UN Children’s Fund ,International Consultant Jobs in Rwanda

1. Background and Purpose

In conjunction with
the Mid Term Review of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy
2013-2018 (EDSPR) II and to support preparation of the One UN UNDAP 2019-2024,
UNICEF intends to undertake a Situation Analysis (SitAn) of women and children
in Rwanda.

A UNICEF
rights-based, equity-focused Situation Analysis (SitAn) of women and children
includes: a disaggregated assessment of the status of and trends in the
realization of children’s and women’s rights; an analysis of the immediate,
underlying and structural causes of shortfalls and disparities across various groups
of children across the life-cycle; and policy and programmatic recommendations
to address the shortfalls and disparities and accelerate progress towards
development goals and the fulfilment of human rights conventions. By focusing
on the key knowledge gaps related to inequities and child deprivations and
promoting the broad engagement of all stakeholders, the SitAn is intended to
make an important contribution to shaping national development strategies to
accelerate achievement of the child-related goals with a particular focus on
equity and as enshrined in the human rights conventions.

2.
Justification

The UNICEF Global
Guidance requires that “a new or updated Situation Analysis of children and
women document, as a synthesis of new statistics, national policies, laws and
trends, and new research and analysis accumulated over the past years, should
be prepared at least once in the course of a Country Programme”.

The SitAn is being
undertaken as a step in the UNICEF planning cycle towards the development of
the new Country Programme, but also as a central function of UNICEF’s mandate
that strongly supports national capacity for promoting human development and
fulfilling the human rights of citizens.

The timing of a
SitAn development process builds upon the release of new information on
children, including from major surveys (e.g. Demographic and Health Survey;
EICV5) and from other special research and studies.

3.
Objectives

The objective of the
consultancy is to conduct a rights-based, equity-focused SitAn that should
serve the following purposes:

· Improve the
understanding of decision-makers, partners and all other stakeholders of the
current status of children’s and women’s rights in the country and the causes
of shortfalls and inequities, as the basis for recommending actions;

· Support national
and decentralized planning and development processes including influencing
policies, strategies, budgets and laws;

· Strengthen
national and sub-national capacities to monitor the situation of children and
women, principally regarding vulnerable and disadvantaged groups and how their
specific rights are being met;

· Contribute to
national research on disadvantaged children and leverage UNICEF’s convening
power to foster and support knowledge generation with development, civil
society and private sector stakeholders.

· Strengthen the
knowledge base to enable assessment of the contribution of development
partners, including UNICEF and the UN, in support of national development
goals.

4.
Methodological Approach & Expected Output

Preparation of the
SitAn will follow a basic sequence of steps, including:

Step 1:
Assessment of the manifestations of child rights shortfalls, and trends and
inequities in child outcomes across the life-cycle;

Step 2: Analysis
of the major causes of child rights shortfalls and inequities and of the
programming environment to identify bottlenecks, risks and opportunities;

Step 3:
Validation of the analysis for the realisation of child rights with a strong
focus on addressing inequities.

Step 1: Assessment
of the manifestations of child rights shortfalls and inequities in child
outcomes

The SitAn will be
based on a comprehensive assessment of the existing data, evidence and research
on children and women (Annex II – requirements on information sources). Such an
assessment will include, but will not be limited to, a review of the trends in
all the child outcomes in health, nutrition, education, development, water and
sanitation, environment, child and social protection and participation in
relation to international targets such as the SDGs and other goals related to
the CRC, CEDAW and CRPD. A comprehensive review of data and research-based
information will summarise current knowledge, enable in-depth understanding of
key social, cultural and related economic issues and help to identify what
additional primary (qualitative and quantitative) data or analysis is required.
Secondary information should be identified and consulted through desk reviews
and requests for inputs from partners (government, bilateral and NGOs).

The analysis of the
data and information should be structured along a life-cycle approach, and
disaggregated, to the extent possible, by sex, age and various population
groups (female or child-headed households), area of residence (urban/rural),
location (national, regional, community), educational levels, wealth quintiles,
disability status, etc. Analysis across different characteristics will increase
understanding of the multiple forms of exclusion that girls or boys, at
different ages in their childhood may face, and of the patterns of inequities
in relation to each development goal. Assessment of the nature of gender
relations at family, local and national levels will reveal patterns and scope
of gender inequalities including in: a) development outcomes between girls and
boys, b) access to and use of basic social services, including protection
services, and c) the control of resources.

Step 2:
Analysis of the major causes of child rights shortfalls and inequities

Following the
assessment of the situation of children and women based on existing data and
trends, the SitAn will systematically analyse the socio-political, judicial and
institutional environment, systems, behaviours and practices that facilitate or
hamper the fulfilment of the rights of children and women.

