وصف

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Opening

Job Opening ID: 221734

Job Network :
Questions économiques et sociales et développement

Job Family :
Economic Affairs

Category and Level :
Consultants, CON

Duty Station :

AMMAN
Department/Office :
Resident Coordinator System

Date Posted :
Nov 10, 2023

Deadline :
Nov 16, 2023

Result of Service

The senior economist national consultant will support the international consultant leading the assignment and development of a policy brief on 'Public Finance for Human Rights – the Role of Revenue Mobilization at Municipal Level' (tentative title) with a key focus on leading the data analysis and interviews with key informants.

The overall objective of the assignment is to contribute to an evidence-based policy dialogue on the role of public finance and revenue mobilization with a focus on the municipal level.

The analysis and policy recommendations will inform ongoing public administration and decentralization reform efforts and programmes that seek to address spatial inequalities and target resources to those furthest behind.

The target audience includes government, Royal Court, the parliament, the UN country team, development partners, and civil society. It will be developed by the UN country team with other partners.

The project builds on the earlier joint policy brief 'Domestic Resource Mobilization – A Human Rights-Based Approach to Tackling Inequalities'.

Work Location

Remotely from Amman

Expected duration

6 weeks

Duties and Responsibilities

Jordan launched its Economic Modernization Vision in 2022 which is supported by a public sector reform and political modernization process and linked to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs.

There is important policy momentum with His Majesty King Abdullah II highlighting the importance of municipalities for Jordan's development in February 2023.

Fiscal policy and greater fiscal decentralization are central to these efforts, to facilitate effective and responsive service delivery and local economic development and to reduce geographical inequalities.

As highlighted in the predecessor project Domestic Resource Mobilization – A Human Rights-Based Approach to Tackling Inequalities, resource mobilization varies greatly across different governorates.

Geographic disparities between regions, governorates and municipalities remain persistent also regarding investments and outcomes in education and health.

For instance, in 2021 the sub-national Human Development Index (HDI) ranged between 0.666 in Mafraq, 0.692 in Ma'an and 0.737 in Amman.

Pre-primary enrolment rates are only at 31% in Central Jordan compared to 64% in the South and health and education spending in rural areas remains lower than in urban areas.

The earlier analysis highlighted important gaps and provided strategic recommendations for future reforms of the tax system to progressively realize the economic, social, and cultural rights in Jordan.

There is now an opportunity to dive deeper and provide an analysis of data from all municipalities. There are 12 municipalities in Type A, 65 municipalities in Type B and 23 municipalities in Type C. Recently the number of municipalities increased to 104 from 100.

Such granular analysis would allow for more tailored policy responses to cooperate with the government such as the Ministry of Finance and the IFIs including the IMF and help the UNCT to seize on the important policy momentum.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The senior economist national consultant will work in close coordination with the international consultant leading the assignment and the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Jordan team, reporting to the Senior Economist.

Tasks of the senior economist national consultant include:
Deliverable 1. Data Analysis of local revenues and expenditures (November 2023)

At the municipal level there are 3 main sources of financing:
central subsidies by the government, the Cities and Villages Development Bank (CVDB) and revenues generated at local level.

The project will utilize various official data sources including revenue and expenditure data from the Ministry of Finance, CVDB and MoLA to analyze municipality level budgets over a number of years (depending on availability) to allow for a trend analysis.

The level of detail of analysis will depend on the availability of disaggregated data. Data will be analyzed using a human rights lens. The senior economist national consultant will lead the data analysis in close coordination with the RCO senior economist.


Deliverable 1 includes the following:
It should be noted that the below depends on the availability and access to disaggregated data. For each of the below deliverables a short summary note describing the key findings should accompany tables/ annexes. Where relevant write-ups on econometric analyses should include assumptions, a step-by-step description of methodology (brief).

