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1. Purpose of the assignment.

The overall purpose of this assignment is to assist the Government in preparing and presenting the Voluntary National Review as per the schedule and in conformity with the required reporting standards.

2. Validity start date: 1 March 2020

3. Validity end date: 31 July 2020

4. Section, duty station: Programme, Monrovia, Liberia

5. Background and Justification.

As part of its follow-up and review mechanisms, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development encourages member states to “conduct regular and inclusive reviews of progress at the national and sub-national levels, which are country-led and country-driven”. These national reviews are expected to serve as a basis for the regular reviews by the high-level political forum (HLPF), meeting under the auspices of Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). As stipulated in paragraph 84 of the 2030 Agenda, regular reviews by the HLPF are to be voluntary, state-led, undertaken by both developed and developing countries, and involve multiple stakeholders.

The voluntary national reviews (VNRs) aim to facilitate the sharing of experiences, including successes, challenges, opportunities, and lessons learned, to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The VNRs also seek to strengthen policiesand institutions of governments and to mobilise multi-stakeholder support and partnerships for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

In 2020, 49 countries (27 first time presenters, and 22 second time presenters) will present their national voluntary reviews to the HLPF. ÂThis year, the HLPF meeting on sustainable development will be held fromTuesday, 7 July, to Thursday, 16 July 2020, including the three-day ministerial meeting of the forum fromTuesday, 14 July, to Thursday, 16 July 2020. The theme of the meeting is “Accelerated action and transformative pathways: realizing the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development “.

The VNR presentations are planned to begin on Monday, 13 July 2020 and proceed for the three days of the ministerial segment of HLPF (14-16 July 2020).

In 2019, the Government of Liberia volunteered to be one of the countries to conduct VNR in 2020. The MFDP is the country’s coordinating ministry for preparation of VNR 2020 for Government. MFDP has requested technical and financial support from UNICEF toward the preparation of VNR 2020 reporting (key messages, report, and presentation) in line with the guidelines issued by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).

UN agencies in Liberia considers the engagement with the VNR process as a great opportunity for advocacy to position itself as a partner of choice in SDG implementation and monitoring processes; bringing attention to the importance of data and the need to strengthen statistical systems; optimize the opportunity for a child and youth-centric VNR process and stakeholder accountability and connecting the child rights agenda more explicitly to the SDGs.

In the above described context, MFDP has requested UNICEF for an international lead consultant to support Government in producing the report and presentations for VNR 2020. Following terms of reference are developed to engage an international consultant to prepare for VNR 2020. The consultant is expected to develop evidence informed VNR draft report on prioritised SDGs (relevant to children and women) in consultation with key stakeholders. The critical stakeholders for UNICEF in this process are the children, adolescents and youth, marginalised groups, etc. The participation of these key stakeholders requires the use of innovative platforms like U-Report polls and use of social media etc.

6. Objective and targets of the assignment.

Objective 1. Developing an inception report of Liberia VNR 2020 process including the methodology, evidence mapping, consultation schedule and tools, and plan of action,

• Inception report (max 20 pages)

Objective 2. Drafting the VNR report and undertaking stakeholder consultations

• Conduct desk reviews of existing documents, evaluation reports, national survey reports that provide evidence-based information or data on the selected or prioritised SDGs for the VNR exercise
• Undertake syntheses drawing from identified sources of information and data to document and demonstrate evidence on the selected or prioritised SDGs for the VNR exercise
• After the preparation of the initial VNR report, conduct consultations with various interest groups including children, youth, religious groups, CSOs, United Nations Country Team and key government institutions at both national and sub-national levels

Objective 3. Developing Liberia VNR 2020 key messages (3 pages) and developing Liberia VNR 2020 final report and presentation for the HLPF in July 2020

• Key VNR 2020 messages (3 pages)
• Final VNR 2020 report (70 pages)
• VNR 2020 presentation materials

Objective 4. Developing a strategic framework and roadmap to facilitate the conduct of Liberia’s post VNR 2020, SDG tracking and review

• Post VNR 2020, advise and develop materials (electronic and print), slide presentations as well as storyboard for building awareness, promoting ownership and action at state and local levels on the 2030 Agenda and SDGs at the state and local levels. SDG tracking and review roadmap and strategy, with an action plan (10-15 pages)