The following
interrelated and mutually reinforcing tools will support a quality and
adequately structured analytical effort:

· A causality analysis
will examine the causes of shortfalls and inequities probing beyond the
immediate causes of non-realisation of children’s and women’s rights to
determine the underlying and structural causes of the problem. It will identify
the bottlenecks and barriers in provision and use of essential interventions
and services for children and women.

· A role-pattern analysis
will analyse roles and relationships between duty-bearers and rights holders in
relation to specific rights;

· A capacity-gap analysis,
will examine the capacity of key individuals and institutions responsible for
respecting, protecting and fulfilling the rights of children;

· *An analysis of
the enabling environ**ment* will examine broader policy, legal, administrative
and budgetary issues and social norms which influence the realisation of human
rights of children and women and the reduction of inequalities.

· An analysis of the
programming environment will identify main bottlenecks, risks and
opportunities for delivery of programmes for children. Analysis of UNICEF
comparative advantage and strategic positioning will be added to analysis of
the programming environment.

A gender perspective
will be incorporated throughout the analysis, and environmental sustainability
will also be emphasized.

Step 3:
Validation of the analysis for the realisation of child rights with equity

The SitAn
validation, as a third step in SitAn development process, will aim to build
stakeholder commitment and to optimise its use in influencing dialogue towards
equitable human development outcomes and the realisation of children’s and
women’s rights.

The validation
process should involve national and local government officials, civil society
groups, private sector partners, donors, international agencies and other
development actors. In preparation for the validation of the SitAn, a mapping
of partners in the SitAn process, their agendas, approaches as well as their
capacity for action will be implemented to provide a basis for seizing
opportunities offered by strategic partnerships and other collaborative
arrangements. A stakeholder mapping exercise (using SWOT analysis or any other
appropriate methodology) will be used to examine the strengths and weaknesses,
and the opportunities and threats with regards to partner relationships. This
exercise should highlight opportunities for UNICEF to use its comparative
advantages most effectively to continue supporting knowledge generation,
strategic planning and the achievement of equitable results for children’s and
women’s rights. Efforts will be made to ensure consultative processes with
children and their caregivers during the development and validation of the
SitAn.

The expected
outputs of the consultancy are outlined below:

· Inception Report
and Refinement of the Situation Analysis Outline Structure (draft outline –
Annex I).

· Assessment / analysis of the
child rights shortfalls and inequities in child survival and development
outcomes. This segment of the Situation Analysis will serve as
the basis for the development of the in-depth, full Situation Analysis.

· Analysis of the major causes
of child rights shortfalls and inequities.

· Support to stakeholder
consultations. The Consultant will prepare presentations in an agreed format
(slide deck), for presentation to the selected government stakeholders and
partners and draft information materials.

· Final SitAn report; Situation
Analysis Summary; Policy Brief.

5. Major
Tasks, Deliverables & Timeframe

The major
deliverables and timeframe of this consultancy are outlined below:

· Inception Report

Timeframe: August
2016

· Assessment / analysis of the
manifestations of child rights shortfalls and inequities in
child outcomes, including summary of the findings

Timeframe: September
2016

· Analysis of the major causes
of child rights shortfalls and inequities

Timeframe: November
2016

· Support to stakeholder
consultations and development of the Summary/Policy Briefs and
draft information materials

Timeframe: December
2016

· Final Report

Timeframe: March
2017

6.
Stakeholder Participation

The consultant will
work in close cooperation with the senior management, under direct supervision
of UNICEF SPR Section, and other UNICEF sections as relevant. In addition, as
national ownership is necessary to build consensus on the analytical results,
involvement of the government, civil society and other national stakeholders
throughout the SitAn process is a pre-requisite for its acceptance in policy
and strategy formulation, budget allocation, programme implementation,
monitoring and evaluation. Stakeholder involvement should be strategically
planned and managed throughout the process. Key stakeholders to the SitAn
include: key ministries and government agencies at the national and sub
national levels; parliaments; relevant civil society organizations;
international cooperation partners; private sector, media, children and young
persons, representatives of disadvantaged population groups, such as the poor
and refugees.

7.
Qualifications and Requirements

The International
Consultant should have:

· MA degree or PhD
in Public Policy, Gender and Development Studies, Social Development, Sociology
or other relevant fields

· At least 8 years
of proven experience in policy analysis, research and other related fields

· Strong analytical
(quantitative and qualitative) and writing skills

· Ability to produce
deliverables in due time and with quality standards

· Fluency in written
and oral English; French will be an added asset

· Strong
interpersonal and communication skills

· Good understanding
of Rwandan context is an asset

8.
Supervision

The international
consultant will report to the Chief of Social Policy and Research. UNICEF
Senior Management will be engaged in main decisions as to the structure and
contents of the SitAn. The UNICEF programme sections will be involved and the
quality assurance of the deliverables as relevant. UNICEF CAP and PME sections
will be engaged to provide guidance and quality assurance with regards to use
of data, specific components of the analysis and the development of the
communication materials. The GoR partners will participate in the quality
assurance of the deliverables individually or through a technical team
established by UNICEF.

