Support to the Operational Design and Early Implementation of an Universal Child Grant Programme in the Ten Poorest Delegations of Tunisia

The overall objective of this consultancy is to assist the Government of Tunisia in implementing a Universal Child Grant Programme targeting all children 0-17 years old in ten selected poorest geographic areas (delegations).

ToR International Individial Consultant 

Support to the Operational Design and Early Implementation of an Universal Child Grant Programme in the Ten Poorest Delegations of Tunisia

BACKGROUND:

UNICEF defines social protection as the set of public and private policies and programmes aimed at preventing, reducing and eliminating economic and social vulnerabilities to poverty and deprivation. Vulnerability is basically the interaction between both exposure to risk and one’s capacity to respond and cope. Social protection should tackle both social and economic vulnerabilities, and their underlying drivers. In its social protection work, UNICEF is focused on the promotion of social protection mechanisms that address the poverty and vulnerability of children. UNICEF Tunisia Country Office (TCO) aims to address poverty and vulnerability that children are facing in poorest geographic areas within lagging regions; and for this reason, TCO is collaborating with the World Bank Group and the European Union offices based in Tunisia to support the Government in rolling out an universal child grant programme (UCGP) covering all children 0-17 years old in the ten poorest geographic areas (delegations).  The program is set out to boost outcomes for children  in the targeted poorest areas of Tunisia, through an  “cash grant plus”  approach that will provide incentives to both households and service providers to enhance children outcomes, addressing

• Demand-side constraints one one side  at household level, linked to financial barriers affecting children’s access to social services ) and behaviors social norms () ;
• Supply-side constraints on the other side linked to the availability and provision of social services to support children and their families/caregivers across a multiplicity of sectors ()..

To this end, the Program would include a basic set of opportunities and services, which could gradually improve over time, as the program is scaled-up and lessons are learned from pilot implementation. At a minimum, the pilot phase would include: (i) cash transfers paid directly to all households with children aged 0-17 years old; (ii) communication and social mobilization to provide information and promote behavior change at household and communal level (iii) periodic monitoring and evaluation at varying levels (demand side and supply side); (iv) capacity-building of public professionals and to-be contracted non-governmental services who could provide support to the Program.

The Tunisia Country Office, in collaboration with the Middle and North Africa Regional Office, has been working with the International Policy Center for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG) to undertake key analytical work to assist the Government of Tunisia in formulating the rationale and strategic directions of the programme.  Specifically, a desk review analysis of the existing vulnerabilities facing children in Tunisia has been undertaken and thus proposed a geographic prioritization of ten delegations, which entails and equitable and progressive realization of the right to social protection by most disadvantaged children in Tunisia.  In addition, a proposal for the Ministry of Finance was developed, which details the required resources to be allocated to implement the Universal Child Grant Program in the ten delegations. To better support the Government of Tunisia, TCO is closely collaborating with the World Bank Group and the European Union and is coordinating all the required technical support. 

The long-term strategic vision is the progressive realization of the right to social protection to all children in Tunisia.  However, for such vision to materialize, urgent concrete steps must be undertaken, including the ability to demonstrate results for children  through the proposed Universal Child Grant.  This entails accelerating initial steps in targeting all children in the poorest and most deprived 10 delegations[1]. 

OBJECTIVE:

The overall objective of this consultancy is to assist the Government of Tunisia in implementing a Universal Child Grant Programme targeting all children 0-17 years old in ten selected poorest geographic areas (delegations).

DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNMENT:

The consultant will work under the supervision and guidance of UNICEF Representative and in close coordination with the Deputy Representative and Social Policy Specialist in TCO, and will undertake the following tasks:

1. Provide technical assistance to the Government, In coordination civil society, the WB and EU ) to develop the key operational parameters of the Universal Child grant programme as it progresses:

