Consultancy - Guardianship expert (different locations), ECARO, Italy (Home-based)

This opening expired 1 year ago. Do not try to apply for this job.

UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund

Open positions at UNICEF
Logo of UNICEF
IT Home-based; Rome (Italy)

Application deadline 1 year ago: Wednesday 8 Feb 2023 at 22:55 UTC

Open application form

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, protection

How can you make a difference?

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

Strengthening the capacity of the guardianship system for unaccompanied children, through sensitization for the identification of potential guardians, direct training, including on the job training and support to volunteer guardians, in close cooperation with the Local Juvenile Court, relevant Municipalities in Sicily, Calabria, Latium and Lombardia, the Regional Ombudspersons for Childhood and Adolescence and civil society organizations currently active in the local context.

In the context of migration and asylum, Italy continues to be a frontline country for arrivals both by sea from the Mediterranean and by land from the Balkan route. The country is at times considered a destination country while many other times as a transit one for all those migrants and refugees who are trying to reach Northern European countries. Refugees and migrants, and in particular children and women travelling alone, continue to undertake dangerous journeys to reach Europe. Additionally, the recent eruption of hostilities in Ukraine generated a new influx of people towards EU countries, including Italy. Children fleeing Ukraine travel sometimes accompanied by one or both their parents, sometimes with other relatives or other accompanying adults, other times as part of the evacuation of Ukrainian institutions or autonomously, unaccompanied.

Law n. 47/2017 introduced in the Italian system specific provisions to ensure that a guardian is nominated by the Juvenile Court for each and every unaccompanied and separated child, from a list of trained ordinary citizens, appointed as “volunteer guardians” by the Juvenile Court itself. Guardians have a wide range of responsibilities, from representing children in legal or other administrative proceedings, to ensuring that all decisions concerning children are taken in their best interests and taking into account the child’s views, as well as acting as a bridge between the child and other actors in the child protection system. The responsibility for the selection and training of the volunteer guardians is mandated to the Regional Ombudspersons, while the National Ombudsperson has a role of promotion and supervision of the guardianship system. The applicable discipline for their functions remains regulated by the civil code. Volunteer guardians can play a key role in the asylum and migration system, they are external players that can ensure fairness of the procedures, encourage local authorities to undertake appropriate measures and connect services, with a very limited cost, given the voluntary nature of the model. They are critical, for example, with regards to the age assessment procedure, ensuring children’s access to information at all times, defining an individual social inclusion path, facilitating the child’s access to legal aid, ensuring access to services and educational opportunities, as well as facilitating the transition to adulthood. After five years from the promulgation of Law n. 47/2017, despite the efforts of the Italian authorities to ensure the protection and inclusion of unaccompanied and separated children, the level of implementation of the Italian volunteer guardianship system remains partial and inhomogeneous between different regions of Italy, both in terms of number and availability of trained guardians and of level of support they receive.

In the daily practice of their functions, volunteer guardians are likely to be confronted with a lot of complex and diversified cases, requiring high qualified knowledge of the legal and protection system as well as of the main relevant stakeholder and public authorities involved in the different processes. Guardians also are called to develop solid skills in evaluating and determining the best interest of the child in any situation. While all this is needed from the guardians’ side, the initial training they receive can only partly cover all the specific cases they might be confronted with, and the rapidly evolving system also requires continuous update.

The influx of unaccompanied and separated children consequent to the war in Ukraine also contributes to putting additional pressure on the guardianship system. This happens both due to the higher demand of trained guardians but also for the roles and functions they are expected to play. The majority of Ukrainian unaccompanied and separated children travel together with adults – such as the directors of the institutions they were hosted in Ukraine – who are sometimes recognized as guardians by the Italian Juvenile Courts.

The continuous evolution of migration flows as well as the differences in the profiles and potential vulnerabilities of unaccompanied and separated children, including age and gender related, requires Juvenile Courts to always have a wide range of well-trained guardians ready to be appointed, with the final goal of ensuring to all unaccompanied and separated children the level of representation and support.

This applies to the greatest extent to geographical contexts with peculiar bordering positions or importance in terms of number of unaccompanied and separated children hosted, such as those targeted by UNICEF’s envisaged action. As recently reported by the periodic monitoring of the National Ombudsperson for Children and Adolescents (2022), all regions involved are faced with an increasing need of sensitizing potential guardians-to-be and strengthening competencies and sustainable support to those who have already started their duties.

Under the guidance of the Guardianship Coordinator and in close coordination with the Local Juvenile Court, the Guardianship Expert will contribute to the effective and efficient implementation of the Law n. 47/2017, providing direct support to the volunteer guardians in performing their duties, through training, technical advice and facilitation of the interaction with the public administration, services and local opportunities for social inclusion. The consultant will work in close coordination with the Local Juvenile Court, the local Municipalities of Friuli Venezia Giulia, the Regional Ombudspersons for Childhood and Adolescence and the civil society organizations currently active in the local context.

