Consultancy to develop the revised National Strategic Plan on Elimination of Violence Against Children in Schools VACiS (VACiS) for 2021-2025, along with the roadmap for its operationaliz

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, a fair chance

Uganda is one of the over 190 countries and territories around the world where we work to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease, and discrimination place in a child’s path. Together with the Government of Uganda and partners we work towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, the objectives of the Uganda National Development Plan, and the planned outcomes of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework.

Visit this link for more information on Uganda Country Office https://www.unicef.org/uganda/

How can you make a difference?

Background/ Justification

Violence Against Children in school including school related gender-based violence (SRGBV) devastates the lives of many children in Uganda. For students, it affects their ability to get to and from school, to learn effectively while at school, and to remain there long enough to reap the benefits. Girls are particularly vulnerable to SRGBV, the consequences of which can jeopardise health, lead to unwanted pregnancy and keep whole families trapped in the cycle of poverty. UNICEF in collaboration with government ministries and partners have long been at the forefront of efforts to eradicate this violation of human rights.

Evidence from the National Survey on Violence against Children in Uganda (2015) shows that violence against children and sexual and gender-based violence are widespread in the country.[1] Three quarters of Ugandan children experienced any form violence in childhood; physical, sexual or emotional. More than one in three females (35%) and one in six males (16.5 %) experienced sexual violence. For 25% of the girls and 25.3% of the boys who experienced sexual violence, the first incident occurred at or before the age of 13. Most girls and boys who experienced childhood sexual abuse experienced multiple incidents in their life (girls, 83.2%; boys, 81.3%).

A UNICEF baseline study in schools of 2019[2] indicated that two-thirds of teachers punish students in school, with 24% reporting that they punish students by caning and 16% by physical work in school. 35.5 per cent of students had been caned in the last week and 52 per cent saw or heard another student being beaten with small variations between girls and boys. [3]. 50% of learners point to the male teachers when asked who canned them. 11.5 per cent of students reported experiencing sexual abuse in schools, with male teachers 22% and another male student 24.5% being the main perpetuators. Many children and adolescents will have experienced increased violence, mental and emotional stress during the period of COVID 19 school closures. Other children may have additional anxiety as they return to school as previous factors that made school unsafe for learners may not have disappeared.

Uganda has several legal and policy documents that, to varying degrees of explicitness, prohibit corporal punishment in schools. These include: The National Objectives (XVIII) of the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda declares education a constitutional right and Article 24 protects every person, including children, from any form of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of punishment. In August 2006, Ministry of Education and Sports(MoES) issued a third circular prohibiting corporal punishments in schools and copied to primary schools, post-primary, tertiary institutions, colleges and polytechnics forbidding corporal punishment in schools. This circular requires each school’s Management Committee or Board of Governors to approve a school disciplinary policy. In August 2007, the Penal Code (Amendment) Act 8 (2007) was passed with the aim of abolishing corporal punishment and outlawing defilement. Other salient policies relating to child protection include: The National Children’s Policy(2020), the Gender in Education Policy, the National Orphans and other Vulnerable Children Policy, The national Teacher Code of Conduct which clearly outlines norms and zero-tolerance standards regarding violence, as well as stipulates disciplinary action if standards surrounding violence are not adhered to.

Despite Uganda’s strong policy framework, significant challenges remain with effective implementation of the policies at all levels especially at district, school and community levels, low capacity of teachers to use positive discipline approaches, weak response to and management of reported cases and persistent negative social norms condoning violence among other factors.

The MoES National Strategic Plan on VACiS 2015-2020 outlines the country’s strategic direction and priorities towards the elimination of violence against children as well as response to cases of violence in schools through a cross sectoral approach.

The Ministry of Education and Sports with support from UNICEF and Irish Aid is desirous to retain services of a consultant to develop the revised National Strategic Plan on Violence Against Children in schools(NSP on VACiS) 2021-2025 as well as the National Action Plan(NAP on VACiS)

Purpose, Objective and Target Audience

UNICEF seeks the services of a consultant to develop the National Strategic Plan on Violence Against Children in schools(NSP on VACiS) 2021-2025 as well as the National Action Plan(NAP on VACiS (which is to accompany the Strategic Plan).

Main assignments of the consultant:

Step 1: Preparatory stage: Production of the desk review report

Review reports on the review of NAP on VACiS (2015 - 2020) implementation and define lessons learnt for the next NSP and NAP;

Review existing policies, policy guidelines, Safe to Learn Diagnostic study report and other studies related to VACiS in the country as part of preparation for the development of the NSP and NAP on VACiS 2021-2025

Step 2: Development of the inception report along with a roadmap for the development of the NSP and NAP on VACiS 2021-2025

Step 3: Development of the NSP 2021-2025 through consultations with various stakeholders across the country

Step 4: Writing up the NSP on VACiS which includes but not limited to; Key VACiS issues, current gaps in prevention and response, evidence based strategies and approaches to address VACiS in schools with specific step-by-step roadmap for addressing violence in schools, specifying the role of each stakeholder inside the school structure and precise referral points with child protection and health system. The vision, aim, objectives; strategies, cross cutting principles including roles and responsibilities of key ministries and agencies will be critical.

Step 5: National Feedback and consultation on the NSP on VACiS

Step 6: Development of the NAP on VACiS including the monitoring and evaluation plan, costing of the plan, development of the logical framework

Step 7: Validation meeting of the National Strategic Plan on VACiS

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

The selected national consultant should have:

• Education: Advanced University degree in social sciences, education, women and gender studies, anthropology, development studies and other relevant areas
• Work Experience: Knowledge, skills and at least 10 years of experience in Strategic Planning, programme development and management and Monitoring and Evaluation. Proven experience of similar work with Government ministries (developing National strategic plans and M&E plans)
• Competencies: Excellent analytical thinking and strategic planning skills, good writing skills, oral communication skills and facilitation skills as well as ability to work under commitment and tight timeframe. Proven experience to work with multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams of experts.
• Technical Knowledge: Solid understanding of child vulnerability issues, including. VAC, Education system in Uganda and broad range of children protection issues and M&E systems.
• Language: Fluency in English.

Application Procedure/Call for Proposals

Interested candidates are required to submit a technical proposal on how they intend to approach the work. The proposal should include a timeline, and methodology, based on the Terms of Reference. The proposal must also include detailed CV of the consultant, as well as a financial proposal, clearly indicating daily rate for professional fees. The financial proposal must be all-inclusive of all costs (consultancy fees and where applicable air fares, airport transfers, daily living expenses). This is an international level consultancy and competitive market rates should apply.

Evaluation of Candidate:

The consultant will be competitively selected from a list of applicants based on their past experience of doing similar work (extensive experience in writing donor reports, in compiling and editing annual reports for various UNICEF offices).

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The competencies required for this post are….

View our competency framework at

http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

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, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

Remarks:

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