UNDP Jobs - 94099- National consultant to conduct the Analysis of Exp

National consultant to conduct the Analysis of Expenditure, Costing, Fiscal Space, and Financing for Social Protection Strategy.

Location :

Beirut, LEBANON

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

25-Sep-20 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

40 working days spread over a period of 4 months

Languages Required :

Arabic English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

40 working days spread over a period of 4 months

UNDP 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. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

Lebanon is facing unprecedented economic and social crises considered as the harshest in its modern history. As a result of the chronic twin deficit in the fiscal balance and balance of payment over the past years, the economic crisis escalated to turn into a sovereign debt crisis, monetary and liquidity crisis, and a severe economic contraction. The situation was further aggravated with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic that speeded up the economic fallout.
Lebanon lacks an integrated national social protection (SP) system to protect its poor and vulnerable population, and mostly characterized by vertical and horizontal fragmentation, excessive leakage and
exclusion. As such, coverage and provision of protection to the poorest and most vulnerable remains
inadequate. The ongoing economic crisis, compounded by the COVID19 implications, clearly
demonstrated the fragility of the system and its inability to adequately respond to shocks. The shift
towards a Government-led national SP system with a clear policy, vision and direction will improve
longer-term programming, increase efficiency in budget allocation and bring more sustainable
investment in the sector.
The Government in Lebanon – supported by several UN agencies including UNICEF, ILO and UNDP – is in
the process of developing a national social protection strategy to embed the Government vision during
the short, medium, and long term. The strategy will have six main pillars considered as the back of any
social protection system, name: i) social assistance, ii) social insurance, ii) economic inclusion and labor
market activation, iv) financial access to health, v) financial access to education, and vi) social welfare
services. The strategy will have cross-cutting priorities including gender, disability, shock responsiveness,
migration, lifecycle vulnerabilities as well as refugees.
A key consideration in the strategy development is related to availability of financial resources to
implement priority programmes and activities, given the tight fiscal constraints, low confidence, and
gloomy economic prospects.

Duties and Responsibilities

To support the development of the national strategy, UNDP seeks to recruit a financial
economist/analyst who will contribute to the development of the financial and cost analysis of the
proposed strategy. S/he will also work closely with a multi-disciplinary team of experts in finance,
economics and social development to produce the final costing of the strategy. In specific, the
consultant will act as a key contributor to produce the following outputs:
a) Budget and expenditure analysis: the consultant will contribute to the analysis of budget
expenditure. Broadly, budget preparation process in Lebanon shall be described including the
preparation of the Medium Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF), the budget ceiling, the
constitutional and legal dates for preparing and processing the budget, in addition to any other
parameters featuring the process of budget preparation and execution. The consultant shall also
support in performing expenditure analysis covering selected line ministries, institutions, and
agencies engaged in service delivery and financing of existing social protection interventions.
This includes – not limited to – the Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Labor, the National
Social Security Fund, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education, other Line Ministries
and funds that provide any type of social assistance/social insurance benefits. Analysis includes
historical trends, expenditure structure, major components, and delivery mechanisms
(contracting, direct service delivery). Percentage of budget expenditure and GDP are key
indicators of the level of spending.
b) Costing analysis programmes and activities: Once priority programmes of the social protection
strategy are identified, the consultant will participate in developing the costing analysis,
depending on the agreed costing approach. The consultant shall support in identifying the
different variables to be included in the costing including unit costs, assumptions, and key
parameters that may cost forecasts. The consultant shall develop costing templates using
spreadsheets and validate the parameters with the various partners including Government
bodies, UN agencies, and other consultants working on the strategy development.
c) Financial and economic analysis: One or two priority programmes will be selected to be
assessed for value-for-money considerations and to establish a link between inputs, outputs,
and outcomes in the results chain. This analysis will be used for advocacy purposes and to
encourage decision-makers to look beyond the actual cost of the programmes and consider the
resulting benefits. Any of the following approaches could be used depending on the relevance:
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA), Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA), Cost of No-Action Analysis (CAN).
d) Financial gap: The consultant will support in identifying the fiscal implication of implementing
the strategy programmes upon the Government Budget.
e) Fiscal space and financing analysis: The consultant shall contribute to the fiscal space analysis
potentially generated to cover the strategy implementation. This will include analysis of the
Government’s economic recovery plan, development assistance, deficit financing plans
(borrowing), tax policies, and reallocation of existing resources (among and within sectors).
For additional information, please refer to ANNEX I – Terms of Reference

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Proven experience in providing strategic financial and economic advisory services
Excellent interpersonal, communication and presentation skills
Fluency in oral and written English and Arabic
Good analytical skills
Highly motivated with good teamwork spirit.

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Advocates and promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UN;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
Knowledge of the UN preferable.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

Master’s in Economics or Statistics

Years of Experience:

At least 3 years of relevant experience

Technical Experience:

3 years of experience in public finance and financial and economic costing analysis. Experience in social sector financing is a plus.

How to apply:
The consultancy is open for all national consultants who meet the selection criteria and propose a competitive fee. Interested consultants are requested to apply only through this UNDP jobs portal.
Submissions through any other media will not be considered.
The application must include all of the following documents:
1. P11,
2. Annex 3 (Offerors Letter) and
3. Methodology
4. Financial proposal

All files shall be submitted in one single document and uploaded as word or PDF file to the UNDP job site.
It has been observed that bidders don’t submit all requested documents and thus reducing their chance to be selected for a contract with UNDP. before you submit your offer please revise that the application is complete and comprises all four (4) documents.
Incomplete applications will not be considered.