (5–11 years old) were scheduled to begin in January 2022. By the end of 2021, the MoH reported that 92% of adults have received a first vaccination dose, 84% have had two doses and 10% have also been administered with a third booster shot. 7,605 persons had died from COVID-19 complications, of whom 25 were children and adolescents.

UNICEF-supported surveys (2018) indicate that 7.5% of children aged 0-5 and 33% of children and adolescents aged 5-19 are overweight and obese, confirming the need to prioritize physical and nutritional health among children and adolescents. Concerning basic immunization of children, DTP3 coverage was 95% in 2020.

For young people (15–24 years old), an unemployment rate of 38.1% was recorded in the third quarter of 2021 compared to a rate of 11.5% for those aged 25 and over. The unemployment gap between men and women has decreased, although it is still notable (12.2% vs. 19%). In addition, a significant proportion of young people between the ages of 15 and 24 are currently not in education, employment or training (NEET), representing close to 23% of this population group. Education in Costa Rica has a budget close to 8% of GDP, making it one of the countries that invests most in the region and globally. However, there are challenges to strengthening and expanding on the achievements already made. For instance, UNESCO’s 2020 Comparative and Explanatory Regional Study revealed that Costa Rica continues to be above the regional average in all areas of learning evaluated in third and sixth graders from Latin America, but the data also highlight the lack of progress in learning achievement during the last seven years. For four decades, the coverage and quality of secondary education has experienced a systematic lag and educational exclusion that has been difficult to reduce, as evidence indicates that close to 42% of adolescents are not completing secondary education due to high dropout and repetition rates.

Data from the Ministry of Public Education (MEP) indicate that in 2021, of a school population of around 1.2 million, only about 60% had access to their educational digital platform while the rest had to follow their educational process through WhatsApp, offline and printed digital resources. Also, only 34% of students reported having the required equipment and full connectivity to participate in digital education processes, 29% have limited access to both and 37% reported not having access to either. Around 16,000 students left schools in 2021. According to the 2017 Survey on Women, Children and Adolescents (MICS), the school net attendance rate for early childhood is 44%; 52% for the wealthiest quintile compared to 41% in the poorest quintile. The same social inequalities are evidenced through the ECD Index, as 93% of children aged 3–4 years from the wealthiest quintile showed an adequate level of development compared with only 69% in the poorest quintile.

During 2021, administrative data from PANI confirmed the growing number of child and adolescent victims of multiple forms of violence. According to the record of reports on situations that threaten or violate the rights of children, there were 84,496 reported incidents, the highest number in the last five years and a 25% increase from 2020.

Other situations that impacted children and adolescents during 2021 are (1) reduced health services due to institutional suspension of such services; (2) negative impacts on indigenous populations, ranging from needs for food and access to hygiene supplies to problems with availability and access to technology for education, as well as access to potable water supply; (3) continuing growing risks of deterioration of the mental health of adolescents and youth; (4) as the numbers of transit migrants surged in 2021 (an estimated of 140,000 irregular migrants crossed Costa Rica in 2021), there was a clear need to increase support in border and destination communities in the following key areas: health (fatigue, skin diseases and cuts, allergies and gastrointestinal problems, COVID-19, pregnant women); psychosocial support; child protection against all forms of violence; GBV prevention and response actions; and international protection to unaccompanied minors; and (5) increased needs for mitigation measures for climate change, which disproportionately affects children, adolescents and young people.

UNICEF Costa Rica, as part of the broader UN system, has conducted an analysis of the situation of children and women to shed light on causes, patterns and dynamics of poverty and vulnerability and identify possible ways forward that can contribute to better opportunities for Costa Rican children, adolescents, and young people. In addition, the UN System has conducted a consultative Common Country Assessment (CCA) which will also inform the new UNSDCF 2023 and 2027 and UNICEF CPD 2023 – 2027. By increasing the understanding on causes and linkages between issues affecting the poor and vulnerable households and communities, and analyzing the current social, economic, human rights landscape and political context and trends, these reports are intended to be a contribution to national knowledge basis for social and economic development.

At the same time, UNICEF and the UN System are undertaking formative evaluations of the 2018-2022 UNDAF; and UNICEF CPD. Preliminary results will be available in April 2022.

Scope of Work

Objective of the Consultancy

The aim of this consultancy is to provide technical support and backstopping to Costa Rica CO to develop the new CPD 2023 -2027, in alignment with the new Costa Rican UNSDCF development; More specifically, the consultancy aims at a) reviewing and analyzing the evidence generated by the CCA, Report on the State of Children and Adolescents’ Rights, current UNICEF CPD evaluation and Gender Programmatic review (GRP) and support the M&E Officer in the drafting of the Situation Analysis of Children and Adolescents (Sitan); b) supporting internal and external moments of concultation, reflection to gather information and the proposed scope of the new UNICEF CPD; c) drafting, validating and finalizing the Programme Rationale in coordination with de Programme Coordinator, M&E Officer and the Regional Office; d) drafting, validating and finalizing the CPD 2023 -2027 in line with the UNSDCF 2023 - 2027; and e) drafting and validating the proposed CPMP, including the support for the development of its formulation methodology. The activities for each deliverable are defined below under tasks and responsibilities.

