Full-time Individual Contractor (11.5 months; home-based in Italy with travels to the field): Peer Support and MHPSS Expert - Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECARO), Rome, Italy

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.

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For every child, Protection

Purpose of Activity/Assignment

Accompanying, monitoring and systematizing the implementation of a model of intervention on peer support between families, including a focus on families with children with disabilities, and supporting the domestic contextualization and capacity building on interventions addressing adolescents’ mental health and psychosocial wellbeing.

According to the recent European statistics, almost a quarter of all children in the European Union are at risk of poverty or of social exclusion. Despite the increasing European efforts to counter the cycle of poverty and its impact on children, poverty rates remain too high compared to the targets set for 2030 by the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan.

Starting in 2015, the European Union began the development of a Child Guarantee, meant to ensure that all children in Europe who are at risk of poverty, social exclusion, or are otherwise disadvantaged, have access to essential services of good quality in the areas of healthcare, education, childcare, housing and nutrition. In July 2020, a testing phase of the Child Guarantee was launched, with UNICEF’s Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia supporting four European countries, including Italy, with the task of implementing pilot projects to counter inequalities and child poverty. In June 2021, the Council of the European Union adopted a Recommendation establishing an EU-wide Child Guarantee to combat child poverty and social exclusion of the most vulnerable children.

In Italy, of the around 10 million children and young people under the age of 18 as of 2021, almost 1.4 million (14.2%) lived in absolute poverty, marking a staggering 3% increase compared to 2019 (11.4%), including as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemics. Additionally, according to 2020 data, 25.1% of youth aged 18 to 24 in Italy are currently not in education, employment, or training, with the highest rate of the whole EU. A recent study published by UNICEF in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies (MLSP) and the Department for Family Policies (DFP) as part of the EU Child Guarantee testing phase, “Analysis of politics, programmes, budgets addressing child poverty and social exclusion in Italy” identifies the groups of children more at risk of poverty and social exclusion in Italy, dividing them in two main categories. From one side it identifies numerically very large groups, often with medium or high intensity of need, which include children residing in the regions of Southern Italy, children with a migrant background, children with mental health issues, children in single-parent families and children with disabilities. On the other side there are numerically smaller groups, generally with a very high intensity of need and care, which include children outside the family of origin, young care leavers, children belonging to ethnic minorities, in particular, Roma, Sinti and Caminanti, unaccompanied foreign children, children born to underage mothers and children with at least one parent incarcerated.

In Italy, the Child Guarantee is being piloted since 2020 under the oversight of an interinstitutional Steering Committee, composed by the MLSP and the Presidency of the Council of Ministers - Department for Family Policies, and UNICEF including through testing of models of intervention for the support of children particularly at risk of poverty and exclusion. Including through the evidence generated during the pilot phase, in March 2022 Italy submitted to the EU a draft National Action Plan for the implementation of the Child Guarantee, which included the scale up of models of interventions to contrast child poverty and social exclusion of children.

One of the models being tested by the DFP and UNICEF as part of the pilot phase of the Child Guarantee is a model of peer support between vulnerable families, including families with children with disability, to expand the range of services offered by the Family Support Centers (Centri per la Famiglia - CpF), multidisciplinary services that provide support to families in situation of vulnerability through a differentiated set of services that range from positive parenting, psychosocial and educational support to the referral to other services.

Furthermore, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services to children and adolescents continue to be a UNICEF’s global priority. The UNICEF Strategic Plan 2022-2025 identifies MHPSS as a priority area, building upon existing programming through child protection, education, and health, shaped by actions and standards set out in the Child Protection Minimum Standards (CPMS), Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action (CCCs) and the IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergencies.

According to recent UNICEF State of the World’s Children 2021, 13 per cent of adolescent worldwide is estimated to live with a diagnosed mental disorder, whose prevalence in Italy is 16.6% of the national 10-19 aged population. Over the last two years, and especially since the Covid-19 pandemic, psychosocial wellbeing and mental health have increasingly become a collective and institutional concern for this age group. Therefore, fostering the mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of children and adolescents has become today of paramount concern for UNICEF.

Disadvantaged children and adolescents, such as migrant and refugee children and youth inside and outside the reception system, and especially children and adolescents who have experienced displacement, violence and other highly threatening event, or who are exposed to protection threats, have increased risks to develop distress and even other forms of more severe mental conditions, unless their needs are promptly identified and addressed through tailored interventions. Special attention is given to the refugee influx of boys, girls and their families who arrived in Italy since the begin of the conflict in Ukraine. To date, 19th August 2022, 158,800 arrivals fleeing Ukraine have been registered, whose 30% are minors and 52% are women.

UNICEF psychosocial support and mental health actions are integrated into prevention and support programmes covering child protection, gender-based violence, education, advocacy and research. There are multiple actions that UNICEF carries out in Italy together with governmental counterparts, relevant institutions, and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to strengthen the mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of children, adolescents and their caregivers. MHPSS services aim at strengthening the individual psychosocial wellbeing, self-care, the own skills to overcome adversity and parental capacity to take care of the own children. Through these interventions, UNICEF intends to promote individual agency and active participation of children, adolescents and young people.

Scope of Work

Under the guidance of UNICEF’s Child Protection Specialist and in coordination with the Department for Family Policies, the Individual Contractor will focus on supporting the pilot, monitoring and systematizing of one of the models of interventions aimed at the reduction of poverty and social exclusion in Italy, tested as part of the pilot phase of the EU Child Guarantee.

Additionally, the Individual Contractor will contribute to developing and rolling out MHPSS technical tools and training packages tailored to support adolescents (such as the UNICEF Adolescent Toolkit for Expression and Innovation), younger children and their caregivers. The Individual Contractor will also support capacity building initiatives aimed at disseminating these tools and enhancing MHPSS knowledge and skills of relevant service providers, decision makers and frontline workers.

