Avis de recrutement d’un consultant international spécialiste du reporting, Mauritanie

Purpose of Activity/Assignment :

Country context Mauritania ranked 157th out of 189 nations in the 2020 Human Development Index. The country faces a range of chronic vulnerabilities exacerbated by climate change. Irregular rainfall negatively impacts crops and pastures and erodes the resilience of households to absorb shocks. Chronic drought and flooding continue to aggravate underlying deprivations, triggering rapid rural depopulation and urban poverty. In 2021, the country faced another major drought. The impact collides with the global inflation that results from the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the volatile situation in Ukraine – all of which are leading to an unprecedented food insecurity and nutritional crisis. The Cadre Harmonisé (March 2022 session) estimates that 878,921 individuals and 36 departments will face crisis conditions (phase 3+) during the peak of the upcoming lean season (June-August 2022). Global acute malnutrition rates stand at 11.1 per cent and severe acute malnutrition at 1.9 per cent, with 39 per cent of health districts above emergency nutritional thresholds. According to on the last available SMART survey, the number of malnourished children was already expected to reach 135,254 in 2022, including 32,740 facing SAM.

Mauritania also continues to face the consequences of armed conflict in Mali, which has affected thousands of people since 2012. Mauritania hosts the largest Malian refugee population in the Sahel region, with more than 70,906 Malian refugees living in and around the M’Berra camp in the Hodh Chargui region as of 31 March 2022. Among these, 54 per cent are girls and 58 per cent are children aged zero to 17 years old. According to the latest UNHCR and IOM data, 7,827 Malians and 5,570 Mauritanian returnees have arrived in Mauritania since January 2022, with urgent needs in terms of access to clean water, food, feed for livestock, and shelter, in addition to education and protection. This will result in an increase of almost 15 per cent of the population of the M’Berra camp, heightening competition for pasture and water – particularly as southern transhumance routes towards Mali are riskier than ever– and putting further strain by increasing the needs for basic services and assistance. All these factors accentuate the situation of precariousness, thus exposing children and young girls to all forms of vulnerability.

The socio-economic consequences of these overlapping crises are palpable. The Mauritanian population, whose income depends for the most part on the informal sector, has seen its livelihoods impacted, leading vulnerable girls and women to adopt high-risk coping strategies. This reality greatly increases child protection risks, namely sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Moreover, with 429,794 of children outside the formal education system, youth searching for professional opportunities are at risk of radicalization, especially in the HEC region. The Mauritanian population (currently 4.1 million) is expected to double by 2039 and there is a growing demographic bulge of youth with limited livelihood options.

 

Rationale :

UNICEF Mauritania is preparing its new country program; resource mobilization and rights and results-based management (RRBM) are key priorities. Quality donor reporting is essential to demonstrate UNICEF’s professionalism and accountability in the use of donor funds, as well as to attract interest in investing in the Country Office’s program. In this context, the role of the Reporting Specialist Consultant is to support UNICEF Mauritania’s Partnership Unit and Coordination team to strengthen the relations with donors and hence to facilitate the mobilization of additional, innovative funds.

 

Objectives and tasks :

Under the supervision of the Partnership Specialist and in close collaboration with the Deputy Representative and Coordination team, the consultant will be responsible for reviewing and providing quality assurance of all donor-related documents (reports, concept notes, proposals, briefing notes for donor visits, SitReps, HAC Appeal, etc.) and building the teams’ capacity on quality reporting and RRBM. The Consultant will.

Reporting: Ensure timely, accurate and quality reporting. This includes supporting/orienting teams in gathering relevant information and presenting it in an appealing and analytical manner. Consolidate and finalize internal reports such as the annual report (COAR). Key functions include :

• Update and maintain information on all the donor reporting requirements. Ensure Programme Section Chiefs are updated on these requirements ;
• Maintain a coherent system for tracking reports due to donors to ensure that they are of high quality and submitted on time ;
• Review and edit draft reports and proposals ensuring that they meet established quality standards and follow guidance ;
• Upload submitted donor reports and proposals to the system and maintain the office’s electronical archive ;
• Maintain templates for donor reports and related checklists up to date ;
• Maintain a system and provide regular update for tracking donor proposals and their acceptance/funding status, and keep up to date as per the funds received ;
• Collaborate to compile, produce and disseminate other mandatory UNICEF reports and programmatic documents (including human interest stories).

Emergency-related: Contribute to preparing quality strategic and partnership documents on emergency response, including SitReps, HAC appeal, donor reports on emergency contribution (Consolidated Emergency Report), and proposals, etc. This includes reviewing data and inputs, editing, and formatting in collaboration with Program sections and the Communication team based on internal quality control mechanisms. – Capacity-building: Build internal capacity on quality rights and results-based reporting, etc.

