International Consultancy – Public Financial Management Consultant UNICEF South Sudan for 130 days

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• Purpose of Activity/Assignment:
• This individual consultancy will assess current financial management practices in the South Sudan Education sector to identify areas for strengthening and contribute to development and approval of a roadmap to enhance Public Financial Management (PFM) within the Ministry of Education and General Instruction (MoGEI), laying out specific activities to address key bottlenecks. The consultant will also support the development of processes to ensure timely delivery of State-level quarterly monitoring reports to MoGEI, to improve transparency in MoGEI scrutinize education spending across levels of government.
• Background & Rationale:
• The Transitional Constitution of South Sudan (2011) recognizes the education sector, including the provision of compulsory and free primary education for all children as a right. In 2012 the National Legislative Assembly passed The General Education Act which outlines the regulatory framework and structure for education in the country. The Education Act provides national guidance on general education principles and goals, and associated structures, systems, standards, financing, and accountability for the sector. It also specifies the rights of both duty bearers and learners (as rights holders) and articulates a national framework for the recruitment, development, and deployment of a nationwide education cadre. The General Education Strategic Plan (GESP) 2023 – 2027 is a national roadmap for implementation of the General Education Act and outlines implementation strategies, monitoring and evaluation frameworks, and sector financing.
• Notwithstanding, the performance of the education sector remains constrained due to limited budget allocations and weak budget execution. In the region, South Sudan’s aggregate education sector spending levels are very low. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database of government expenditure ranks South Sudan lowest among East African countries, with an investment in public education standing at less than 1 per cent of real GDP since independence. This is significantly below the target set in the Incheon Declaration, which indicates that countries should allocate between 4 and 6 per cent of GDP to education to realize Sustainable Development Goal 4. This low investment has necessitated heavy off-budget reliance on donors and the private sector for basic service delivery and has burdened communities with additional costs to support their children’s education.
• South Sudan has a decentralized system which delegates authority to the first (State) and second (County) subnational levels. However, education budgets are for the most part deconcentrated rather than devolved, with the exceptions being capitation grants for schools. This leaves the national government with near exclusive power over amounts released to States. In the general education subsector, States and Counties are largely responsible for implementation and daily functioning of educational institutions (including the payment of teachers’ salaries, operational costs, and capitation grants to schools), with MoGEI charged with policy development and administrative functions. In theory, subnational entities have formal autonomy over expenditure, and Treasury is mandated to release transfers to the States for onward transmission to the Counties, Payams and schools (Capitation Grants). However, in practice this autonomy may be compromised due to significant weaknesses in the transfer system: funds are not received, either at all, in full or on time, and most of the funds have already been allocated to salaries.
• The 2021-2022 PETS/PER also noted partial flow of smaller amounts than budgeted and/or not reaching all levels of the system, while in 5 States grants did not appear to flow at all. This implied major leakages that resulted in teachers not receiving their payments, State, County and Payam officers not being facilitated for their inspection and supervision visits, and eventually schools charging (higher) fees to find means of paying their teachers at all.
• MoGEI recognizes that sustainable progress hinges on efficient and accountable use of all allocated funds and that the lack of a robust PFM framework within MoGEI hinders effective allocation, utilization, transparency, and accountability of public resources. The establishment of State Education Transfer Monitoring Committees (SETMCs) in all 10 States and 3 Administrative Areas in 2023 represents a significant step towards transparency and fiscal responsibility. MoGEI has proactively trained SETMC officials on accountability, equipping them to monitor education spending at the State level. However, challenges remain. Initial hiccups in regular meetings and reporting reflect the relative newness of the initiative and limited capacity in some areas. Furthermore, irregular release of funds by MoFP has hampered accountability efforts, as SETMCs have had little to report on. On the other hand, the absence of accountability presents a potential hindrance to the Ministry of Finance and Planning (MoFP) releasing funds to the States.
