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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, Opportunity

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Backround

The Ministry of Gender, Youth and Social Development (MoGYSD) with the financial and technical assistance of the European Union (EU) and UNICEF developed the National Information System for Social Assistance (NISSA) between 2009 and 2010, as well as its operational system, the Management Information System for Social Assistance (MISSA) from 2014 and completed in 2016. The NISSA has evolved to become a social registry containing social economic information for about 90 per cent of households in Lesotho.  The NISSA was custom built to meet the MoGYSD requirements for data collection, storage and analyses, to enable classification of households into various poverty categories to facilitate effective and efficient targeting by social assistance programmes. Through the years many of the NISSA processes have been digitized and the system works in conjunction with a mobile application that was developed to facilitate timely data collection and entry.

The MISSA system on the other hand is a web-based system that runs on a Microsoft platform and is the operational system used for the management of the various social assistance programmes. The MISSA too was custom built to meet the MoGYSD requirements for day-to-day programme support. The MISSA has modules for management of integrated social assistance programmes such as the Lesotho Child Grants Programme (CGP), Orphans and Vulnerable Children Bursary (OVC-B), and Public Assistance (PA) programmes. The aspiration of the MoGYSD is to have all social assistance programmes to be managed through the MISSA.

Digital technologies play an important role in facilitating timely availability and quality of information for better services provision. In Lesotho, digital transformation is increasingly making quality data more readily available. The country has prioritised this and is on a journey to robust digital systems as platforms for service delivery and digital data systems for decision support. UNICEF Social Policy Section has and continues to provide support to the MoGYSD to strengthen the social protection registry, the NISSA and its management information system, the MISSA.

Since the two systems were developed, they have undergone several phases of enhancements and modifications to keep up with advancements in the digital and technological environment but also to address many new emerging needs and requirements in the social protection sector.  As such, since late 2024, both systems are undergoing upgrading to keep pace with global standards and advancements.  Figure 1 below shows the new aspirational digital ecosystem for social protection in Lesotho.

Figure1: Digital Ecosystem for Social Protection.

Source: NISSA & MISSA Upgrading Inception Report.

As a result of the on-going upgrading of the NISSA and the MISSA, there is also a need to update the manuals for the NISSA and MISSA systems, and manuals for all programmes in the MISSA BOMS in line with the upgrades that the systems will undergo. In addition, where needed, new manuals and standard operating procedures will have to be developed too.  The manuals and standard operating procedures will have to be revised or developed for all the social protection programmes and the social protection delivery value chain processes as shown in Figure 2 below.

Figure 1: Social Protection Delivery Value Chain.

Source: Sourcebook on the Foundations of Social Protection Delivery Systems.

Purpose of the assignment

Overall Objective of the Consultancy:

The overall objective of the consultancy is to revise the current manuals for the NISSA and the MISSA, and where needed, draft new manuals for the NISSA and the MISSA in alignment with the upgraded systems to meet all the requirements of the social protection delivery value chain.

 Provide details/reference to AWP covered.

Under the supervision of the Social Policy Specialist, the service provider will support the joint UNICEF Social Policy -Government of Lesotho 2025-26 Rolling Workplan (RWP).  Specifically, activity 3.1.3 (2520/A0/05/883/001/03), Provide technical and financial support for strengthening and update NISSA household information.

Scope of Work

The key activities within this assignment include the following:

Activity 1: Drafting of Inception report

1.1 Conduct consultations with the MoGYSD and UNICEF to reach mutual understanding and consensus on the assignment approach, methodology, and work plan.

1.2 Literature Review including review of manuals of similar programmes from other countries

1.3 Draft a concise Inception Report for the assignment.

Activity 2: Review of current manuals.

2.1 Conduct a review and assessment of the available NISSA and MISSA manuals, programme manuals and other relevant NISSA and MISSA documents, to identify gaps, areas of amendment or redundancies in the systems and programme manuals to align with the upgraded systems.

2.2 Discuss and reach consensus with MoGYSD and UNICEF on areas of revision of the current manuals and where needed draft new manuals based on the assessment and review conducted under point 2.1 above.

2.3 Clearly document in a report, identified gaps and amendments to the manuals agreed upon.  

Activity 3: Revise the NISSA and MISSA manuals.

3.1 Revise and/or update the current NISSA and MISSA manuals to address the identified gaps, areas of amendment or redundancies in line with the upgraded systems.

3.2 Draft new NISSA, MISSA and programme manuals for all the Lesotho social protection digital ecosystem (Figure 1 above) and the social protection delivery value chain processes (Figure 2 above), including manuals for digital payments and other digitized processes.

3.3 Keep abreast of the NISSA and MISSA upgrading process and adapt the manuals in line with the requirements of the upgrades.

3.4 Conduct at least one visit in country during testing and/or field deployment of the manuals

Activity 4: Finalization of the manuals and orientation of MoGYSD and UNICEF staff

4.1 Revise all the manuals based on feedback and taking into account any modifications to the NISSA and MISSA systems performed during the testing period of the upgrading process.

4.2 Develop training guides and conduct an in-person orientation on the manuals for MoGYSD and UNICEF staff.

4.3 Finalize the manuals based on any additional feedback received during the orientation on the manuals.

4.4 Handover of the revised and new manuals.

Activity 5: Assignment closure

5.1 Draft a final consultancy report with recommendations on updating and/or revision of the manuals.

The consultant will work closely with the Technical Working Group (TWG) on NISSA & MISSA Upgrading, the Ministry of Gender, Youth, and Social Development's Social Assistance and IT Teams and the UNICEF Social Policy Team. The consultant's primary responsibility is to provide technical expertise and guidance for the successful execution of the project.

All reports and deliverables must be submitted electronically in English, in editable (Word) and PDF formats, adhering to defined content and formatting guidelines, and sent to designated recipients at UNICEF. They must be approved before each payment. A detailed structure for each deliverable needs to be agreed upon in advance with the contract manager.

Work Assignment Overview:

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

• Master’s Degree in social sciences, IT or any other relevant field. *A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.

Relevant work experience required :  

• Minimum of 10 years of extensive experience in social protection.
• Demonstrated experience in building/designing and supporting implementation of social registries and social protection Management Information Systems (MIS).
• Experience in working and building capacities of governments in the social protection sector.
• Demonstrated experience drafting manual for social registries and social protection programmes.
• Strong skills in analysis, critical thinking, problem-solving and reporting skills.
• Ability to work with a team and independently in a multi-cultural environment.
• Fluency in English (verbal and written).

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 or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

Interested candidates should indicate their ability, availability, and rate (daily/monthly) expressed in USD to undertake the terms of reference. Please indicate an all-inclusive fee (including lump sum travel and subsistence costs, as applicable) to undertake the tasks in the Terms of reference

Remarks:  

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

Individuals engaged under a consultancy 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. Consultants  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.