Belize Country Programme Light Review Consultancy

Job no: 539043

Position type: Consultancy

Location: Belize Division/Equivalent: Latin America and Caribbean Regional Off

School/Unit: Belize

Department/Office: Belize City, Belize

Categories: Planning, Consultancy

UNICEF works in some of the world's toughest places, to reach the world's most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, Hope!

Belize bordered by Mexico at the North, Guatemala at the west and south and the Caribbean Sea at the East, both a Central American and Caribbean country. Its geographical location provides an opportunity to both the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Central American Integrated System (SICA). Belize is the only English speaking country in the Central American Sub Region with has area of 8,867 sq mi and a population of 408,487 (2019).

Based on 2010 Census, the mid-year population estimates for 2019 is 408,897. The distribution by sex is 50% male and 50% females. Women in reproductive age (15-49 years) accounts for 26.3% of the total population. The number of adolescents 10-19 years are 91,657 or 22.4% of the total population.

The distribution of the population by urban and rural area is 44.7% and 55.3% respectively. A little over half of the total population is concentrated in two districts: Belize district with 30.4% and Cayo district with 24.3% of the total population. The other four districts (Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek and Toledo) have between 9.4% and 12.1% of the total population.

While the household dynamics varies across districts, the mean household size is approximately 3.8. Nineteen percent of households reported having 6+ members. Two third of households are headed by women. According to 2015 MICS, about 49% of the population identified themselves as Mestizo followed by Creole (25%) and indigenous population (Maya and Garifuna)

About half of household heads have primary school as the highest education, 25.0% secondary and 17.0% have higher education. Six percent of households have little or no education.

Belize is classified as an Upper Middle-Income Economy (GNI per capita between 4,046 and 12,535). The economy relies on tourism and exports of marine products, citrus, sugar and bananas.

The unemployment rate for September 2019 is 10.4% overall, 6.6.% among males and 15.7% among females. Women unemployment rate is 2.4 times higher than in males. Younger women (14-24 years) have higher unemployment rate compared to women 45 years and beyond with 31.5% and 12.4% respectively.

The three districts with the highest unemployment rate are Belize (12.5%), Orange Walk (11.6%) and Stann Creek (9.8%). The lowest rate is seen in Toledo district (5.4%). By ethnicity the highest rates are among Creole (14.6%), Garifuna (14.4%) and Mestizo/Hispanic (9.3%).

Ninety-one percent of households have access to electricity (91.8%). All districts are above 90.0% except Toledo with 70.8%.

The extent to which a child survives and develop varies by geographic location, ethnic group and socioeconomic status. Children's survival and development are challenged by inaccessible health care delivery and services, late birth registration, access to and availability of early child development (ECD) programmes, and youth-friendly services, adolescent injury and violence, early sexual debut and motherhood, early unions among adolescents, access for disabled children, and health risks of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

According to the Ministry of Health and Wellbeing the leading cause of death of children 5 to 17 years are, unintentional injuries (e.g. road traffic accident and drowning). Adolescents 10-17 years shows suicide as second (10-14 years) and third (15-17 years) leading cause of death. The congenital malformations are second most frequent cause in younger children (0-9 years).

According to the MICS 2015-2016, almost 5 per cent of children under age five are moderately or severely underweight, and less than one per cent (0.4%) are classified as severely underweight. Fifteen per cent of children under five are either moderately stunted or too short for their age, and two per cent are moderately wasted or too thin for their height. About 7 per cent of children are overweight or too heavy for their height. Boys appear to be more likely to be underweight, stunted and wasted than girls.

The 2015 MICS also reported the Adolescent Birth Rate (ABR) as 74. Adolescent Birth Rate (ABR) is the number of births to women ages 15-19 per 1,000 women in that age group per year (WHO 2010). Corozal (104), Stann Creek (101), Toledo (98) ABR are the highest compared to Belize - exclude SS-BC (70), Orange Walk (67), Cayo (62), and Southside Belize City (55).