 

Methodology :

The Consultant will work collaboratively with Program teams, especially the Heads of Sections and the Partnership Specialist, to guarantee that quality results-based donor documents are submitted in a timely manner. The Consultant shall refer to the Country Office’s Standard Operating Procedures for Donor Documents (2021) and the UNICEF Style Book. The consultant will be required to have his/her own working equipment (laptop, telephone, etc.). Field missions and other travel related to the mission will be organized by UNICEF Mauritania if/when required (two weeks for face-to-face capacitybuilding sessions – tentative). The consultant will submit a technical and financial proposal covering all costs related to this consultancy (fees, daily allowances, transport costs, etc.) UNICEF Mauritania will ensure that the consultant will have access to shared files and Microsoft Teams.

 

Supervision :

The Reporting Specialist Consultant will work under the supervision and in close collaboration with the Partnership Specialist to ensure that all donor-specific requirements are respected. The Consultant will support the timely consolidation, editing, quality review and submission of high-quality donor documents in adherence with established standards and donor obligations.

The Reporting Specialist Consultant will work with the different Program teams (Health/Nutrition, Education, WASH, Social Policy, Child Protection, Communication/SBC) to guarantee that quality standards have been met within the established deadline. The Consultant’s main contact within Program teams will be the Head of Section responsible for the report. The Consultant will liaise also with the Communication Section Chief to guarantee that visibility products are high quality and respect donor requirements.

 

Tasks/Milestone :

1. Inception phase :

• A detailed workplan of activities is developed at the beginning of the consultancy in consultation with the supervisor   ;
• A donor reporting Matrix (covering 18 months) is developed.

2. Donor reports and proposals :

• The Country Office’s donor report workplan/monitoring table is update and shared internally   ;
• A report-specific workflow/agenda is produced and shared with teams at the beginning of every reporting process ;
• Donor reports are submitted in a timely manner to the Programs Coordination team, respecting resultsbased quality standard   ;
• Donor fundraising documents (pitches, concept notes, proposals, etc.) are reviewed and proofread ;
• Country office annual report is reviewed and proofread ;
• 100% of Program sections receive an updated donor report monitoring table per month ;
• 100% of teams working on a report receive a report-specific workflow/agenda at least five weeks ahead of the internal submission  ;
• 100% of the office’s donor reports due during the Consultant’s assignment are reviewed, edited and submitted on time (36 so far1)   ;
• 100% of donor fundraising documents due during the Consultant’s assignment are proofread prior to submission   ;
• 1 country office annual report is reviewed and proofread.

3. Emergency-related :

• Humanitarian SitReps are submitted in a timely manner respecting results-based quality standards   ;
• The 2023 HAC Appeal is proofread and reviewed in accordance to RO and HQ guidelines by internal deadlines ;
• The 2023 Consolidated Emergency Report (CER) is submitted in a timely manner respecting resultsbased quality standards and HQ guidelines (including 2-Pagers, communication products, etc.).

 4. Capacity-building  :

• Staff capacity needs on report-writing are assessed ;
• A workplan on the capacity-building of staff on report-writing is developed  ;
• Identify capacity-building opportunities for staff ;
• Capacity-building content on quality results-based donor reporting is produced and validated.

Deliverables/Outputs :

1. Inception phase :

• 1 detailed workplan of the Consultant’s expected work is produced  ;
• 1 detailed Country Office reporting Matrix is developed on Excel.

2. Donor reports and proposals :

• 100% of Program sections receive an updated donor report monitoring table per month ;
• 100% of teams working on a report receive a report-specific workflow/agenda at least five weeks ahead of the internal submission  ;
• 100% of the office’s donor reports due during the Consultant’s assignment are reviewed, edited and submitted on time (36 so far1)   ;
• 100% of donor fundraising documents due during the Consultant’s assignment are proofread prior to submission   ;
• 1 country office annual report is reviewed and proofread.

3. Emergency-related :

• 100% of SitReps due during the Consultant’s assignments respect quality standards and are submitted by the internal deadline   ;
• 1 2023 HAC Appeal respect quality standards and are submitted by the internal deadline ;
• 100% of CER deliverables are reviewed, edited and submitted by internal deadlines.

4. Capacity-building :

• 1 report on staff capacities needs is developed  ;
• 1 capacity-building workplan on report-writing are produced is produced  ;
• At least 3 capacity-building opportunities are identified  ;
• At least 2 presentation/trainings to strengthen staff capacity on report-writing are produced.

 

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

Master’s degree in social science or a related field.

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required :

• A minimum of 3 years of relevant work experience in donor reporting, data management, monitoring and evaluation, external communications, and/or partnership ;
• Strong organizational and analytical skills including data collection, compilation, analysis and monitoring in humanitarian settings, and the ability to link them to donor reporting and advocacy documents will be an asset ;
• Strong ability to synthetize and powerfully convey messages and good knowledge and understanding of UNICEF programmatic work and principles will be an advantage ;
• Knowledge and application of rights and results-based management will be an asset.

 Language Proficiency : Fluent in French and English.

Core Competencies :

• Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (1)
• Works collaboratively with others (1)
• Builds and maintains partnerships (1)
• Innovates and embraces change (1)
• Thinks and acts strategically (1)
• Drives to achieve results for impact (1)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

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.

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 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.