UNICEF
Equatorial Guinea is classified as an upper middle-income country and was once one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies thanks to the oil sector. Drops in oil prices in the past years and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic affected the country’s economy and exacerbated its already serious growth problems. Real GDP shrank 6.1% in 2020, compared with 5.6% in 2019. It was the eighth consecutive year of recession due to problems in both the oil (–7.2%) and non-oil sectors (–4.7%). While there was a slight improvement in 2021, the country is expected to return to recession in 2022, with a real GDP decline of 4.4%. Equatorial Guinea’s ranking on the human development index (2020) was 145 out of 189 countries, which is low compared to countries with the same income per capita.
The current population of Equatorial Guinea is 1.5 million, based on projections of the latest UN data. The country consists of two parts, an insular region, and a continental region, with 72 per cent living in the continental region and 28 per cent in the insular region. The population is young, with 43 per cent under age 18. The population doubled in the past 15 years and the rate of urbanization has accelerated, with an estimated 70 per cent of the population living in urban areas. It is the only Spanish speaking country in Africa.
The development of evidence-based national policies and plans is hampered by the ineffectiveness of information management systems. Social data is not systematically collected and updated.
The COVID-19 pandemic strained the health system and affected birth registration services. In 2020, the closure of schools, especially in Malabo and Bata districts, increased the risk for dropout. In the absence of a social protection system, the mitigation of the COVID-19 effects was limited as poverty and inequality continued to rise.
In this context, the development of the next country programme entails:
- A strategic moment of reflection which will take stock of the situation today and outline main priority deprivations and all strategic directions (new or confirmed) of the next country programme. Such priorities and strategies will necessarily align with the country’s national development framework, the UN (United Nations) Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) and UNICEF’s Global Strategic Plan 2022-25.
- The development of a shared vision and overall theory of change for the next country programme which will guide the development of individual programme strategy notes.
- Supporting the development of Programme Strategy Notes (PSN).
- The drafting of the country programme document 2024-2028, including feedback from the Regional Office and counterparts.
- Supporting the consultation and validation process of the new CPD with counterparts from the Government and other partners including civil society organizations, children and adolescents, women’s groups, etc.
SCOPE OF WORK
Under the supervision of the Representative and in close coordination with the Deputy Representative, the CPD consultant will work with the Sector Programme Specialists to advise, design, and facilitate training workshops, contribute technical inputs, oversee, draft, and provide quality assurance to key processes and documents along the CPD development timeline.
In a context of the continuing response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the CPD Consultant will carry his/her duties concurrently combining remote technical assistance and in-country support missions.
Overall Approach and Methodology
The development process of the new CPD is envisaged as a highly participatory process involving alignment with the national priorities for Equatorial Guinea’s children, with the UNSDCF, the UNICEF Global Strategic Plan, and the UNICEF Gender Action Plan.
A combination of data gathering and analysis, skills training, participatory planning facilitation in large high level meetings to build consensus and a shared vision, coaching and hand holding during PSN development as well as drafting, reviewing, and finalizing various documents will be among the key ways in which support will be delivered and results reached.
Support to the CPD development process will entail a few in-country support missions and remote assistance over a period of 7-8 months. A proposed draft chronogram provides additional detail below. This will be an iterative and highly participatory effort involving Government partners, UNICEF Equatorial Guinea staff, the Resident Coordinator Office (RCO) as well as selected UN agencies, funds and programmes, and the UNICEF Regional Office.
- Role of Government: The national planning framework – Plan Nacional de Desarrollo 2035/National Strategy for Sustainable Development “Agenda Guinea Ecuatorial 2035” – will be the main reference framework. It is already SDG-aligned and a first Voluntary National Report has been produced by the country in July 2022. A steering committee or working group will be set under the leadership of the government and will include some key sector ministries. The committee will serve as a quality assurance body which will review and orient the key deliverables such as the Situation Analysis, the SMR Report, the Theory of Change and Results Framework of the future programme of cooperation.
- UNICEF Equatorial Guinea, particularly Programme Specialists will play a key role in the rollout of the planning process. They are expected to participate in/lead reflection with their partners (Government, CSOs, UN agencies); to help define jointly with partners what are the priority problems affecting children and adolescents and what changes can be envisaged by the end of the next cycle; participate in analysing the determinants that explain such situation. They will also be instrumental in the dialogue between regional office and country office under the leadership of the Deputy Representative in the development of programme results and strategies.
- Close consultation with RCO and UN agencies, funds, and programmes in Equatorial Guinea to align CPD process with development of the CCA, the evaluation of the current UNDAF, and the UNSDCF drafting, consultation, and validation process, as well as the planning CPD processes of UNDP and UNFPA.
- Close consultations with the regional office will include co-creation of overall Equatorial Guinea CPD
process; support in delivering RRBM modules (guidance and process sessions); clinics on risk informed programming, gender responsive planning, etc.; and participation in and guidance of the SMR in addition the reviews of and comments on various CPD drafts prior to RD (Regional Director) approval.
MAIN TASKS AND DELIVERABLES
- Emerging issues and areas for the future Country Programme (October 2022)
- Rights and Result Based Programming (November 2022)
- Visioning Meeting and Strategic Moment of Reflection (late November and early December 2022)
- The SMR is a pivotal moment in the development of the next CPD. This is the place and time when Government and UNICEF review the successes and lessons learned from the current CP, update priorities based on the situation analysis, and agree on future directions and a shared vision of results for children in the upcoming country programme. It is a critical to redefine and rejuvenate the cooperation framework.
