UNICEF works in some of the worldโs toughest places, to reach the worldโs most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.ย
Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.ย
And we never give up.ย
For every child, protection
How can you make a difference?ย
1. BACKGROUND / RATIONALE UNICEF promotes the rights and welfare of all children and adolescents in everything we do. Together with our allies, we work in 190 countries and territories to transform this commitment into practical actions that benefit all children, especially focusing our efforts on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded, worldwide.
In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), UNICEF is present in 36 countries and territories through 24 national offices spread throughout the region and a regional office based in Panama City. Efforts are aimed at UNICEF putting the rights and well-being of the most disadvantaged children at the heart of the social, political, and economic agenda, in line with our equity focus, working across our organization and with our partners in government, civil society and the private sector to support shifts in public policy, fuel social engagement, and increase investment for children.
Public Finance for Children is a key area for the promotion of children's rights and for the overcome of children poverty in the region. Through our social policy network, composed by Social Policy Specialists and focal points based in the country offices, UNICEF works in the provision of technical assistance, quality assurance, evidence generation and policy advocacy to eradicate child poverty, expand social protection for families with children and increase the quantity and quality of public investments aimed at children.
In order to support the work of UNICEF in LAC at both Regional and Country Offices, UNICEF LACRO seeks to engage the services of regional experts in Public Finance for Children, in three different areas: (1) Data, evidence and advocacy; (2) Financial System strengthening; (3) Expanding public resources.
For information of the work of our organization in the LAC Region, please visit our website: UNICEF LAC Region
2. PURPOSE OF ASSIGNMENT
The purpose of the current Long-Term Agreements (LTA) for individual contracts is to facilitate the contracting by UNICEF offices in LAC, both at regional and country levels, of qualified consultants at pre-agreed broad terms to assist in the implementation of recurrent Public Finance for Children activities.
โ 3. PROGRAMME CATEGORIES The focus is on Public Finance for Children (PF4C) key service areas:
Service Area
i. Data, evidence, and evidence-based advocacy
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Public Finance- data, evidence and evidence-based advocacy
PFM (Public Financial Management) data and evidence generation at national and subnational level to identify public financial challenges impacting on the achievement of child rights and generate evidence to guide responses and reforms. This includes the use of any of the PFM tools, diagnostics and analyses 1, such as the 14 diagnostics: Public Expenditure Review (which may also include Public Expenditure and Institutional Reviews (PEIRs) and Climate PEIRs), Public Expenditure Tracking Surveys , Child-focused Public Expenditure Measurement, Fiscal Incidence Analysis, National Accounts, Costing, Cost-Effectiveness Analysis and Cost-Benefit Analysis, Fiscal Space Analysis, Political Economy Analysis of the Budget Process, Citizensโ Budget, and Community Score Card. Or, any other PFM diagnostics, PFM research, or related PFM analysis related to budget, expenditure and revenue tracking & analysis, as well tracking public and private debt. Evidence based advocacy and policy dialogue at global, regional, national and local level to promote better PF for children. Policy advocacy and dialogue with key financial decision makers at all levels of government , Parliament, and decision makers, raise awareness around child rights and the cases for investing in children; and support development partners to use evidence in sector reforms and budget support decisions. UNICEF specific analysis on public finance to inform country programme design, including drafting analysis for situational analysis and any related reporting. Support UNICEF evidence-based advocacy and communication related to PFM and investments in childrenii. Systems Strengthening
2
Public Finance- Systems Strengthening
PFM reforms, including performance/programme-based budgeting, Financial Management Information Systems (FMIS) strengthening, and other reforms that promote service delivery and the realization of child rights; including addressing public and private debt and debt restructuring. Capacity building of government and national partners on PFM and PF4C to better influence child focused public finance processes, including partners from the key social sectors at national and sub national level who are engaged in planning and budgeting for children. Also, Build parliamentariansโ capacity in budget approval and oversight Engaging in the budget processes at national and subnational level to influence planning, allocation, revenue, budgeting and spending decisions to improve adequacy, efficiency, effectiveness, transparency, accountability and equity of social sector budgets, identify barriers to timely financial flows to service delivery level and strengthen spending performance through capacity building, bottleneck identification and technical support, and to better advance public expenditure for children. Aligning budget laws and policies - Support the Ministry of Finance with aligning budget laws and policies with child-related priorities; and support line ministries and local governments in evidence-based budget preparation Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFF) โ supporting national stakeholders in establishing and operationalizing INFFs at national and local level, as detailed in INFF building blocks 2 related to systems strengthening Support MoF in tracking spending and implementation agencies in improving child-responsive planning, budgeting and reporting; and institutionalizing budget transparency UNICEF PFM Tailored support- capacity building of UNICEF staff; and technical assistance tailored for UNICEF staff on PFM to better contribute to national PFM systems strengthening. Also, supporting UNICEF engagement in sectorial PFM strengthening, such as through Sector-Wide Approaches; operationalizing the CRC Article 4 and GC[1]19 in national planning and budgeting;iii. Resource Mobilization
3-PF4C
Resource mobilization at national and local level
Resource mobilization, financing strategies and leveraging resources 3. Engaging with national and international stakeholders to promote and leverage domestic and international resource mobilization for financing of child-related services/programs and facilitate service providers' access to financing at national and local level Taxation: address how to ensure progressive taxation that works for the best interest of children, and that contributed to equitable access to social services. Debt: engaging with governments and private and international partners to ensure debt is used for leveraging resources for children Design and costing of child-focused service packages and programs to facilitate revenue mobilization, specifically taxation and/or other revenue generation modalities, at national and local level. Sector financing plans and modalities at national and local level Financing strategies โ including Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFF), and operationalizing the financing strategy and engaging the private sector Feasibility assessments and investment proposals Convene potential lenders and development partners to facilitate governmentsโ access to pre-financing of critical commodities and service providersโ access to concessional or donor guarantee-backed commercial loans for expanding viable service models. Innovative and Blended finance-Support and advice on suitable innovative and/or blended finance modalities Social Impact bonds Local government in resource mobilization . Work with ministries of finance and other line ministries to strengthen resource allocations towards local governments functional assignments; the design and execution of intergovernmental fiscal transfers; strengthen local revenue collection and allocation of local revenues to child related prioritiesiv. Community Engagement and Child Participation
4-PF4C
Public Finance- Community engagement and citizens participation
Community engagement and participation in budget processes : Empower citizens, including children and adolescents, communities, and civil society organizations to participate in national and local budgeting processes, including through mechanisms such as social accountability and citizens budgets. Promote public access to relevant data and support dialogue around open budget initiatives. Facilitate participatory budgeting especially at local level by supporting child rights institutions to scrutinize budget proposals and execution reports; and Build capacity of communities and citizens in understanding and tracking how and how well public funds are spent, and work with local governments to establish feedback mechanisms.4. OBJECTIVE(S)
The objective of this ToR is to specify the nature, scope of activities and essential qualifications for contractors solicited and services provided under the resulting LTAs.
