International Consultancy for the facilitation and finalisation of the CPMP 2024-2028 process, Maseru, Lesotho

Maseru

Organization: UNICEF - United Nations Children’s Fund
Location: Maseru
Grade: Consultancy - International Consultant - Internationally recruited Contractors Agreement
Occupational Groups:
- Education, Learning and Training
Closing Date: Closed

The UNICEF Lesotho Country office is seeking the services of a senior consultant experienced with strategic reviews, country programme management plan documents, and results-based management in a development setting, to guide the Country Office in developing the Country Programme Management Plan for 2024-2028.

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, Opportunity

UNICEF Lesotho is currently in the last year of its current country programme 2019-2023 and preparations for the new country programme 2024-2028 are underway. The UN Country Team, in 2022, had also started the process to develop the new UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2024-2028 in support of RGC’s national plans to address challenges and identify opportunities for implementing social and human capital development and economic growth policies and programmes. UNICEF Lesotho prepared a roadmap for the development of the new country programme that is fully synchronized with the timelines for developing the Lesotho UNSDCF.

The UN in Lesotho has already undertaken the Common Counrty Analysis in November 2022, a Visioning and Strategic Prioritisation Retreat and Theory of Change workshop in early 2023 where the key outcomes for the new UNSDCF were identified in discussion with govt and development partners. UNICEF also provided substantive technical and coordination support to the development of the theory of change and results framework for the UNSDCF in partnership with other UN agencies.

The UNICEF Office in Lesotho held an internal strategic prioritization meeting in December 2022 to examine the findings and recommendations from the UNDAF and UNICEF Country Programme evaluation as well as reflect on the achievements, bottlenecks and lessons learned during the course of the current country programme. It is expected that the strategic focus and priorities for the new country programme will soon be finalized, as well as how UNICEF’s work will support and complement the contribution of the UN in addressing human capital and economic development, environment risks, and to build cohesive and inclusive society that can reach the most vulnerable and marginalized. This was preceded by a participatory engagement with children and adolescents in Lesotho.

The planned programme budget for the Country Programme 2024-2028 will thereafter be determined. As an indication, the current programmable level of funds stands at approximately USD 44 m for CP 2019-2023. The current organizational structure consists of a total number of staff of 34 . There are 12 international positions, 11 National positions and 11 General Services.

The development of the new country programme presents an opportunity for Lesotho Country Office to review the staffing structure. Lesotho Country Office will need to achieve the results of the programme - whether these will be regular staff, or human resources contracted through other modalities, size, functions, and skills that are required for the office to be fit for purpose and effectively deliver results for children with due consideration of the current and anticipated trajectory of financial resources for the country programme. The CPMP guideline, developed by the CPD/CPMP Task Force, will be developed as an overall guidance for designing and mapping the office structure with the 2024-2028 Country Programme structure. It will lay out the common grounds for assessing and defining the human and financial resources required by each sector for achieving the planned programme results reflected in the Results Framework of the CPD.

How can you make a difference?

The consultant will provide technical advice and support to the country team in the development of a staffing structure that is fit for purpose to deliver results for the new Country Programme. That would include Human Resources (HR) analysis of the office and staff supporting the implementation of UNICEF supported activities analysis and advice on how to propose a concrete, creative structure, where relevant -matrices, and costed scenarios to address the HR capacity needs.

The deliverables of this consultancy will feed into the development of the Country Programme Management Plan (CPMP) and submission for Programme Budget Review by the UNICEF Regional Office. The consultant will work under the overall oversight of the Country Representative and under the supervision of the Deputy Representative and Operations Manager and in consultation with the CPD/CPMP Task Force.

Scope of work:

The Consultant for the Country Programme Management Plan for 2024-2028 will:

Be based on the draft CPD, Explanatory Notes and various minutes of staff consultations, identify meaningful opportunities to engage and consult key stakeholders in the review process.
Support full review of all programmes/sections, cross-sectoral programmes/sections, and operations sections
Support and engage in review process of a workload and affordability analysis of each section/programme.
Support the office in assessing and determining the human resources capacity (structure, size, and skills) that is needed to deliver planned CPD results.
Work with each section and gather their inputs needed as per the CPMP guidelines/requirement.
Work closely with the CPMP Task Force.
Produce a draft CPMP document to be endorsed by the CMT

The completion of the outlined tasks will require:

Familiarization with the UNICEF technical regulations governing the CPMP process
Familiarization with the UNICEF Strategic Plan, including the revised goal framework, organizational commitments and core strategies globally embraced
Desk Review of key knowledge products established by the Country Office as well as inter-agency documents.
Facilitating team discussions

Activity/Expected Outputs:

Specifically, the major assignments of the consultant will be:

Review the draft country programme document, Explanatory Notes, and interview key staff in the office to understand the context and the vision
Develop an office staff skills profile, by agreed dimension, for the next country programme (2024-2028)
Get familiar with the overall strategic shifts that the new country programme is proposing and support their consolidation and implementation.
Organize interactions with key staff to understand and assess the suitability of the current management structure and to validate some principles of restructuring if relevant;
Conduct a quantitative analysis of current capacity, by agreed dimensions by reviewing Job Description of current office structure and affordability analysis.
Conduct SWOT analysis of the management structure to determine its effectiveness to meet the evolving challenges
Conduct a staff skills mapping exercise and HR analyses set to support the implementation of UNICEF supported activities
Propose “Fit for Purpose” organizational and management structures, which addresses HR capacity gaps and needs that best suit the conditions in the country to deliver on the country programme outcomes.
Prepare the affordability analysis to support the staffing structure.
Review and update the office accountability framework.
Ensure coherence and compliance with UNICEF guidelines, lessons learned from previous PBR and any others CPMP related documents.
Synthesize finding on current capacity and future requirements, including any gap identified, and provide recommendations to address the gap including staff development activities
Produce a final report in English (7 working days)