The MICS 2015-2016 reports that approximately 52 percent of children experienced psychological aggression and 48 per cent experienced physical punishment and 65 percent of adult respondents reported using violent disciplinary methods on children. Children subject to violent discipline by age group are: Half of those below two years of age; three out of every four children 2-4 years of age; seven of every ten children 5-9 years; six of ten children in early adolescence period or 10-14 years of age. In addition, children and adolescents living in Belize are victims of all types of violence in the community e.g. genderbased violence, neglect, bullying, gang violence, sexual abuse and sexual exploitation.

The National Child Activity Survey (2013) identified child labour in banana, sugarcane and citrus production. The survey showed that 5,188 children aged 5 to 17 were working, of whom 70.0 % (3,528) were engaged in child labour and 66.0 % (3,381) were engaged in hazardous work. Male children, between the ages of 14 and 17 and those living in rural communities were most at risk. Within the 14-17 age group, 7 out of 10 of working children were doing hazardous work

.

MICS 2015-2016 show that about half of children aged 36-59 months attend an organized early childhood education programme, with a significant difference in urban (66%) versus rural areas (48%). However, while this situation gets better as children transition to primary education -The primary school net attendance of 95.8 per cent, this trend reverses at secondary level. For 2017/18, MoEYSC reported the secondary school gross enrolment ratio as 62.4 per cent (total enrolment of 22,027). An estimated 72 per cent of girls complete secondary school within the prescribed four years, compared to 61.2 per cent of boys.

In addition, no specific legislation in Belize addresses the status and rights of disabled youth, to support their health, education, development, training, rehabilitation, recreation and care.

How can you make a difference?

The objective of the light review of the 2017-2021 UNICEF Belize country programme is to support the development of the 2022-2026 UNICEF Belize Country Programme.

The light review intends to give a snapshot of the country programme design and relevance given the country context, priorities and needs (including the change in country context as a result of COVID-19). These will be based on a desk review and stakeholder consultations (including children/ adolescents). To understand UNICEF's supported programmes/ interventions considering children, adolescents and young people, especially the most marginalized.

The country programme contribution to the UNICEF Strategic Plan, priorities, the Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action (CCCs), and foundation strategies - the renewed focus on equity, the Human Rights-based Approach to Programming, Gender Mainstreaming and Rights Results-based Management.

Finally, the light Review will examine UNICEF coordination and collaborative engagement with other UN agencies in the country.

The main purpose of the Light Review of UNICEF Belize County Programme is to draw lessons learned to inform the design and implementation of the next 2022-2026 Country Programme and hence strengthen the TOC for the next UNICEF programmes in Belize. The light Review will contribute to reinforce UNICEF's Belize organisational learning, strategic positioning and value proposition in its partnerships, increase advocacy in winning support for children.

Methodology and Approach

It is expected that the consultant will employ a hybrid framework consisting of a mixed-method design (triangulation of quantitative and qualitative information methods) and analysis underpinned by a human rights-based approach (equity and child rights). To this end, the consultant is expected to:

  • Conduct desk review of all materials relevant to the 2017- 2021 Country Programme. The secondary data review will include, among others, background documents on the national context, programme plans and frameworks; progress reports; monitoring self-assessments such as the yearly UNICEF Country Office Annual Reports; and evaluations and peer reviews conducted by the country office and partners.
  • Collect appropriate qualitative data, to include key informant interviews, focus group discussions (remote and face to face) and surveys with beneficiaries (children and parents) and key stakeholders (CSO, Government, Private Sector and the RCO). In addition to identifying the key informants for the interviews, the analysis will serve to examine any potential partnerships that could further improve UNICEF's contribution to the country. The focus group discussions at national level with the members of the Children's Advisory body and youth facilitators, will be conducted to capture their views on topics such as UNICEF support since 2017, the needs of young people, opinions on what UNICEF could do more.
  • Prepare draft and final report. Final report should be no more that 20 pages.
  • Validate findings. Initial findings will be presented to UNICEF Staff in a (virtual) workshop to assess the validity / accuracy of the findings to the Belize context and programmes.

