National consultancy to provide support for the project “EU-UN Support to the States in Central Asia for their citizens returned from conflict zones, primarily Syria and Iraq”

Consultant Programme & Policy

Contract

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Background

In line with the Government’s national development plans, sectoral priorities and the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for 2021-2025, the new UNICEF Country Programme will include a stronger focus on exclusion and inequalities with a vision to realise the rights of every child. The 2021-2025 Child Protection Programme has been conceptualized with consideration of UNICEF’s Strategic Plan 2018-2021 and two strategic priorities on Effective governance and justice for all, and Inclusive human capital development leading to health, well-being and resilient prosperity. These align with Outcomes 1 and 4 of the UNSDCF of Uzbekistan, which are fully aligned with national priorities to support the Government to achieve the SDGs.

The long-term vision for change in the area of child protection is to ensure that by 2025, the most vulnerable children, including children from disadvantaged and low-income families, children at early ages and those with disabilities benefit from a protective environment that prevents separation of children from families and deprivation of liberty, and effectively responds to violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect.

In line with the decision of the President of Uzbekistan over 400 children and over 100 women were repatriated within the Humanitarian campaigns Mehr-1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 from armed conflict zones, mainly from Syria and Iraq (and Afghanistan). People, especially children have been prone to various adversities and misfortunes caused by the conflicts in these countries. Some children have lost their parents and are either in interim care centres operated by UNICEF or Save the Children or in camps together with families with children.

Since 2019 UNICEF in partnership with local stakeholders has developed support programmes aimed at professional assistance based on the individual needs of children and their families. Children and their families have been provided with professional supervision by social workers in their routine family work. One of the lessons learned is that children and families need regular monitoring of their wellbeing and timely assistance from relevant agencies, requiring professional social services at community level.

The European Union has committed support for a sub-regional (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan) project aimed at child and human rights-based, age and gender-sensitive support to children and families of the returnees. The project will effectively respond to the protection, repatriation, rehabilitation, and reintegration needs of women and children, their families and other victims who have been repatriated or returned on their own. The project is anticipated to commence May 24th and last for 18 months.

Purpose:

The purpose of this consultancy is to support the Child Protection Programme in designing community-based social services and capacity building of the social service workforce in conducting individual assessments and providing rehabilitation and reintegration services for repatriated children and families.

Objectives:

Specifically, the following are actual expected objectives from the consultant:

1. Support the Child Protection Specialist in effective and efficient implementation of the project;
2. Organise activities for strengthening capacities of service providers on case management, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), and life skills education to address the needs of repatriated children and families in selected communities/schools, districts/regions;
3. Provide technical assistance to social workers and community specialists to conduct regular group or individual counselling to an approximate 250 children (including those in child care residential institutions);
4. Provide support for the project evaluation;
5. Provide support for other related tasks.

Tasks & Deliverables:

1.Support the Child Protection Specialist in effective and efficient implementation of the project

Tasks:

1.1. Engage with Authorities to ensure access of all returned women and children to social welfare, child protection, education, health and legal aid services

1.2. Support partners to set up a Steering Committee for monitoring of the implementation of the workplan in accordance with the signed Action Plan and EU project proposal 1.3. Update an Inter-Agency Action Plan on Reintegrating of children and women into their communities in line with evolving needs (e.g. Mehr 4,5, etc.)

1.4. Support partners in developing project proposals, budgets and reports in accordance with the signed Work Plan and UNICEF financial guidelines (including Small-Scale Funding Agreements-SSFA, Partnership Cooperation Agreements-PCA)

1.5. Monitor timely implementation of the project activities by UNICEF’s partners

1.6. Draft narrative reports for Regional Office and the European Union

1.7. Upload all project related documentation, correspondence, reports, lists of participants, etc. on shared drive

Deliverables:

1.1 Reports with regular updates repatriated children and families’ access to services; Field trip reports

1.2 Protocols of the meetings of the project’s Steering Committee

1.3 Inter-Agency Action Plan is updated, agreed and signed by all stakeholders of the project

1.4 Project proposals and budgets

1.5 HACT trip reports (for each partner: Ministry of Mahalla and Family Support-MMFS, Tashiz, Republican Centre for the Social Adaptation of Children-RCSAC, Barqaror Hayot)

1.6 Narrative Reports

1.7 Project documentation on shared drive

2. Organize activities for strengthening capacities of service providers on case management, mental health and psychosocial support, and life skills education to address the needs of repatriated children and families in selected communities/schools, districts/regions

Tasks:

2.1. Organize a Training of Trainers to build capacity of 30 social workers/services providers

2.2 Organize trainings for 50 members of the community social service workforce on a case management approach for dealing with child protection cases of repatriated children, whether placed with families or in residential care

2.3 Support in capacity development of 25 school psychologists and social workers of local NGOs on MHPSS for newly repatriated children

2.4. Organize a TOT for 20 psychologists of the education sector on life skills education for children, for further capacity building of the local and community-based social service workforce

2.5. Organise a four-day training to 100 members of the community-based social service workforce on life skills education for children for further child counselling at community level

Deliverables:

2.1 Inputs provided for the draft Terms of Reference (TOR) for an international consultant to deliver a TOT on case management;

Training agenda, materials, handouts, list of participants, logistics for training (venue, transportation, translation, interpretation, etc.);

EU visibility is ensured in accordance with the Communication and Visibility (C&V) plan;

2.2 Project proposal and budget with MMFS and RCSAC; SSFA with NGO Barqaror Hayot;

Training agenda, materials, handouts, list of participants, logistics for training (venue, transportation, translation, interpretation, etc.);

Training report with recommendations;

EU visibility is ensured in accordance with the C&V plan;