- The situation of children and women in an upper middle income context, an understanding of who suffers from which deprivations, and clear identification of the bottlenecks that still thwart the country’s efforts to achieve the rights of all its children will be at the heart of the updated the
situation analysis (which will be developed separately). The aim will be to achieve a comprehensive review and analysis in connection with the CCA so as to select priority issues and appropriate strategies to make a more significant difference in the context of Equatorial Guinea.
- With renewed commitment to UN Reform, interaction between CPD development and the CCA and the UNSDCF process is also critical and sufficient provision will be made for close coordination and mutual learning between the two processes.
- It will be necessary to organize worshops to validate draft results framework and ToC deriving from the SMR (early December).
- Drafting, Quality Assurance and Validation of the new CPD (January-March 2023)
- Drafting will be ensured by the consultant based on the conclusions and recommendations of the SMR in line with current guidance on and requirements of the country programme document.
- A summary of the SMR conclusions will be developed by the consultant, cleared by the CO (Country Offices) and validated by the steering committee/working group. After the validation of the SMR conclusions, a first draft CPD will be submitted to the Country Office to review internally to ensure clarity and fidelity with the conclusions of the SMR, and to review with the Regional Office. The CO will collect and curate comments from the regional advisors for the consultant to incorporate in a revised draft.
- Action on the comments and suggestions generated by the first draft will lead to the production of a second draft in March for submission to RO (Regional Office) no later than April.
- The final copy due on May 5 will be generated from CO finalizing draft 2 with RO comments.
DELIVERABLES AND SCHEDULES
Period
Modality
Activities
Deliverables
September
Remote
Consultancy Work Plan
Consultancy Work Plan
October 2022
Remote
Emerging issues and areas for the future Country Programme
Technical paper on the “what” and “how” to scoping and mainstreaming Education, Health, Protection and Social Policy within the next programme cycle, as well as cross-cutting issues (ECD, adolescents) and accelerators (PF4C, SBC, advocacy, etc.)
November 2022
Mission (Malabo, Bata)
RRBM Modules:Prioritization, formulating results, developing results frameworks, ToC
Facilitate SMR. This will deliver a vision statement/overall ToC/CP draft vision statement (this will entail a two-day internal consultation followed by a one-day review and validation meeting with external partners)
RRBM training plan
Draf SMR report
December 2022
Mission (Malabo, Bata) and remote
Validation workshop: draft results framework and ToC
Support sections in the development of PSNs
Finalize draft results framework and draft CP ToC
First draft of PSNs by mid-December
January -February 2023
Remote
First drafting of CPD submitted to CO (mid-Febuary)
First draft CPD, including UNICEF CO feedback
First draft of PSNs
March 2023
Remote
Integration of regional comments
Second draft CPD, including RO feedback
Final draft PSNs
April – May 2023
Remote
Integration of final RO comments to draft CPD and PSNs
Final draft CPD
The overall assignment will include a combination of in country support and remote support. Intercountry support will be scheduled especially around inception, SMR facilitation and CPD validation meetings.
- Reviewing, drafting and finalizing documents will be done remotely.
- Weekly meetings will be held with the CO Team to be in contact on progress and resolve any bottlenecks that may develop.
- A monthly meeting will be held with the steering committee/working group to review progress and plan key events in the development of the next CPD
Qualifications
The International consultant should meet the minimum following criteria:
Education: Master’s degree in social sciences, programme management, Demography, Economy or other relevant disciplines, with specialized training in areas such as social statistics, planning, monitoring and evaluation
Experience
- A minimum of 12 years of professional relevant experience and proven expertise with planning and development, including strong understanding of UN’s relevant Programming Guidelines on UNDAF/UNSDCF process, Gender Equality, Human Rights Based Programming (HRBP) approach, Capacity Development, Environmental Sustainability and Rights and Results Based Management (RRBM))
- Strategic thinking and influencing decision making
- Strong writing and analytical skills for quality report writing (sample of a recent analytical report will be requested) in English and Spanish.
- UNICEF experience in CPD Development required, UN Senior management an added advantage.
- Previous experience in facilitating meetings with large number of participants, including experience
- virtual facilitating of meeting
- Strong presentation and communication skills (oral and written) in English and Spanish (fluency required).
- Strong coordination skills and ability to adhere to deadlines
- Previous work experience with UNICEF in a similar capacity is an advantage
- Familiarity with integrated programme design is required
- Previous experience in linking CPD with the new UNDAF/UNMSDF will be a definite asset.
Other Competencies
- Demonstrated ability to work in a multicultural environment and establish harmonious and effective relationships with national partners
- Demonstrated leadership, coordination, and facilitation skills.
RECRUITMENT
The contract will be awarded to the consultant whose profile meets the most the requirements and offering the lowest final offer. Most suitable candidates may be invited to an interview.
The financial proposal should be all inclusive and in the following format and in USD.
Description
Unity
Quantity
Unit Price/Cost
Total
Honoraries
Mission(s) DSA
Transport (international)
Transport (local)
Others … (specify)
TOTAL
When Quoting For Travel Cost
- 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)
REQUESTED DOCUMENTS
Previous to the signature of the contract, the Consultant should provide to UNICEF Equatorial Guinea:
- Copy of her/his medical, accident and life insurance
- Personal History Form.
- Academic diplommas
- Reference of previous supervisors
To apply for this job please visit secure.dc7.pageuppeople.com.