International Consultancy for Lesotho NISSA & MISSA Systems Manuals Development , Maseru, Lesotho, (60 days spread over a nine (9) month period)
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Backround
The Ministry of Gender, Youth and Social Development (MoGYSD) with the financial and technical assistance of the European Union (EU) and UNICEF developed the National Information System for Social Assistance (NISSA) between 2009 and 2010, as well as its operational system, the Management Information System for Social Assistance (MISSA) from 2014 and completed in 2016. The NISSA has evolved to become a social registry containing social economic information for about 90 per cent of households in Lesotho. The NISSA was custom built to meet the MoGYSD requirements for data collection, storage and analyses, to enable classification of households into various poverty categories to facilitate effective and efficient targeting by social assistance programmes. Through the years many of the NISSA processes have been digitized and the system works in conjunction with a mobile application that was developed to facilitate timely data collection and entry.
The MISSA system on the other hand is a web-based system that runs on a Microsoft platform and is the operational system used for the management of the various social assistance programmes. The MISSA too was custom built to meet the MoGYSD requirements for day-to-day programme support. The MISSA has modules for management of integrated social assistance programmes such as the Lesotho Child Grants Programme (CGP), Orphans and Vulnerable Children Bursary (OVC-B), and Public Assistance (PA) programmes. The aspiration of the MoGYSD is to have all social assistance programmes to be managed through the MISSA.
Digital technologies play an important role in facilitating timely availability and quality of information for better services provision. In Lesotho, digital transformation is increasingly making quality data more readily available. The country has prioritised this and is on a journey to robust digital systems as platforms for service delivery and digital data systems for decision support. UNICEF Social Policy Section has and continues to provide support to the MoGYSD to strengthen the social protection registry, the NISSA and its management information system, the MISSA.
Since the two systems were developed, they have undergone several phases of enhancements and modifications to keep up with advancements in the digital and technological environment but also to address many new emerging needs and requirements in the social protection sector. As such, since late 2024, both systems are undergoing upgrading to keep pace with global standards and advancements. Figure 1 below shows the new aspirational digital ecosystem for social protection in Lesotho.
Purpose of the assignment
Overall Objective of the Consultancy:
The overall objective of the consultancy is to revise the current manuals for the NISSA and the MISSA, and where needed, draft new manuals for the NISSA and the MISSA in alignment with the upgraded systems to meet all the requirements of the social protection delivery value chain.
Provide details/reference to AWP covered.
Under the supervision of the Social Policy Specialist, the service provider will support the joint UNICEF Social Policy -Government of Lesotho 2025-26 Rolling Workplan (RWP). Specifically, activity 3.1.3 (2520/A0/05/883/001/03), Provide technical and financial support for strengthening and update NISSA household information.
Scope of Work
The key activities within this assignment include the following:
Activity 1: Drafting of Inception report
1.1 Conduct consultations with the MoGYSD and UNICEF to reach mutual understanding and consensus on the assignment approach, methodology, and work plan.
1.2 Literature Review including review of manuals of similar programmes from other countries
1.3 Draft a concise Inception Report for the assignment.
Activity 2: Review of current manuals.
2.1 Conduct a review and assessment of the available NISSA and MISSA manuals, programme manuals and other relevant NISSA and MISSA documents, to identify gaps, areas of amendment or redundancies in the systems and programme manuals to align with the upgraded systems.
2.2 Discuss and reach consensus with MoGYSD and UNICEF on areas of revision of the current manuals and where needed draft new manuals based on the assessment and review conducted under point 2.1 above.
2.3 Clearly document in a report, identified gaps and amendments to the manuals agreed upon.
Activity 3: Revise the NISSA and MISSA manuals.
3.1 Revise and/or update the current NISSA and MISSA manuals to address the identified gaps, areas of amendment or redundancies in line with the upgraded systems.
3.2 Draft new NISSA, MISSA and programme manuals for all the Lesotho social protection digital ecosystem (Figure 1 above) and the social protection delivery value chain processes (Figure 2 above), including manuals for digital payments and other digitized processes.
3.3 Keep abreast of the NISSA and MISSA upgrading process and adapt the manuals in line with the requirements of the upgrades.
3.4 Conduct at least one visit in country during testing and/or field deployment of the manuals
Activity 4: Finalization of the manuals and orientation of MoGYSD and UNICEF staff
4.1 Revise all the manuals based on feedback and taking into account any modifications to the NISSA and MISSA systems performed during the testing period of the upgrading process.
4.2 Develop training guides and conduct an in-person orientation on the manuals for MoGYSD and UNICEF staff.
4.3 Finalize the manuals based on any additional feedback received during the orientation on the manuals.
4.4 Handover of the revised and new manuals.
Activity 5: Assignment closure
5.1 Draft a final consultancy report with recommendations on updating and/or revision of the manuals.
The consultant will work closely with the Technical Working Group (TWG) on NISSA & MISSA Upgrading, the Ministry of Gender, Youth, and Social Development’s Social Assistance and IT Teams and the UNICEF Social Policy Team. The consultant’s primary responsibility is to provide technical expertise and guidance for the successful execution of the project.
All reports and deliverables must be submitted electronically in English, in editable (Word) and PDF formats, adhering to defined content and formatting guidelines, and sent to designated recipients at UNICEF. They must be approved before each payment. A detailed structure for each deliverable needs to be agreed upon in advance with the contract manager.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
- Master’s Degree in social sciences, IT or any other relevant field. *A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.
Relevant work experience required :
Fluency in English (verbal and written).
Minimum of 10 years of extensive experience in social protection.
Demonstrated experience in building/designing and supporting implementation of social registries and social protection Management Information Systems (MIS).
Experience in working and building capacities of governments in the social protection sector.
Demonstrated experience drafting manual for social registries and social protection programmes.
Strong skills in analysis, critical thinking, problem-solving and reporting skills.
Ability to work with a team and independently in a multi-cultural environment.
Deadline: 25 Feb 2025 South Africa Standard Time