International Consultant to conduct analysis of Expenditure, Costing, Fiscal Space, and Financing for Poverty Reduction Strategy of Uzbekistan

Location : Home based

Application Deadline : 26-Jul-21 (Midnight New York, USA)

Time left : 15d 7h 53m

Type of Contract : Individual Contract

Post Level : International Consultant

Languages Required :
English

Starting Date :
(date when the selected candidate is expected to start) 01-Aug-2021

Duration of Initial Contract : 25 working days

Expected Duration of Assignment : August 2021 – October 2021

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

Uzbekistan has been undergoing significant transformation with the country’s long-term objective set to become a high middle-income country by 2030, therein doubling per capita income, as well as reducing poverty. With the poverty rate rising to 12-15% in 2020 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, poverty reduction and enhanced well-being have been identified by the President as one of the key priorities for the country for the first time. As a way to identify the main issues and bottlenecks and elaborate comprehensive measures to fight poverty, the Government is in the process of elaborating the National Poverty Reduction Strategy 2021-2030.

The strategy envisages a broad range of measures aimed at promoting employment and entrepreneurial actives; improving human capital through addressing the quality of education and health service; improving access to public infrastructure and stemming environmental degradation. The aim is, through the combined impact of these measures, to provide sustainable long-term and solutions which will allow the country to achieve SDG1 – end extreme poverty – by 2030.

At the same time, the strategy needs to be supported by a comprehensive finanicng plan to back and support implementation of the strategy. The Addis Ababa Action Agenda calls for countries to establish Integrated National Financing Frameworks to support cohesive nationally owned sustainable development strategies. At the heart of these frameworks lie financing strategies which guide the way that governments raise and invest their own resources, and use policy and partnerships to influence the way that other actors invest their resources. Understanding the scale and types of investment needed to achieve the SDGs are a key foundation on which governments can build effective SDG financing strategies.

In the light of the above there is a need to conduct a comprehensive costing exercise to understanding the scale of investments needed across the Poverty Reduction Strategy as a whole and understanding how this breaks down across public and private finance. Furthermore, given that understanding the cost of achieving the SDGs is viewed not as a one-off exercise, but as a fundamental part of the planning and financing policy cycle, there is a need for approaches that can be tailored and built into national planning and financing processes. Designing approaches which are appropriate to Uzbekistan’s contexts, considering national capacity, policy processes and the availability of data, is therefore a priority.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Consultant will work on costing for Road map on Implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy in Uzbekistan in 2021-2030. The Consultant will drive the process under the guidance of the main government counterparts of the Joint Programme and UNDP Country Office including but not limited to the following activities:

a) Budget and expenditure analysis: the consultant will contribute to the analysis of budget expenditure. The consultant shall perform expenditure analysis covering selected line ministries, institutions, and agencies engaged in service delivery and financing of existing poverty reduction interventions. This includes – not limited to – the Ministry of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction, Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministries of Education, other Line Ministries and funds that implement poverty reduction programmes. Analysis includes historical trends, expenditure structure, major components, and delivery mechanisms (contracting, direct service delivery). Percentage of budget expenditure and GDP are key indicators of the level of spending.

b) Costing analysis programmes and activities: Once priority programmes are identified, the consultant will participate in developing the costing analysis, depending on the agreed costing approach. The consultant shall support in identifying the different variables to be included in the costing including unit costs, assumptions, and key parameters that may cost forecasts. The consultant shall develop costing templates using

spreadsheets and validate the parameters with the various partners including Government bodies, UN agencies, and other consultants working on the strategy development.

c) Financial and economic analysis: One or two priority programmes will be selected to be assessed for value-for-money considerations and to establish a link between inputs, outputs, and outcomes in the results chain. This analysis will be used for advocacy purposes and to

encourage decision-makers to look beyond the actual cost of the programmes and consider the resulting benefits. Any of the following approaches could be used depending on the relevance: Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA), Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA), Cost of No-Action Analysis (CAN).

d) Financial gap: The consultant will support in identifying the fiscal implication of implementing the strategy programmes upon the Government Budget.

e) Fiscal space and financing analysis: The consultant shall contribute to the fiscal space analysis potentially generated to cover the strategy implementation. This will include analysis of the Government’s economic recovery plan, development assistance, deficit financing plans

(borrowing), tax policies, and reallocation of existing resources (among and within sectors).