2.3 Inputs provided to the draft TOR for the trainer on MHPSS;

Project proposal and budget from Tashhiz/MOPE;

Training agenda, materials, handouts, list of participants, logistics for training (venue, transportation, translation, interpretation, etc.);

Training report with recommendations;

EU visibility is ensured in accordance with the C&V plan;

2.4 Project proposal and budget from Tashhiz/MOPE;

Training agenda, materials, handouts, list of participants, logistics for training (venue, transportation, translation, interpretation, etc.);

Training report with recommendations;

EU visibility is ensured in accordance with the C&V plan;

2.5 Project proposal and budget from Tashhiz/MOPE and MMFS;

Lists of schools and list of communities;

Training agenda, materials, handouts, list of participants, logistics for training (venue, transportation, translation, interpretation, etc.);

Training report with recommendations;

EU visibility is ensured in accordance with the C&V plan.

3. Provide technical assistance to social workers and community specialists to conduct regular group or individual counselling to 250 children (including those in child care residential institutions)

Tasks:

3.1. Review the family cases and provide recommendations, namely: a. Guide social workers to support family specialists in following the case plans of the children and their families on the spot b. Conduct regular monitoring trips to the regions to facilitate community based individual counselling and life skills activities

3.2. Support regional and district Authorities/MOPE/MMFS to set up 10 school-based support centres to extend services and encourage better reintegration of children and women in their communities, namely: a. Support partners in the organization of orientation sessions on a case management approach to Regional and District Authorities b. Develop the selection criteria and select the most appropriate communities and schools for setting up the Centres c. Draft the regulation of the centers and community-based programme for repatriated children and women d. Support partners to establish 10 school-based support community centers e. Monitoring of school psychologists’ community-based activities in the Centres f. Collect reports from partners to ensure regular quality assurance of service provided by the Centers

3.3. Support relevant service providers to organize after school activities for app. 250 repatriated children to improve their re-integration into their local communities, namely: a. Develop the activity plan and schedule of activities in the selected schools b. Prepare a list for procurement of furniture and psychosocial support kits for the Centres c. Liaise with relevant schools to ensure the organization of peer support groups for children d. Liaise with relevant schools to ensure the delivery of regular after-school activities for repatriated children

Deliverables:

3.1 Supervision reports and family case observation reports;

Supervision reports of case management for repatriated children and their families (needs assessment, development plans, assistance provided etc.);

Monitoring reports of the specialists’ work with the community workers;

Trip reports for community-based family service monitoring;

3.2 Minutes of meetings to develop, discuss and endorse the regulation of school-based centers;

Draft regulation of the school/community-based centres and community based programmes;

Agenda and presentation for orientation sessions for local authorities;

Monitoring visit report to the centres andtheir activities;

Trip reports for community-based family service monitoring;

EU visibility is ensured in accordance with the C&V plan;

3.3 Project proposal from Tashhiz/MOPE;

Activity plan and schedule of activities in the selected schools;

Schedule of the activities at schools and reports from the school psychologists on the organized activities.

4. Provide support for the project evaluation

Tasks:

4.1. Support the Regional Office in the organization of the evaluation of the project, namely:

1. Provide inputs for the development of the TOR for the project evaluation
2. Develop a plan with proposed sites to visit and partners to meet for the evaluator
3. Provide necessary documentation and translation

Deliverables:

Inputs provided for the draft TOR for the project evaluation

Official letters drafted for the selected evaluator to visit partners and see project activities

Plan outlining proposed sites to visit and partners to meet for the evaluator

Timeframe: From 1 June 2021 to 30 December 2022 (18 months)

Funding Source and Budget: EU grant (Grant number to be confirmed once funds are received; funds allocation anticipated in early June)

Management: The National consultant will work under the direct supervision of the UNICEF Child Protection Specialist and closely liaise with the UNICEF Child Protection Officer.

Required qualifications and areas of expertise:

1. University degree in social sciences, a degree in social work will be an asset;
2. At least 5 years of professional experience in social work (verified by records of work experience);
3. Knowledge of national legislation related to child rights, child care, functional responsibilities of state bodies and self-governing bodies dealing with child protection in Uzbekistan;
4. Experience in conducting training on social work for child protection front-line workers (verified by records of work experience on conducting at least two training on social work) and case management;
5. Excellent presentation and communication skills (verified by records of work experience on participation in at least three events related to the issues of social work);
6. Good written and spoken command of English and Russian; knowledge of Uzbek language will be an asset (verified by the interview);
7. Previous work experience with UN Agencies (verified by records of previous work experience);

Procedures and working conditions: The travel expenses will be paid in accordance with UNICEF ‘Duty Travel’ rules and regulations as follows:

This consultancy is office -based with frequent visits/meetings to the UNICEF Office. The consultant will be provided with computer and is expected to make use of his/her own facilities as may be required by the consultancy (phone, internet connection, etc.) The consultant will need to travel within Uzbekistan as required for the monitoring of project activities and family visits (if the COVID-19- related quarantine allows). The travel expenses will be paid in accordance with UNICEF’s ‘Duty Travel’ rules and regulations as follows:

If UNICEF determines that the Contractor needs to travel in order to perform his or her assignment, that travel shall be specified in the contract and the Contractor’s travel costs shall be set out in the contract. In cases where travel costs have not been set out in the contract, provisions of UNICEF Procedures on Travel apply (see DFAM Policy 5).

Travel paid for by UNICEF shall be based on economy class travel, regardless of the length of travel, subject to exceptional approval of business class travel by the Approving Authority (such approval may be granted normally for certified medical reasons).

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. 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, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

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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:

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.

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Added 2 years ago - Updated 2 years ago - Source: unicef.org