• Deliverable 1.1. Short note on availability of data.
• Deliverable 1.2. Revenues by type and by municipality since 2016 in aggregate and as % of total revenue and per capita (to the extent possible). Excel sheet with details for all governorates and municipalities and summary sheet (aggregate for governorates and all municipalities) with short (2-3 pages) explanation.
• Deliverable 1.3. Population by governorate and municipality and gender. This should include Type A, B and C.
• Deliverable 1.4. Revenues by type and by municipality for Type B and Type C municipalities for comparison purposes (data availability permitting).
• Deliverable 1.5. Determining sources of heterogeneities in municipality revenues within each group (Type A, B and C) and analyzing these factors with necessary econometric tools.
• Deliverable 1.6. Determining sources of heterogeneities in municipality revenues between groups (Type A, B and C) and analyzing these factors with necessary econometric tools.
• Deliverable 1.7. Reviewing governorate and municipal level characteristics to inform analysis particularly from human rights-based angle.
• Deliverable 1.8. Expenditures by type and by municipality since 2016 in aggregate and as % of total expenditure and per capita (to the extent feasible). Excel sheet with details for all municipalities and summary sheet (aggregate for all municipalities) with short (2-3 pages) explanation.
• Deliverable 1.9. Expenditures for Type B and Type C municipalities for comparison purposes.
• Deliverable 1.10. Determining tax buoyancy, tax potential, tax efficiency, gap analysis etc., if technically feasible in aggregate/by municipality.
• Deliverable 1.11. Panel data analysis by using inputs of Deliverables 1.5 and 1.6 to determine policy intervention factors and to construct an integrated systemic approach.
• Deliverable 1.12. Determining Key Performance Indicators based on existing data and analyses by utilizing from international examples. Deliverable 2. Preparation of report on completed data analysis and key findings (by mid-December) Deliverable 2.1. Based on analysis of the data (see deliverable 1) prepare inputs (in bullets) on key findings and tables/ annexes (max 10 pages excl. annexes). Deliverable 3. Key Informant Interviews (November/December 2023) Deliverable 3.1. Data analysis will be complemented by key informant interviews with national and sub-national government and other stakeholders to better understand the challenges facing sub-national administrations, the potential of revenue mobilization at municipal level and seek feedback and suggestions for improvements in the policy and legal framework. Some of these interviews may require the consultant to travel outside of Amman.

The Senior Economist National Consultant will be responsible for the following:

• In consultation with CVDB, RCO and the international consultant identify list of interviewees and provide substantive inputs to interview questions.
• Together with international consultant develop list of interview questions.
• Conduct at least 15 key informant interviews/local level consultations across

Jordan Deliverables:

• Deliverable 3.1. (November 2023) List of interviewees
• Deliverable 3.2. (by mid-December 2023) Summary of interviews with key findings (10 pages max) Deliverable 4. Stakeholder Consultations (December 2023) Findings and proposed policy recommendations will be validated and discussed with sub-national and national stakeholders and development partners working on similar issues. The Senior Economist National Consultant will be expected to present findings of the data analysis and interviews during the stakeholder consultations. It is expected that at least 2 to 3 stakeholder consultations/small-scale validation workshops take place outside of Amman. Deliverable 5. Drafting of Final Policy Note/Report (December 2023) The Senior Economist National Consultant will provide strategic inputs to the final policy note and report (various iterations) and support the integration of feedback received during stakeholder consultations. The Senior Economist National Consultant will also support the final workshop/presentation to development partners and key national stakeholders. Timing of this workshop is to be determined in consultation with the RCO team. ______________________________________________________________ * CVDB is an official public institution that is administratively and financially independent. Its total capital without reserves is JD 97.

5 million:

Government's share is 68% (JD 78M); Central Bank of Jordan's share is 2% (JD 1M); Contribution of Local Organizations' share is 30% (JD 18.5M).

Further details about the CVDB can be found in the following link:
*Ministry of Finance (monthly bulletins) provide data only for Greater Amman Municipality, Petra Region and Aqaba Economic Zone.

Qualifications/special skills

A Ph.
D. degree in Economics with specialization in public finance or related area is required. All candidates must submit a copy of the required educational degree. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. A minimum of fifteen years of professional work experience in Economics, Public Finance or related fields is required.

Proven knowledge and track record of previous working experience with relevant government institutions and international organizations for fiscal policies and budgetary analysis is required.

Sound knowledge of the Jordanian legal framework and recent policy reforms is required.

Good knowledge of Jordan's development finance strategies, policies and practice and related institutional arrangements and mechanisms with specific reference to public budgeting and fiscal policies is required.

Knowledge and understanding of the 2030 Agenda, SDGs, development finance, human rights principles and the pledge to leave no one behind is required.

Demonstrated skills in data analysis including econometrics is required.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat; and Arabic is a working language of ESCWA.

For this position, fluency in English and Arabic is required.


Note:
"Fluency" equals a rating of 'fluent' in all four areas (speak, read, write, and understand) and "Knowledge of" equals a rating of 'confident' in two of the four areas.

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