National Individual Consultant: Legal Specialist to enable the piloting of Pre-school Education Services funding schemes in the Republic of Moldova

UNICEF Moldova is hiring an National Individual Consultant: Legal Specialist, to review the existing legal framework and propose the necessary legal adjustments that will allow for the piloting of the approved funding schemes.

UNICEF’s mission in Moldova is to make sure every child in the country is healthy, educated and safe from harm, therefore having the best start in life and a fair chance to reach her or his full potential and benefit from the country’s prosperity. We believe children have a right to live in a more equitable society, where their voices are heard, and needs met as a matter of priority in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. More information on what we do in Moldova is available at: https://www.unicef.org/moldova/

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1. Purpose of assignment

Adapt the existing legislation in order to start piloting the approved funding schemes. The Legal Specialist is expected to review the existing legal framework and propose the necessary legal adjustments that will allow for the piloting of the approved funding schemes.
The consultancy is expected to be carried out within a eight-months period, starting from May 2021 till December 2021.

2. Objectives

The national consultant is expected to:

- Analyze the current legislative-normative framework regarding the financing of early education institutions
- Elaborate proposals regarding the modification of the legislative-normative framework from the perspective of piloting the formula for financing the preschool early education
- Elaborate the draft Governmental decision on piloting the formula in 2 districts starting with 2022.

3. Details of how the work should be delivered

The Legal Specialist will build on the existing legislative-normative framework from the perspective of piloting / implementing the formula for financing the early education and models approved and recommended for piloting. The proposed legislative modifications need to be produced in close cooperation with UNICEF, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, Public Finance Management Specialist and Education Economist (hired under separate contracts).

More specifically, the national consultant shall:
• Familiarize himself/herself with the current legislative-normative framework regarding the financing of early education institutions.
• Familiarize him/herself with the formulas approved and recommended for piloting.
• Propose concrete legislative modifications to the current legislative-normative framework regarding the financing of early education institutions which enable the piloting of the selected formulas in two districts and one municipality.
• Elaborate the draft Governmental decision on piloting the formula in 2 districts starting with 2022.

4. Working arrangements and reporting requirements

The Legal Specialist will be supervised by UNICEF Social Policy Specialist. The consultant will work in close collaboration with the staff of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, and the Ministry of Finance, and other relevant experts in the field, UNICEF ECD Officer, and the Head of the General Education Directorate of the MECR.
UNICEF Social Policy Specialist and Early Childhood Development (ECD) Officer will provide the necessary support to achieve the objectives of the consultancy and be aware of any issues related to consultant’s performance and quality of work. 
All activities and deliverables undertaken by the Legal Specialist shall be discussed and planned in consultation with UNICEF, MECR and MoF and will only be executed following approval from UNICEF and these line ministries. The Legal Specialist is expected to deliver each component of the work-plan electronically (in Word format) in English and Romanian languages. At each stage, deliverables shall be sent to UNICEF Social Policy Specialist and ECD Officer by email.

5. Support provided by UNICEF

UNICEF will regularly communicate with the specialist, and provide feedback, guidance and necessary support to achieve objectives of the work, as well as remain aware of any upcoming issues related to the performance and quality of work. UNICEF will provide an initial package of relevant documents and an initial list of relevant experts and counterparts to work with.

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

- Advanced university degree in Law;
- 5-8 years of experience in the reviewing and further development of the legal system;
- Excellent knowledge of the legislation in the Republic of Moldova, particularly the public law;
- Good analytical and writing skills, and the ability to present the results in a simple language, making use of visual aids (maps, graphs and other visual tools);
- Excellent command of Romanian and English, both oral and written; knowledge of Russian is an asset;
- Strong communication (oral and written) skills;
- Previous work experience with Governmental Institutions or UN Agencies will be considered a strong asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate:
UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

For more details on deliverables and minimum requirements, please refer to attached Terms of reference (ToR)

 ToR_Legal Specialist_VA.pdf

HOW TO APPLY: Your online application should contain two separate attachments: Technical Proposal and Financial Proposal (templates below). Please secure the Financial Proposal *.pdf document with a password on document view; the password will be requested only from technically qualified candidates.

 Technical Offer_Legal Specialist.docx

 Financial Offer_Legal Specialist.xlsx

Applications for this assignment must be received no later than: 4 December 2020

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.
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, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

Remarks:
Individual Consultants and Contractors are responsible for paying own taxes derived from the earnings received from UNICEF.