International Consultancy: Strengthening Alternative Care Systems for Children, Req, 6 months (Not for Pakistani Nationals)

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, Protection!

Pakistan was the sixth country in the world to sign and ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child less than one year after it was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989. However, children and adolescents living in Pakistan still face acute challenges.

UNICEF supports the Government of Pakistan to accelerate progress for children, work to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and help children realize their rights under the Convention on the Rights of Children. This will be made through, among others things, strong partnerships with provincial authorities, teachers and health professionals, frontline workers and social mobilizers, communities, and families, and of course, the children and adolescents themselves.

In particular, UNICEF will work so that:

• Every child survives and thrives -- being in good health, immunized, protected from polio, and accessing nutritious food.
• Every child learns.
• Every child is protected from violence and exploitation and registered at birth.
• Every child lives in a safe and clean environment, with access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.

To learn more about UNICEF’s work in Pakistan, please visit the country website www.unicef.org/pakistan and videos on YouTube and Vimeo

How can you make a difference?

UNICEF seeks to engage an international consultant with relevant experience in child protection to provide technical support to the national and provincial governments (particularly in flood-affected districts of Sindh, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkha) on alternative care for children. The main of objectives of the consultancy is to provide provincial governments with high-quality technical assistance on alternative care, including facilitating the development of regulatory frameworks pertaining to alternative care and guiding “model demonstrations” of alternative care.

Major tasks, deliverables, and proposed payment schedule:

The international consultant will undertake the tasks detailed in the table below. As per UNICEF policy, the payment will be issued after the approval of the deliverables listed underneath with their corresponding tasks:

Sindh

TASKS:

• Review all existing laws, standards, and guidelines related to alternative care for children.
• Assessment of the situation of children in residential care, including the standards of care and admission criteria.
• Design a “model demonstration” on alternative care for children in Sindh and provide technical guidance to the government to implement this model, including monitoring.
• Make practical recommendations for the revision of existing regulatory frameworks and policies in Sindh.

Deliverables:

• A brief and concise note highlighting the existing gaps/discrepancies in existing regulatory frameworks with the international standards. This note will be presented to the key government stakeholders in a meeting (meeting format to be discussed and agreed upon).
• Summary of the existing standards of care and admission criteria and recommendation for the improvement of gatekeeping practices to support the deinstitutionalization of children in Sindh.
• Endorsement of a model of alternative care and plans for piloting agreed upon with the government.
• Design of a road map for reform of policies governing alternative care in Sindh.

Punjab

TASKS:

• Undertake an analysis of the regulatory framework pertaining to alternative care in the province.
• Consultation with key stakeholders in Punjab to collect their views on the strengths and weaknesses of the existing practices related to the placement of children in alternative care. These findings, plus the review, should guide the development of a new regulatory framework for alternative care.
• Facilitate a half-day workshop with key stakeholders (government, service providers, etc.) in Punjab to present the findings of the consultations and key recommendations for the improvement of childcare practices in the province.
• Lead the development of a regulatory framework for alternative care in Punjab through participatory and consultative approaches with key stakeholders.

Deliverables:

• A brief and concise note highlighting the existing gaps/ areas of improvement to ensure compliance with international standards.
• PowerPoint document summarizing the key findings and suggested recommendations for improvements of practices related to alternative care in Punjab.
• Workshop report with a clear action plan and roadmap for implementing the agreed recommendations for Punjab.
• Agreement/Consensus reached on the content of a draft of the regulatory framework of alternative care for children in Punjab.

KPK

TASKS:

• Provide technical assistance to the KP Child Protection and Welfare Commission and Zamung Kor to complete the review of children’s cases currently living in Zamung Kor and ensure them the most suitable and necessary care arrangement possible.
• Review the existing gatekeeping policies standards of care of children in residential care and make practical recommendations for their improvements.
• Provide technical guidance to the KP Child Protection and Welfare Commission to develop a regulatory framework for alternative care of children in the province in line with the UN guidelines on alternative care.

Deliverables:

• Completion of case management for all children in Zamung Kor (consultant to provide a brief report summarizing the support provided and key actions for follow-up).
• Endorsement of an action plan for improving the minimum standards of care and gatekeeping measures in KP.
• Consensus on the draft of a regulation framework/policy on alternative care for children in KP.

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in one of the following fields is required: international development, human rights, psychology, sociology, public policy, social work, international law, or another relevant social science field.

  *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 the field of child protection, both in humanitarian and development contexts.
• Knowledge/Familiarity with the international standards governing childcare, including the UN guidelines on alternative care for children.
• Demonstrated experience (at least 5 years) experience in completing training/workshops for organizations.
• 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, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors 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.

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.

NOTE:

• Estimated Duration: 6 months (Estimated start date 1 February 2023)
• The consultant will be home based.
• The consultancy is at P4 level. The consultancy was indicated as home-based but has now been revised to office-based consultancy.
• Applicants must submit a financial quotation indicating a monthly fee as part of the application against each deliverable.
• At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.

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.

The selected candidate is solely responsible for ensuring that the visa (applicable) if required, 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.