• Develop the architecture of the programme and clearly outline the different stages/phases from the initial stage to the evaluation stage with the scope of the activities and results that need to be achieved for each of them. The overall 18-months workplan definition should include other milestones in the overall program architecture and rollout and include the phases outlined below and including chronogram, indicating timeframe for overall evaluation, feasibility/scalability study, and field monitoring mechanism therein.
• Define a detail 6 months’ work plan to support setup, rollout and initial stage of implementation of the programme;
• Support the Submission of the comprehensive universal child grant programme and financing package “dossier” to the Government, taking into account all types of audiences including the Ministry of Finance
• Provide technical support to set-up/define standard operating protocols with partners;
• Provide support to identify and develop Terms of Reference for various contractual services to support the rollout of the Child Grant Cash Transfer programme implementation including contractual services for the supply and demand side aspects of intervention[2]
• Refine the workplan to support the Government in rolling out the programme in the ten poorest delegations

2. In coordination with WB and EU, provide technical support to the Ministries involved in the Universal Cash Grant Programme to roll out, monitor and ensure evaluability of the universal child grant in the ten poorest delegations in timely manner, in coordination with the local administrative structure at delegation level. Provide support to refine the 18 months’ programme workplan and chronogram, in lieu of lessons learned during the 6 months rollout, status of implementation. 
3. Provide technical support and guidance to the technical committee led by the Ministry of Social Affairs for the development of the national strategy on poverty by ensuring the inclusion of child poverty and the universal child grant approach child grant plus .

KEY DELIVERABLES:

(Deliverables are detailed in payment schedule); All Deliverables should be submitted in French and English).

Time Table of Deliverables and Payments

SUPERVISION

The consultant will work under the supervision and guidance of UNICEF Representative and in close coordination with the Deputy Representative and Social Policy Specialist in TCO.

ICT CONSIDERATIONS

 Access to electronic Information Resources

UNICEF email ID

ICT Hardware (please specify):  laptop

TRAVEL CONSIDERATIONS (PLEASE CHECK IF APPLICABLE):

Commencement travel 

 Mission travel

In addition to commencement and return travel, there will be in country missions, and will be managed as per the conditions mentioned.  For individual contractors and consultants, all international travel arrangements to commence the assignment in Tunis, Tunisia including insurance and visas, will be managed and paid by the individual.  Therefore, expected international travel costs must be included as a budget item in the financial proposal (e.g. 1 air ticket, economy class).  Should “mission travel in country” be required, UNICEF will manage and pay for travel via Travel Authorization.  However, this will be subject to the following prerequisites:  Initial Medical Clearance, Security Clearance through the Travel Request Information Process (TRIP) system, the Basic and Advanced Security in the Field Trainings, Travel Visa, and liability waiver. Trip prerequisites will be met at the expense of the consultant. Travel cost shall be calculated based on economy class travel, regardless of the length of travel.  Costs for accommodation, meals and incidentals shall not exceed applicable daily subsistence allowance (DSA) rates, as promulgated by the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC at http://icsc.un.org). 

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

Education

 Advanced university degree in Economics, Social Sciences, public policy or other relevant disciplines.

Work Experience

• 8-10 years of relevant professional work experience in social policy and social protection with proven track record experience supporting government design cash transfer scheme for children , including complementary social services
• Background in working experience with Governments, civil society and international organizations, specifically in social protection and cash transfers a strong asset
• Proven track record experience in supporting capacity-building, buy-in and ownership from governments to put in place such types of cash transfer mechanisms and support strengthening coordination
• Exposure /Familiarity with UN Social Protection Floor and other UN and other international organizations;  social protection programmes, policies and/or framework an asset.

Language Proficiency

- Fluency in French and English

- Fluency in Arabic language will be an asset

EVALUATION PROCESS:

Qualified candidates are requested to submit:

1. Cover letter/application.
2. CV.
3. Examples of previous, relevant work.
4. Technical Proposal:Proposed approach with chronogram to managing the project.
5. References:  At least 2 Referees
6. P 11 form (which can be downloaded from our website at http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index_53129.html ).

PAYMENT SCHEDULE:

Monthly payments will be disbursed based on the monthly progress report as per the TOR. 

Monthly payments: Lump sum payment will be made monthly, inclusive of all professional fees, daily allowances, living allowances, and other administrative costs.  Overtime, weekend and official holidays will not be compensated, nor will any holiday/leave time be granted.