Inclusion of children on the move and their families in social protection in Latin America and Caribbean in the post COVID-19 context, Panama City, LACRO Panama, 7 months (Home-Based)

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, hope

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) are grappling with one of the most significant migration crises in recent history, driven by political instability, economic downturns, and violence in migrants’ countries of origin. As of August 2024, the Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela (R4V) reports that over 7.7 million Venezuelans have fled their country, with more than 6.5 million currently residing in LAC countries. This massive displacement has put substantial pressure on the social services and infrastructure of host nations, while also presenting an opportunity for these countries to benefit from the influx of migrants and refugees. Economic studies indicate that receiving countries have seen macroeconomic benefits from the influx of migrants, including increased internal demand and an expanded labour force (IMF, 2022; OECD/ILO, 2018).

Displaced populations face reduced access to basic social services, limited economic opportunities, lack of community networks and, often, trauma generated by the displacement itself (Holmes, R. and Lowe, C., 2023). Children and adolescents on the move are often affected by lack of educational opportunities, health, and nutritional deprivation, which can have a serious impact on their full development and transition to adulthood (Cecchini et al., 2015). In terms of financial inclusion, the socio-economic condition of children on the move and their families and the vulnerabilities inherent to the migratory process tend to expose them to higher poverty levels than the average poverty of the host communities (Maldonado et al., 2018).

Social protection systems, including cash transfer programs, play a critical role in the successful integration of migrants and refugees. These systems provide essential support, addressing basic needs such as food, housing, and healthcare. Cash transfers offer flexibility for migrant and refugee families, allowing them to allocate resources according to their needs, which fosters a sense of agency and dignity. In the long term, social protection measures enhance social cohesion by mitigating inequality and reducing the marginalization of migrant populations. Moreover, integrating migrants and refugees into national social protection systems can facilitate their inclusion in the labour market, promote economic participation, and decrease reliance on humanitarian aid.

In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), social protection coverage for children is above the global average because the region pioneered and expanded mostly conditional cash transfer programmes since the mid-1990s, with demonstrated positive results on poverty reduction (ILO, 2021). It is also a region where integrated programming was achieved to a certain extent, particularly for early childhood interventions. Still, there are important sub-regional differences and, even within countries that achieve relatively high social protection coverages (often by combining contributory and non-contributory cash transfers), certain population groups – particularly among rural areas, indigenous communities, and informal workers – remain excluded and highly vulnerable to life cycle and covariate shocks. For instance, before the COVID-19 pandemic, a third of families with children led by working-age adults in LAC had no access to any type of social protection (ECLAC & UNICEF, 2020). Despite increased poverty, the region’s fiscal margins and social expenditure have also reduced since 2013, limiting expansion and inclusion of uncovered groups.

A major exception to this trend was the unprecedented expansion of social protection coverage seen during 2020 and 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Between 2020 and 2022, many LAC countries expanded social protection coverage through emergency cash transfer programs to mitigate the pandemic’s socioeconomic effects. Albeit temporarily, this expansion reached 49.4% of the region’s population, including informal workers (CEPAL, 2021). Refugees and migrants were included in some of the national social protection responses such as the Emergency Family Income in Argentina and Chile, the Emergency Support in Brazil, and the Solidarity Income in Colombia. The former was not without special requirements: while in Chile, Colombia, and Brazil it was necessary to be part of social registries (which presented, in turn, varying degrees of accessibility), in Argentina a minimum of two years of legal residence was demanded prior to enrolment.  In other nations, migrants and refugees were not entitled to receive emergency aid support (UNICEF, WFP & IPC-IG, 2021). Post-pandemic, the challenge lies in sustaining and enhancing these measures while navigating limited fiscal space and a slow economic recovery. The pandemic has highlighted the need for inclusive, shock-responsive social protection frameworks that can adapt to future crises and promote the integration of vulnerable populations. Addressing the legal, administrative, and documentation barriers that hinder access to social protection for informal workers, migrants, and refugees remains crucial for building resilient and equitable systems.

Children on the move and their families in the region face important barriers to access social protection. Legal status, employment conditions, programme specific rules and operationalization mechanisms of social protection, as well as access to social registries, often pose challenges even in those countries were legal frameworks guarantee the social rights of non-nationals (such as Argentina, Brazil, or Ecuador). Factors underlying the extremely limited integration of children on the move and their families into social protection systems are often related to fiscal impacts of inclusion, social tensions raised by considerable incoming flows of migrants into vulnerable border municipalities, and fear of the “beacon effect” (i.e., the possibility of social support acting as push factor for increased migration). In a regional context where social protection programmes still fail to effectively reach and cover the eligible national population, the inclusion of migrants can be considered a source for social conflict and/or demand high levels of political support. In addition, many social protection programmes might not be entirely fit for purpose, as the type of assistance that is required by certain migrant or displaced groups can be different to the one provided by the regular cash transfer schemes, demanding differentiated support (IPC-IG, UNICEF & WFP, 2021).

