International Consultant to support the development of regulatory documents pertinent to Child Protection with UNICEF in Uzbekistan

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

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.

Every child has the right to grow up in a safe and inclusive environment

Background:

With the support of UNICEF, Government has finalized inter-ministerial Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Child Protection, including in Emergencies. They are intended for use by professionals from all government and non-government agencies and organizations working for and on behalf of children. They are based on the international and national legal framework for the protection of children and are guided by relevant fundamental principles. While roll-out of the implementation of the SOPs has started in selected parts of Uzbekistan, there is a need to develop a manual for professionals to provide more detailed guidance on their specific roles and responsibilities. In addition to the guiding principles, procedures, roles and responsibilities regards inter-ministerial cooperation in the prevention of and response to child protection concerns, all bodies and organizations working with children must have internal policies and rules for the protection of children, which must be observed by all persons who work in these bodies and organizations or cooperate with them. The Ministry of Public Education, with the support of UNICEF, has been the first Ministry to develop such internal policies and rules and a related manual for professionals. The Ministry of Pre-school Education has developed internal rules and procedures as well, however not yet a manual for professionals.

Purpose:

The purpose of the assignment is to support the Child Protection Programme in UNICEF Uzbekistan with a) the development of a manual for professionals to guide the implementation of the inter-ministerial SOPs on child protection, including in emergencies, b) the development of a manual for professionals of the Ministry of Preschool Education to guide them in the implementation of their internal Child Protection Protocol, and c) a Training of Trainers of an app. 28 representatives of regional departments of the Ministry of Preschool Education on the roll-out of the internal Child Protection Protocol.

Tasks & Deliverables:

The consultancy will start on 16 December 2022 and will be completed on 31 March 2023. It is expected that the consultant will perform the following tasks and provide the following deliverables within the given timeframe:

1. Develop a Manual for professionals to guide the implementation of the inter-ministerial SOPs on child protection, including in emergencies - Draft Manual in Russian shared with UNICEF and line ministries - 8 days - by 5 January 2023

2. Finalize the Manual for professionals to guide the implementation of the inter-ministerial SOPs on child protection, including in emergencies - Final Manual in Russian, incorporating feedback from UNICEF and line ministries - 2 days - by 20 January 2023

3. Develop a manual for pre-school staff on the implementation of the Child Protection Regulation of the Ministry of Pre-school Education - Draft Manual in Russian shared with UNICEF and the Ministry of Preschool Education - 5 days - by 10 February 2023

4. Prepare training materials for the ToT on the roll-out of the internal Child Protection Protocol for 28 representatives from the Ministry of Preschool Education - Training programme, training materials, handouts, pre-post questionnaire - 2 days - by 10 February 2023

5. Conduct a 3-day ToT for an app. 28 representatives from the regional departments of the Ministry of Preschool Education - Training outline; Training materials/ PowerPoint Presentations; Final training report - 7 days - by 10 March 2023

Timeframe: From 16 December 2022 to 31 March 2023. The number of days allocated for this consultancy is 24 working days. The tentative date for the visit is February or March 2023.

Payment of Consultancy Fee: The consultant will be paid upon successful delivery of all the deliverables.

Management: The Consultant will work under the direct supervision of the UNICEF Child Protection Officer for Justice.

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

• Master’s degree in social sciences, law, or related field.

• At least 8 years of practical experience, including international, in child protection.

• Knowledge of national legislation and regulations related to child rights, child protection, functional responsibilities of state bodies and self-governing bodies dealing with child protection in Uzbekistan.

• Experience in conducting trainings on child protection related topics.

• Excellent communication skills in Russian and good understanding of English.

• Previous work experience with UNICEF highly desirable.

Procedures and working conditions:

This consultancy is home-based and includes 1 in-country visit in February-March 2023. The consultant is expected to make use of his/her own facilities as may be required by the consultancy (phone, internet connection, etc.). Travel expenses within Uzbekistan (terminal expenses, DSA, local air fare) will be funded by UNICEF and according to its rules and procedures.

Reservations: UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if deliverable(s) incomplete, not finalized or for failure to meet deadlines. UNICEF will reserve copyright of all developed materials and own primary data collected through this assignment.

The materials cannot be published or disseminated without prior written permission of UNICEF. UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify them in the future. The contractor must respect the confidentiality of the information handled during the assignment. Documents and information provided must be used only for the tasks related to these terms of reference. The United Nations and UNICEF undertake no liability for taxes, duty or other contribution payable by the consultant on payments made under this contract. No statement of earnings will be issued by the United Nations or UNICEF to the consultant. The national consultant is personally responsible for payment of all taxes related to consultancy.

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.

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 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.