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UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate,nd proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

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For every child, the right to education

How can you make a difference? 

Purpose of Assignment:

Government budgets are the most important public policy instruments for the realization of the rights and well-being of children, as stipulated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).  Decisions on how social services are financed play a crucial role in ensuring that every child benefits from equitable development opportunities. When funding is inadequate, unevenly distributed, or inefficiently used, children, especially the most disadvantaged, risk losing access to essential services and programmes that support them to survive and thrive, gain a quality education, live safe from violence and exploitation, and enjoy a fair chance in life.

Public Finance analysis plays a vital role in identifying where gaps or vulnerabilities exist in social spending coverage. These challenges may stem from insufficient public investment or from spending that is ineffective and/or inefficient. When public spending is not aligned with equity considerations, access to essential services becomes uneven, an issue both caused and exacerbated by poor public financial management (PFM) and oversight.

Children represent one of the most vulnerable groups in any society, and their well-being depends on public spending that is both sufficient and equitable. While countries across South Asia and Southeast Asia and the Pacific have achieved some progress in terms of fiscal space for children, ongoing challenges remain. Many Governments still struggle to consistently prioritize social sectors and to ensure that public resources are used effectively to improve outcomes for children. Additionally, reliable data on child welfare and social sector spending is often limited. These information gaps make it difficult to understand the effectiveness of current programs and advocate for policy and budget reforms needed to strengthen results for every child.

In 2023, UNICEF East Asia Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO) released the publication “Where is the Fiscal Space for Children”, which analysed and assessed public budgets for social sectors for 21 countries across Asia and the Pacific. The report highlighted gaps in social sector allocations before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, with focus on scale and sustainability of the fiscal responses during the crisis. It also reviewed budget transparency, credibility, decentralization, and equity to provide a clearer picture of how resources are being managed. The findings offer practical considerations for strengthening efficiency, expanding fiscal space, improving prioritization, and guiding strategic policy decisions that better serve children.

Since then, and through the EU-UNICEF Public Finance Facility, Country offices have advanced this work by developing a budget tracker to systematically collect and analyse budget and expenditure data across key social sectors. This initiative has led to the creation of a consolidated database that strengthens the evidence base and enables more robust monitoring of how public resources are allocated and spent for children.

UNICEF is seeking an international consultant to develop a regional spending monitor that analyses social sector budgets. The monitor will draw primarily on the budget and expenditure data collected through the Public Finance Facility, while also incorporating complementary evidence and research on key outcomes in health, education, and social protection.

Scope of Work:

The purpose of this assignment is to develop a report on governments’ budget and spending on social sectors encompassing health, education and social protection, capturing trends and current states of affairs with necessary narrative and infographics. The report is to primarily draw on the social sector budget and expenditure data collected through the Facility as part of the budget tracker initiative, covering all countries (17) included in the tracker. It should also draw upon relevant data and research pertaining to key outcomes in the areas of health, education, and social protection, with which to complement analysis of the budget and expenditure data. In addition, the consultant is required to contribute to the strengthening of the budget tracker itself, through meta data incorporation within the tool for all data entry points and for all countries covered, and developing a ‘data lock function’ for entries that have already been validated and finalised.

Under the guidance and supervision of the Social Policy Specialist in UNICEF ROSA, the consultant will complete the following deliverables, in line with the timeline set out later in this document.

• Deliverable 1. Develop an analytical report on public budget and expenditure in social sectors covering 7 countries from South Asia and 10 countries from East Asia and the Pacific (further breakdown of the task in the later part of this document), contributing to evidence on resource allocation and utilisation efficiencies and gaps.
• Deliverable 2. Develop a function within the existing Excel tool of the budget tracker to include budget and expenditure metadata for all country files and ensure reflection in the dashboard.
• Deliverable 3. Develop a function to lock data of the budget tracker that has been validated.

Main Deliverables:

Deliverable 1.1.  Inception report (plan to carry out the assignment) - design of the social sector budget and expenditure report for countries of South and Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Timeline: 5 days

Deliverable 1.2. First draft of the social sector budget and expenditure report for  countries of South and Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Timeline: 15 days

Deliverable 1.3. Validation of the draft report with Country Offices and development of the second draft. Timeline: 10 days

Deliverable 1.4. Validation of the second draft with RO/COE and development of the final report. Timeline: 10 days

Deliverable 1.5. Finalizing design of the report with the communications team. Timeline: 3 days

Deliverable 2. Develop a function within the existing Excel tool of the budget tracker to include metadata for all country files. Timeline: 1 day

Deliverable 3. Develop a function to lock data of the budget tracker that has been validated. Timeline: 2 days

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

Education: 

A Master’s degree in Economics, public finance, or related field.

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required *:

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness

(3) Drive to achieve results for impact

(4) Innovates and embraces change

(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity

(6) Thinks and acts strategically

(7) Works collaboratively with others 

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

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.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:  

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable candidates from targeted underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason. 

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.