Consultancy - Public Finance for Children (PF4C) Consultant, UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia (ROSA), Kathmandu, Nepal, 20 Days (Remote-Based)

The Social Policy Section at the UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia is looking for a Public Finance for Children (PF4C) Specialist (Consultant) to leverage greater, more effective, and equitable domestic public investments in children to ensure results in the areas of health, education, nutrition, child protection, social inclusion, climate change and WASH. The consultant will support the Social Policy section to elevate the agenda in the region and contribute to generating regional-level knowledge on PF4C for advocacy purposes with a wide range of partners and develop and expand regional partnerships in the area of PF4C.

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, Learning 

UNICEF adopted its new Gender Action Plan 2022-2025 (GAP), which is an ambitious effort at catalyzing field-level programming and results that advance gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in key areas of UNICEF's work. The UNICEF Gender Action Plan 2022-2025 prioritizes a gender-equitable approach to promoting gender equality. Developed in tandem with UNICEF’s new Gender Policy and Gender Action Plan (GAP), The UNICEF Strategic Plan for 2022-25 emphasizes structural and norms change to transform the underlying drivers of gender inequality and reflects an intersectional approach to the compounding social exclusion and marginalization related to factors like poverty, racism, disability, and migration. With this new, transformative approach, UNICEF is strengthening the mainstreaming of gender equality throughout our programming and systems while increasing investment in the use of digital technologies as one pathway for achieving gender equality.

South Asia is the fastest-growing region in the world in terms of early adoption and innovation of digital culture and digital economy. Despite this growth, the gap between women's and girls’ access and use of digital platforms as compared with their male counterparts has widened from 36% in 2020 to 41% in 2022.

More than 200 million women in South Asia do not have access to mobile phones or the Internet; this means a future with fewer employment opportunities, a higher likelihood of being unemployed, and additional barriers to workforce participation. There are many obstacles preventing women and girls from sharing the benefits of digital innovation. These include barriers to connectivity (access to the internet and affordability of digital tools and technologies), lack of digital literacy and skills, ingrained gender norms, and internet safety concerns that limit girls’ access to digital platforms and know-how.

UNICEF’s South Asia Regional Office (ROSA) has prioritized addressing the gender digital divide as a key accelerator for the region. In its Digital Equity paper for South Asia, intentional investment in digital solutions for marginalized girls and the use of digital technologies as programming tools for girls have been identified as key to addressing the gender digital divide. 

How can you make a difference? 

A. Key Assignments/Tasks:

1. Support the Country Offices (COs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) strategy by following the Regional Management Team (RMT) meeting/discussion.

- Background review of current International Monetary Fund (IMF) engagement within the countries of South Asia.

- Develop strategies and support CO to engage, including presentation and guidance.

 

2. Develop a Regional Roadmap to be discussed with COs'.

- Conduct follow-up engagements with the DROPs to set out a time-bound plan for a cross-sectional Public Finance for Children (PF4C) strategy, supplementing and complementing the Country Office.

 

B. Key Deliverables 

Deliverables	Estimated number of working days	Due date/latest date for completion of deliverable (if unsure about specific calendar dates, put the number of days after the contract starts and actual dates only in CIC)
Guidance document on engagement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the region and a few countries.	7 days	7 days after contract start
Develop a roadmap for a cross-sectional regional PF4C strategy.	13 days	25 days after contract start

Due dates may shift due to unforeseen circumstances and with the agreement of the supervisor/manager without the need for amendments as long as the overall fee remains the same.

The language of the deliverables will be English.

 

C. Key function/activities

Support the Social Policy Team with capacity-building exercises, formulate an action plan and strategy to develop a roadmap on PF4C, and support other workstreams as required by the Social Policy Regional Advisor.

 

Duty Travel:  There is no anticipated travel.

 

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

A) Master’s degree in economics, Social Sciences, or related.

B) Minimum 5 years of relevant experience.

C) Fluency in English is required. Another local language is considered an asset.

Please quote your all-inclusive daily rate (USD) and other cost estimates while applying. Application without daily rate, etc. will not be entertained.

 

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 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 afterward 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 for ensuring 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.