Ethical considerations

UNICEF supports evidence generation conducted in full compliance with ethical considerations, including during the review, research and data collection. Ethical considerations will be assessed and documented, and clearance will be sought before data collection can commence. All data collection exercise undertaken will be in accordance with ethical recommendations as set out in the UNICEF Procedure for Ethical Standards and Research, Evaluation review and Data Collection and Analysis (2015).

All informants should be offered the possibility of confidentiality, for all methods used. Dissemination or exposure of results and of any interim products must follow the rules agreed upon in the contract. Unauthorized disclosure is prohibited. Any sensitive issues or concerns should be raised, as soon as they are identified, with the M&E Specialist.

Light Review Timelines

The timeframe below is restrictive and will be updated regularly in alignment with COVID-19 developments and related measures put in place by the Governments of Belize.

Ref

Deliverable/Activity

Timelines

M1

M2

M3

1

Inception (2 days)

X

2

Data Collection (5 days)

X

3

Data Analysis (8 days)

X

X

4

Draft Report (8 days)

X

5

Presentation to Stakeholders (1 day)

X

6

Final Report (2 days)

X

A total of 26 working days are estimated for completion of the Belize Country Programme Light Review and associated deliverables. The planned duration of this consultancy is 2.5 months, with expected start on 5th April 2021 and completion by 15 June 2021.

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

The consultant should have the following qualifications, professional experience and competencies:

  • Advance Degree in Public Policy, Economics, Social Sciences or related field;
  • Proven experience in analytical skills and experience in qualitative data collection and analysis, including the conduct of KII and focus groups virtually;
  • Professional experience in conducting analysis using datasets from surveys and admin sources
  • Proven ability in coordination of research, dialogue and synthesis of complex information in strategic reports;
  • Skills in statistical analysis software;
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills in English required;
  • Ability to work independently and respond to feedback in a timely and professional manner;
  • Experience working with UNICEF would be an asset;Application an Submission

Suitable applicants are invited to submit a detailed Technical and Financial Proposal. The proposals will be assessed based on the following scores:

  • Technical Proposal: 80 points
  • Financial Proposal: 20 Points

The scores of the financial proposal and the technical proposal will be consolidated and together generate the overall final score.

Technical Proposal

The technical proposal should be no more than 5 pages, 12 points font and 1.5-line spacing excluding Appendixes. It should address the following areas:

  • Experience in conducting programme reviews and mentioning at least two similar assignments conducted previously;
  • Proposed methodology, the review framework, work plan and limitations (with alternatives) for meeting the deliverables in the ToR;
  • Consultant experience and qualifications (include CV as appendix);
  • Any other information relevant to the TORs.

For more information on the TOR click Light Review of Belize CO-CPE TOR__Final.pdf.

Financial Proposal

The financial proposal must be submitted separately from the technical proposal, as per UNICEF standard procurement guidelines. It should provide an all-inclusive budget (fee, logistics, etc) in USD, and a budget breakdown to understand the distribution of costs (daily and monthly rate).

Note: The Financial proposals will be opened only to the consultants considered technically approved (range between 59 to 80 points).

How to Apply

Contractors are invited to submit their technical and financial proposals no later than 5 :00pm (Belize time) 28th March 2021 to the link provided.

Proposals should be uploaded as a separate document (word, or pdf), and labelled as "Technical Proposal, UNICEF Belize Country Programme Light review and "Financial Proposal UNICEF Belize Country Programme Light review".

UNICEF is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF's values and competencies.

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 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:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

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.

Advertised: Mar 15 2021 Central America Standard Time Application close: Mar 28 2021 Central America Standard Time

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This vacancy is archived.

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