Other Duties and Responsibilities:
Function as a member of the technical working group, giving sound technical inputs for the development of the deliverables;

Lead activities e.g. meetings, consultations, focus group discussions, at project and organizational levels with the participating UN Agencies and key stakeholders from government agencies, local financial institutions and private sectors;

Compile and analyse data and policy literature to build an understanding of the development finance policy and institutional landscape, following SDG Budgeting and Costing guidelines of UN;

Develop scenarios to analyse potential future trajectories of development, considering implications for short- and medium-term policy;

Work closely with the country office and oversee the national expert in data collection, analysis and engagement with national stakeholders;

Lead or facilitate meetings or focused group regular internal and external project meetings;

Prepare the relevant draft document (guidelines, policy notes, analysis) for deliberations and acceptance by stakeholders

Any other tasks as requested by supervisor

Competencies

Strong data collection, communication, analytical, research, and writing skills;

Client-orientation and excellent interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills;

Ability to use information and communication technology as a tool and resource;

Informed and transparent decision making.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:
At least a Master’s degree in the field of Finance, Economics, Development Economics, Public Policies, Social Policies, Development Studies or other relevant fields

Experience:
At least 5 years of experience in finance and in high-quality policy advisory roles, including in areas such as capital market, fiscal policy, private and financial sector development, financial analysis and advisory roles, including on issues of political economy, human development;

Strong analytical and advisory capacity, including the ability to analyze and advise innovative financial solutions, including Islamic finance;

Excellent writing skills required, as demonstrated by previous research/analytical reports on relevant topics.

Excellent communication (spoken and written) skills, including the ability to draft/edit a variety of written reports and communications and to articulate ideas in a clear, concise style

Ability to lead consultations with senior government officials required.

Previous experience with a development partner or government will be an asset;

Language Requirements:
Fluency in English (written and spoken), and an ability to summarize and present information. Knowledge of Russian is an asset

Application Process:
Interested candidates need to apply online at www.jobs.undp.org and upload requested documents (Technical Proposal/Methodology, CV/P11 form, Offeror’s Letter of confirmation and Financial Proposal) in Part 6 of Procurement Notice no later than end of July 26, 2021 (New York time). Please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document.

Your on-line applications submission will be acknowledged to your email address provided in application. If you do not receive an e-mail acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. In such cases, please resubmit the application, if necessary.

Link to application at the UNDP Job Site – https://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?cur_job_id=100416

(cut and paste into browser address bar if the link does not work).

You can review detailed Procurement Notice, Terms of Reference and download templates from the UNDP Procurement Notices Site following the link http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=80633 (cut and paste into browser address bar if the link does not work).

Application submitted via email, incomplete applications or received after the closing date (July 26, 2021) will not be given consideration.

Failure to submit the Financial Proposal by the deadline or without reference to the subject above will result in disqualification.

For more detailed information about UNDP Uzbekistan please visit our website at www.uz.undp.org. UNDP is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified female candidates, people with disabilities, and minorities are highly encouraged to apply. UNDP Balance in Manage Policy promotes achievement of gender balance among its staff at all levels.

Requests for clarification must be sent in writing to [email protected], ensuring that the reference number above is included in the subject line. UNDP shall endeavor to provide such responses to clarifications in an expeditious manner, but any delay in such response shall not cause an obligation on the part of UNDP to extend the submission date of the Proposals, unless UNDP deems that such an extension is justified and necessary.