Finally, the Individual Contractor will support UNICEF in the different technical pieces related with the work with children with disability.

Scope of the work is to contribute to UNICEF’s efforts in two main areas:

1. Supporting the Department for Family Policies in the further strengthening of the support provided to families through the Family Support Centres, by coordinating the piloting of the peer support model between families currently being implemented in different Regions of Italy. Based on the results of his/her monitoring of the pilot and the feedback received from both the participant families and the workforce of the CpF, systematize the already developed methodology and support the process of analysis of the scalability of the model of service.
2. Supporting MHPSS capacity building for CSO and institutional partners and other relevant service providers and stakeholders. This action will consist of: a) development and contextualization to the national context of MHPSS technical tools (such as the Adolescent Toolkit for Expression and Innovation and other tools that will be identified as relevant to offer quality and integrated support to children and their caregivers), b) drafting and contributing to the consolidation of training packages (including Training of Trainers, ToTs), and c) delivering training sessions and contributing to other capacity building initiatives.

Specifically, with regards to the first area, the following results will be achieved:

• Selected CpF are supported in the implementation of the pilot phase, the pilot is thoroughly monitored, and feedbacks are collected from participant families and staff of the CpF;
• Periodic progress reports are developed to update institutional counterparts on the process of testing of the model of intervention and to advocate for its scale-up;
• The initially developed methodology is integrated with the feedback received during the pilot phase, systematized document on the results of the pilot and the replicability of the model is developed and aligned with the already existing documentation for its potential scale-up nationwide;
• Evidence generation processes aimed at the evaluation of the model and at the analysis of the replicability and scalability of the model are supported;
• Opportunities for the expansion of the pilot and/or scale-up of the model are continuously browsed, identified and pursued.

With regards to the second area of intervention, the following results will be achieved:

• Selected MHPSS tools are consolidated for different age groups and their caregivers, under the guidance of the CP and the MHPSS Specialist;
• The initial drafts are integrated and updated in consideration of the initial roll-out and testing phase;
• Training packages are developed for each MHPSS tool, based on the identified and emerging needs. This action may include contribution to the development of e-courses;
• Training sessions that may imply both face-to-face and remote/e-learning modalities are delivered to relevant audiences.

Work Assignment Overview

Tasks / Milestone******Deliverables / Outputs******Timeline / DeadlineSupport and monitoring of the pilot implementation of the peer support between families with children with disability model in the selected CpFContinuous support, including capacity building activities, to the CpF in the implementation of the activities related to the model of peer supportOngoingPeriodic report on the implementation of the peer support model, including on the quantitative and qualitative monitoring of activities and with participants’ feedbackMonthlyFinal methodological toolbox including a training handbookMonth 11Supporting MHPSS capacity building of CSO and institutional partners and other relevant service providers and stakeholdersDevelopment and contextualization to the national context of MHPSS technical tools, as per identified needs and relevant age-groupsMonths 1-6Drafting and contributing to the consolidation of training packages (including Training of Trainers, ToTs)Delivering trainings and contributing to other capacity building initiatives, through face to face and remote sessions and including e-learning coursesQuarterlyMonitoring the testing and roll-out of the developed/consolidated MHPSS tools and integrating and revising the initial draftsEstimated Duration of the Contract

11.5 months (October 2022 - September 2023)

Individual Contractor's Work Place and Official Travel

The assignment will be home-based in Italy. The Individual Contractor is required on a full-time basis for the period of the contract.

The Individual Contractor will travel to field locations in Italy. The Individual Contractor will be responsible for organizing their travel. All travel expenses (tickets, accommodation, public transport, meals) will be reimbursed. The maximum amount for travel overall will be EUR 3,000.

Travel Clause

• All UNICEF rules and regulations related to travel of Consultants/Individual Contractors apply.
• All travels shall be undertaken only upon the prior written approval by UNICEF.
• The consultant is responsible for his/her for travel arrangements. The most economic and direct route is authorized.
• Travel costs will be reimbursed after the completion of mission upon submission of the invoice together with the supporting documentation.
• The consultant must be fit to travel, be in a possession of the valid UN BSAFE certificate, obligatory inoculation(s) and have a valid own travel/medical insurance and an immunization/vaccination card.

Estimated Cost of the Consultancy & Payment Schedule

Payment will be made on submission of a monthly invoice and satisfactory completion of the above-mentioned deliverables. Please indicate an all inclusive fixed monthly fee in EUR to undertake this assignment.

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

• Master's degree in Social Sciences, Political Science, Pedagogical Science or other related subjects;
• At least 7 years of professional experience working in areas related to MHPSS and the support of vulnerable children, including specific experience on children with disabilities;
• Proven experience in the development and roll-out of trainings;
• Proven experience in the development or implementation of peer support methodologies;
• Ability to work with vulnerable children and youth;
• Demonstrated ability to work in a multi-cultural environment and establish harmonious and effective working relationships;
• Fluency in Italian and English is required.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

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.

Remarks:

Please include a full CV and Financial Proposal in your application. Additionally, indicate your availability and monthly rate (in EUR) to undertake the terms of reference above. Applications submitted without a monthly rate will not be considered. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

It should be noted that selected candidate will be responsible for arranging for their own health and medical insurance. This consultancy does not provide any other benefits other than the consultancy fee and 1.5 days leave entitlement per month and the UN official holidays. Selected consultant will be responsible for complying with local tax requirements and any tax liabilities that may arise as a result of the consultancy with UNICEF.

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.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants 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.