The UNICEF Latin America and Caribbean Regional Office (LACRO) supports the organization’s work in 36 territories, including 24 country offices, to put the rights and well-being of the most disadvantaged children, including refugee and migrant children, at the heart of the social, political, and economic agenda, in line with our equity focus. During the last five years, migration flows have been at the centre of UNICEF LACRO’s work. Through the provision of technical assistance to country offices, UNICEF LACRO have backstopped the work led by country specialists, aimed at integral protection of refugee and migrant children and their families. The regional team has worked in the generation of evidence for policy dialogue, coordination of regional fora, and by supporting the activation of direct assistance mechanisms in response to humanitarian needs when appropriate. UNICEF’s Regional Theory of Change and Strategic Framework on Children on the Move places the focus on the integration between the humanitarian response and longer-term protection and integration outcomes through effective access to social services and opportunities, among other areas of intervention. As part of this framework, UNICEF is set to deepen its work to improve children on the move and their families’ access to social protection, including in the: (a) expansion of the reach of current or new programmes to migrant and displaced populations, including cash-transfer interventions; (b) improvement of the accessibility, responsiveness, and financing of social protection systems to enable effective and adequate expansion of coverage; (c) strengthening of management information systems and social registries to include migrant populations; (d) promotion of integral interventions that combine financial assistance with improved access to social services.

While efforts to include migrants into social protection systems persist, the needs faced by children on the move and their families to respond to urgent access to goods and services, as well as to fully integrate into host communities, has often required UNICEF to respond directly through short- and medium-term interventions. These programs, often coordinated with State actors but implemented through alternative delivery mechanisms, contribute to both facilitate access to financial assistance to the most vulnerable groups among people on the move, as well as to open dialogues with national authorities to assure referral to statutory social services and progressive inclusion of migrants into State-led cash-transfers. Between 2020 and 2024, UNICEF has implemented cash transfers aimed at addressing the needs of children on the move and their families in: Ecuador, Honduras, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil and Belize. As much as possible, these interventions have tried to function as an entry door to other social services, such as child protection, education and health and nutrition services.

How can you make a difference? 

This consultancy aims to analyse the integration of children on the move and their families into social protection programs in selected countries within Latin America and the Caribbean following the COVID-19 pandemic. It will investigate the continuity of measures introduced during the pandemic to support migrants’ access to social protection and basic services, assess whether these measures have been sustained or incorporated into national policies, and identify best practices for integrating children on the move and their families through both government and non-governmental social protection interventions. Based on the analysis of successful cases, the consultancy will identify good practices and lessons learned that could be advanced in UNICEF programming and advocacy efforts to integrate children and adolescents and their families into social protection systems.

Expected results:

The consultancy is expected to draw from existing global and regional literature, including (but not limited to) the IPC-IG/UNICEF/WFP multi-country analysis of barriers faced by Venezuelan refugees and migrants (2021), UNICEF’s Review of the Evidence on Children on the Move in Latin America and the Caribbean, the CALP 2022 report on people on the move and cash and voucher assistance (CVA), R4V’s Refugee and Migrant Needs Analysis, UNICEF’s Regional Theory of Change and Strategic Framework on Children on the Move,  country case-studies and legal and institutional frameworks, to write a report that contains the following sections:

1. Provide a brief overview of migration flows in the post-pandemic period (2021-2024) in Latin America and the Caribbean. Based on recent reports from UNICEF, R4V Movements Reports and OIM Migration Trends in the Americas, discuss trends and changes in migration patterns in recent years. This introductory section should aim at answering the following questions:
   1. What have been the key international movement patterns in LAC in the last four years? What are the main countries of origins and countries of destination of migrants in the region? What are the identified driving factors for international migration in LAC?
2. Provide an update on the legal frameworks and mechanisms that determine the integration of children on the move and their families into social protection systems in recent years (2021-2024). Based on literature review, discuss the progress and challenges in the integration of children on the move and their families since COVID-19 in selected countries, determining whether pandemic-era adjustments were temporary or have been incorporated into national policies. Based on the review of secondary sources, identify if there are major changes in countries in Central America and the Caribbean region that could be highlighted.
3. Identification of best practices in government programs: Identify at least three successful national or subnational governmental social protection programs in the region that include migrants. This section should answer the following questions:
   1. Which design elements of these programs has enabled the effective inclusion of migrants? What are the regulatory frameworks, governance arrangements and financial sources of these programmes?
   2. What factors contributed to the political legitimacy and support for these social protection interventions?
   3. What contextual factors might explain the success/failure of these policies to effectively support the integration of children on the move and their families? This shall include economic, political, and other.
   4. What is the estimated cost or budget for implementing these programs, and how is it allocated?
   5. Which were the funding resources and requirements for these programs (whether domestic/governmental, IFI`s loans or donations)?
   6. What implementation challenges have these programs faced (e.g., registration, delivery channels, engagement with host communities), and how have these challenges been addressed?
   7. What innovative approaches or reforms have been adopted in the selected countries to enhance migrant access to social protection, and what lessons can be learned from these initiatives?
   8. What are the main results of these programs on the integration and well-being of migrants and their host communities?
   9. Was there involvement/support from international organizations working in migration and social protection? Was there any significant coordination with humanitarian actors and platforms? Please consider UN agencies and/or other organizations.
4. Mapping of UNICEF interventions to support the inclusion of children on the move and their families in social protection in the region: Provide a comprehensive mapping of UNICEF cash-based programs and other social protection interventions targeted at children on the move and their families in recent years (2019-2024) in the region. Conduct a deep dive in at least three identified case studies. Analyse lessons learned from cash transfers and humanitarian assistance and evaluate if and how these interventions contributed to migrant inclusion in national systems and policies. Identify challenges and gaps in programming and delivering of social protection interventions to children on the move and their families and suggest areas of improvement.
   1. What have been the main UNICEF social protection programs targeted at children on the move and their families in recent years in the region?
   2. What are the identified best practices/exemplary cases to integrate children on the move and their families into social protection systems? Which factors contributed to the success of these interventions?
   3. What lessons have been learned from cash transfer programs and other social protection initiatives in supporting children on the move and their families? Have these interventions in any extent supported sustainable integration into social protection services, or social services in general?
   4. What are the operational and contextual factors that need to be considered in future programming of cash transfers in the region to promote the inclusion of migrants in national social protection systems?
   5. How can UNICEF and other humanitarian actors contribute to the long-term inclusion of migrants in national social protection systems, and what challenges or gaps remain in bridging humanitarian assistance with government-led programs?
5. Policy and Advocacy Recommendations: provide recommendations to strengthen UNICEF`s strategic support to governments in improving the integration of children on the move and their families into social protection systems. Propose advocacy strategies to promote migrant inclusion in national and regional frameworks and suggest approaches for international cooperation to enhance social protection for migrants across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Methodology:

This is a qualitative study consisting of: (i) desk research, including review of regional reports on migration patterns and migrants and refugees’ access to social protection and basic services; national legislation and regulatory frameworks; case studies and evaluations of national experiences in the region; (ii) semi-structured interviews with key informants (program managers from governments, UN agencies and international NGOs). A reference group composed by UNICEF experts could be composed to share main inputs and review products.

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

• Master university degree in Social Sciences, Anthropology, Development Studies, Economics, Public Policy, or related fields.
• Minimum 8 years of experience in social policy (social protection)
• Demonstrated experience leading the design, targeting, implementation and/or assessments of social protection/social assistance/cash transfer systems, policy, and programming is required.
• Demonstrated ability to elaborate policy and technical notes to advocate and support policy makers decisions is required.
• Deep understanding of cash transfer programs that support children and their families, social protection systems and the diverse realities of Latin America and the Caribbean is required.
• Proven track record of publications on social policy is required.
• Fluency in English and Spanish is required.
• Working experience in Latin America and the Caribbean region is required.
• Experience in migration is considered an asset.
• Proven track record of publications on humanitarian cash transfers, migration and/or shock responsive social protection is considered an asset.
• Experience working with UN Agencies will be considered an asset.
• Excellent writing and communication skills.
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

 UNICEF competencies: building and maintains partnerships, demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness, drive to achieve results for impact, innovates and embraces change, manages ambiguity and complexity, thinks and acts strategically and works collaboratively with others.

To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

 Administrative details

Supervision: The consultant will work under the overall supervision and guidance of the UNICEF LACRO Regional Adviser Social Policy.

Workplace: The consultancy is home-based. Travel may be involved. International/national travel may be required, discussed and agreed with the consultant (a separate travel line will be included in the contract).

Duration:  Estimated start date is October 15, 2024, until May 15, 2024.

How to Apply: Application should be submitted online and should include: TMS application form duly completed, Cover Letter, Study certificates and Financial proposal (Daily fee or deliverable fee).

Qualified candidates are requested to indicate an all-inclusive (lump sum) fee for the services to be including all associated administrative costs.

Consultants must have their own equipment, tools and materials needed to perform their services. They will use their own laptops/computers, any application or system needed to complete the assignment. They need to provide the full service without using UNICEF resources. The access to UNICEF email and system is restricted to UNICEF staff therefore consultants should not be granted access unless it is imperative to complete the assignment.

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.