Senior Financing Advisor – Better Care Ukraine

Background
Ukraine’s Better Care Initiative provides safe, nurturing family care for all children. Recognizing the profound impact of war on all of Ukraine’s 7.5 million children, the initiative addresses the rise in child poverty, trauma, and risks of violence, abuse and family separation. The initiative underscores the social and economic benefits of protecting children from adversities and contributing to their holistic development.

The Government of Ukraine and its partners, including UNICEF Ukraine, are reforming how children are cared for in Ukraine by:

1. Strengthening families through integrated social services.
2. Promoting family-based alternative care for children without parental care.
3. Reintegrating children living in institutions into family care, and transforming or closing residential institutions for children.

Maestral International is supported by UNICEF Ukraine to work with partners, including government actors, to realise these aims. By supporting actors to strengthen local systems, Maestral is specifically focused on supporting the following:

1. Integrated social services and alternative family care
2. Financial resourcing
3. Technical assistance, M&E, and learning

Maestral is seeking a senior-level expert in public finance to lead the activities related to area two, focused on the financial resourcing of the Better Care agenda at national and sub-national levels.

About Maestral
Maestral International (http://maestral.org/), is a team of globally recognized technical experts supporting the development, strengthening, and coordination of child protection systems to ensure children live free from violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Our mission is to ensure that all children, especially those most excluded and marginalized, are prioritized and cared for in safe and nurturing families and communities. Maestral’s approach emphasizes the importance of a protective environment as a critical component of strengthening health, education, economic development, and human capital development.

Maestral has worked globally to increase the quality and quantity of family-based care options for children, and thus decrease reliance on residential care. We take an approach to securing and sustaining a child protection system that prioritizes family care for all children and strengthens the capacity of families, caregivers, and the system to do so.

Scope of the consultancy
The Senior Financing Advisor will be part of the Project Leadership Team and will work in close coordination with the Project Director, Maestral team members and associates, UNICEF Ukraine, Government and non-governmental stakeholders, and other experts. The expert will provide high-level support and leadership to area two, financial resourcing.

Key Functions and Objectives:

• Function as thematic lead for area two on financial resourcing, including overall management of tasks and management of involved Maestral Associates (home-based) and other technical assistance consultants (in Ukraine).
• Provide high-level technical support to the Government of Ukraine (in particular the Coordination Centre) on the financial resourcing elements of the ‘Strategy for Ensuring the Right of Every Child to Grow Up in a Family Environment’ (2024-2028).
• Work with team to utilize (and update on a periodic basis as needed) an existing national costing model of the national strategy, including using the model for resource mobilisation and advocacy, in collaboration with the Coordination Centre.
• Work with a Ukrainian economist to refine and pilot oblast and local costing models for implementation of the national strategy and corresponding local action plans, including updating of the models and development of local costing tools.
• Support the development of costing models for individual social services under the Government of Ukraine’s Integrated Social Services and Benefits Package (ISSB).
• Advise and support the Government of Ukraine and/or UNICEF Ukraine on other issues related to public finance and financial resourcing for Better Care, including attending meetings, presenting on issues, conducting trainings, providing expertise on domestic and external resource mobilisation, etc.
• Ensure the incorporation of global financing/economic best practices and standards and/or contextualizing global standards to Ukraine.
• Orient and support non-government actors to build skills on and implement various global best practices related to financing, including through training, mentoring, meetings, etc.
• Support the development of advocacy materials for investing in Better Care
• Advocate for and represent Maestral International in various fora, including meetings with government, UNICEF and non-governmental actors; represent and advise on global best practices in such fora.
• With support from the Project Manager, develop and maintain work plans as needed for area two (for more complex tasks) and track activities and deliverables in accordance with established timelines.
• Identify additional short-term technical assistance needs for area two and support recruitment of experts with support from the Project Manager.
• Review area two deliverables for quality assurance.
• Provide additional support to the financing team, the Government of Ukraine and/or UNICEF Ukraine in such issues, including attending meetings, presenting on topics, conducting trainings, etc.
• Review and write additional technical documents related to the area of financial resourcing.

Qualifications

• At least 10 years of professional experience in a related field such as public finance for children, economics, data and statistics, or other relevant areas, preferably in an international environment.
• Strong technical knowledge on financial resourcing for social services, ideally with a focus on public finance for children and/or financing alternative care.
• Experience managing diverse team members, from various cultural and professional backgrounds.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including in fast-paced working environments.
• Experience working on UNICEF-funded projects and familiarity with UN project requirements preferred.
• Knowledge of the context in Ukraine or another humanitarian setting a plus.
• Fluent in English speaking, reading and writing; Ukrainian language not required.

How to apply

Interested candidates should submit a Cover Letter detailing their experience, their CV and daily rate to vschroepel@maestral.org . Applications close on 17 January 2025.