The expected result from this solicitation process is to establish long term agreements with pre-qualified consultants at pre-agreed broad terms to provide a menu of services in the area of Public Finance for Children, at Regional and Country Offices in Latin America and the Caribbean region. The selection of the consultants will be completed through a validation process following a combined evaluation of the technical and financial proposals.
The support facilitated through the resultant LTAs is expected to facilitate and expedite the process by which UNICEF LACRO and UNICEF Country Offices in LAC access highly qualified policy experts to support UNICEFโs provision of technical assistance, evidence generation, resource mobilization and advocacy in the field of Public Finance in the Latin American and the Caribbean region, with lasting positive impact on the most vulnerable families and children.
It is important to note the following: LTAs are non-binding Agreements which do not constitute a commitment to acquire consultant services. They indicate that the consultants are already vetted to be contracted directly as per the indicated unit price;
3 Refer to UNICEFโs guidance on resource mobilization as per the new indicator in the new strategic plan UNICEF new strategic
plan and results framework: 2022-11-Update_of_the_IRRF-Strategic_Plan_2022-2025-EN-ODS.pdf (unicef.org)
Please find in the attached document the following information: ย LTA ToR_PF4C UNICEF2.pdf
5. MAJOR TASKS TO BE ACCOMPLISHED
6. DELIVERABLES
7. ESTIMATED DURATION OF LTA: 36 months
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To qualify as an advocate for every child you will haveโฆย
8. QUALIFICATIONS / SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE / EXPERIENCE/ LANGUAGE SKILLS REQUIRED
Masterโs degree or PhD in economics, public finance, public policies, political sciences, developmental studies, statistics, or related field. A minimum of 15 years of relevant professional experience is required, preferably with direct, regional (LAC), government-related experience in public finance. A minimum of 5 years of professional experience in Latin America and the Caribbean is required. Proven experience in public finance, budget analysis, statistics or macroeconomic analysis in LAC is required Prior experience with socioeconomic analysis and public finance analysis is required. Prior experience in leading advocacy efforts to influence policy dialogue on public finance related issues is an asset Demonstrated experience in the public sector, especially in areas related to finance, planning or budget, is an asset Demonstrated excellent writing and communication skills is required Excellent analytical skills are required. Ability to carry quantitative and/or mixed-methods analysis is required. Proficiency in Spanish and/or English is required. Working knowledge of Portuguese and/or French is an asset. Proven experience with quantitative analysis, including econometric analysis, use of microdata, surveys, social registries, national census, is considered an asset. Previous experience working in the UN/UNICEF and/or the public sector in areas related to social policy and social protection are considered a strong asset. Experience in both development and humanitarian contexts is an added advantage Technical knowledge of local governance processes and/or poverty analysis are considered strong assets. Demonstrated capacity to communicate clearly on social policies. Demonstrated ability to work as part of a team and independently. Ability to work efficiently under tight deadlines. Must be detail-oriented and intellectually curious.ย Able to work effectively in a multicultural and multisectoral environment.ย Sets high levels of quality and productivity for self. Ability to clearly defined objectives and plan activitiesNote: Candidates are free to apply to for multiple categories or all of them, based on their qualifications and professional experience. UNICEF will award LTA up to 5 top ranked candidates under each category. A candidate may be awarded LTA for one or more than one category.
Please find in the attached document the following information: ย LTA ToR_PF4C UNICEF2.pdf
9. TECHNICAL EVALUATION CRITERIA (WITH WEIGHTS FOR EACH CRITERIA)
10. FINANCIAL PROPOSAL
For every Child, you demonstrateโฆย
UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).ย
To view our competency framework, please visit ย here.ย
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UNICEF is here to serve the worldโs 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.ย
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.ย
Remarks:ย ย
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.ย
Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered โstaff membersโ under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEFโs 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.ย
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.ย