International Individual Consultancy to carry out a functional and capacity needs assessment of Commission on Child Rights at the national and district levels, Tajikistan (33 days during Jul

Consultant Programme & Policy

Overview

Conduct a functional assessment of the Commission on Child Rights in Tajikistan.

You have:

• Advanced university degree in the fields of Social Sciences, Law, Development Studies, or Public Policy
• At least 8 years of work experience in a relevant field, with focus on strengthening child protection systems
• Strong knowledge of child rights, child protection system approach and child care system design and reform, social protection and social welfare
• Fluency in English, and knowledge of Russian is a strong asset
• Excellent writing, communication and presentation skills with stakeholders

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,

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy, and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias, or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic, and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education, and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfil their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. Therefore, the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

The National Commission on Child Rights under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan (NCCR) is an overarching body at national level to oversee and coordinate interventions at national level. The Commission is responsible for coordinating policy on child protection at national level. It was established by Decree No. 423 of the 7th September 2001. The Commission is a permanent, interdepartmental, consultative body, established to coordinate the activities of the State and institutions working with children in need of special measures of protection.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Tajikistan is the head of the CCR. In 2015, a new Department was set up in the Directorate of Human Rights Guarantees of the Presidential Executive Office (PEO) to serve as the Secretariat of the Commission on Child Rights and to coordinate and oversee children’s issues in the country.

In 2018 UNICEF in close consultation of NCCR carried out Functional Analysis of the Commission on Child Rights at national, province and district level. The report of the Functional Analysis is officially shared with the NCCR. Based on the recommendations of this Analysis UNICEF advocated with NCCR for effective and better functioning of the Commission on Child Rights. The level of technical capacity and effectiveness to perform duties assigned to the Commission on Child Rights were one of the major areas for improvement and during this period UNICEF worked closely with the NCCR, Ombudsperson for Child Rights and local Civil Society Organization to develop short-term tailor-made trainings programme and carry out training sessions at national and province levels.

For more sustainable and systemic approach for strengthening capacity of the Commission on Child Rights UNICEF signed Memorandum of Understanding with the Academy of Public Administration under the Presidential Executive Office (APA) in 2021 to develop short-term and long-term training courses for the Commission on Child Rights. These courses intended for re-training of the members and secretaries of the Commission on Child Rights and pre-service training courses, where child rights modules will be embedded in the curriculum of the APA.

Hence, a deep functional and capacity needs assessment of the Commission on Child Rights is needed to identify the process, capacity and training needs of the Secretaries and Members of the Commission on Child Rights, with special emphasis on gatekeeping functions.

To further support the APA in development of the short-term and long-term training programme and then curriculum, UNICEF is looking for international expertise to carry out assessment of the Commission on Child Rights aimed at building competencies of Secretaries and Members of the Commission on Child Rights to address the needs of every child in a child-friendly manner.

This assignment will further build on the work undertaken by the Academy of Public Administration under the Presidential Executive Office to provide trainings for government staff. The courses developed based on the recommendation of this assignment are expected to provide local government officials with required competencies to use while reviewing the case of every child.

How can you make a difference?

Estimated duration**: 33 working days (27 June 2022 – 31 August 2022)

Duty station**: Blended: working from a distance and country visits, including visits to selected districts

On-site working days (Tajikistan): 18 days

Off-site working days: 15 days

Supervisor: Child Protection Officer

Reporting to**: Chief Child Protection, UNICEF Tajikistan

To carry out a functional assessment of the Commission on Child Rights (at national and local levels) and to provide specific recommendations towards strengthening effectiveness and ongoing capacity building of the Commissions to be able to address the needs of vulnerable children on timely, effective, and child-friendly manner, taking into account the best interest of a child.

In particular, this assignment aims to:

• Examine existing processes related to gatekeeping mechanism in selected districts for vulnerable children;
• Assess the capacity of the existing child protection system, accountability mechanisms at district level, compare different practices at local level to handle cases;
• Assess interaction at local level to support a child and caregivers in line with the best interest of a child;
• Assess current data collection and reporting mechanisms and identify major data and skills gaps for effective performance of gatekeeping functions.
• Identify training needs of the Secretaries and Members of the Commission on Child Rights in selected districts.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

This assignment will further build on the work currently ongoing to build the capacity of the Secretaries of the Commission on Child Rights, identify current practices of addressing the needs children in need of protection. Proposed assessment of the Commissions on Child Rights and Child Rights Units should include the following:

1. Analyse engagement of the Secretary and Members of the Commission on Child Rights in selected districts, their role at local level in line with their prescribed terms of reference (through desk review, semi-structured interviews);
2. Assess the roles and responsibilities and responsiveness of Members of the Commission on Child Rights and further trace their duties beyond the session of the Commission at local level;
3. Assess and analyse the frequency and content of interactions between the Commissions on Child Rights and Child Rights Units and other authorities and service providers at district level and see to what extent decision made by the Commission is followed up and cases are addressed on time;
4. Identify challenges faced by the Secretary of the Commission on Child Rights and Members to resolve specific cases and analyse the challenges hindering the functionality of the Secretary and Commission members;
5. Identify data collection and reporting mechanisms horizontally and vertically;
6. Identify challenges that hinder to take into account the best interest of a child at local level and what is missing to fill this gap;
7. Assess and analyse type of cases handled by the Commission on Child Rights and how these cases are identified, resolved, monitored and reported/ documented;
8. Review comprehensively the existing gatekeeping mechanisms in selected districts (identification, reporting, referral, assessment, treatment and follow-up) and child protection services in selected districts and provide recommendations towards the reform of the child protection system considering the country context;
9. Assess training needs of Secretaries and Members of the Commission on Child Rights required for their effective functioning to address the needs of children.

The geographical scope of the assessment will include district levels where repatriated children from conflict zones are placed and national level Commission on Child Rights.

Key tasks of consultant will include:

• Brief situation analysis is conducted, which identifies the opportunities and challenges in functioning of the Commission on Child Rights (Secretary and Members) and concrete recommendations are provided
• Gatekeeping mechanism in selected districts is reviewed: identify the current practices, making comparison of different practices and provide specific recommendations for unifying the work of the Commission on Child Rights country wide.
• Different local government official that are members and non- member of the Commission on Child Rights at local and national level (NCCR, MOES, AOS) are met to discuss their interventions within the existing child protection system and collect relevant information from these stakeholders.
• Local Civil Society Organisations are met at districts level that have capacity to address protection needs of children: identify potential support from them and finding ways to formalise their interaction to handle cases of children in need.
• Pathways of existing system at local level identified and the most suitable and feasible process for accelerating and effective handing each case of a child is recommended, considering the best interest of a child.
• Existing gatekeeping mechanism are identified and specific recommendations provided;
• Mapping of relevant role players around the Commission on Child Rights is carried out; gatekeeping mechanism and referral pathways are clearly defined.
• Uniform procedure and tools for data gathering and analysis are developed for easy reference and use by the Commission on Child Rights at local level, including data on children without family care.
• Staff and stakeholders’ training needs are assessed, specific training needs are mapped and recommendations are provided.
• High-quality report produced

KEY DELIVERABLES/TIMEFRAME/PAYMENT SCHEDULE:

The assignment will be carried out in 33 days, starting on 27 June 2022 and ending on 31 August 2022. The final products of this consultancy will include the following deliverables:

#

Deliverable

Number of days

Timeline

Payment schedule)

Location

1

Inception report (includes current situation and recent developments)

6

6 July 2022

30%

Home-based

3

Develop methodology (tools and plan for deliverables)

4

18 July 2022

Home-based

Initial draft of the data collected at country level (including identifying pathways, mapping of stakeholders, gatekeeping mechanisms, data collection and training needs)

20

16 August 2022

70%

In country and Home-based

6

Final report

3

31 August 2022

Home-based

Total

33 days

Jun-August 2022

100%

Performance indicators for the evaluation of results:

The documentation of the results will be based on:

1. Technical and professional competence (quality of the products delivered to UNICEF);
2. Scope of work;
3. Quality of work (quality of drafts of all above-mentioned products and incorporation of feedback provided by UNICEF and its partners);
4. Quantity of work (completing the tasks indicated in the table above within the set timeframe)

In addition, such indicators as work relations, responsibility, drive for results, and communication will be taken into account during the evaluation of the Consultant’s work.

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

Education: Advanced university degree in the fields of Social Sciences, Law, Development Studies, or Public Policy

Work Experience: At least 8 years of work experience in a relevant field, with focus on strengthening child protection systems.

Technical Knowledge: Strong knowledge of child rights, child protection system approach and child care system design and reform, social protection and social welfare.

Competencies: Strong analytical and conceptual thinking. Excellent writing, communication and presentation skills with stakeholders. Ability to work under pressure and commitment to work to tight timeframe. Good writing skills.

Language: Fluency in English, and knowledge of Russian is a strong asset.

Qualified candidates are requested to submit:

1. Cover letter/application/CV.
2. A technical proposal with the proposed methodology/approach to managing the project and work plan, showing understanding of tasks
3. Work plan
4. Financial quote for the consultancy, including fees in USD per day and estimates for travel to the country.
5. Examples of previous, relevant work related to the deliverables.
6. At least two references
7. Applications without a financial quote will not be considered.

For further questions (if any) please refer to this e-mail: dushanbe@unicef.org with subject line “International Individual Consultancy to carry out a functional and capacity needs assessment of the Commission on Child Rights at the national and district levels”.

Interested candidates are asked to apply through online system on our website by 8 June 2022.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA).

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:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

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. The candidate may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid).

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Potential interview questions

Added 4 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unicef.org