Develop Parenting Program from early childhood to adolescence—promoting enriched caregiving and positive parenting practices and preventing Violence Against Children (VAC) in Syria. (Interna

Consultant Programme & Policy

Contract

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BACKGROUND (RATIONALE AND CONTEXT):

Positive parenting creates better parent-child interactions and contributes to ensuring a safe, protective and nurturing environment for children of all ages–-all factors that help prevent violence against children and promote their development.

Supporting families, parents and caregivers to learn positive parenting practices can prevent the separation of children from families, the risk of child maltreatment at home, witnessing intimate partner violence against mothers or stepmothers, and violent behavior among children and adolescents. Evaluations of these programs also indicate that this type of prevention is less costly than paying the price for the consequences of violence against children.

Ideally, parenting programmes should address the range of parenting needs and dimensions, by including content that addresses health, nutrition, stimulation and protection. Parenting programmes can especially support vulnerable families who benefit the most from these interventions. These programmes should be developed to empower parents and caregivers to continue building on their own good practices and enable them to adopt others that will improve children’s health, development, learning and well-being and ensure they are protected.

Context in Syria

In 2019, UNICEF started supporting its partners to build their capacity on Parenting Program (PP) by providing Parenting Program training, monitoring the implementation of the training and ensuring good quality of the materials used in the training. UNICEF provided its partners with the needed technical support to design the training material. Sessions were provided to caregivers for promoting positive parenting skills aiming to reduce violence against children, those sessions covered topics of the main challenges that caregivers faced while dealing with their children. Then, UNICEF partners started implementing the parenting program in some areas, and with the lack of unified manual for parenting program, each partner conducted his own manual with at least 8 sessions that have been designed based on parents’ needs in the area of intervention. The general topics of such manuals were: parents relation with teenagers and their needs, internet addiction and how to deal with it, bullying and violence among children, coping with stress, dealing with children's behaviour problems, GBV awareness, awareness on child protection issues, positive parenting, anger management and positive discipline.

In 2020, COVID-19 pandemic affected the PP implementation as parenting program started focusing on COVID-19 stress management, dealing with children during COVID19, PSS during COVID 19, and most of the sessions were changed from face to face to WhatsApp groups and phone calls.

During implementation it was further noticed that most persons attending the parenting sessions, are mothers. This leads to the assumption that fathers are ill-equipped, incapable of, or not interested in taking care of children. The importance of including fathers as full capable caretakers of children is therefore very important during the design of this manual on positive parenting. In addition, there was a need to assess the knowledge of parents before and after the program and the impact of the program on children.

How can you make a difference?

OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT (PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT):

1. PURPOSE

The main objective of this consultancy is to develop Parenting Programme and the manuals for early childhood through adolescence—promoting enriched caregiving and positive parenting practices and preventing Violence Against Children in line with international best practices.

2. OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The objective is to develop a national parenting curriculum that suits the Syria context covering the life cycle of the child up to 18 years of age. The specific objectives are as follows:

- Review the different modalities for parenting that exits (international best practices and the local context) and make recommendations for the design of a new Parenting Programme so that it promotes responsive and positive parenting practices and contributes to the prevention/addressing of Violence Against Children [VAC] across the child’s life-cycle;

- Develop the parenting manual targeting mothers/fathers and caregivers based on international best practices, scientific findings, the regional parenting framework and VAC that fits within the Syrian context.

- Provide guidance and recommendations for the delivery of the parenting programme through different partners from government and NGOs highlighting contextual aspects of delivery approaches, quality, coordination...etc.

- Provide practical and innovative ways to reach fathers during the delivery of the parenting programme

- Develop material for training of trainers to be used for training national resource persons (all actors providing focused and non -focused practitioners services) for both public services providers and humanitarian actors.

SECTION IN CHARGE:

Chief of Child Protection – UNICEF Syria

LOCATION (GEOGRAPHIC AREA/ DUTY STATION):

On-site working days: 15 working days (in Damascus)

Off-site working days: 50 working days (Remote)

DURATION:

The selected consultant will work for the period of 75 workdays within 6 months. It is envisaged: (60) workdays out of county and (15) in the country. The exact schedule of the activities will be agreed with the consultant based on the assignment implementation progress. The deadline for submission of final deliverables to UNICEF is (by the end of the contract).

