UNICEF recruits 01 National Consultancy / Senior Social Welfare Officer

National Consultancy – Senior Social Welfare Officer (Grievances), Lusaka Zambia

Job Number: 522661 | Vacancy Link

Locations: Africa: Zambia

Work Type : Consultancy

The UNICEF Programme of Cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) is designed to address and mitigate the threat of poverty the country’s children face, while responding to the needs with interventions addressing the multiple causative factors.

In response to the combination these threats involve the Programme supports national efforts to improve service delivery in the

key areas of: child health and nutrition and HIV and AIDS, quality basic education, water, sanitation and hygiene education, child protection and social policy, advocacy and communication.

To find out more about UNICEF’s work in Zambia, please visit https://www.unicef.org/zambia/.

How can you make a difference?

Purpose of the Consultancy: Provide technical oversight and backstopping for the implementation and roll-out of the SCT Complaints Mechanism (CM)

Background

The Social Cash Transfer (SCT) programme is one of Zambias major social protection interventions aimed at reducing extreme poverty and preventing its intergenerational transmission in families and communities. The programme currently has over 574,000 beneficiary households in all districts of Zambia. Â Since the inception of the first pilot of the programme in 2003, an informal system of recording complaints of beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of the SCT programme has been in existence. This informal Grievance Mechanism (GM) has utilized the District Social Welfare Office and existing community structures, for complainants.

The system however, has not been very satisfactory in addressing complaints. Non-beneficiaries and beneficiaries of the programme have expressed their dissatisfaction on the manner in which their complaints were managed, by further presenting their complaints through other channels such as the media and higher Government offices. It is for this reason that programme implementers at Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS) with support from Cooperating Partners (CPs) such as UNICEF decided that, in order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the programme, a formal GM through which applicants and beneficiaries of the programme would register their complaints and grievances needed to be put in place.

A number of steps have already been undertaken towards putting an official GM in place. In 2015, MCDSS, with support from UNICEF, commissioned Development Pathways to undertake the design of a GM for the SCT programme. The proposed GM looks to formally register, address and resolve complaints related to payment, exclusion, wrongful exit and service standards, collect and record complaints systematically rather than in an ad hoc manner. Following the work submitted by Development Pathways, Government priorities were re-focused on national level scale up of the programme. As a result, development and roll out of the GM was temporarily put on hold. In 2018, MCDSS revisited existing materials developed by Development Pathways with changes in the targeting mechanism and technology in mind. As part of this, channels to lodge complaints were proposed, as were districts in which the GM will be piloted.

Proposed pilot districts are

Kalulushi (Copperbelt Province);

Mporokoso (Northern Province); and

Kalabo (Western Province).

Proposed channels are

Community Boxes;

Complaints Registration through mobile application; and

Complaints Registration through website.

The GM will for the most part rely on existing staffing structures at provincial, district and community level. At community and district level, District Social Welfare Officers, Area Coordinating Committees (ACCs), Community Welfare Assistance Committees (CWACs) and Pay Point Managers will be the main implementers on the ground. At provincial level, the Senior Social Welfare Officer will serve as a focal point for the GM.

Officers at HQ level are working on achieving the 2018 scale-up target, requiring an additional 110,000 households to be added to the current caseload; problem solving regarding existing payment solutions; and revision of SCT communications strategy and other, non-SCT related tasks. Currently there is thus insufficient capacity present in MCDSS needed to take on new, GM-related tasks.

Justification

The introduction and management of a SCT GM requires undivided attention and leadership of at least one senior social welfare officer at MCDSS HQ level based in Lusaka. To ensure the quality and accuracy of this task, a dedicated position is required. Currently this additional support cannot be made available from staffing positions within the Ministry. The Ministry has asked UNICEF to support this function during the learning phase of the pilot.

Objectives / Target

The purpose of recruiting a SCT GM consultant is to ensure HQ level leadership and management of the SCT GM. This includes monitoring that will ensure implementation oversight and support; consolidation of lessons learned and systems improvement; capacity building of field officers; systems integration; and quality reporting to senior management.