Output 1: A suggested office structure to support the new country Programme document implementation.
Output 2: Staff-skills profile needed for the new country programme (the report should thoroughly justify the profiles developed)
Output 3: Current in-house capacity and gaps for the new country programme.
Output 4: Current staff-skills profile for the office, Gap analysis report, Affordability analysis including recommendations
Output 5: Final comprehensive support and CPMP draft document

Deliverables and Payment Schedules

Work Assignment Overview

Tasks/Milestones	Deliverables/Outputs	Timeline	Payment
Desk review of key documents. Finalization of workplan, including consultation schedule	Inception Report Final Consultation Schedule	5 days	10%
Organize interaction with key staffs and collect information to inform the CPMP, including the expected management structure and role of field offices. Guidance and follow up for the sections to prepare draft staffing structures	Facilitation reports and/or minutes of the internal sessions on the process prepared and available HR analyses and skills mapping Draft of staffing structure by section	15 days
Present the draft analysis of structure and observations to CMT	CMT discussion and recommendations reports + proposed office structure	2 days (Onsite)
Finalization of proposed staffing structure and presentation to all staff meeting (including final consultation/discussion with sections on proposed structure)	Final management review report (including documentation on consultation meetings) with recommendations for proposed “Fit for Purpose’ organizational and management structures	5 days (Onsite)	30%
Prepare the affordability analysis	Analysis of office funding availability, predictability, trends, forecast options and leveraging strategy share	5 days (Onsite)
Update the office accountability framework, together with the field presence documents	Updated accountability framework document shared	5 days (Onsite)	25%
Ensure coherence and compliance with UNICEF guidelines, lessons learnt from previous PBR and other CPMP related documents	Quality review report including checklist on key elements of the CPMP document and its annexes, the affordability analysis document and updated accountability framework document.	3 days	20%
Prepare the narrative report of the CPMP based on the guidance and notes provided by the office.	High quality CPMP document aligned with the recommended guidelines prepared and available.	5 days	15%

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

Qualifications and Experience

A first University Degree in Management, Human Resources, or related field, with a background on Human Resources Management and/or Organizational Development as well as experience in developing staff structures, profiles, and assessments in different environments combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.

Knowledge and Skills

A minimum of 10 years’ experience in designing, leading, and managing initiatives that foster intrapreneurship, human resources management, and organizational change and design.
Experience with UNICEF’s CPMP process and accountability
Experience with HR skills gaps analysis
Good understanding of UNICEF’s development role and its position on women and children’s issues is an asset.
Good analytical, negotiating and advocacy skills.
Excellent facilitation and communication skills.
Demonstrated ability to work in a multi-cultural environment and establish harmonious and effective working relationships both within and outside the organization.
Previous experience in planning process and practical experience in ESARO is an asset
Excellent report writing skills
Excellent interpersonal skills

Languages

Fluency in English, including excellent writing skills

Location:

The consultant will work both physically and remotely.Remote working will require adjusting to Lesotho time zone of working during the scheduled meetings and team consultation period.

Duration:

This consultancy will feed into the organizational structure of the new country programme. The timeframe for the consultancy is from July to November 2023. The organizational structure prototypes will need to be ready at latest by week 1 October 2023 to enable the office to complete the PBR administration processes and submit the request to the Regional Office by end of November 2023.

Nature of "Penalty" clause to be stipulated in contract:

Unsatisfactory performance: In case of unsatisfactory performance the contract will be terminated by notification letter sent five (5) business days prior to the termination date in the case of contracts for a total period of less than two (2) months, and ten (10) business days prior to the termination date in the case of contracts for a longer period.

Performance indicators: Consultants’ performance will be evaluated against the following criteria: timeliness, quality, and relevance/feasibility of recommendations for UNICEF Lesotho.

Submission of applications:

Applicants are invited to submit with their online application:

A cover letter explaining why he/she is well placed to undertake this assignment, including detailed information on similar assignments he/she completed
A recently updated CV
A financial proposal which must be an all-inclusive cost (consultancy fees, mission expenses, travels, etc.).

Applicants are invited to submit their financial proposal in USD using the template below:

Description	Unit	Quantity	Unit Cost	Total (USD)
Consultancy fees
Daily subsistence allowance lumpsum
Air ticket (economy class,most direct route)
Field mission (if required)
Other costs(to be specified)
Total

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).   To view our competency framework, please visit  here.  

Approval procedures and logistics:

Consultants should act with integrity and respect for all stakeholders in line with UNICEF's ethical guidelines regarding evidence generation.
UNICEF Lesotho Office holds copyrights for all reports. Therefore, the documents (including raw materials, etc.) may not be reproduced, distributed, or published without written permission from UNICEF.
All personal data should be accessible to team members but no one else. The consultants need to set up secure systems (a) to ensure that other staff within their institutions cannot access their data via the shared staff drives and (b) to ensure secure data transfer between institutions. Cloud-based storage with limited sharing rights could be considered in this instance. Different personal data files need to be linkable, and they need to be held separately so that they can only be linked purposely by researchers who are authorized to do so. There is also a need to ensure that data cannot be removed from secure systems in ways that might compromise data security.
UNICEF Lesotho Office will share with the selected consultants all the relevant materials and provide the required expertise.
UNICEF Lesotho Office and the Regional Office expert will review and provide feedback on reports prepared by consultants.
UNICEF Lesotho will provide administrative support for the work of consultants.
All information from produced reports cannot be shared with the media without the written approval of the UNICEF Lesotho Office.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

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 be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

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

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.

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