Urgent Vacancies at United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

Job Description

• Explore whether and how government can sustainably increase the sources and levels of financing for SP based on analysis of current government allocations and their stated commitments to SP in the medium-term development frameworks.
• Assess the adequacy of current budget allocation for SP programmes in relation to their coverage, size of the targets population and benchmarks from comparable countries using the relevant analytical tools.
• Assess the administrative efficiency of priority programmes (LEAP, School feeding, NHIS exemptions, Capitation Grant, and Labour Intensive Public Works) using suitable analytical tools.
• Support the dissemination of the analysis to the target audience i.e. Presidential advisor on the SDGs, MoF, MGCSP and Parliamentary select committees on Poverty, Gender & Social Protection target audience using the most suitable channels.
• Tasks To be Completed Â

Under the supervision of the UNICEF Social Protection Specialist, the selected national expert will work closely with the Social Protection team to conduct the following:

• Hold inception meetings with MoF, MGCSP, MDAs implementing SP programmes and UNICEF SP unit and review the methodology for the assignment including the analytical framework, additional data required, and the timelines for execution.
• Use the Fiscal Space Diamond to assess the relative contributions of current funding sources for SP and to identify the pathways for increasing financing for SP to meet government medium term commitments.
• Compute the size of the budget gap for the priority SP programmes based on the current coverage, target population and current benefit levels.
• Analyze government budget allocation and sources of funds to SP broad categories and programmes from 2015 to 2018 based on the SP budget tracking tool and compare to relevant benchmarks in sub-Saharan African(SSA) and lower middle-income countries (LMICs).
• Collect relevant administrative data from priority SP programmes and analyze the trends and composition of administrative efficiencies over the period 2015 to 2018
• Analyze and prepare a final analytical report that incorporates all components of the assignment with clear recommendations for government action.
• Prepare a 2-page Policy Brief and 15-20 slides Power Point presentation based on the combined analysis of the sufficiency and efficiency of SP budgets with graphs, pictures, charts and accompanying speaker notes.
• Methodology
• The Consultant will submit a revised detailed methodology after the inception meetings as part of the inception report. The methodology should include desk review of SP policy, government medium term development plans relating to SP, data from the SP budget tracking tool, operations manuals, and annual reports of the priority SP programmes.
• It will also include the collection of administrative data from key SP programmes, budget allocation for SP programmes missing in the SP budget tracking tool and conducting interviews with representatives from key SP programmes and the relevant MDAs.
• The consultant will be expected to identify suitable indicators for assessing the administrative efficiency of the SP programmes and adopt the analytical framework of the Fiscal Space Diamond to assess the relative contributions of current funding sources for SP and to identify the pathways.
• Supervision and reporting arrangement
• The Consultant will be expected to review all relevant existing materials, interview and gather additional data from identified SP programmes and work with the SP Unit of UNICEF to plan and agree on the methodology and detailed outline of the analytical report.
• The Consultant will be required to submit a revised detailed outline and methodology for the undertaking the assignment after initial discussion meetings with UNICEF.
• The Consultant will be required to report on the progress on each deliverable through e-mail and update meetings. Regular consultations should take place between the national expert and the SP team to review each deliverable before it is submitted.
• Payment and Payment Schedule
• The consultant(s) will be paid upon satisfactory submission of deliverables as listed above.
• Deliverable Percentage Amount(USD)
• Revised detailed outline of the report and methodology of the assignment. 20%
• A draft 10-page report on the relative contribution of the various sources of financing SP, an estimate of the gap and pathways for filling this gap to guide a detailed fiscal space analysis for SP 20%
• A comparative analysis of the administrative efficiency of the priority SP programmes with peers in similar operational context. 20%
• A final 30-40-page analytical report on SP budget allocation and options for increasing financing for the sector suitable graphs, pictures and accompanying annexes
•  20%
• A 15-20-page Power Point presentation with adequate graphs and supporting speaker notes 20%

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

• Advanced degree in Social Sciences, Economics, or Public-Sector Economics or related fields.
• At least 10 years of relevant professional work experience in undertaking analysis of budgetary allocations, conducting fiscal space analysis and performance assessment of Social protection programmes working with Universities, Research Institutes, Government organizations, NGOs, or other international organizations.
• Excellent knowledge of Public Finance Management/ Public finance for children.
• A minimum of 5 years academic and professional experience with the social protection sector in Ghana.
• A track record of high quality publications or analytical reports on social protection and other poverty reduction interventions.
• ÂProven skills and experience in preparing policy briefs, and other advocacy materials for level government functionaries such as policy makers, academic institutions and CSOs.

