Senegal: Consultancy - Development of the Budget Briefs

Context and justification

Senegal, like several other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, is experiencing rapid economic growth (IMF, 2016a), which increased from 4.3% to 7% between 2014 and 2018, corresponding to the period of the first phase of the Priority Action Plan of the National Development Plan (PSE). The relative solidity of Senegal's economic growth is driven by domestic demand, supported in recent years by the success of agricultural harvests and public infrastructure, as well as the reforms undertaken by the Government in the context of the PSE.

The significant increase in economic growth observed since 2014 has positively affects the country’s poverty levels. Based on the international poverty line of 1.90 USD per day, the incidence of poverty is estimated at 35.6% in 2017 (ESPS; MEFP 2018) compared to 47% in 2011. However, multidimensional poverty remains significant within the country and affects 52% of the population (UNDP; 2016). Moreover, Senegal’s Human Development Index (HDI) value for 2017 is 0.505, which put the country in the low human development category—positioning it at 164 out of 189 countries and territories (UNDP, 2018). According to the Gender Inequality Index (GII), which reflects gender-based inequalities in three dimensions (reproductive health, empowerment, and economic activity), Senegal has a GII value of 0.515, ranking it 124 out of 160 countries in the 2017, where 0 means women and men are fairly equally (UNDP, 2018). Senegal’s Human Capital Index (HCI) value is estimated at 0.42 in 2017 compared to 0.41 in 2012.

Despite the country’s unprecedented economic growth and a continuing increase in the State budget (at least in nominal terms), ranging from 3,000 billion CFA francs to over 3,700 billion between 2017 and 2018, some social sectors are still underfunded. This is particularly true for the health sector, which was allocated close to 9% of the state budget in 2018, falling short of the 15% threshold set by the African Union countries in Abuja in 2001. In contrast, the education sector receives more than 25% of total government expenditure and 7.2% of GDP. The latest study conducted by the Ministry of the Economy of Finance and Planning and UNICEF shows a downward trend of social sector expenditures to less than 30% of the total budget, below the 35% threshold set by the International Monetary Fund.

Thanks to UNICEF advocacy efforts, the Government of Senegal (GoS) has recently established the Social Budget Monitoring Observatory (OSBS) to ensure appropriate and sufficient resource allocation to social sectors. UNICEF and the OSBS are expected to seize the opportunity of the 30th anniversary of the CRC to create a momentum to engage a national dialogue on the quantity and quality of public spending to accelerate progress in achieving key results for children in Senegal.

In this context, UNICEF Senegal is looking to draw on the support of a Social Policy Specialist (P3) for a Temporary Appointment to support the OSBS in the development of budget briefs, guidelines and an impact strategy. This TA aims to provide technical support to the Ministry of Economic and Planning for the development of thematic budget briefs, guidelines and the impact strategy and the ensure capacity transfers, enabling them to reiterate this exercise every two years.

Mission objectives:

The purpose of this consultancy is to provide technical support to the OSBS related to the development of budget briefs in key relevant sectors for children (Education, Child Protection, Child Survival, Early Childhood Development and on the overall State Budget) with the aim of raising policymakers’ attention on the importance of investing in children, especially in the context of celebrating the 30th anniversary of the CRC.

More specifically, this consultancy aims at strengthening the OSBS’ capacity and has as objective to:

The main audience of the budget briefs will be Government officials, members of the Parliament, development partners and civil society representatives that are engaged in child rights advocacy. The intent is to help spark broad public interest and debate around the State Budget and how resources are distributed among as well as within social sectors, in light of the country’s poverty profile and national and international-treaty obligations with respect to children.

Concretely, the budget briefs are expected to:

Apart from spearheading and assisting the OSBS in the development of this first round of budget briefs, the Internal Consultant will provide guidance on the identification of the most strategic entry points for leveraging policy influence and advocacy throughout the budgeting process. S/he will also play a key role in transferring know-how and capacity for ongoing budget analysis and advocacy to local stakeholders.

Activities

The International consultant will work closely with all UNICEF sections and the OSBS in order to:

Ensure the technical validation of all materials developed in collaboration with the OSBS and contribute to the preparation of a High-level Round Table on the promotion of investing in children.

Methodology

budget briefs are expected to be the result of an in-depth review of key public finance documents and budget books, based on an understanding of the ways in which Senegal classifies and reports on revenues and expenditures in sectors that are most relevant to children’s well-being. There will be one brief per sector, which identifies child-specific allocations / expenditure and analyses the extent to which children are prioritized in Senegal’s budget planning and execution process.

The International consultant will work closely with national consultants to facilitate knowledge transfer and to ensure ownership of the Government in view of gradually developing capacity within the country to lead on the budget analysis and advocacy process. UNICEF will also seek to collaborate with local institutions/organizations in order to develop and implement a solid communication and di

Duration : 4 months

Tasks/Deliverables

Deadline (calendar days

Outlines of the 5 Budget Briefs + data collection

15 days

First draft of the Five budget briefs (Education, Child Protection, Child Survival, Early Childhood Development and Overall State Budget);

30 days

First draft of the:

(i) guideline for the development of future budget briefs;

(ii) impact strategy;

(iii) policy brief on the strategic entry points for leveraging policy influence and advocacy throughout the budgeting process.

30 days

Final draft of the 5 budgets Briefs.

30 days

Final draft of the: (i) guideline for the development of future budget briefs; (ii) impact strategy; (iii) policy brief.

15 days

Qualifications and experience

Education

Experience:

Competencies:

Competencies of Successful Candidate

Supervision: The International consultant will work under the overall supervision of the Chief Social Policy. He/She will work closely with UNICEF sections and the OSBS.

Conditions of work:

Flight costs will be reimbursed at discounted economy class rate.

Payment

Payments will be made upon submission and acceptance of the specified deliverables and submission of invoices. Payments will be made in tranches, with the percentage of consultancy fee indicated below. Payment of travel and accommodation allowances will be made in line with the respective UNICEF rules and regulations.

Application

Les candidats sont invités à envoyer:

Les critères de sélection des candidats seront basés sur les qualifications, les compétences, l'expertise et l'expérience dans le domaine requis, la qualité de prestations/productions antérieures

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.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organization. To apply, click on the following link http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/?job=522572