Scope of Work:

Since 2017, UNICEF is working with local authorities and National Ombudsperson for childhood and adolescence, to support volunteer guardians in performing their own duties, establishing a model of support including legal advice and mediation, advice on pedagogical approaches and on supporting vulnerable children – including survivors of violence – managing the child-guardian relationship and cultural diversity, and facilitating the connections with services and public authorities. In the past years, UNICEF has established monitoring and supporting offices for volunteer guardians in Palermo, Catania and Messina in cooperation with local Ombudspersons and Municipalities, and an initial version of the model has been documented for its potential further expansion and analysis and with the goal of its adaptation and replication in different context and nationwide scale-up.

During an initial assessment conducted in February 2022 and additional exchanges in July 2022, the local authorities in Sicily, Calabria, Latium and Lombardia expressed the need for an increased support to the local guardianship system which, despite the progressive strengthening, remains in need of additional efforts for its consolidation and its expansion to be able to respond to the increasing need.

Considering all the above and to continue in the process of development and expansion of the model of support to volunteer guardians, the consultant will work in close collaboration with the local Juvenile Court, Municipalities and Regional Ombudsperson to:

  • Support volunteer guardians in performing their legally mandated duties, through technical advice and guidance, including with particular regards to best interest determination.
  • Provide guardians with continuous pre-service and on-the-job training, both through direct roll-out of UNICEF trainings and participating to trainings organized by the Regional Ombudsperson.
  • Facilitate the cooperation between guardians, reception facilities and all the relevant public actors (Social Services, Prefectures, Courts).
  • Support the guardians’ efforts to ensure and facilitate the access of unaccompanied and separated children to services as appropriate, including through the development and continuous update of referral pathways.
  • Present and promote the platform U-Report on the Move among the volunteer guardians to reach the unaccompanied children under their supervision.
  • Support the establishment (or strengthening where already existing) of peer-support mechanisms between volunteer guardians operating in the same areas, including a digital space to allow them to share information on rights, available services and opportunities for social inclusion for unaccompanied and separated children.
  • Collect information from the guardians and the children to inform the improvement of the model of support to volunteer guardians and local and national advocacy efforts.

Deliverables

Tasks/Milestone:

Deliverables/Outputs:

Timeline

  1. Support to volunteer guardians

Two local sensitization events aimed at promoting the voluntary guardianship among the local community

10 days

(Month 1, Month 6)

Up to five media contents to be advertised on local stakeholders’ websites or social media for promotion of voluntary guardianship

5 days

(Month 1-6)

Two reports on sensitization activities conducted

5 days

(Month 7)

Technical advice and guidance for volunteer guardians on child protection issues related to their role and procedures concerning children guarded

120 days

(Months 2-11)

One report collecting the most recurrent issues raised by the guardians and related coping strategies

5 days

(Month 10)

Two meetings with institutional stakeholders to identify guardians’ knowledge gaps and training needs

8 days

(Month 2-3)

Two meetings with volunteer guardians to identify training needs

8 days

(Month 2-3)

Support to the delivery of trainings on child protection issues (e.g. GBV, mental health, child safeguarding)

14 days

(Month 3-10)

Report on capacity building activities related to volunteer guardians

5 days

(Month 11)

  1. Monitoring of local child protection system and advocacy for the improvement of the conditions of unaccompanied and separated children

Report on the challenges, bottlenecks and opportunities related to child protection at local level collected through the support provided to volunteer guardians and coordination with other stakeholders and presentation of findings to relevant stakeholders when needed

5 days

(Month 2-9)

Two focus groups with the guarded children

10 days

(Month 3, Month 8)

  1. Coordination with institutional counterparts, other UN agencies and civil society organizations

Three local roundtables with volunteer guardians and relevant local stakeholders (e.g. social services, Juvenile Courts and NGOs working in the reception system)

15 days

(Month 3, Month 6, Month 9)

  1. Strengthening of the guardianship support model

Facilitation and/or observation of two focus groups of volunteer guardians

10 days

(Month 4, Month 8)

Final report on activities conducted, including specific recommendations for the strengthening of the model of support to volunteer guardians at local level

10 days

(Month 11)

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Minimum Qualifications required:

  • Bachelors degree in Psychology, Pedagogical sciences, Social Sciences, Law, Political Sciences or other related disciplines.
  • At least 5 years of professional experience with refugees and migrants or vulnerable children along with extensive experience in the field of protection is required.
  • Proven experience of work with local authorities.
  • Proven knowledge of the national context with regards to reception, protection and inclusion of migrant and refugee children, including guardianship system.
  • Ability to work through networking and partnership.
  • Demonstrated ability to work in a multi-cultural environment and establish harmonious and effective working relationships.
  • Fluency in Italian and English is required.

Administrative details:

Supervision

The consultant will work under the supervision of the Guardianship Coordinator.

Workplace

This is a consultancy home-based. Candidates are required to have internet connection, IT and communication equipment.

Travel

This consultancy involves some duty travels.

Duration

The estimate duration of this consultancy is from February 2023 until July 2024 (total of 230 days in 11.5 months).

How to Apply

Application should be submitted online and should include: Resume, Cover Letter and Financial proposal. A financial proposal including the fee for the assignment based on the deliverables and number of days must be submitted. Consultants are asked to stipulate all-inclusive fees, including lump sum travel and subsistence costs, as applicable.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

*****

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

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.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

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, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. 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.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.

Added 1 year ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unicef.org