National consultant on Public Finance

UNICEF

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:
UNICEF Iraq is seeking a qualified national consultant to support analytical work and capacity development on Public Finance for Children (PF4C) to ensure improved allocation, efficiency, and effectiveness of public resources for children. The consultant will lead and contribute to strategic activities that generate evidence and influence public finance processes in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), focusing on four key areas: budget analysis, public expenditure tracking, child-focused expenditure measurement, and costing of child-sensitive programmes.
In that direction, the National Consultant for Social Policy and Inclusion will support UNICEF s upstream advocacy and feed into its technical assistance to the Government of Iraq. The work will cover a continuum of supporting the generation of evidence and roll out of four strategic analysis as follows:
1. Budget analysis for 2026
2. Child-focused Public Expenditure Measurement (C-PEM)
3. Costing of the Cash Pilot programme
The Social Policy Consultant Public Finance for Children Analyst will abide by UNICEF rules/ procedures:
1. Ethical Guidelines in research, evaluation, data collection and analysis.
2. Specific codes of conduct for staff and implementing partners, including governments, as well as protocols and mechanisms to prevent, identify and address any arising cases of sexual exploration and abuse and will ensure their implementation. Partners and all employees and personnel are trained and comply with the provisions of the Special Measures for Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse .
3. The project will adopt a DO NO HARM approach.
Scope of Work:
Activities and Tasks:
Child-focused Public Expenditure Measurement (C-PEM) identifies direct and indirect allocations and spending on child-policy objectives across all sectors of the budget over time.
Deliverable 1:
Develop a comprehensive proposal outlining the approach for mapping and analyzing direct and indirect public expenditures on children in Iraq, including disaggregation by sector, programme, and level of government. This proposal should serve as a foundation for a potential future child-focused public finance survey.
A two-page brief ( pitch ) anda PowerPoint presentation (in both English and Arabic) that clearly articulate the relevance and added value of the Child-Prioritized Expenditure Measurement (C-PEM) for the Government.
Provide an assessment framework to evaluate how well current budget allocations align with national policy priorities and child rights obligations, including relevant provisions such as Article 4 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), to be applied during a future C-PEM.
Provide technical support in designing a suitable methodology and advising on analytical tools for conducting a full Child Public Expenditure Measurement (C-PEM) in Iraq, and support the preparation of a concept note and roadmap to guide its implementation.
Propose a strategy for stakeholder engagement, including key ministries and partners, to validate future C-PEM findings and ensure the process supports evidence-based policy recommendations
Costing of the Cash Transfer Pilot Programme Identify the financial resource requirements of the new cash pilot programme, or a change in scale or design.
Deliverable 2:
Review the existing cash pilot design and develop cost estimates for scaling up in both federal and KRI regions. Costing should include the resources required to (re)train the social workforce and employ sufficient social workers to provide effective case management to child benefit recipients nationwide.
Conduct analytical support to identify financing gaps, explore trade-offs between horizontal and vertical expansion, and assess fiscal space considerations.
Support government and partners in shaping a costed implementation plan by providing expertise on phased scenarios, targeting options, and operational costs.
Provide policy advice to inform planning and resource mobilization
Iraqi Budget law Analysis for 2026 Analyze size, composition, equity, allocative efficiency
and transparency of spending, highlighting specific sectors or programmes of interest
Deliverable 3:
Provide technical support and advisory inputs to the analysis of the draft 2026 budget, particularly on assessing the size, composition, equity, and efficiency of public expenditures related to children.
Support UNICEF and partners by reviewing and synthesizing existing budget data and analysis conducted by UNICEF to highlight trends in allocations and expenditures, with attention to underfunding, disparities, and budget execution challenges.
Offer comparative insights between the 2023 2025 Budget Law and the 2026 Budget Law to complement staff work in identifying key changes in allocations, priorities, and funding patterns for child-related sectors.
Conduct a rapid analytical review designed to generate additional evidence and perspectives that will strengthen UNICEF and partners policy advocacy and engagement across the national budget cycle.
Develop evidence-informed recommendations that build on UNICEF s work to guide improvements in the allocation and use of public funds across priority child-focused sectors, such as health, education, and social protection
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have
Education
• Advanced university degree in Public Finance, Economics, Public Policy, Social Sciences, or related field.. Solid hand-on experience and proven professional record could be accepted in lieu of academic background.
Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:
At least 10 years of relevant experience in public finance, budgeting, or policy analysis.
Proven experience in conducting budget analysis, expenditure tracking, costing studies, or public finance diagnostics.
Knowledge of Iraq s public finance systems, child-focused policies, and government planning processes is an asset.
Previous high level working experience with government, NGOs, UN agencies or other international agencies would be an asset.
Good analytical, drafting and synthesis skills; ability to communicate with different audiences, excellent presentation skills. Good organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to contribute to teamwork.
Fluency in English (written and spoken), knowledge in Arabic, and Kurdish language will be considered as asset.
Ability to work in an international and multi-cultural environment.
Ability to work independently and respond to feedback in a timely and professional manner.
Good knowledge of computer applications.