Home-based: Expert/consultant in Public Finance Management (78 working days; with travel as needed) – Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECARO)

UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECARO) is looking for a qualified Expert/consultant in Public Finance Management to develop guidance/guidelines on mainstreaming social and behaviour change in national budgets and developing investment cases.

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, dedication.

Purpose of Activity/Assignment

The purpose of this consultancy is to support UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECARO) to develop (1) a Step-by-step guidance on how to influence national budgeting processes and mainstream SBC in the areas of services supported by the public sector (immunization; nutrition and other), and (2) Guidelines on development of investments cases for integrating SBC in budget formulation processes.

The consultant will closely work with the Regional Social Policy and Social and Behaviour Change specialists in the delivery of this assignment.

Scope of Work

UNICEF in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region works to ensure that every child has access to quality and inclusive services and equitable opportunities to develop their full potential. One if its key interventions strategies is through designing and delivering social and behaviour change (SBC) strategies and interventions, which aim to address negative attitudes, harmful beliefs and norms, empower families and communities and supporting the delivery of effective services (see the SBC Guidance). In Europe and Central Asia UNICEF aims to strengthen the capacities of national institutions at central and local level to deliver SBC interventions through their services and the workforce. To ensure the SBC interventions are effective, sustainable and implemented at scale, it is critical to ensure that they are adequately costed and budgeted. Still, in 2022, only 7 UNICEF country offices globally worked on embedding SBC intervention in public financial management (PFM) . An assessment of how mainstreaming of immunization demand is integrated in national policies, programmes and budgets in 4 countries, has shown very limited budget allocations for SBC-related activities. This may be due to a limited understanding of the demand-side related issues and behavioural barriers influencing people’s practices, and the opportunities for public sector’s engagement; while most of the budgets still focuses on the supply side.

The Regional Social and Behaviour Change and the Social Policy sections identified the need to support UNICEF country offices and national institutions in Europe and Central Asia to better cost SBC-related activities, elaborate and allocate budgets for their affective implementation.

Work Assignment Overview

To implement this assignment the consultant is expected to:

Tasks / Milestone	Deliverables / Outputs	Timeline / Deadline
Output 1: Toolkit on community mapping in public health emergencies:
Desk review of available evidence on current integration of SBC-related interventions in national budgets in ECA countries.	Note/report on the desk review and consultations findings/outcomes.	10 working days in total; By 20 December 2024
Consultations to identify and document barriers to SBC mainstreaming in national budgets and opportunities for better integration.
Develop a concept note on the proposed focus and content of the guidelines.	Note on the proposed focus and content of the guidelines.	3 working days; By 5 January 2025
Develop and submit the step-by-step guidance on how to influence national budgeting processes and mainstream SBC in governmental sectors, along with a case study (if a good example is identified during the consultation phase).	Step-by-step guidance. Case study.	20 working days; By 27 January 2025
Output 2: ECARO toolbox on SBC in emergencies
Desk review of various resources and investment cases at regional global level.	Note/report on the desk review and consultations findings / outcomes.	7 working days; By 5 February 2025
Consultations to define the focus and approach for Guidelines on development of investments cases for integrating SBC in budgeting processes.	Note on the proposed focus and content of the guidelines.	7 working days; By 17 February 2025
Develop and submit the Guidelines on development of investments cases for integrating SBC in budgeting processes.	Guidelines	20 working days; By 15 March 2025
Develop, in close consultation with a country office, of an investment case on SBC integration in national budgets	Investment case	10 working days; By 5 April 2025
Facilitate a Webinar to present the Step-by-step guidance and the Guidelines.	Webinar	1 working day; By 20 April 2025

Estimated Duration of the Contract

78 working days between December 2024 and April 2025.

Consultant’s Work Place and Official Travel

The Consultant will be remote/home-based.

As part of this assignment, some international travels are foreseen. The consultant will arrange her/his travel as and when they take place, and related costs will be reimbursed per UNICEF travel policy.

Travel Clause

• All UNICEF rules and regulations related to travel of Consultants apply.
• All travels shall be undertaken only upon the prior written approval by UNICEF.
• The consultant must be fit to travel, be in a possession of the valid UN BSAFE certificate, obligatory inoculation(s) and have a valid own travel/medical insurance and an immunization/vaccination card.

Estimated Cost of the Consultancy & Payment Schedule

Payment will be made on submission of an invoice and satisfactory completion of the above-mentioned deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if work/outputs are incomplete, not delivered or for failure to meet deadlines. All materials developed will remain the copyright of UNICEF and UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify them in the future.

Please submit a professional fee (in USD) based on 78 working days to undertake this assignment, without travel fees as these will be reimbursed as and when they take place.

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s) in one of the following fields is required: Economics, Public Policy, Governance, Fiscal reform or other relevant areas.
• Seven (7) years of experience in public economics and/or Public Finance Management or related areas.
• A solid knowledge of PFM systems, processes and mechanisms, with preference for the Europe and Central Asia region or sub-region.
• Familiarity or experience in UNICEF’s approach to public financial management, the concept of child-focused spending, the implications of the CRC Article IV a strong asset.
• Previous work experience with an UN agency a strong asset.
• High proficiency in English.
• Candidates must have strong communication (oral and written) skills and strong analytical and writing skills, and the ability to present the results in a comprehensive, yet simple and clear language, making use of visual aid (maps, graphs and other visual tools).

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS), and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most marginalized children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family 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.

Remarks:

Please submit in your application a full CV, a Cover Letter, as well as previous relevant work samples including cases or guidance on investments, if available. Additionally, indicate your availability and professional fee (in USD) to undertake the terms of reference above. Applications submitted without a professional fee will not be considered. 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.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants 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.