Description of the Assignment (Scope of Work)/ Specific tasks;

At HQ level, the consultant will carry out the following tasks:

Provide support and backstopping for the implementation and roll-out of the SCT GM;

Support the development and piloting of mobile technology for the SCT GM;

Ensure compatibility between the SCT GM and that of the contracted external service providers or stakeholders;

Develop appropriate protocols when required and provision of overall leadership and direction, under the leadership of the Director of Social Welfare;

Monitoring the overall performance of the Grievance Mechanism and make recommendations of high-level design improvements to the Principal Social Welfare Officer, as required, to improve performance of the GM;

Submit GM performance reports and consolidate lessons learnt;

Support the Principal Social Welfare Officer in the SCT Unit to report to senior management within the Ministry;

Coordinating all necessary training needed to facilitate the smooth functioning of the GM;

Expected Deliverables

Tasks	Deliverables	Timeframe (Tentative)	Payment Schedule
1.	Workplan for entire contract period and detailed Gantt chart developed for 11 months.	31.07.2019	9%
2.	Detailed Baseline Report developed.	31.08.2019	9%
3.	Training plan for continuous capacity building of field officers and stakeholders developed.	30.09.2019	9%
4.	Communication plan developed.	31.10.2019	9%
5.	Concept note on GM monitoring developed and submitted.	30.11.2019	9%
6.	Comprehensive progress report on roll-out of pilot in three districts.	31.12.2019	9%
7.	Revised workplan including Gantt chart and based on lessons learned developed.	31.01.2020	9%
8.	Concept note on integrating existing GM of payment providers developed and submitted.	29.02.2020	9%
9.	Concept note on disability-related grievances and how to address them to the complaints mechanism.	31.03.2020	9%
	Lessons learned report on process flows and MIS module for the complaints mechanism.	30.04.2020	9%
	Comprehensive final report on the consultancy with recommendations on the way forward.	31.05.2020	10%

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

The Senior Social Welfare Officer – Grievances will be contracted by UNICEF and report directly to the Chief Social Policy in the Social Policy and Research (SPR) Section headed by the Chief SPR. and will be placed in the Social Cash Transfer Unit headed by the Principal Social Welfare Officer. Moreover, the Senior Social Welfare Officer – Grievances will work closely with the Social Policy Specialist in UNICEFs SPR section.

For the above deliverables, the required structure of reports will be as follows:

Executive Summary (1/2 page)

Introduction (1/2-1 page)

Findings (length as required)

Analysis (length as required)

Recommendations (length as required)

New or Updated Draft or Final materials in Annex, when appropriate (annexed in full)

List of stakeholders consulted, missions undertaken, data collection tools used, when appropriate (annexed in full)

LOCATION AND DURATION

The consultant is required for a period of 11 months and will be based in Lusaka at the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services in the Cash Transfer Unit.

PAYMENT Schedule

See Expected Deliverables Table above.

In the case of unsatisfactory quality of reports, payments will be withheld until quality has been assured.

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

A Minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree in one of the following or related fields required: Human Development, Social Work, Social Policy, or related fields. Three years of relevant professional work experience actively managing projects which would include management of a social protection, Cash Transfers, Complaints Mechanism, or other social service-based projects, either with government or Non-Governmental Organizations. IT knowledge would be an added advantage.

Specifically:

Three years of experience with managing social protection or comparable projects, preferably in a public sector environment.

Experience in working with Government, Monitoring and reporting, Training and workshop facilitation and collaboration with private sector.

Demonstrated ability to effectively collaborate with counterparts with different technical and sectoral backgrounds;

Excellent ability to effectively communicate highly complex issues in a language that non-technical audiences can understand. This includes project descriptions, presentations, proposals, journal articles, reports, etc.

Fluency in written and spoken English.

Familiarity with the background and rationale for Social Cash Transfer Scheme is desirable.

Experience in managing grievance/complaints mechanisms is desirable.

ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES

The Senior Social Welfare Officer – Grievances will be based at MCDSS on a full-time basis, following GRZ working hours. The Officer is required to report to UNICEF.

Government will provide equipment and office space and will make provisions for any expenses not covered by UNICEF including DSA, travel and other expenses.

Payments will be made on a monthly basis, however, linked to satisfactory delivery of the assigned tasks in the months.

This consultancy contract is for a fixed period of 11 months,

The consultant will receive ZMW 200 talk time allowance per month.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

View our competency framework at http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

Remarks:

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

Closing Date Wed Jun 12 2019 22:55:00 GMT+0100 (Afr. centrale Ouest)