1. Background
UNICEF will publish The State of The World’s Children (SOWC) 2016 report in November 2015. This publication will focus on child poverty and have the Sustainable Development Goals for the post-2015 period as a core focus for discussion of child poverty. The State of the World’s Children 2016: Child Poverty will tell the story of children living in poverty across the world and by region using the most updated and internationally available data, complemented with the insights and experiences of experts, practitioners and – most importantly – children and young people themselves. (These will take the form of written contributions in the print edition and video or other presentations also in the digital version.) Further, the report will explore the different dimensions of poverty, investigate the role that factors outside of children’s control (inherited disadvantages) play in driving child poverty, present the most recent evidence on the interaction of child poverty and inequities, demonstrate that inequity in childhood is a driver of inequity later in life, and demonstrate the importance of addressing poverty and inequities in childhood to give every child an equal chance in life. It will identify the policy and programme interventions that can make a difference in poor children’s lives and lay out an agenda for inclusive growth and pro-poor interventions. Please see the attached concept note for additional background on the SOWC 2016.
In order to provide background evidence and analysis for the writer and editor of SOWC, UNICEF is planning to produce a discussion paper on the role of social protection in addressing child poverty. This paper will feed directly into the policy response section of the SOWC 2016 report, as well as be a stand-alone paper.
2. Purpose
Under the guidance of the Social Protection Specialist, the main objective of this assignment is to co-write with UNICEF staff a background paper for SOWC 2016 on the role of social protection in addressing child poverty.
The background paper is expected to be 15-20 pages, and will cover the following four key areas:
1) Conceptual Framework
The conceptual framework will briefly outline UNICEF’s conceptual approach to social protection, based on UNICEF’s Social Protection Strategic Framework. The paper will then develop a conceptual framework to illustrate the pathways through which social protection can contribute to reducing child poverty. Consistent with the broader report and UNICEF’s approach, the paper will take a multi-dimensional approach to understanding child poverty.
2) Evidence on impacts of social protection to reduce child poverty
The paper will review the existing evidence on the impacts of social protection programmes on child poverty. The areas to be examined will be consistent with the conceptual framework, and focus on final outcomes rather than evidence along the entire pathway. Exceptions may be where impacts along the pathway are relevant to understanding final outcomes, or where there is a lack of available evidence on final outcomes. For examples, mixed impacts are found on anthropometric measures, although consistent impacts on food security and consumption, dietary diversity, etc.
Emphasis will be placed on the breadth of the evidence in relation to the specified outcomes and regional diversity, rather than in-depth review. The evidence will cover a sub-set of the instruments laid out in UNICEF’s SP Strategic Framework, to be agreed by the authors based on evidence availability and policy relevance.
This section will draw heavily on existing reviews and syntheses of the social protection impact evidence, rather than an exhaustive search of the literature. It is expected to cover both the academic and grey literature.
3) National policy and practice in using social protection to address child poverty
This section will provide analysis on the extent to which and the ways in which countries are using social protection as a policy instrument to address child poverty. The analytical approach for this section is to be agreed by the authors, but possible approaches include analysis of trends (by region, instruments, objectives, policy design, etc) or identifying typologies of national approaches (e.g. social protection to address inter-generational poverty through human capital accumulation, universal support to address ‘extra needs’ of families with children, etc). This section may draw on case studies, if appropriate.
4) Policy recommendations and gaps
Drawing on the findings and analysis of the previous sections, this concluding section will focus on policy recommendations on the use of social protection to address child poverty, and identify any policy or research gaps.
3. Expected Results (Measurable results):
The background paper will be produced jointly by the Social Protection Specialist and the consultant, with inputs from other UNICEF staff.
Under the guidance of the Social Protection Specialist (PD – SIP), the consultant will specifically produce the following main outputs:
· In conjunction with the Social Protection Specialist, and other senior UNICEF staff, elaborate an annotated outlined and agree on division of responsibilities.
· Write two of the sections 2-4, and incorporate feedback from internal UNICEF reviewers. Determination of which two sections will depend on the selected consultant and further elaboration of the outline.
· Intellectually contribute to development of the remaining two sections and provide comments on drafts.
· Provide charts, graphs, or text boxes for direct inputs to the SOWC, as necessary.
· Contribute to overall analysis and final review of the paper.
The consultant will be expected to review and incorporate feedback from UNICEF staff at key stages.
Virtual meetings to assess progress will be arranged at the beginning of the contract, as well at the start of every new deliverable. Final assessment discussion will be planned upon the submission of final deliverable.
4.Timeframe:Start date: 10 Mar 2015 End date: 31 May 2015
5. Key competences, technical background, and experience required:
· Advanced university degree (PhD) in economics, social sciences, public policy, humanities, and/or international development policy
· 10-15 years of Senior level experience
· Established academic reputation and publication record on social protection, preferably in relation to children.
· Extensive knowledge of the social protection literature, including on the impacts of social protection on children and child-sensitive social protection policy and implementation.
· Previous experience in child-sensitive social protection policy development, programme implementation or impact evaluation at national level.
· Extensive experience in conducting qualitative and quantitative research, preferably including policy analysis.
· Established track record in writing for development policy and/or practitioner audiences.
· Excellent written and oral communication skills in English required
· Ability to work independently and respond to feedback in a timely and professional manners
· Excellent organization skills, attention to detail, and ability to contribute to a team research process.
The consultant will report to the post of Social Protection Specialist, Social Inclusion and Policy. This temporary assignment is foreseen to be carried out at P5 level.
6. Duty Station and Travel:
Remote-Based. No Travel Required.
HOW TO APPLY:
Qualified candidates are requested to submit cover letter, CV, and signed P11 form (which can be retrieved at http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/P11.doc ) to pdconsultants@unicef.org with subject line. “Writer/Editor - The State of the World’s Children (SOWC) 2016 Report” by 4thMarch 2015, 5:00pm EST.
Please indicate your ability, availability and daily rate to undertake the terms of reference above. Applications submitted without a daily (or monthly) rate will not be considered.
PLEASE SEE ATTACHED DOCUMENT FOR DELIVERABLES.
