Consultancy: Strengthening children's online safety in South Africa

Contract

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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, Strength

Background:

In May 2018, UNICEF, in partnership with key government Departments including the Departments of Social Development, Telecommunications and Postal Services, Education, Police and Justice, the National Prosecution Authority, and key civil society organizations implemented the child online protection programme under the Global End Violence programme. The programme aimed to strengthen children's safe use of the internet and protect children from online violence. It sought to understand the extent of the problem and the gaps in policy and implementation attached to it; undertake a consultative, participatory and cross-sectoral process to build commitment and ownership to address the issue; identify appropriate prevention and response actions that can be integrated into relevant legislation, policy and capacity building efforts for service providers; engage with industry to implement online safety standards and to complement this with practical, tested interventions to build children, caregivers, teachers and communities knowledge and skills. All phases of the programme were designed within the broader framework of the Model National Response (MNR) and INSPIRE and integrated within the broader strategies to promote internet access within South Africa and protect children from all forms of violence, abuse and exploitation

The approach aimed to link evidence more effectively, policy development, services for children, children and caregivers' knowledge and skills and industry standards concerning online safety, all embedded within broader efforts related to the protection of children. Specific districts were selected to pilot the project's various components in an integrated manner – including strengthening services, increasing children, caregivers and community’s knowledge and skills, and implementing industry standards - as a comprehensive package. The programme was budgeted at US$ 999,615 and targeted four primary stakeholder levels, namely the individual, family and community level, the service level, the industry level, and the systems level. The following results were envisioned: -

1. Children, families and communities protect children from online violence and help access services when needed.

2. Children benefit from crucial services that help children stay safe online and respond to the needs of child survivors.

3. ICT industry implements standards and measures to prevent and address online violence.

4. National authorities and civil society have increased knowledge on and commitment to address online safety.

How can you make a difference?

SCOPE OF WORK:

The purpose of this summative evaluation is to understand to what extent the programme outcomes and outputs were achieved as planned and assess the aspects of relevance, coherence, efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability.

Given the nature of the online safety project, the scope of this evaluation will be based on the validation of undertaken programme activities on a national basis. The activities under the programme have since been concluded, and these were implemented from May 2018 to August 2021. Therefore, the focus will be on the activities undertaken and the analysis of their relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, and impact. As per the project plan, the main activities of the programme consisted of developing a tool for communication and dialogue, drafting awareness-raising messages on online protection for caregivers and children, developing a training toolkit on online protection and undertaking trainings on online protection for various sets of duty bearers, and lastly, to undertake a national assessment to gauge the extent of child rights violations.

Over the three years, considerable progress has been made with some implementation challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in South Africa. However, programme implementation will end in August 2021. In line with the Global Platform End Violence programme requirements, UNICEF wishes to evaluate the programme to assess the progress towards achieving the intended results, including a cost-benefit assessment to determine the value for money of the investment made towards this initiative.

The final expected evaluation outputs would include, (1) an inception report with an initial evaluability assessment, (2) Draft evaluation report and presentation, and (3) final evaluation report and presentation considering comments and feedback received by stakeholders and the evaluation reference group.

Work Assignment Overview:

Tasks/Milestones: Deliverables/Output: Timeline:

Preparatory and Inception phase Final inception report and presentation 15 days

Review phase Draft evaluation report and presentation 20 days

Drafting, Validation and Completion Phase Final evaluation report and presentation 10 days

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in *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.
• A minimum of [10 years] of relevant professional experience in
• Degree in Social Work, Public Health, Social Policy, Development Studies, Social Sciences or related
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are...

• Expertise in conducting similar or related strategic programme evaluations, including a proven track record of evaluation of similar child protection programmes supported by UN or UNICEF.
• 10 years of experience working in the programme evaluation field, public policy, and development environment.
• Demonstrated experience in project management, evaluation, value for money analysis and partnership engagement in child protection, with a preference for experience in the areas of child safeguarding in the digital space and online safety concerning minors.
• Outstanding research and analytical skills, including strong ability to analyze; integrate and summarize information from a wide range of sources.
• Demonstrated capacity to engage with key stakeholders and facilitate engagement and dialogues.
• Excellent writing skills in English, including a demonstrated ability to draft clear, concise and reports.
• Good computer skills, including familiarity with search engines and databases.
• Ability to work independently and to ensure high-quality deliverables.
• Demonstrated capacity to carry out the assignment within the allocated timeframe.
• An added advantage having working experience in the GBV and/or VAC programming field.
• Proficiency in research methodologies application.
• The candidate must submit samples (at least three) of similar work they have conducted.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

Detailed Terms of Reference can be viewed here... VA TOR Ind Cons Strenthening children's online safety in South Africa.pdf

How to Apply:

Interested and qualified candidates are requested to submit their application to the following link: http://jobs.unicef.org/cw/en-us/job/543538?lApplicationSubSourceID= by 17 September 2021.

This notice will also appear on http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/, http://www.unicef.org/southafrica, UN Job List, UN Jobs

Please indicate your ability, availability and daily/monthly rate (in ZAR) to undertake the terms of reference above (including admin cost if applicable).

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.

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.

Remarks:

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