Consultant for Legislative review of social protection in Grenada

Over the past years, Grenada has been challenged by different socioeconomic shocks as well as environmental issues such as deforestation, and degradation of its marine ecosystems. Like other small islands of the eastern Caribbean, Grenada is also vulnerable to climatic events.
In 2024, the United Nations Children’s Fund Eastern Caribbean Area Office (UNICEF ECA) conducted a mission to Grenada. One of the key discussion points articulated by the government was the need for UNICEFs to support the development of the Social Protection Policy. Committing to support this assignment, UNICEF advised that in order to update the National Social Protection Policy, a legal assessment was important to be conducted as well as advising how the different social protection policies can be grounded in an effective legal framework. This recommendation was agreed to by the government, namely the ministry with responsibility for most of the working of the social protection system—the Ministry of Social and Community Development, Housing and Gender Affairs (MSCDHGA).

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, protection. 

How can you make a difference? 

Location: Remote – with travels to Grenada

Duration: 51 working days

Start Date: 1 September 2024

End Date: 1 May 2025

Supervisor: Social Policy Specialist

BACKGROUND:

The UNICEF Eastern Caribbean Area Office is based in Barbados and cover 12 countries/ territories in the Eastern Caribbean. UNICEF works to put the rights and well-being of the most disadvantaged children at the heart of the social, political, and economic agenda, in line with our equity focus, working across our organization and with our partners in government, civil society and the private sector to support shifts in public policy, fuel social engagement, and increase investment for children.

Ensuring the well-being and rights of children is at the core of UNICEF’s mission. UNICEF in the Eastern Caribbean has been supporting the development of different Social Protection Policies across the region. These policies come at a time when social protection is increasingly recognized as a right and an instrument to battle inequality and achieve social justice. Collaborating with legal frameworks on social protection is paramount to effectively safeguarding children’s rights and promoting their holistic development. Legal frameworks provide a structured approach to addressing systemic issues such as poverty, inequality, and exclusion, which directly impact children’s access to essential services and opportunities.

Grenada is an island located in the Southern Caribbean with a population of 126,000 people. Over the past years, Grenada has been challenged by different socioeconomic shocks as well as environmental issues such as deforestation, and degradation of its marine ecosystems. Like other small islands of the eastern Caribbean, Grenada is also vulnerable to climatic evens. In 2024 for example, the island was hit by Hurricane Beryl which devastated some of its smaller islands and left a considerable human and financial impact. Considering the ongoing challenges faced by this country, in 2024 the United Nations Children’s Fund Eastern Caribbean Area Office (UNICEF ECA) conducted a mission to Grenada. One of the key discussion points articulated by the government was the need for UNICEFs to support the development of the Social Protection Policy. Committing to support this assignment, UNICEF advised that in order to update the National Social Protection Policy, a legal assessment was important to be conducted as well as advising how the different social protection policies can be grounded in an effective legal framework. This recommendation was agreed to by the government, namely the ministry with responsibility for most of the working of the social protection system—the Ministry of Social and Community Development, Housing and Gender Affairs (MSCDHGA).

PURPOSE/SCOPE OF ASSIGNMENT:

1. Goals and Objectives: Under the supervision of the Social Policy Specialist, the consultant will lead the implementation of a comprehensive assessment of the legal frameworks linked to social protection policy in Grenada.

Social protection policy is equivalent to a common definition of public policy: a system of laws, rights, legislative, normative and regulatory measures, and courses of action adopted and pursued by a government, and corresponding funding priorities supporting the establishment, development and/or maintenance of a national social protection system. Although each national legal framework is different, one would expect to find key aspects of a social protection system in relevant laws, regulatory acts, and other legal and strategy documents that make up the different layers of the legal framework. National legal frameworks generally consist of: (a) the Constitution; (b) laws adopted by the legislative branch (such as labor laws, social security framework laws, specific social security/protection legislation, laws making provisions for administration, financial management, delivery, enforcement, etc.); and (c) regulations and policy documents adopted by the executive branch (i.e., regulations governing implementation, ministerial decrees, circulars, ordinances, by-laws, government strategies, policies, action plans, standards of services, and operations manuals).

As part of its efforts to advance Social Protection in the Eastern Caribbean, understanding the legal structure where social protection would sit is paramount to ensuring that policies and programmes can be fully implemented in a sustainable way. Therefore, UNICEF is now commissioning an assessment of legislature pertaining or that could apply to social protection in Grenada with the main objectives to:

1. Review of the relevant legislation, policies and other measures in place in Grenada.
2. Assess national social protection related legislative provisions, in order to identify legislative gaps.
3. Evaluate to what degree the policy and legal framework are aligned with specific national needs as well as national strategies and objectives.
4. Incorporate the analysis of legal basis for the establishment and institutionalization of a management information system (MIS).
5. Undertake rapid assessment of key stakeholders, interests and incentives, key debates and narratives relating to social protection legislation in the country.
6. Provide recommendations for technically and politically feasible options to advance social protection legal frameworks in Grenada through the development of a Social Policy Brief to Cabinet and Ministry of Legal Affairs.

2. Link to the Annual Work Plan: This project relates to Output 3.2 which is that’s social protection systems are strengthened, including their policy and legal frameworks.