7. Specific activities to be completed to achieve the objectives

• Conduct desk reviews of existing documents, evaluation reports, national survey reports that provide evidence-based information or data on the selected or prioritised SDGs for the VNR exercise
• Undertake syntheses drawing from identified sources of information and data to document and demonstrate evidence on the selected or prioritised SDGs for the VNR exercise
• Conduct consultations with various interest groups including children, youth, religious groups, CSOs, United Nations Country Team and key government institutions at both national and sub-national levels
• Based on I, II and III, develop key VNR 2020 messages (3 pages)
• Develop final VNR 2020 report (70 pages)
• Develop VNR 2020 presentation materials
• Develop a strategic framework and roadmap to facilitate the conduct of Liberia’s post VNR 2020, SDG tracking and review

8. Tangible and measurable outputs (deliverables) of the work assignment

Deliverable 1 – Inception report, finalised after incorporating feedback from the MFDP/UNICEF Country Office

Deliverable 2 – Draft VNR 2020 report along with brief stakeholder’s consultation reports, finalised after incorporating feedback from MFDP/UNICEF Country Office

Deliverable 3 – VNR 2020 key messages, final report and presentation meeting the VNR requirements and standards

Deliverable 4 – Post VNR 2020 strategic framework and roadmap, finalised after incorporating feedback from MFDP/UNICEF Country Office

9. Performance indicators for evaluation of results

Timely submission of evidence based, and quality documentation as listed below under Deliverables and Payments

10. Deliverables and payment.

Deliverable 1 – Inception report, finalised after incorporating feedback from the MFDP/UNICEF Country Office and cleared by Deputy Representative – 25% of the consultancy fee (tentatively due 15 March 2020)

Deliverable 2 – Draft VNR 2020 report along with brief stakeholder’s consultation reports, finalised after incorporating feedback from MFDP/UNICEF Country Office and cleared by Deputy Representative- 30% of the consultancy fee (tentatively due 15 April 2020)

Deliverable 3 – VNR 2020 key messages, final report and presentation meeting the VNR requirements and standards; and cleared by Deputy Representative – 30% of the consultancy fee (tentatively due 10 May 2020)

Deliverable 4 – Post VNR 2020 strategic framework and roadmap, finalised after incorporating feedback from MFDP/UNICEF Country Office and cleared by Deputy Representative – 15% of the consultancy fee (tentatively due 15 June 2020)

The deliverable due dates are tentative and will be finalised during the inception phase. Payment for all deliverables will be made based upon acceptance of all the reports and materials by MFDP and UNCT

11. Official travel involved, if any

Itinerary:

• Travel during the inception phase by the end of February/early March 2020 and Departure early March 2020
• Travel during the report finalisation phase – Arrival Mid April 2020 and Departure early May 2020

12. Qualifications, Specialized Knowledge and Relevant Experience Required

Competences:

• Experience in preparing similar reports
• Substantive knowledge and research experience relating to the SDGs.
• Good analytical skills and ability to work independently
• Commitment to a human rights-based approach to development
• Ability to plan and produce quality reports to meet established standards
• Proactive and positive to critical feedback and differing points of view.

Education:

• An advanced degree, preferably a PhD or equivalent, in relevant areas

Experience:

• At least seven years of professional experience as a researcher on socio-economic and developmental issues, particularly in the Liberian development context and challenges.
• Strong understanding and knowledge on the development context and challenges of Liberia.
• Previous experience in working with the UN in writing similar reports would be an added advantage.
• Sound knowledge and understanding of the Agenda 2030, SDGs, both processes and contents, sound knowledge of UN guidelines on VNR/SDG reporting processes and contents/technical requirements.

13. Language requirements:

Strong facilitation skills, good command of written English, and making presentations in English.

14. Documents to be included when submitting the proposal

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

• Proposal/Letter of Interest – explaining why being the most suitable for the work
• Financial proposal – based on the deliverables and terms of payment, the financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount based on an estimated number of consultancy days and daily consultancy rate (excluding travel and DSA).
• Personal CV, including experience in similar projects and at least three references.
• Completed UN Personal History Form (11) available at:

http://www.undp.org.my/uploads/p.11%20personal%20history%20form.doc