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Background and Justification
The Ministry of Social Development (MOSD) with the assistance of European Union (EU) and UNICEF has developed a Management Information System (MIS) to manage its social assistance programmes. MIS was developed in November 2014 and completed in January 2016. The system is web-based and runs on a Microsoft platform. It works in conjunction with a mobile application that was developed to facilitate timely data collection and entry.
The system was custom made to meet the MoSD requirements and has had a support contract that expired in 2018. The Ministry requires short-term technical support to extract and merge the data in the National Information System for Social Assistance (NISSA) and the MIS.
This proposed consultancy is a continuation of an earlier consultancy, and responds to the finding that more technical support is required by MoSD to not only support data merging and extraction, but also to support the fixing of MIS performance related issues and provide technical support with MIS alignment processes to facilitate mobile payments of social assistance grants. This last issue became important recently, as the Government announced the moving of the Old Age Pension including its MIS from the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Social Development, slated for June 2021, which requires interoperability between the two MIS systems to facilitate roll-out of mobile payments.
Furthermore, MoSD will be rolling out the decentralization of NISSA and will be piloting the methods for continuous updating of NISSA data. MoSD therefore requires support in ensuring system-related enhancements to facilitate smooth decentralization of NISSA, as well as training and skills development at all levels to use NISSA. Finally, to ensure sustainability, the consultancy will include skills transfer to the relevant MoSD staff by the consultant on the provided technical support by the consultant.
Scope of Work
Goal and Objective: To provide technical support to the Ministry of Social Development to fixing of MIS performance related issues and MIS alignment processes to facilitate mobile payments of social assistance grants and NISSA decentralization, including technical skills transfer.
Annual Workplan areas covered: By 2023, the GoL has an improved child and gender-sensitive, and shock responsive social protection.
Activities and Tasks: The consultant is expected to undertake the following key activities:
- MIS server related issues:
- Provide technical guidance to MoSD team for quick fixing of storage capacity issues on Server, involving configurations of Virtual Machine.
- Provide technical guidance to MoSD for setting up an old server as a DR (Disaster Recovery) site.
- Provide technical backstopping on installation, configuration, etc. on Network Attached Storage (NAS), once confirmed it can be configured at the Ministry of Communication.
- Provide technical support for implementation of Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) for MISSA and NISSA portal, which establishes an encrypted link between a server and the client (browser) for MISSA communication.
- MIS enhancements, bug fixes and data quality correction (in MISSA web applications and MISSA mobile applications):
- Provide technical support to MoSD team for bug fixing of modules/sections of MISSA portal, in particular: reporting module, M&E module and compliance module.
- Support processes to correct no PMT scores for households with size of 1 person.
- Develop dashboards at identified levels in MISSA, to facilitate easy report generation and informed decision making for MoSD
- Support implementation of corrections and screening processes for PMT classification
- Support the process or enrolling manually paid households (403, 623, 30, 70, 100 and the households having missed 3 consecutive payments)
- Support with alignment of NISSA with the Bureau of Statistics organizational hierarchy
- Support development of ISSN continuous enrolment activities, including the transition between social assistance programmes
- Support generation of artefacts in data collection PMT, targeting, enrolment and payment processes
- Support update of PMT where socio economic variables have changed since last PMT score was created
- Support centralized payment site allocation
- Support ISSN processes for payment criteria
- Support improvement communication handling between mobile enrolment application and backend API
- Support improving the existing mobile data-collection and enrolment application into a progressive web-application and enable flexibility to add and remove socio-economic variables for households and household members
- Support use of static amount per payment level into payment criteria and include in payment allocation
- Support mobile based payments: (detailed activities may be influenced by change in developing context):
- Revise technical architecture of MISSA to accommodate interoperability with the mobile based payment agencies
- Support interoperability with mobile based payment agencies
- Software development for MISSA to cater for mobile based payment agencies
- Support the NISSA decentralization and constant updating of NISSA data:
- Adapt the NISSA system to the decided decentralized roles and functions at Central, District and Community Council levels. Including ensuring that the system is functional to allow updates to reflect in the system.
- To ensure updating, piloting and strengthening of applications and tools required for constant NISSA updates.
- Facilitate MoSD in their development of a cost-effective capacity development plan that ensures NISSA updates are implemented.