9. Terms and conditions:

Consultancy will be
implemented within timeframe August 2016 to March 2017 in accordance with the
implementation plan contained in the Inception Report and approved by UNICEF.
Required number of work days will be specified in the Inception Report and is
not expected to exceed 80 days. Consultant will combine visits to Rwanda with
work from home. Travel from the current duty station to Kigali and living
allowances should be incorporated in the proposal. Travel within the country
will be organized by UNICEF, and costs reimbursed as per standard rules and
regulations. Consultant will be paid in 4 installments, in US dollars,
following the below deliverables-payment schedule. UNICEF reserves the right to
withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if
work/outputs is incomplete, not delivered or for failure to meet deadlines. All
materials developed by the consultant will remain the copyright of UNICEF and
UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify them in future.

Annex
1: Draft Outline Structure of the Situation Analysis of Women and Children in
Rwanda

a. Geography

b. Governance
context

c. Demographic
trends

d. Economic context
and socio-economic trends

e. Child Poverty

f. Policy and
programming Framework (linking poverty reduction and economic development)

g. Gender equality
and the empowerment of women

h. Environment,
natural disasters and climate change

1. Thematic
   Analysis (manifestations and major causes of child rights shortfalls and
   inequities)

a. Child Survival
(health, nutrition, WASH)

b. Early Childhood
Development

c. Education

d. Child Protection

e. Social Protection

1. Cross-cutting
   Issues

a. Urbanization

b. Environment /
Climate Change

c. Adolescence

d. Disability

e. Environment

Annex
2: Examples of Information Sources

Primary Data
Sources

Routine
statistics:

§ Health Management
Information System (HMIS)

§ Education
Management Information (EMIS)

§ Finance Laws and
National Budgets (Ministry of Finance)

§ Birth/Vital
Registration systems

§ National Disaster
and emergency statistics

Special-purpose surveys:**

§ Census

§ Demographic and
Health Surveys (DHS)

§ Household Budget
and Expenditure Surveys

§ Child Labour
Surveys

Focus Group
Discussions, Knowledge-Attitude-Practice (KAP) studies and consultations with
representative groups of
young children/adolescents; women; communities; especially disadvantaged
groups, such as VUP 1 and children with disabilities.

Secondary Data Sources

Routine
Reports from Government
(Annual Reports of Ministries; Sectoral and thematic reports; etc.)

Reporting on
internationally agreed Conventions, Treaties and Targets

§ MDGs reports

§ State party
reports to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

§ Concluding
observations and recommendations of the Committee

§ State party
reports on the CEDAW and CPRD and concluding observations and recommendations
of the Committees

Studies and Analytic work

§ Multiple
Overlapping Deprivation Analysis (MODA) study

§ Academic studies

§ Thematic studies
(e.g. Child Poverty Studies)

§ Poverty Mapping

§ Vulnerability
Assessments

§ Conflict Analyses

§ Hazard maps and
risk assessments

§ Budget reviews (Example:
World Bank Public Expenditure Reviews etc…)

§ Legislative
reviews (Penal Code, Juvenile laws etc.)

§ Media Studies

§ Audience Surveys

§ Perception Surveys

Reports from
Programme Reviews and Evaluations

§ Mid-Term Review
findings

§ Country Programme
Evaluations

§ UNDAF Evaluations

Databases

§ DevInfo databases

§ Other official
database meeting international standards *

Qualified
individuals are requested to submit their cover letter, CV and P11 form (which
can be downloaded from: http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/P11.doc),
and a financial proposal to Human Resources at: Rwajobs@unicef.org by 21
August, with subject: International consultant – Situation Analysis of the
Status of Women and Children in Rwanda.

Financial proposal
should provide a budget and timeline, using the table below and should be
expressed as a lump sum per deliverable (inclusive of travel and living costs
while in Kigali):

Deliverable Number of person days
Delivery date
Costs

Inception Report

Assessment /
analysis of the manifestations of child rights shortfalls and inequities in
child outcomes

Analysis of the
major causes of child rights shortfalls and inequities

Support to
stakeholder consultations / Summary Briefs and Draft information materials

Final SitAn Report,
SitAn Summary and a Policy Brief

Total

Please note that any
application without a financial proposal and a P11 will not be considered. =