Interested candidates should apply on-line to the link provided and indicate their professional fees in Ghana Cedis per day. In addition to the CV/Resume, candidates should attach a two-page note on how he/she intends to effectively accomplish this assignment within 78 working days in the five-month period.

View our competency framework required for the post http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

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Job Description

• Age-grade and gender appropriate teaching and learning resource materials aligned with the curriculum to promote digital literacy skills and child online safety measures – for both students teachers and school staff;
• Guidance on creating awareness among parents and communities on the same through School Management Committees (SMCs), Parent Teachers Association (PTA), & civil society organizations (CSOs).
• Tools to assess pre and post evaluation changes in knowledge and skills of the target audience – students, teachers, and parents/caregivers and communities

Specific Tasks to be undertaken by Consultant

• As part of the technical assistance required for the development of the school-based digital literacy awareness and promotion campaign, the consultant is expected to undertake the following key tasks:

Task 1. Review of Existing Resources and Curriculum Mapping

• Secondary review of available and relevant teaching and learning resources – globally and nationally – on promoting and supporting digital literacy including online safety among primary and secondary school-going girls and boys, teachers, and families and communities to inform contextualised resource materials development.
• Mapping of the status of digital skills including online safety in the primary and secondary curriculum; and analysis of the barriers and opportunities to strengthen the practice in schools.

Task 2. Design and Develop Resource Materials on Digital Literacy

• Envision and design differentiated resource materials – age-grade and gender appropriate and aligned with the curriculum – to support a school-based digital literacy awareness and promotion campaign. The materials should target different education levels and actors, including:
• a) Primary, junior, and senior high school students – girls and boys
• b) School teachers
• c) SMCs, PTA, and parents
• Craft an integrated module on child online safety to complement the existing safe schools’ resource pack to strengthen the initiative further.
• Develop a training guide/facilitators manual to accompany the resource materials for digital literacy and safety.

Task 3. Test and Deliver

• Pretest and validate all resource materials developed – for primary, junior, and senior high schools – with the different target audiences before finalising for implementation; pretesting should be done with separate groups of girls and boys in order to ensure that materials developed addresses specific gender gaps.
•  Liaise with a graphic designer tasked to develop the creative/design work after finalisation of content.
•  Develop and recommend an accompanying implementation strategy for the sequenced use of the resource materials in schools – in a structured campaign mode – through the course of a school year for optimal impact.

Task 4. Evaluate and feedback

• Develop pre and post evaluation tools to measure the change in knowledge, awareness, and skills of students, teachers, and families and communities. The pre and post evaluation tools should also capture data/feedback on how specific gender gaps are being addressed during the implementation.
• Develop process monitoring checklists for use by teachers, head teachers, and district administrators to facilitate a feedback loop and support effective implementation.

Deliverables

• Inception report on the scope of work, action plan and timeline, and secondary review of available resources
• Curriculum mapping report including qualitative analysis of barriers and opportunities
• Draft resource materials for promoting school-based digital literacy including online safety for students, teachers, and SMCs and PTAs.
• Standalone Module for Child Online Safety (To complement to the Safe Schools Resource Pack)
• Trainer and facilitator guide accompanying the Module on Child Online Safety
• Pre-test and validation report on the draft module and resources developed.
• Finalised copies of resource materials on digital literacy fit for age/grade/gender, standalone module on child online safety and Training Guide/ Facilitators Manual
• An Implementation strategy to roll out the digital literacy programme
• An evaluation and process monitoring tools

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

• Advanced degree in Social Sciences or other relevant areas of study, including ICT.
• At least five years of proven experience in content development around issues of ICTs, Digital Literacy, and Child Online Safety
• Prior experience in development of curriculum content, capacity building, and community engagement tools development
• Facilitation of high-level strategic planning processes involving a wide range of stakeholders including government representatives
• Prior work with Government and/or UN Agency is an asset
• Demonstrated previous experience of similar assignments including submission of a sample of two

Interested candidates should apply online to the link provided indicate their monthly professional fees in Ghana Cedis.In addition to the CV/Resume, candidates should attach a two-page note on how he/she intends to effectively accomplish this assignment within the time frame.(Two examples of previous work done should be attached (if applicable, e.g., strategic documents, photos, edited work, videos, etc.)

