International Consultant to Develop an Investment Case for a State Child Guarantee in Social Policy Section 3.5 months (Internationals only) Home based with travel, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

## International Consultant to Develop an Investment Case for a State Child Guarantee in Social Policy Section 3.5 months (Internationals only) Home based with travel, Tashkent, Uzbekistan - Organization:UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund - Office:UNICEF in Tashkent International Consultant to Develop an Investment Case for a State Child Guarantee in Uzbekistan, Social Policy Section, 3.5 months, Tashkent, Uzbekistan (Internationals only) Home based with travel Position type:Consultant Division/Equivalent:CEE/CIS School/Unit:Republic of Uzbekistan Department/Office:Tashkent, Rep. of Uzbekistan Categories:Social Policy 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, and 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. UNICEF is a place where careers are built. We offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package. Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF. For every child, the right to protection How can you make a difference? Uzbekistan is undertaking wide-ranging social protection and broader social policy reforms to advance children's rights and social inclusion, in line with its international obligations and constitutional status as a social state. Recent reforms have paved the way for stronger legal protection from violence, improved access to education, healthcare and social support, and a more integrated social protection system through establishment of “Inson” centres and unified information systems under the National Agency for Social Protection. National development strategies also prioritize investment in children, youth and human capital. These reforms have been accompanied by progress in measuring and reducing poverty: child monetary poverty declined from 21.5 per cent in 2021 to 11.4 per cent in 2024, while multidimensional child-poverty measurement has been incorporated into the Household Budget Survey to support more comprehensive policymaking. Challenges remain despite sustained efforts to expand support for families with children. For instance, the Uzbekistan Child Poverty Report 2024 estimates that 21.4 per cent of children (approximately 2.7 million) experience deprivation in at least two dimensions, with particularly high deprivation in clean heating fuel, early childhood development and sanitation. Children also experience barriers relating to education, health, nutrition, safe water and housing, access to information, disability inclusion and protection from violence, neglect and family separation. Multidimensional and monetary poverty identify largely different groups: only 2.9 per cent of children experience both, indicating that income-based targeting alone cannot identify or address many of the deprivations affecting children. Targeted eligibility arrangements, uneven benefit adequacy, fragmented programmes and responsibilities, limited interoperability of administrative data, and disparities by age, disability, household composition and location further constrain equitable access, policy coherence and efficient use of public resources. A comprehensive State Child Guarantee is therefore needed to translate Uzbekistan's existing legal and policy commitments into a clearly defined, measurable and progressively realizable package of support for children. Drawing on international good practices, including the organizing principles of the European Child Guarantee, and adapting them to Uzbekistan's national context would enable the country to combine adequate and predictable child- and family-related benefits with effective access to priority social welfare, child protection, early childhood development, education, healthcare, nutrition and other essential services. Such a guarantee would provide a common framework for coordinating existing programmes, closing gaps in coverage, adequacy and service quality, and linking income support with interventions addressing the multiple and overlapping deprivations experienced by children. It would also enable reforms to be phased according to evidence, implementation capacity and available fiscal space, while progressively advancing equitable access for all children, with priority given to those experiencing poverty, exclusion or heightened vulnerability. To inform Government decision-making, UNICEF will engage an individual international consultant to develop an Investment Case for the establishment and progressive implementation of a State Child Guarantee in Uzbekistan. The assignment will map and cost existing child-sensitive benefits and services; assess their coverage, adequacy, accessibility, quality, effectiveness and current public expenditure; and estimate the economic and social costs of maintaining existing gaps. It will develop and compare feasible reform scenarios that integrate benefits and services and progressively improve their coverage, adequacy and quality, assessing their fiscal requirements and expected contribution to reducing monetary and multidimensional child poverty. Drawing on relevant and transferable international evidence, the analysis will examine the cost-effectiveness, costs and benefits, implementation requirements, fiscal space and sustainable financing options associated with each scenario. The resulting Investment Case will provide an evidence base and a phased, institutionally feasible roadmap to guide policy dialogue and government decisions on the design, financing and implementation of an integrated State Child Guarantee. If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here:External ToR TMC0005660.pdf To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have... Minimum requirements: - An advanced university degree (master's degree or equivalent) in economics, public finance, public policy, social policy, development studies, statistics, or another directly relevant field.A PhD in a relevant field may be considered an asset - An advanced university degree (master's degree or equivalent) in economics, public finance, public policy, social policy, development studies, statistics, or another directly relevant field. - A PhD in a relevant field may be considered an asset - At least ten years of progressively responsible professional experience in social protection, public finance, economics, social-sector financing, or a closely related field. - Demonstrated expertise in the design, assessment, or financing of child-sensitive social protection programmes, including cash benefits, social assistance, social services, or integrated packages of benefits and services. - Completion of at least two comparable assignments involving the development of an investment case or financing strategy for social protection or another social sector. Collectively, these assignments should demonstrate experience in:programme costing and quantitative scenario modelling;economic analysis, such as cost-benefit, cost-effectiveness, cost-of-inaction, or return-on-investment analysis;fiscal-impact, fiscal-space, affordability, or financing analysis; andassessment of expected effects on poverty, child well-being, human capital, or other relevant outcomes. - programme costing and quantitative scenario modelling; - economic analysis, such as cost-benefit, cost-effectiveness, cost-of-inaction, or return-on-investment analysis; - fiscal-impact, fiscal-space, affordability, or financing analysis; and - assessment of expected effects on poverty, child well-being, human capital, or other relevant