Consultancy -Production of budget analyses products (sector budget briefs, policy brief and budget memo) based on the 2018 State Budget Law.

To conduct budget analyses and produce analytical and advocacy products used by the office to advance equitable investments for children, at different moments of the budget cycle. The analyses will include five budget briefs (on Education, Health, Water & Sanitation, Social Action and Nutrition) of the 2018 State Budget, a policy brief on Sanitation , and a Budget Memo (an analysis of the State Budget Proposal 2019).

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, Equity

How can you make a difference?

The SPEaR section aims to hire a consultant to conduct budget analyses and produce analytical and advocacy products used by the office to advance equitable investments for children, at different moments of the budget cycle. The analyses will include five budget briefs (on Education, Health, Water & Sanitation, Social Action and Nutrition) of the 2018 State Budget, a policy brief on Sanitation , and a Budget Memo (an analysis of the State Budget Proposal 2019). Such analyses have several purposes, including:

a)            To inform UNICEF, Civil Society, academia, development partners and the general public on allocation and expenditure trends in specific social sectors in the national budget law – Provide an analysis of the 2018 State Budget allocations to the social sectors that impact children’s and women’s well-being (including health, education, water and sanitation, social action and nutrition). The objective of these analyses is to inform UNICEF on technical issues of the budget law vis-à-vis the sectors that most directly impact the lives of children, highlighting areas that need to be pushed for and strengthened. The analysis should focus on: the weight of each sector in the State budget, share as percentage of the GDP, trends in the allocation to and expenditure of the sectors (looking at least the last five years 2018-2014, with exception to the Nutrition brief that will rely on the most recent available data), sources of funds (internal v. external), an analysis of per capita allocation by province and allocation vs poverty levels (with a close reference to latest Budget Household Survey data). It should also raise questions for clarification that could be addressed by the National Planning and Budget Directorate (DNO) within the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Main documents to be used are, but not limited to, the State Budget Law, previous REOs and CGEs. The analysis may also require looking at the strategic and operational planning guiding documents such as the PQG, PES and the MTEF, as well as population data and different vital statistical surveys and different studies regarding outcomes in the five different areas that the briefs will cover.

b)            To serve as a key tool for advocacy for more and better allocation of the budget within the social sectors with the aim to promote equity and reduce poverty – The analysis should include the following dimensions: definition of the sector, weight of the sector within the overall budget, trends – allocation overtime (including percentage of GDP and comparison with the countries in the region – Sub Saharan Africa - SSA and Low Income Countries - LICs), source of funds, allocation and prioritization within the sector, execution analysis, spending analysis, performance analysis, decentralization, equity analysis, analysis vis strategies, gender analysis. But it should include key fundamental issues such as analysis of human resources, infrastructural and equipment capabilities within the sector (e.g. Number of doctors per inhabitant, hospital beds and the real demand, schools, teachers – the need and the gap, pupils per desks, etc.); expenditure analysis; discussion on budget classifiers – as per the OECD classification, etc. One of the key areas to focus on is the budget incidence and efficiency gains in terms of contribution to narrow disparities and improving wellbeing of the most deprivileged and vulnerable people, which includes women and children.   

METHODOLOGY AND TECHNICAL APPROACH.

The methodology to be applied will be desk review and consultations with key stakeholders (in the case of the nutrition budget brief and sanitation policy brief). The consultant will have to read the key relevant PFM instruments available in Mozambique, which include legal instruments, policies, strategies, operational plans and budget documents. Part of the desk review will be based on previous year’s UNICEF budget briefs. 

Consultations through phone, skype or face to face meetings with key stakeholders to be involved, which include UNICEF programme staff, partners from CSOs, Government and donor community will inform the analyses.

3.            Activities and Tasks:

•             Become familiar with the relevant PFM instruments in Mozambique and key Strategies, including PQG and sector strategies;

•             Conduct in-depth analysis of the 2018 State Budget – with a focus on Education, Health, Water and Sanitation, Social Action and Nutrition sectors. Results should be presented in word version with illustrative figures- graphs, tables, maps and diagrams. A separate excel sheet with all the data file, and a power-point summarizing the key points to highlight in all the brief series will also be included as part of the results to be delivered;

•             Conduct analysis of the public spending on nutrition – Nutrition Budget Brief- based on existing literature and discussions with relevant stakeholders in ministries and donor community. Approach and methodology to be discussed and designed with UNICEF team;  

•             Produce a Policy Brief on Sanitation based on the content in Annex 1

•             Produce an analysis of the State Budget Proposal 2019 (Budget Memo 2019) with a focus on the social sectors (Education, Health, Water and Sanitation, Social Action and Nutrition), with content and format based on UNICEF’s Budget Memo 2018;

•             Revise the Budget Memo 2019 once the State Budget Proposal becomes law to reflect any changes;

•             Do data quality control of the text and all the graphs, tables, maps and diagrams in all briefs during the layout and designing phase. Layout and design will be under UNICEF responsibility;

•             Deliver all products accompanied by excel databases used for data collection and analysis. 

DELIVERABLES.  

All products must be delivered in English or Portuguese.

Deliverable 1: 15^th May 2018 - Health, Education, WASH and Social Action Budget Briefs  

Deliverable 2: 15^th June 2018 - Nutrition budget brief

Deliverable 3: 25^th June 2018 - Quality assurance (data and text) of designed Budget Briefs 2018

Deliverable 4:  20^th July 2018 - Sanitation Policy Brief   

Deliverable 5: 25^th October 2018 - Budget Memo 2019

Deliverable 6:  10^th February 2019 - Revision to Budget Memo 2019

 MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION.

Direct guidance and supervision will be provided by the Policy Officer. The consultant will also interact with other UNICEF programme officers from the sectors, as well as from the donor community in Mozambique if needed.    

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

• Academic qualifications.

  • Advanced degree in Economics, Finance, Development Studies, Public Policies and other Governance areas. 

   

  Work experience.

  • At least 4 years of relevant work experience in doing similar analysis.
  • Experience in doing budget analysis for UNICEF highly preferred.

  Specific knowledge, competencies, and skills required.

  • A solid knowledge of Mozambique PFM ecosystem and its instruments, and proven experience on similar analyses of the State Budget with focus on social sectors;
  • Strong analytical and writing skills, and the ability to present the results in a simple language, making use of interesting visual aid (maps, graphs and other visual tools);
  • Consolidated knowledge and foundation on crosscutting themes such as equity and sectoral decentralization;
  • Ability to conduct benefit incidence analysis using Household Survey data and budgetary and population data.

  Language skills:

  • High proficiency in written English and Portuguese: Working knowledge of Portuguese is a must as most of the relevant national information and data are in Portuguese, and of English is also important as many documents and data for the purpose of regional and global comparison are in English
  • High capacity to digest financial statements and strategy documents and to present them in an appealing manner.

 EVALUATION CRITERIA.

The selection of the consultant will be based on a “best value for money” principle.  Interested candidates should, in addition to submitting their CV and cover letter, indicate their all-inclusive fees (including travel, subsistence costs, etc.) for the services to be provided.  The office shall select the individual who quoted the lowest fee from the list of individuals who are deemed technically suitable for achieving all tasks in time.  The technical evaluation criteria are stipulated below.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

View our competency framework at

http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

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.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.