International/National Consultant to Analyze Child Statistics on Multiple Deprivations and Support Poverty-Reduction Advocacy Efforts

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, a fair chance.

Montenegro is in the process of accession to the EU and leaving no one behind has been one of the cornerstones of its development agenda, among other, through SDGs nationalization. Montenegro, therefore, has undertaken relevant measures to implement institutional, legislative, and administrative reforms to align its policies with those EU accession processes and UN human rights standards.
UNICEF Country Office in Montenegro supports the Government of Montenegro in the social and child protection reform for progressive realization of the rights of children in Montenegro, with a special focus on children affected by poverty, adversity, and exclusion. The system aims to ensure the improvement of life quality and strengthening of an individual and a family for an independent and productive life.
One of the burning issues that Montenegro has been facing for more than a decade is a child poverty. According to age, in 2023, persons under 18 years of age, were the most exposed to the risk of poverty (27.3%). The recently released WB Report on Global Trends in Child Monetary Poverty 2023 shows that in Montenegro 4.1% of children live in extreme child poverty ($2.15/day), 9.5% subsist on less than $3.65 a day, while 27.2 % live below the higher international poverty lines of $6.85.
In 2021, amendments to the Law on Social and Child Protection governing non-contributory cash social assistance were adopted by which the universal child allowance (UCA) program for all children from birth until six years of age was introduced. In November 2022, universal child allowance (UCA) was further expanded to include all children up to 18 years of age.
In 2022 Montenegro became one of 26 countries globally to introduce UCA. The country transitioned from a targeted cash grant with 10% national coverage (32% national child poverty rate), to a UCA for children 0-6 years in 2021, and full UCA for children 0-18 years in 2022. Earlier beneficiary categories (children with disabilities, children without parents and children beneficiaries of the family material support) continued to qualify for the targeted child benefit until turning 18, and monthly benefit was increased by 20 euro, so that they were eligible to receive 44–60 euro. The number of children eligible for a benefit in a family increased from three to five. Eligible children for UCB equaling 30 euro include all resident citizens, legal residents, and recognized asylum seekers. UNICEF and UNDP microsimulations assessed that the expansion UCB in 2022 could reach around 133,000 children (the coverage having increased from 10% to 95%) and 50% of Montenegrin households. The benefits can be considered to make a substantial contribution to helping families stay out of poverty, accounting for circa 15% of the minimum income required to do so.

UNICEF Montenegro supports the Government of Montenegro – the Ministry of Social Welfare, Family Care and Demography, to strengthen the child allowance scheme and to promote positive effect on children, thus maximizing the return on the national investment. In order to do so, UNICEF Country Office maintains a strong cooperation with the national Statistical Office of Montenegro (MONSTAT) and the Parliament of Montenegro with the view of improving evidence generation and leveraging the existing datasets to conduct advocacy activities and influence legislative changes to the benefit of all children in the country.

How can you make a difference?

The main purpose of the assignment is to provide support to the Statistical Office of Montenegro (MONSTAT) and UNICEF Country Office Montenegro in analyzing the child statistics on poverty and multiple overlapping deprivations, as well as in conducting poverty-reduction advocacy efforts aimed at the general and professional public.

The objective of the consultancy is to provide a direct assistance to the Statistical Office of Montenegro (MONSTAT) in the analysis and interpretation of statistical datasets for the purpose of a higher-quality evidence generation on child poverty and multiple overlapping deprivations. The generated evidence would subsequently be used in the UNICEF’s advocacy efforts that would be aimed at the Government and the public, and conducted in cooperation with the Parliament of Montenegro through a planned targeted Thematic session on Universal Child Allowance and its benefits for the Montenegrin children.