• PFM challenges extend beyond significant concerns around the transfer system. The PETS/PER analysis also points to issues around teacher management, including salary arrears (linked to ineffective transfers), the need for more effective payroll management and teacher deployment. Guidance on the development of education budgets has not been issues since 2014/15, there is little guidance on capital planning and budgeting, and strategic links to medium-term planning are missing. Furthermore, IFMIS at State and Country level are not functional. While a national PFM Reform Plan is in place, these efforts to deliver against this are mostly uncoordinated and eventually create bottlenecks to equitable access, efficient resource management, and ultimately, an unsustainable, and unimpactful education system for all children across the country.
• Scope of Work:
• The main scope of this consultancy is the development and approval of a comprehensive PFM roadmap for MoGEI. The consultancy will also strengthen processes of the State-level quarterly monitoring reports to enable MoGEI to scrutinize education spending across levels of government.
• Main Duties and Responsibilities:
• Under the overall guidance of the Deputy Representative (Programme) and the direct supervision of the Social Policy Specialist, the consultant will deliver the following:
• 1.Needs Assessment: building on the 2022 Education Public Expenditure Review and Public Expenditure Tracking Survey (PETS), undertake a thorough assessment of MoGEI’s existing financial management practices and identify key bottlenecks to effective service delivery in general education.
• 2.Formulation & Approval of a PFM roadmap: This process involves engagement of all relevant stakeholders, including education managers, MoFP, academia and civil society, in a consultative process to develop a comprehensive roadmap to improve sector PFM to prioritize and address the challenges identified in the needs assessment. The roadmap will address key areas including budget planning and execution, procurement, internal controls, and financial reporting, ensuring transparency, accountability, and effective resource allocation, and propose specific actions, timelines and roles and responsibilities. Actions proposed in the roadmap should clearly articulate with existing frameworks, including the Public Financial Management and Accountability Act of 2011 (PFMAA 2011) and the Public Financial Management Manual for Local Governments (2013), and align with the PFM reforms adopted by the PFM Committee.
• 3.Monitoring and Oversight: This entails monitoring and tracking delivery of 27 Quarterly SETMC Reports produced (on standardized reporting templates) by the SETMC which is tasked with the production of accountability reports. The oversight aspect pertains to the National ETMC which needs to verify the accuracy of reports on education spending at the State level) and identify any discrepancies therein.
• 4.These will be implemented in consultations with MoGEI, MoFP, and UNICEF South Sudan. Background documents including on South Sudan, will be provided. This is a full time-presence consultancy based in Juba, South Sudan, with alternative arrangements at the discretion of the manager and as guided by Human Resources.
• Deliverables
• This is a standard Inception Report (no more than 10 pages) that outlines the methodologies and strategies for each deliverable and must include baseline and target indicators specific to each deliverable accompanied by a detailed and clear activity plan on a Gant chat for easy monitoring and follow-up by UNICEF. Deliverable 1: A concise Inception Report (max 10 pages) on methodologies and strategies to be employed for each deliverable, alongside specific target timelines (workplan) for each of the deliverables. Two weeks (10 days) Delivered by February 20 25
• This is a Needs Assessment document (max 50 pages with annexes as applicable) that exhaustively assesses status of MoGEI’s public financial management practices, procedures, and protocols across levels of governments up to the level of service delivery units. This document must identify existing gaps and propose measures and strategies that would aid improvement processes for the current financial system. Deliverable 2: A thorough assessment of MoGEI’s current financial management practices that identifies, amongst other things, gaps, and areas for improvement. Eight weeks (40 days) Delivered by April 2025
• This is a consultative Roadmap Formulation Process that will ensure full participation, engagement and involvement of all relevant PFM and governance stakeholders, including from the education and economic sectors, civil society, and the academia. The overall objective of this consultative and inclusive process should present the issues identified in the needs assessment and culminate in the development of a Comprehensive PFM Roadmap Document that aligns to national and international PFM best practices. The document should address key PFM areas such as budget planning and execution, procurement, internal controls, and financial reporting, ensuring transparency, accountability, and effective resource allocation. It should include actionable steps, timelines and clear roles and responsibilities. Deliverable 3 in two parts:
• 1) an inclusive and consultative formulation process &
• 2) a concise PFM Roadmap Document:
• Firstly, an inclusive and consultative policy formulation process with national and subnational stakeholders and an array of all stakeholders.