- Provide ToT training to main users at technical level of MoSD and develop training and supervision manual for support and backstopping.
- Skills development for MoSD technical staff:
- Skills transfer session to facilitate the generation of data and PMT extracts for an urban enumeration area
- Skills transfer session for targeting and re-enrolment dashboard-based developments
- Skills transfer session to operate the developed dashboards and enhanced modules in MISSA
- Skills transfer session on the revised MISSA architecture to cater for interoperability with mobile based payment agencies
- Skills transfer session of the training manual for NISSA decentralization
Work relationships: The consultant will be supervised by the Social Policy Specialist; however, the consultant will work closely with the Director Social Assistance and close technical collaboration with Statistician, IT Manager and MIS Administrator.
Outputs/Deliverables:
| Deliverables | Duration(Estimated # of days or months) | Timeline/Deadline | Schedule of payment |
| Detailed workplan | 9 Days | 31/05/2021 | 25% |
| Progress report for server and software development activities | 30 Days | 30/08/2021 | 25% |
| Revised technical MISSA architectural document for interoperability | |||
| NISSA decentralized training manual | 49 Days | 28/12/2021 | 25% |
| Summary report of transferred skills | |||
| Final source code detailing submission into source repository document | |||
| Final Report | 2 Days | 30/12/2021 | 25% |
Additional guidance
All the deliverables will be electronically submitted to UNICEF and MOSD, they should be prepared in consultations with the Ministry and UNICEF.
The content of the report should be endorsed by the Social Policy Specialist in UNICEF and designated authority in the Ministry of Social Development.
Desired profile
Education
Completion of secondary education is required, supplemented with formal training in Computer Science, Information Systems.
Experience:
- Minimum of ten (10) years of working experience in development of Management Information Systems for Social Protection
- Previous working experience with UNICEF and MOSD is a plus
Skills and competencies required:
- Programming languages: Microsoft Visual C#, Microsoft Visual Basic.Net, Webforms, Windows forms, Model View Controller; Database servers: MSSQL, MySQL
- Other skills: XML, CSS, JSON, Javascript, JQuery, AJAX, AngularJS, Azure, Cordova, REST and SOAP services, Agile and Scrum software development methodolgies, WebAPI, Knowldege in GIT and TFS, Unified Modeling Language(UML), Domain Driven Design, Service Oriented Architecture
- To communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, to varied audiences
- Ability to work effectively in a multi-cultural environment and experience of working in a developing country
Language: Fluency in English
Administrative issues
- The selection of consultant will be governed by and subject to UNICEF General Terms and Conditions for individual contracts;
- The consultant job is part-time and remotely supporting MOSD;
- The consultant will perform the work using own computer;
- The fees must be all inclusive of all administrative costs;
- Entitlements and conditions of service are governed by UNICEF policies;
- Consultant will not be entitled to leave;
- Contractors are not entitled to payment of overtime. All remuneration must be within the contract agreement;
- No contract may commence unless the contract is signed by both UNICEF and the consultant;
- Contractor will be required to complete online courses related to Ethics, Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and Security related trainings prior to taking up the assignment and/or travel;
- Contractor will be required to sign the Health Statement for consultants/individual prior to taking up the assignment, and to share an appropriate proof of health insurance covering COVID-19.
As per UNICEF DFAM policy, payment is made against satisfactory completion of deliverables as of the approved workplan. No advance payment is allowed unless in exceptional circumstances against bank guarantee, subject to a maximum of 30 per cent of the total contract value in cases where advance purchases, for example for supplies or travel, may be necessary.
The consultant will be governed by and subject to UNICEF General Terms and Conditions for individual contracts. 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.
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.
Risks
COVID 19 may affect implementation of the assignment and may require changes in the assignment.
How to Apply:
Qualified candidates are requested to complete an application including profile to the respective advertisement on https://www.unicef.org/about/employ/ Please indicate your ability, availability and financial proposal/quote to complete the terms of reference above.
Rates must include all expenses related to the assignment (e.g. consultancy fee, administrative costs)
Applications with out financial proposal will not be considered.
Remarks
If you have not been contacted within 2 months of the closing date please accept that your application was unsuccessful. Regret emails will be sent only to shortlisted/contacted candidates.
UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.
UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.
Closing date: 20 April 2021