The consultant should propose a timeline to submit the deliverables considering necessary and adequate time (at least two weeks) to be allocated for review and quality assurance processes of the deliverables.

SUPERVISOR: The consultant will be supervised and report to the UNICEF Chief of Child Protection. with regular de-briefing with the UNICEF Deputy Representative (Programme) about the progress of the assignment. The consultant will work on daily basis with UNICEF Child protection section.

The Program Review Group (PRG) will be established by UNICEF and SCFAP Syrian Commission for Family Affairs and Population and will comprise of representatives of the major stakeholders including study managers, programme specialist from UNICEF CP section, and a representative from the Ministries of Social Affairs, Education, Health and Islamic Affairs, in addition to NGOs, experts, etc. The PRG will:

- Review the manuals and ensure final draft meets the UNICEF Standards and Syria context.

- Review and provide comments and feedback on the quality of the consultation and testing process

PROPOSED PAYMENT SCHEDULE

Payment is contingent on approval by the contract manager and will be made in four instalments.

• 20 % of the total contract will be paid upon submission of deliverable 1, 2.
• 30 % of the total contract will be paid upon submission of the deliverable no. 3,4.
• 30 % of the total contract will be paid upon submission of the deliverable no. 5, 6, 7.
• 20 % of the total contract will be paid upon submission of the deliverable no. 8.

UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNMENT (TASKS, SMART DELIVERABLES, DEADLINES):

TASK # 1:

- Review of international best practices and scientific findings and the local contexts in Syria to design the parenting program for Syria. (Within a period of 2 working days out of the 1st month of contract)

- Conduct a desk review of international best practices and the engagement of fathers in parenting program, as well as Gender-Sensitive Parenting. (Within a period of 2 working days out of the 1st month of contract)

- Propose theory of change (ToC) that will be used for the development of the manual to promote child development and reduce violent disciplinary practices. (Within a period of 2 working days out of the 1st month of contract).

Deliverable # 1:

Detailed inception report Arabic and English to be submitted within two weeks starting from the day of signing the contract by the consultant.

TASK # 2:

- Develop the parenting manual outline to promote responsive parenting practices and prevent VAC across the life cycle of the child with clear strategies for each age level.

- The stages are divided into the levels presented below:

Booklet I (prenatal to 5 years)

Booklet II (6 years to 11 years)

Booklet III (12 years to 18 years already exists

With key topics and thematic area based on developmentally appropriate practices for each age groups. (Within a period of 7 working days out of the 1st month of contract)

Deliverable # 2:

Outline of the parenting booklets is developed ensuring a holistic and cross-sectoral approach is taken and the “whole child” and family are considered at each major developmental stage.

TASK # 3:

- Upon approval of the outline and content of the booklets, develop the materials and the content of the booklets as per UNICEF standard manuals. (within a period of 15 working days out of the 2nd month of contract)

- share the drafted booklets with UNICEF/ SCFAP and incorporate their feedback in the booklets. (Within a period of 5 working days out of the 3rd month of contract)

Deliverable # 3:

- Final Booklets to be submitted, insure the adequacy and suitability of the manual.

- The revised version is submitted.

TASK # 4:

- Conduct workshops for the revision and testing of the draft manual (Within a period of 4 working days out of the 4th month of contract)

- Incorporate the workshops outcomes and comments in the booklets. Within a period of 2 working days out of the 4th month of contract)

- Develop M&E framework for measuring the impact of the parenting program on the knowledge acquired by mothers, fathers and caregivers. as well as reporting on results. (Within a period of 3 working days out of the 4th month of contract).

Deliverable # 4:

- Workshops conducted

- Report on the workshop outcomes

- final clear version of the booklets is submitted

- A Monitoring and Evaluation framework is submitted

TASK # 5:

Incorporate feedback into the MHPSS national manual in-line with the developed parenting programme booklets to ensure synergies between both documents (Within a period of 5 working days out of the 4th month of contract).

