International Consultant to Support the Government of Liberia in the Rollout of the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID), Monrovia, Liberia, 6 months (onsite/remotely)

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, social policy is a must!

Background: 

The Government of Liberia has launched the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID) 2025–2029, a comprehensive national development plan designed to drive economic transformation, human capital development, and governance reform. This strategic initiative is aligned with Liberia Vision 2030, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the ECOWAS Vision 2050.

The country’s political economy remains shaped by its post-conflict context, characterized by governance challenges, dependency on external debt, and structural economic vulnerabilities. According to UNICEF’s F4C (Financing for Children) framework, boosting domestic revenue mobilization is critical to reducing aid dependency and ensuring sustainable investments in child-centered development. However, persistent issues such as inefficient budget execution, weak accountability systems, and delays in public expenditure disbursement continue to impede the effective delivery of child poverty reduction programs.

Despite efforts to enforce fiscal discipline, Liberia’s fiscal deficit is projected to increase from 3.4% of GDP in 2024 to 4.5% in 2025, driven by rising government expenditure. On a positive note, inflation is expected to decline from 8.4% in 2024 to 5.7% in 2025, supported by exchange rate stability and tighter monetary policies.

The 2025 national budget stands at USD 851.76 million, up from USD 738.86 million in 2024. Key priority areas include public administration, security, social services, and infrastructure development. Over the past five years (2020–2025), Liberia’s national budget grew by 60.4% (USD 320.8 million), with the largest annual increase of USD 215.9 million recorded between 2020 and 2021.

Budget allocations for the education sector ranged from 2.1% to 2.6% of GDP and represented 13–15% of total expenditures, with a notable increase projected in 2025. The health sector maintained stable funding between 1.6% and 1.8% of GDP, accounting for 9–10% of the national budget. Although allocations for social protection remain low (around 2–3% of the budget), they have increased from 0.3% in 2024 to nearly 0.5% in 2025.

While Liberia has made commendable progress in decentralization and social protection, the successful implementation of the AAID agenda requires robust technical assistance, institutional capacity building, and targeted implementation support. In this context, UNICEF Liberia, in partnership with the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), seeks to engage a consultant to provide expert guidance on program-based budgeting, social protection systems, and policy implementation.

II.  Purpose of the Assignment:

The consultant will provide technical and strategic support to the Government of Liberia and UNICEF in implementing the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development. The primary objectives are:

• Strengthen budget planning and execution for child-sensitive social protection programs.
• Support the fiscal decentralization process and enhance government capacity in program-based budgeting.
• Facilitate stakeholder engagement and inter-agency coordination for AAID implementation.

III. Scope of Work:

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

 

To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

Remarks:  

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

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.