View our competency framework for the post http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

go to method of application »

• Review the contents of the draft national and district operation manuals to ascertain how well they reflect all the key processes of the programme (pre-implementation, implementation, financial management and accountability, public relations and post implementation);
• Facilitate consultations with relevant national and sub-national level actors for inputs on the manuals;
• Revise and finalize the national and district operations manual and all accompanying technical annexes (details of all the processes together with roles and responsibilities) and to develop a roll out plan.

Specific Tasks:

• Review the national and district operation manuals and other relevant documents

Job Description

• The consultant will review the 2016 GSFP operational assessment report, the existing/old GSFP national and district operation manuals, the Ghana School Feeding Programme Policy and other relevant documents.
• The assessment of these existing documents will guide the overall review of the current draft manuals and ascertain the degree of comprehension and level of coverage of all key programme components/processes.
• The consultant will submit a report on the documents assessed, gaps identified and recommendations.

Facilitate consultations with stakeholders on the draft manuals

• An initial consultation will be organized with the GSFP secretariat on the draft manuals where the consultant will present a report on the assessment to GSFP management and to further agree on the necessary changes and additions to the manuals.
• In collaboration with the GSFP secretariat, the consultant will plan and facilitate two sub-national level consultations with key stakeholders.
• Feedback from these consultations would be used to guide the revision and finalization of the manuals.

Submit final versions of the operation manuals

• Final drafts of the manuals and all relevant technical annexes should be submitted to the GSFP secretariat for validation.
• The final versions of the manuals are expected to be user-friendly with appropriate but simple creative graphics, icons, color coding, workflows, checklists, diagrams etc.
• Training on the manual is expected to be carried out once the manuals are validated and approved. In order to facilitate that, the consultant will support the secretariat to develop a training and roll out plan to guide stakeholder sensitization.

Expected Deliverables:

• A report on the assessment carried out and a report on consultative meeting held with GSFP management (the latter report will include agreements/consensus on additions/changes to the manuals).
• Draft of the revised district and national operation manuals (covering all key processes of the programme and the technical annexes).
• A report on 2 consultative meetings held on the draft manuals with sub-national level stakeholders (to include recommended additions, gaps etc).
• Final drafts of the operation manuals for validation (facilitate a validation meeting with GSFP Management for feedback on the final draft).
• Final national and district operation manuals (incorporating approved feedback from all consultations. The technical annexes must be revised in line with the changes).
• In collaboration with the GSFP Operations Manager, draft a national training and roll out plan to guide stakeholder sensitization. The plan must include budget estimates and timelines for implementation.

Reporting and Supervision Arrangements:

• The consultant will report to the UNICEF Social Policy Officer with an oversight by the Ghana School Feeding Programme Director of Operations who will provide overall guidance on the consultancy (this will include providing strategic support and assessment of all deliverables).

Payment and Payment Schedule:

• The consultant will be paid professional fees upon submission of satisfactory deliverables and in 3 instalments;
• Deliverables 1&2: (20 working days)
• Deliverables 3&4 (17 working days)
• Deliverables 5&6 (13 days)

Timeframe:

• It is expected that the assignment will be completed in 50 working days within 9 months.

Expected Qualifications, Experience, Specialized Knowledge/Skills and Competencies:

• Advanced degree in social sciences and or other relevant fields of study;
• At least 7 years of experience in developing operational or standard operation procedures for government programmes or for specific sectors;
• Familiarity with social protection programming in Ghana, preferably school feeding programme and its decentralized implementation structures;
• The candidate must have extensive experience in successfully leading/coordinating the development of key strategic documents for both government and private sectors;
• Excellent command of written and spoken English, outstanding facilitation and consultation skills are required;
• Strong analytical, networking and coordination skills is required.

General Conditions: Procedures and Logistics:

• The consultant will be expected to use his/her own computer/software and office;
• The assignment will be based in Accra but will require some travels outside Accra. The Consultant will be paid DSA for all official overnight stays outside Accra.
• Total calculated professional fees will be paid in 3 installments based on deliverables as indicated above;
• The consultant will have access to UNICEF transport fitted with Security Radio when out to conduct official workshop/meetings outside Accra.
• UNICEF 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.

  Interested candidates should apply on-line to the link provided indicate their professional fees in Ghana Cedis.In addition to the CV/Resume, candidates should attach a two-page note on how he/she intends to effectively accomplish this assignment within time frame. Two examples of previous work done should be attached (if applicable, e.g. strategic documents, photos, edited work, videos etc.)