Under the direct supervision of the Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist and in close coordination with the Deputy Representative, the CO programme sections and the national research institute to conduct the SitAN the international consultant will support developing and finalizing the SitAn providing expert oversight and recommendations on the SitAn methodology and process, verifying findings and recommendations of the SitAn, identifying potential gaps in provided analysis and ways to address them and streamline the final document with the best practices and UNICEF requirements.

Supervision of the consultancy:

The Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist is the contract manager and major focal point responsible for coordinating the performance of the tasks, providing necessary documents, arranging consultations and other steps necessary to complete planned deliverables.

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables / Delivery Deadline:

Work Assignment Overview

Deliverables/ Outputs

Delivery deadline

Contract signing; initial briefings with the CO

Contract signed

Briefing with the CO held

July 15, 2024

Support provided to the CO in finalizing the SitAn structure, data sources, methodology, tools, and approaches to be defined in the inception report

• Online consultations with the national research institute and the CO conducted to achieve mutual understanding of the scope, content and expected results of the SitAn (as necessary)
• Online consultations with the national research institute and the CO M&E specialist conducted to provide recommendations and expertise to identify data sources, appropriate tools and methodology to ensure robust analysis
• Review and finalization of the SitAn inception report to ensure its high quality, feasibility of proposed methodology to achieve planned results, objectiveness and reliability of proposed data sources and integration of the key cross-cutting issues such as disability, gender, human-rights based approach into the SitAn
• Comments resulting from the review are provided in writing and integrated in the final inception report to be approved by the CO

July 15-31, 2024

Oversight and support provided to the CO and to the national research institute in the process of the SitAn development to ensure robust results

• Ongoing online consultations and support provided to the national research institute and the CO to ensure implementation of the SitAn in line with the inception report, agreed methodology and UNICEF requirements (as necessary)
• Developed SitAn materials to support each child rights domain are reviewed when available for data completeness and integrity, data and analysis gaps are identified, recommendations are provided on addressing identified data gaps
• Reflecting the situation of the most vulnerable groups of children, capturing any substantial differences resulting from disability, gender, other key risk factors is ensured as feasible
• Recommendations are provided to the CO on enhancing the quality and applicability of the final product
• A visit to Minsk, Belarus is conducted (tentatively in the last week of August – first week of September 2024, 4 days consultancy visit) for in person consultations with the national research institute and the CO to enhance the SitAn and verify any data as relevant

1 August – 15 September, 2024

The draft SitAn report is reviewed, recommendations are provided on enhancing the content and streamlining it with UNICEF requirements provided

• The draft SitAn report is reviewed for data verification, integrity of causality links between identified factors impacting the rights and best interests of the child and provided recommendations and consistency of methodological approaches
• The content of the report, including each domain, key findings and recommendations, is revised to properly reflect the situation of vulnerable groups of children and any differences resulting from such cross-cutting factors as gender equality, disability inclusion, place of living and other vulnerabilities
• The text of the report is revised for the consistency, integrity of findings and proposed recommendations, and sufficiency of analysis for each child rights domain included in the SitAn
• Relevant recommendations are provided to address identified gaps, inconsistencies, and lack of analysis

Requirements:

Education:

• Masters degree (advanced university degree) preferably in social studies, statistics and analysis, evaluation, or related field.
• A combination of relevant academic background and relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work experience/****Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

• At least ten years of proven experience in conducting social research/studies
• Proven skills and expertise in applying different statistical analysis tools and models as part of social research and analysis is required
• Experience in supporting and/or developing recommendations for development of national programs in such areas as demography, health, child rights, situation of vulnerable groups and related areas is an asset
• Experience in supporting UNICEF and/or other UN agencies in developing Situational Analysis, Common Country Analysis, other strategic research is an asset
• Previous work experience with UNICEF is an asset
• Ability to produce content for high standard deliverables in Russian
• A strong professional background with a profound understanding of sustainable inclusive development, gender equality and human rights, including child rights, equity/inclusion. Understanding of the current regional and Belarus context will be an asset
• Oral and written fluency in Russian
• Fluency in English is an asset
• Ability to travel to Belarus

Competencies:

• strong leadership, planning, coordination, communications, conflict-resolution and facilitation skills necessary to manage and bring diverse teams to strategic results within limited time
• sensitivity towards ethics with regards to human and child rights issues, vulnerable populations, different cultures, local customs, religious beliefs and practices, personal interaction and gender roles, disability, age, and ethnicity
• strong expertise in virtual and blended facilitation to ensure a dynamic learning experience and meaningful discussions with medium sized teams
• strong remote facilitation and guidance skills; strong virtual meeting production capacities
• strong writing and editorial skills
• strong planning and analytical skills and high attention to details to streamline and ensure integrity of the SitAn report.