International Consultant to conduct a Kosovo-wide study on children in street situations, Prishtina, Kosovo, Monitoring and Evaluation, 6 months, Remote

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****Tittle:**** International Consultant to conduct a Kosovo-wide study on children in street situations

****Duty Station:**** Prishtina/Kosovo

****length of contract: 6 months****

****Number of working days:**** 20 days, Remotely Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

One of the priorities of the UNICEF Kosovo programme 2021-25, is to enhance the child protection system in Kosovo by strengthening institutional capacities to provide quality social services with a focus on vulnerable girls and boys.

Despite the overall progress made in realizing children’s rights in Kosovo, achievements have been uneven. A large proportion of children still face multiple deprivations with striking inequalities among different groups. Violations of children’s fundamental rights remain a critical challenge and is demonstrated through different forms of neglect, abuse and exploration which often pushes children to streets and engagement in different types of work and hazardous conditions.

There are no available updated data on the exact number of children in street situations in Kosovo including a comprehensive evidence on their overall situation and the specific challenges they face. However, according to the 2019 report on children in street situation published by the Ombudsperson Institution in Kosovo (OPI) which focuses on the data reported by the Kosovo Police, there were 215 children in street situation identified and supported during 2016, with a slight decline to 200 children during 2017, and 50 children between the period January-April 2018. According to the OPI report, children in many cases are accompanied by parents, relatives or other persons, and in few cases, they may be alone coming from areas such as: Fushe Kosova, Lipjan, Ferizaj and a portion of children in street situation comes from the Republic of Albania.

Findings from the OPI report, highlight that Terre des hommes (Tdh) organization has reported to have identified more than 175 children in street situation in Prishtina and Prizren from June 2018 to December 2018. It has been stated that this number also includes children who are siblings of children in street situations. From the police reports it is indicated that most of the children identified in street situation have been engaged in begging-type activities or asking for money, not excluding the cases of children working in the street, having been trafficked, mistreated, and/or abandoned.

To this end, UNICEF Kosovo currently plans to conduct a study on the situation of children in the street that aims to understand the key drivers, barriers that children face, including the system level bottlenecks and opportunities to strengthen protection of children in street situations and ensure they are connected with the adequate services and are provided with the needed support for their full integration in the society.

The study will be conducted by an international consultant who will work closely with a national consultant and in close collaboration with relevant partners from Kosovo institutions, civil society organizations, private sector and others as relevant. To ensure ownership of the process, a study reference group will be established which will act as a reference team of experts to provide technical support and review of the design of the study and the final report.

Scope of Work:

Under the overall supervision of the Child Rights Monitoring Specialist and the Social Policy Specialist, the International Consultant will lead the design and implementation of the study on children in street situation in Kosovo. The study will follow a mixed methodology for data collection and should be based on a comprehensive desk review analysis which will further inform the implementation process and data collection and analysis. The below tasks and deliverables are to be implemented in close collaboration with the national consultant who will provide full-time support to the International Consultant for the implementation of the study.

Within the scope of the work, the key expected outputs are to be achieved by this consultancy:

  • Conducting desk review: A thorough desk review should focus on reviewing available data sources, international practices, legal frameworks that include relevant legislation, national strategies and policies and other relevant documents identified during the inception stage.
  • Study design: Design of the methodology for data collection and analysis that will allow for collection of all relevant data with representatives from relevant institutions, service providers, parents/caretakers, children in street situation and other relevant groups as appropriate. The study design and the proposed methodology will be presented to the reference group.
  • Data collection and analysis: Develop the guidance and data collection tools, as well as facilitate data collection from the field and conduct quantitative and qualitative data analysis. Engagement of all relevant partners throughout the process is critical to ensure ownership which should be informed by a stakeholder mapping conducting as part of the desk review.
  • Report Writing: Compile the final analytical report based on the triangulation of information from desk review and data collection exercise to draw on conclusions that are based on sound evidence and development of clear recommendations to inform interventions and transformative actions for strengthening monitoring, policy development and service provision for children in street situations. The draft report will be presented to the reference group.

    The study will aim to provide a baseline on the situation of children in streets and answer some of the following key questions regarding the children in street situations (additional and/or refinement of the below questions are to be identified during the desk review and design process):

  • Understand issues related to mobility, family situations and access to health, education, and social services
  • Who are defined as children in street situation and what are the demographic characteristics of children in street situations including their age, gender, disability status, social stats etc.?
  • What is the family background and living conditions of the children in street situations?
  • What is the education and administrative status of children in street situations?
  • What are health issues and other social related vulnerabilities for the children in street situations?
  • The knowledge of and usage of the social services by the children in street situations and their families?
  • Income generation aspect and quality of life context?
  • What are the key bottlenecks that hinder prevention, protection, and integration of children in street situations? - How findings and recommendations will best inform and influence advocacy and key strategic interventions at central and local level public institutions to address systematic and immediate needs that children on street situation are facing.

Ethical considerations:

The study will be conducted in full accordance with the following international and regional guidelines for research ethics and methods, as well as personal data protection issues:

UNICEF Procedures for Ethical Standards in Research, Evaluation, Data Collection and Analysis; UNICEF Strategic Guidance Note on Institutionalizing Ethical Practice for UNICEF Research; General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a regional law of the European Union (EU) requiring institutions to protect personal data and the privacy of EU citizens inside and outside of the EU. The study design must take into consideration how ethical concerns shall be addressed to avoid stigma, discrimination, any form of harm to children and their parents, protection of confidentiality, protection of rights, ensuring the dignity and welfare of all respondents.

Work Assignment Overview

Tasks/Milestone: Develop review of materials, legal framework, policies, studies, research and other documentation pertaining to the situation of street children in Kosovo. Deliverables/Outputs:

Desk review developed

Timeline:

2 days offsite

Tasks/Milestone: Develop an inception report including a detailed workplan, timeframe and methodology for implementation of the study. Deliverables/Outputs: Inception report and study design methodology developed

Timeline:

3 days offsite

Tasks/Milestone:

Develop instruments and protocols for quantitative and qualitative data collection Deliverables/Outputs: Data collection instruments and protocols developed

Timeline:

1 day offsite

Tasks/Milestone: Conduct onsite visits, interviews and focus group discussion with key informants. Deliverables/Outputs: Quantitative and qualitative data collected

Timeline:

5 days onsite

Tasks/Milestone: Data analysis from the consultations with key informants, onsite visits, interviews and from focus group discussions. Deliverables/Outputs: Data analysis finalized

Timeline:

3 days

Tasks/Milestone: Drafting of the narrative report on situation of children in street situation Deliverables/Outputs: Draft report submitted for review

Timeline:

4 days

Tasks/Milestone: Finalization of the report with input and comments received from relevant stakeholders. Deliverables/Outputs: Final report delivered

Timeline:

2 days offsite

Minimum Qualifications required: Masters

Enter Disciplines

Masters and University degree in Law, Social Sciences, Social Work, International Relations, Government, Public Administration, or other relevant disciplines

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

  • Advanced academic degree in child protection related issues, social science, public health, or another relevant subject.
  • Extensive knowledge and expertise in the field of Child Protection, with specific focus on the children in street situations
  • Proven knowledge and expertise in conducting research and studies related to child protection issues, children in street situation or relevant subjects.
  • Working experience with the Governments, UN and international agencies, CSO’s, Human and Children’s Rights, Child Protection on thematic related to abused, neglected, and exploited children
  • Excellent inter-personal relations and consulting skills.
  • Ability to work in a multi-disciplinary team and establish harmonious and effective working relationships. Fluent in English language
Added 1 year ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unicef.org

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