Home-based local consultancy: Researcher to map promising and good practices of MHPSS services for migrant and refugee adolescents, Italy (92 days)

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, results

Since the beginning of migrant and refugee increased arrivals in Europe, UNICEF is responding to the unique needs of children and women on the move. In Italy, a two-pronged approach combines humanitarian services delivery with capacity building, policy reform and technical assistance on child protection and gender-based violence (GBV), with partner organizations and government. In Italy, UNICEF focuses on the outreach of the most vulnerable and at-risk children, to ensure proper protection and case management mechanisms are in place, including psychosocial support, alternative care, guardianship system, and promotion of participation mechanisms.

Many migrant and refugee children and youth passed through violence, including GBV and sexual violence, torture, inhuman treatments, trafficking and labour or sexual exploitation in their countries of origin, as well as during the journeys and in the countries of arrival. In Italy, unaccompanied children, the majority of whom are older adolescents, are reported to experience higher levels of mental health-related symptoms, including anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), compared to other refugee and migrant groups, with consequences on their well-being and healthy development.

Therefore, they need specific short- and long-term mental health and psycho-social support, sensitive to age, gender and cultural aspects. In line with Inter-Agency-Steering-Committee on MHPSS in emergency settings, this includes a large variety of interventions, from the creation of a protective and safe environment to the strengthening of community and family supports, the person-to-person non-specialized supports, and, at the top of the pyramid, the specialized services.

Reception facilities for UASC are entitled to provide psychological and psycho-social support, but the system is characterized by lack of homogeneity in terms of quality, efficiency and effectiveness of services. As for specialized services, information from UNICEF’s programmes shows that accessing to public and private services for mental health is a complex process for adolescent migrants and refugees; this is partly due to the lack of a consistent and comprehensive mapping of available MHPSS-services relevant to them, as well as obstacle to their access like the absence of cultural mediators. Indeed, despite the efforts of the Italian Government, there are still shortcomings: a highly fragmented system, lacking a systematic monitoring system, characterized by geographical disparities in the availability and accessibility of assistance, as well as by limited decentralization and coordination. These limits entail the concrete possibility that adolescents with trauma-related sufferance and other forms of mental health disorders could fall through the cracks of the system, situation that can lead to exacerbating problems, since unaddressed traumas risk preventing people from building and imagining their future.

On the other hand, several mental health-related services, partly managed by civil society organizations, are available in Italy and known as quality services. In the last few years, mental health-services addressed to migrant population increased the use of multidisciplinary approaches, the integration of cultural mediators and the promotion of trans-cultural and/or ethno-psychiatric methodologies in addressing the psychological consequences of severe forms of violence. However, a consistent analysis has never been conducted to set the criteria to define a “best practice” in this field, what are the key successful factors and their potential replicability.

How can you make a difference?

The consultant is expected to conduct a mapping of promising and good practices on MHPSS services relevant for migrant and refugee adolescents. In particular, the mapping is aimed to:

• Define a baseline of MHPSS services relevant for migrant and refugee adolescents at national level;
• Define a set of indicators to identify promising and good practices in the field of MHPSS for migrant and refugee adolescents;
• Identify the promising and best practices in order to point out the factors of success and innovation and possibility of replication/expansion/scale-up or integration into the system;
• Identify the main gaps of the system of MHPSS-services for migrant and refugee adolescents and formulate recommendations for their overcoming.

The consultant will work under the supervision of the Child Protection specialist and in close cooperation with the MHPSS Expert, UNICEF Office of Research and the Steering Committee, specifically established to ensure methodological and ethical aspects of this research.

Tasks

The consultant is expected to:

1. Data collection and analysis
   1. Conduct a desk-review of the available literature on MHPSS services in Italy (including evaluations) and mental-health related needs of migrant and refugee adolescents;
   2. Design and develop a poll to be rolled out on U-Report on the move (UNICEF digital platform) to collect the opinions of migrant and refugee adolescents on the desired mental-health support from services;
   3. Design and implement one survey for MHPSS public and private service providers, staff of reception facilities, representatives of civil society organizations to collect their opinions on what can be defined as “good practice” in the field of MHPSS services for migrant and refugee adolescents;
   4. Design and implement a semi-structured interview (virtual or in person) for at least 5 MHPSS specialists;
   5. Based on the quantitative and qualitative analysis of the collected information, set up a definition of “promising” and “good” practice in the field of MHPSS for migrant and refugee adolescents;
   6. Identify the potential “promising” or “good” practices, through a survey questionnaire, field visits (if possible), and other sources of information to be validated by the Steering Committee.
2. Overall coordination and reporting
   1. In cooperation with UNICEF Child Protection Specialist and MHPSS Specialist, coordination of the Steering Committee (3 meetings estimated);
   2. Development of the research protocol, including the definition of the most suitable theory and methodology, ethical considerations and technical advice to ensure the research implementation is in line with international standards;
   3. Support in establishing or strengthening partnerships with universities and/or institutes of research relevant for the topic of the research;
   4. Design and develop of the final report in English (brief and long versions) and related advocacy brief;
   5. Support in the organization of the final dissemination event and related webinar for the service providers.

Contractual modalities:

• Duration: The contract duration will be 7 months (92 days).
• Supervisor: The consultant will report to the Child Protection Specialist.
• Logistics: The consultant must have his/her own computer and e-mail, phone and credits, printer and paper.
• Payment: The Consultant will be paid based on timely and satisfactory delivery of outputs as per the table above.
• Nature of penalty clause in contract: If the final reports and documents are not submitted according to the deliverable stated in this TOR, the payments will be withheld. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if work/outputs is incomplete, not delivered or for failure to meet deadlines (fees reduced due to late submission: 20 days – 10%; 1 month – 20%; 2 months – 30 %; more than 2 months – payment withhold). All materials developed will remain the copyright of UNICEF and UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify them in the future. The consultant’s contribution will be duly acknowledged in any final publication.
• Duty Station: The Consultant will be home based. If need be and if circumstances allow, the consultant will be expected to travel to Rome and to field locations (tentatively Latium, Sicily, Calabria, Lombardy, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna) - a total of 4 trips, depending on COVID-19 travel restrictions. The Consultant will be responsible for organizing their travel. All travel expenses (tickets, accommodation, public transport, meals) will be reimbursed. The maximum amount allocated for travel will be EUR 2,500.
• Travel Clause
  • All UNICEF rules and regulations related to travel of Consultant will apply.
  • All travel shall be undertaken only upon the prior written approval by UNICEF.
  • The Consultant must travel via the most economic and direct route is authorized.
  • Travel costs will be reimbursed after the completion of the travel. UNICEF will reimburse travel related expenses 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.

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

Required:

• Advance degree in sociology, anthropology, psychology or others related fields;
• A minimum of five years of relevant professional experience into research in academia or research institute or similar;
• Experience in primary data collection, both quantitative and qualitative;
• Experience of designing surveys, polls, interviews;
• Experience in data analysis, both quantitative and qualitative;
• Relevant experience in migration studies;
• Excellent analytical and written skills;
• Excellent planning and organizational skills;
• Strong communication skills, both oral and written;
• Fluency in Italian and English;
• Good team player.

Desired:

• Work experience with UN agencies or international organizations.

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.

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 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.

To apply:

Applicants are invited to:

• Complete their UNICEF profile.
• Attach P11, CV and Cover Letter.
• List of relevant publications (researches, studies, articles).
• Include a financial proposal with a daily fee in EUR, bearing in mind that the maximum daily fee for this consultancy is EUR 250. Applications without fees will not be accepted.

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.