Deliverable # 5:

Create synergies with the MHPSS national manual

TASK # 6:

Develop a Training of trainer’s manual to be used for training of national resource persons. (Within a period of 7 working days out of the 5th month of contract)

Deliverable # 6:

A TOT package is developed

TASK # 7:

- Conduct focus group discussions with parents attending activities supported by the education programme

- Establish linkages between the parenting programme and community-based ECE

(Within a period of 10 working days out of the 5th month of contract)

Deliverable # 7:

Feedback from parents/caregivers on manual received and establish linkage with community-based ECE activities

TASK # 8:

- Develop an implementation framework for an effective delivery modality. (Within a period of 3 working days out of the 6th month of contract)

- Conduct TOT for governmental and non-governmental service providers. (Within a period of 5 working days out of the 6th month of contract)

- Prepare a synopsis (English) on the content of all booklets, and training material (Within a period of 3 working days out of the 6th month of contract)

Deliverable # 8:

- An implementation framework is developed

- TOT for governmental and non- governmental service providers is conducted and the result incorporated in the final draft

- A synopsis on the whole work is shared with UNICEF CP section

TRAVEL CONSIDERATIONS:

The consultancy shall be done mainly home-based with the support of UNICEF Syria country office, child protection section, and Amman office. If government approval is obtained, the consultant shall conduct a mission to Syria country office to conduct the workshops (both workshop for testing and TOT). UNICEF will cover and handle all travel arrangements as per UNICEF rules and regulations and practice at the Syria Country Office.

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Should “mission travel” be required, UNICEF will manage and pay for travel via Travel Authorization. However, this will be subject to the following prerequisites: Medical Clearance, Security Clearance through the Travel Request Information Process (TRIP) system, the Basic and Advanced Security in the Field Trainings, Travel Visa, and liability waiver.

Travel cost shall be calculated based on economy class travel, regardless of the length of travel. Costs for accommodation, meals and incidentals shall not exceed applicable daily subsistence allowance (DSA) rates, as promulgated by the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC at http://icsc.un.org). The consultant must travel on UNICEF approved airlines.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

- Master’s Degree in child development, Protection, Sociology, Anthropology, Social Sciences, statistics or a

related field. A first level university degree with additional 2 years of required relevant experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

- 8 years experience in violence prevention and positive parenting responsive programming at the national and international level, some of which preferably were served in a developing country is required.

- Consultant must have completed at least two high quality research reports in that period, at least two of them being related to early childhood or violence related response.

- Demonstrates excellent writing skills, and strong communication, in particular for the development of technical documents is essential.

- Demonstrates experience and knowledge of the latest developments and issues related to violence against children and/or parenting are essential.

- Fluency in Arabic and English (both written and verbal) is required.

The contractor will work on his/her own computer(s) and use his/her own office resources and materials in the execution of this assignment. The contractor’s fee shall be inclusive of all office administrative costs

For every Child, you demonstrate…

Core values: Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are...

Core competencies:

• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (1)
• Works Collaboratively with others (1)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (1)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (1)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (1)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (1)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

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

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.

EVALUATION PROCESS (OF APPLICATIONS):

Qualified candidates are requested to submit:

• Cover letter/application.
• Financial quote as lump sum for professional fees (*)
• CV.
• Examples of previous, relevant work as applicable
• Proposed methodology/approach to managing the project.
• At least 3 Referees.

(*) Interested consultants are requested to include in their submission detailed costs including:

1. Daily rate inclusive all administrative costs (except Travel & DSA, where UNICEF will cover the cost as per rules and regulations in Syria Country Office.
2. Expenses (please include all costs that are to be charged to UNICEF) to be agreed prior to commencing project
3. Any additional requirements needed to complete project or that might have an impact on cost or delivery of products

(P.S. The consultants would be required to use their own computers, printers, photocopier etc)

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.

UNICEF only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/

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Added 2 years ago - Updated 2 years ago - Source: unicef.org