• Secondly, A concise easy read comprehensive document on the PFM Roadmap that aligns with national and international best practices, and addresses budget critical themes Ten weeks (50 Days) Delivered by June 2025
• The Validation Workshop will provide opportunity for stakeholders to interact with the consultant as s/he presents his/her work prior to commencement of approval processes of the framework. The main objectives of this workshop are thus to share the draft roadmap with key stakeholders and acquaint legislators on principles of the policy and build consensus prior to the presentation (to council of ministers) and the tabling of the policy in Parliament for the mandatary three readings. The workshop should cover, amongst others, both Governance and PFM policy related themes that support the roadmap alongside legal and institutional frameworks. Deliverable 4: A Validation Workshop to share the draft PFM roadmap with stakeholders and build consensus before presentation to the Economic Cluster, the Council of Ministers, and the Parliament. This would include five days for preparation, 3 days for the actual workshop and 2 days to draft Summary Report for immediate sharing with the stakeholders before compilation of the final workshop report which would contain recommendations and proposed action plans. Two weeks (10 Days) Delivered by July 2025
• The Roadmap Document is the final, approved and publicly available. The MoGEI PFM Roadmap should not exceed 70 pages. The Policy Brief (max 5 pages) summarizes the PFM Policy Roadmap Document is meant for Executives and Senior Managers. This must be a succinct easy read summary of the work completed. A draft should be developed immediately after the validation workshop and revised after the approval of the actual roadmap. Deliverable 5 in two parts: 1) Policy Framework Document & This is the approved PFM Framework for MoGEI. 2) The Policy Brief:
• This is a summary version of the roadmap targeting constitutional post holders and senior management cadres of Government. The first draft is immediately after the validation workshop and the final draft is after the approval of the framework either by the Council of Ministers or the Parliament of South Sudan Two Weeks (10 days) Delivered by August 2025
• This is a concise and succinct Documentation on the 27 Quarterly Reports produced by the various SETMC across the country. The documentation covers all measures proposed by the SETMC in the respective 27 accountability reports which are aimed to ensure consistency of information on education spending and facilitate timely review. This first part of documentation also includes actions taken by the National ETMC to verify the accuracy of reports and identify any discrepancies.
• Part two of the documentation entails components pertained to the proceedings of workshops, consultations and related events on the entire processes which led to the approval of the PFM Roadmap. These aspects of the report constitute the two indicators that would unlock the USD 2 million under the second trigger. Coordinate, customize, review, and present Statistical Snapshots according to MICS standards and country context. Deliverable 6: Thorough documentation processes undertaken to develop the Framework and the SETMC reports.
• This is a concise and succinct document on the 27 SETMC Quarterly Reports which includes measures proposed by the SETMC in the 27 Quarterly SETMC Reports which investigates the consistency of information on education spending and the actions taken by the National ETMC on the accuracy of reports and identification of discrepancies therein. Two Weeks (10 days) August 2025.
• Qualifications and experience
• Advanced university degree or equivalent in public policy, economics, development studies, social sciences, international relations, political science, or another relevant field
• At least 8years’ experience in undertaking PFM Governance Public Budget and related PFM studies and should have an advanced university degree (masters/PhD) from an accredited academic institution, in a discipline related to economics, public policy, and development studies.
• Has demonstrable experience in managing complex assignments for international organizations, and governments in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Experience with UN agencies will be an added advantage.
• Excellent inter-personal and communication (oral and written) skills.
• Fluency in English is required, knowledge of Arabic is a plus.
• Coordination of multiple actors and stakeholders an asset.
• Understanding of the humanitarian context in sub-Saharan Africa is a strong advantage, experience in protracted crises and/or South Sudan is also a plus.
• All applicants MUST submit both technical and financial proposal.

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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. 

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