Tasks and Responsibilities

A. Review and analysis of the evidence generated by the CCA, Report on the State of Children and Adolescents’ Rights, CPD evaluation and Gender Programmatic review (GRP) to support the development of the Sitan.

This consultant will be required to support the compilation, review and analysis of key evidence and data about children and adolescents (CCA, Report on the State of Children and Adolescent Rights, CPD evaluation and Gender Programmatic review, among other sources) as well as the analysis of good practices, lessons learned, case studies and innovative approaches in furthering child rights. These analyses will contribute to improving the understanding of the status of children and adolescents’ rights to inform the new Country Office´s CPD.

The consultant will be required to work closely with the Programme Coordinator and directly support the M&E Officer in the drafting of the Analytic Module and reviewing as and when required in conjunction with the CO Representative and Team, Regional Office, and the Peer Review Group. The purpose of the analytic module is to identify: - deprivations and child rights violations mirrored by development and humanitarian challenges; - vulnerable and marginalized rights holders exposed to abuse as well as the duty bearers mandated to address these challenges [PG/Human rights] and - bottlenecks that hinder the fulfillment of children’s rights.

B. Support the draft, validation, and finalization of the Programme Rationale

This consultant will join key Country Office meetings, dialogues in a participatory manner, to document and organize the information emerged from discussion, for the drafting of the office-wide Programme Rationale. The programme rationale should include:

  • Prioritization of Child Rights deprivations (including visual representation of the deprivation)
  • Theory of Change (ToC narrative and visual representation)
  • Results Framework (including visual representation)
  • A short narrative (with a max. of 2,000 words) that explains the strategic choices of the CO and describes how circumstances, assumptions and risks have influenced these choices.

C. In coordination and alignment with the UNSDCF consultations process, support internal and external moments of consultation, and action reflection to gather information and the proposed scope of work of the new UNICEF CPD

Support the Country Office on the developing of the consultation methodology, facilitation, and outcomes analysis of at least 3 internal and external consultations and reflection workshops. These moments aim at assessing and reflecting on UNICEF’s strategic positioning, comparative advantages and key opportunities and risks to maximize sustained results for children and adolescents.

D. Drafting, Validation and Finalization of the Costa Rica CO CPD 2023-2027

This consultant will be tasked to develop the draft of Costa Rica Country Office CPD 2023-2027, based on the deliberations with CO team, and the Regional Office for further consultation with partners. To note that the CPD will be developed based on the revised guidance provided by UNICEF which simplifies the CPD development process for small COs.

Organization

The consultant will report to the Representative, and directly work with Programme Coordinator and M&E Officer in coordination with all Programme and Operations teams and the Regional Office. In addition, the consultant will be tasked to attend key UN and UNICEF meetings to ensure that all reviews and documentation are done in accordance with the UNSDCF and UNICEF CPD latest policy and procedure. In total, the consultant will be required to be in country two times during the whole period of assignment. Travel plan and related costs, including tickets and DSA, should be reflected in the consultancy proposal. All deliverables must be presented in Spanish and final versions in both languages English and Spanish.

Desired competencies, technical background, and experience

The person contracted for this assignment requires to have relevant experience in conducting Sitans, CPDs and CPMPs for UNICEF COs.

  • Expertise in conducting socio-economic studies globally and in Latin America is an added advantage.
  • Familiarity with child policy, child rights framework and strategic context globally and in Latin American countries
  • An advanced university degree in Social Sciences, or Law or similar background
  • Must have proven experience of producing analytical write ups
  • At least 15 years of working experience in analysis of social issues, preferably on children and in an international environment (previous experience with similar countries will be an advantage)
  • Knowledge and understanding of statics, economics, laws, and polices
  • Strong analytical skills and excellent English and Spanish language writing skills
  • Knowledge of and working experience in UNICEF or another relevant UN-agency.

Application criteria

Only applications received through the UNICEF jobs platform that include the technical proposal and financial proposal will be considered valid.

All applicants must submit:

  • A written presentation of the respective technical-methodological proposal.
  • An all-inclusive financial proposal in USD currency. The financial proposal must be submitted in accordance with the products, including all the costs for their production (fees and other operating costs), as well as the required payment schedule.

Conditions

The start date for the Consultancy Services will be upon signing of the contract between the Contractor and UNICEF CRCO. The Services are expected to be completed within 6 months after contract signature according to the following tentative time schedule (1st June 2022 – to 30th November 2022).

The consultant is expected to work remotely for the assignment with provision of his or her own computer and telephone.

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.

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 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.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and will advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Added 1 year ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unicef.org