3. Activities and Tasks: The consultant will work closely with the Social Protection Specialist in conducting an analysis and development of a Social Policy Brief, considering the following:

Desk/literature review: A rapid review of secondary data available.

Key informant interviews (KII): Interviews with key stakeholders in the relevant governments as well as UN Agencies working with social protection and legal framework. These interviews will be done remotely.

It is expected that the focal points within the Ministries of Social Development in Grenada will be facilitating the access to documents as well as providing the main stakeholders to be interviewed.

OUTPUTS/DELIVERABLES:

The main outputs of the analysis include:

• Inception Presentation: Consultant will develop the methodology and approach to the analysis and present to Government for validation.
• Draft Report: This document will provide the initial key findings from the literature review and the KIIs (if needed).
• Final Report of the Legal Analysis with recommendations: This document will provide the final findings and analysis, as well as recommendations.
• Draft of Social Policy Brief: Consultant will use finding from the legal analysis and consultations to draft a social policy brief to be introduced to Cabinet and Ministry of Legal Affairs.
• Presentation of the Social Policy Brief: Consultant will present the findings to Ministry of Social Development and hear feedback.
• Final Social Policy Brief: Incorporating the feedback, the consultant will deliver the final product.
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WORK ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW:

See Work Assignment overview in the attached TOR.  GRE – TOR Legal Assessment.pdf

TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS:

This assignment will require travel to: Grenada for a max of two weeks (10 days). The consultant is responsible for arranging his/her own travel, including bearing the costs visas and travel insurance. Accommodation, meals and incidentals costs must not exceed the UN daily subsistence allowance rates. The costs for approved travels will be reimbursed by the UNICEF ECA upon submission of receipts and based on applicable UN DSA rates. All approved travels to be conducted in accordance with UNICEF travel rules and regulations.

PAYMENT SCHEDULE:

Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed deliverables which receive satisfactory quality review.  In general, individual contracts shall not allow for fee advances. However, a maximum of 30 per cent of the total contract value may be authorized by the Approving Authority in cases where advance purchases, for example for supplies or travel, may be necessary.

For every child, you will have…

• A Master’s Degree in: Law, Social Policy, Public Policy, International Relations.
• A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in legislative matters and social protection.
• Knowledge and/or experience in social protection and legislative frameworks
• Knowledge and/or experience working in the Caribbean context is an asset.
• Experience using qualitative research tools and methodologies.
• Language(s) needed if any: English written and oral fluency.

EVALUATION CRITERIA:

1. Technical Evaluation: 75 points

• Education Background: 15 points
• Relevant Work Experience: 45 points
• Relevant Experience in the Caribbean: 15 points

1. Financial Proposal: 25 points

ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS:

This assignment is home-based. The Consultant is expected to work with his/her laptop and mobile phone and email address. The Consultant will report to the Social Policy Officer and the focal point at the Ministry of Social and Community Development, Housing and Gender Affairs. The Consultant will be expected to report regularly on progress being made on the contract to the Social Policy Officer. Periodic discussions will also be carried out during the consultancy period to monitor progress and constraints, support required and proposed solutions.

CONDITIONS OF SERVICE:

Before commencing work, a consultant or individual contractor shall submit a statement of good health and take full responsibility for the accuracy of that statement, including confirmation that he or she has been informed of the inoculations required for the country or countries to which travel is authorized. Consultants and individual contractors shall assume all costs that may occur in relation to the statement of good health.  Consultants and individual contractors are required to certify that they are covered by medical/health insurance.

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. 

RECOURSE:

UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant. Performance indicators against which the satisfactory conclusion of this contract will be assessed include timeliness/quality of submission and responsiveness to UNICEF and counterpart feedback.

TITLE RIGHTS:

All materials created by the Contractor which bears a direct relation to, or is made in order to perform, this contract and any intellectual property rights thereof, including but not limited to patents, copyright and trademarks, shall be jointly owned by UNICEF and the Contractor. At the request of UNICEF, the Contractor shall assist in securing such property rights and transferring them to UNICEF in compliance with the requirements of the law governing such rights. Any third-party usage shall require written permission from both parties.

TRAININGS:

Consultants and Individual contractors, even those working from home, must complete the following online courses prior to signature of contract.  All certificates should be presented as part of the contract:

• Ethics and Integrity at UNICEF
• Prevention of Sexual Harassment & Abuse of Authority
• Sexual Exploitation Abuse (PSEA) 

Consultants and Individual Contractors must complete the following course before commencement of any travel on behalf of UNICEF. 

• BSAFE Security Training 

Any consultant or individual contractor who is issued a UNICEF email address must complete the following courses no later than 30 days after signature of contract. 

• General Information Security Awareness Course
• Fraud Awareness

HOW TO APPLY:

Prospective consultants should apply through UNICEF jobs website using the following link Vacancies tendersglobal.net UNICEF Careers no later than September 2, 2024. The application package should include the following:

1. A cover letter;
2. Detailed Curriculum Vitae
3. A proposal stipulating all-inclusive fees, including lump sum travel and subsistence costs, as applicable.

“UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.”

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. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract 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 and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors 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.