Under the direct supervision of UNICEF Social Policy Officer, the International/National Consultant is expected to undertake the following tasks:
• Perform desk review, within the preparatory phase, of the existing documents pertaining to the social and child protection in Montenegro – Strategy on the Development of Social and Child Protection System 2024-2028, Deinstitutionalization Strategy 2024-2028, Roadmap of Social and Child Protection Reform and Social Assistance 2021, Multiple Overlapping Deprivations Analysis (MODA) 2021, microsimulations on UCA effects, etc.
• Perform desk review of relevant international standards and best practices, reports, analyses, data relevant to poverty, adversity, material deprivation, social exclusion and effects of (universal and/or quasi-universal) child allowance on child poverty reduction.
• Provide assistance to the Statistical Office of Montenegro (MONSTAT) in outlining the framework for calculating and reporting quality indicators from Survey on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), with particular emphasis on the child statistics derived from this Survey, focusing on poverty, adversity, social and material deprivation, while ensuring data quality, compliance with the GSBPM (Generic Statistical Business Process Model), and adherence to SIMS (Statistical Information Management Standards). The key quality indicators to be calculated include accuracy, timeliness, coherence, comparability, accessibility.
• In the scope of the assistance to MONSTAT, use the calculation methods with the view of providing detailed formulas and methodologies for each indicator that will follow Eurostat guidelines and the best practices in statistical quality assessment, and prepare a code/script to perform data processing and quality indicator calculations.
• Based on the conducted qualitative analysis of the child statistics on poverty and multiple overlapping deprivations and interviews with the relevant authorities (the line Ministry and CSWs), prepare an Analysis on the Universal Child Allowance Benefits for Children in Montenegro, with the Recommendations on the improvement of the adequacy of the current scheme.
• Prepare the presentation of the Analysis on the Universal Child Allowance Benefits for Children in Montenegro for the internal UNICEF CO Montenegro workshop, including Q&A session.
• Prepare the presentation of the Analysis on the Universal Child Allowance Benefits for Children in Montenegro for the Thematic session on UCA, planned to be organized with the Parliament of Montenegro, with the presence of the representatives of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Family Care and Demography, Centers for Social Welfare and relevant civil sector organizations.

The International/National Consultant will be the lead in the process and will work in a close collaboration with the Statistical Office of Montenegro (MONSTAT), UNICEF Country Office Montenegro, the Parliament of Montenegro, the Ministry of Social Welfare, Family Care and Demography and CSWs in the country.

The Consultant is expected to work both in the field and from home.
The detailed timeline will be agreed with UNICEF and Statistical Office of Montenegro (MONSTAT), as well as in agreement with other involved authorities.

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

All deliverables should be produced in both local and English language.

Application procedure:

The applicants are requested to submit following documents separately.
- CV
- Motivation letter
- Proposed work plan:
- Previous experience, where a recent piece of work (publication, report, analysis of social and child protection policies, etc.)
- Lump sum financial proposal

The payments will be made upon the successful completion of the deliverables and submission of invoices:
- 50% of the total amount upon the provision of assistance to Monstat – by the end of April 2025.
- 50% of the total amount upon the completion of all planned deliverables - By the end of July 2025.

UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if work/outputs is incomplete, not delivered or for failure to meet deadlines.

Upon conducting the recruitment process and prior to the signing of the contract, the consultant will be required to complete the following online courses. All certificates should be presented as part of the contract.
1. Ethics and Integrity at UNICEF
2. Prevention of Sexual Harassment and Abuse of Authority (PSEAA)
3. Prevention of Sexual Exploitation Abuse (PSEA);
4. General Information Security Awareness Course.

The above courses can be found on Agora through the following link: AGORA. 
Course completion certificates should be shared and retained with the human resources unit of the hiring office.

All applicants will be screened against qualifications and requirements set above. Candidates fully meeting all the requirements will be further evaluated based on the criteria below. The proposal will be evaluated against the following criteria:
A) Technical criteria – Technical evaluation process / Maximum points: 70
1. Technical Criteria:
1. Interview selection X -70 % of total evaluation– max. 70 points
• Education: 20
• Previous experience, where a recent piece of work (publication, report, analysis of social and child protection policies, etc.) needs to be provided by the applicant within application: 30
• CV, Motivation/ cover letter and proposed work plan: 15
• Other 5
Only candidates who obtained at least 70% of points from the technical part (who will score at least 49 points) will be qualified for considering for financial proposal evaluation.
B) Financial criteria – evaluation of financial proposal - Maximum points: 30
The applicants are requested to submit their lump sum financial proposal consisting of a daily professional fee, proposed four travel costs to Montenegro and daily subsistence allowance (DSA) for Podgorica when applicable which will be paid up to a maximum of the official UN rate. The Financial scores will be calculated using the formula [lowest offer / financial offer of the candidate x 30].

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 committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

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.