National Consultant - expert on reinforcement of child rights monitoring system at national and local levels

Consultant Programme & Policy

Overview

Streamline child rights monitoring systems at national and local levels.

You have:

• Master's degree in public administration, social research, statistics, or a related field.
• At least 5 years of professional experience in social protection or child protection.
• Knowledge of the Ukrainian system of child protection.
• Experience in monitoring children in alternative care.
• Experience in developing national strategies for child protection.
• Fluency in Ukrainian (Advanced C1).
• Basic knowledge of English (Beginner A1).
• Good analytical skills.
• Good communication skills.

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.

For every child, hope.

How can you make a difference?

Background:

During war, children’s safety risks increase the most, especially those which regard orphans and children deprived of parental care, as well as children in institutional care educated in institutions round the clock.

As of the beginning of the war, there were 67,586 orphans and children deprived of parental care in Ukraine, 91% of which were in family-based care. After February 24, 2022, in connection with the threat to the life and health of children due to the war unleashed by the Russian federation, 14,218 orphans and children deprived of parental care were moved (evacuated) to safer territories in Ukraine and abroad. However, the majority of the mentioned children continue to reside at their permanent place of residence. As on children in residential care over 700 residential care facilities with over 90.000 children were in Ukraine before the war and since the beginning of war the majority of residential care were reallocated with Ukraine and over 4500 evacuated abroad.

There are a number of problems in ensuring the proper care and upbringing of displaced children in institutional care and foster care. Among the main reasons are: difficulties in adapting to a new place, trauma experienced by children and the need for psychological support, problems in the organization of children’s education, lack of means for learning or a stable Internet. An important factor is the excessive workload and burnout of the staff who accompany the children, the lack of financial incentives, and the need for re-staffing.

All mentioned above has a direct impact on the safety of children and the implementation of children's rights based on the best interest of the child principle. Once in alternative care, the child has the right to protection and care in line with standards set by the State. Freedom from violence is a basic requirement, and children should enjoy their rights to education, food, play etc.

From this perspective, strong national monitoring and complaints mechanisms are necessary to ensure that the requirements are met.

Purpose of assignment:

To streamline the system of monitoring children who need special state protection, improve the coordination of monitoring measures at national and local levels.

The Consultant’s scope of the work will include:

More specifically, the consultant will support the Child Protection Team in the following main area of work and tasks in line with streamline the system of monitoring children who need special state protection:

• Monitoring and evaluation capacities of partners, from the government, the parliament and civil society at national, regional, and local level, as well as the independent child rights institutions and mechanisms are enhanced
• In coordination with national stakeholders develop a national wide monitoring plan for monitoring of children rights in alternative care.
• Coordination of the adaptation of existing monitoring tools of children’s rights and state obligations in relation to alternative care to ensure a monitoring system timely response to the demands of humanitarian crises and further-going recovery stage.
• Participation in monitoring visits and coordination the of monitoring plan implementation with a monthly based reporting; support with consolidation of main findings into regular info-notes and briefs.
• Liaising, coordinating and collaborating CSOs and other stakeholders in monitoring's final finding feedback.
• Participation as a member in the regular experts working group meetings on protection of the children’s rights at national and local level.
• Coordinate the mapping of cases of violation of children’s rights identified under a monitoring implementation.
• Reviewing normative changes on children’s rights monitoring related issues, providing monthly briefing notes.
• Perform other tasks pertinent to the support of the national child’s rights monitoring system and other programs as per request necessary by the Ombudsman Representative on Children’s rights, youth, and sports and Adviser - President's Commissioner for Children's Rights and Children's Rehabilitation
• Convene regular stakeholders’ meetings to build up a strong dialog on children’s rights monitoring and protection.
• Support other child protection section activities and coordination with Government counterparts at national and regional levels on monitoring the children's rights in a different type of alternative care.

Implementation of tasks will require a close collaboration and coordination with national core stakeholders, including Ombudsman’s Representative on Children Right, Families and Sport, Presidential Adviser – Commissioner on Children’s rights and early child rehabilitation, State Social Service, regional and local Children’s Services.

The consultant will work closely with and under the supervision of the UNICEF Team.

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

Minimum requirements:

Education

Master's degree

Advanced degree public administration, social research, statistics, or any other related technical field.

Professional experience

• At least 5 years of professional experience in social protection / child protection at national and/or municipal level.
• Knowledge of the Ukrainian system of child protection, system of social protection, system of alternative care for children (residential and family-based).
• Experience in monitoring of children in alternative care (residential and family based).
• Experience in development of national wide strategies and plan of actions in area of child protection.
• Experience in building a dialog with national and local governments and CSOs.
• Experience providing consultancy services to UNICEF and other UN agencies.

Language

Ukrainian

Advanced [C1]

English

Beginner/Elementary [A1]

Skills and competencies

• Good analytical skills.
• Good communication skills

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.

Deliverable

Deadline

# of w/days

Develop tools (check lists) for monitoring visits to residential care (temporarily evacuated abroad) for Ukrainian Ombudsman office, based on existing practice and ongoing reallocation of Ukrainian children within EU-member states.

15 /02/2023

5

Provide support to the group of experts (social workforce unit - SWU) deployed to the Republic, including ensuring SWU's interaction with Ukrainian governmental bodies, as well as with the UNICEF office in Poland. Weekly briefs (within 10 months) to CP team on main SWU deliverables, challenges and bottlenecks on monitoring children rights of Ukrainian orphans evacuated to Poland.

10/11/2023

30

Develop a national plan for monitoring children's rights in alternative care in cooperation with the Representative of Human Rights Ombudsman office.

28/02/2023

7

Support in preparation and participation in monitoring visits, including those held by Human Rights Ombudsman office on monitoring the situation with children in alternative care, including those evacuated abroad. Reports on visits.

30/10/2023

35

Develop, facilitation, participation in coordination meetings with main stakeholders at national and local levels, including CSOs, on strengthening the monitoring system for child protection. Protocols/minutes on coordination meetings (monthly) with taken and follow-up action plan.

06/11/2023

30

Preparation and weekly participation on working meetings of Inter-Ministerial National Coordination Child Protection Council. (weekly briefs and monthly report (within 10 months), including ppts, developed proposal to normative amendments which go under Council's revision)

06/11/2023

40

Final report

10/11/2023

3

Total # of working days

150

Travel plan: it is prognosed that the Consulter will joint to some of CP field visits and Human rights Ombudsman’s monitoring missions. Total number of trip days per contact – 20 days. The trip plan will be developed jointly with Ombudsman’s representatives and the Consulter.

Please provide an all-inclusive financial proposal to carry out the deliverables listed above.

i Costs indicated are estimated. Final rate shall follow the “best value for money” principle, i.e., achieving the desired outcome at the lowest possible fee. Consultants will be asked to stipulate all-inclusive fees, including lump sum travel and subsistence costs, as applicable.

Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

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.

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Potential interview questions

Added 3 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unicef.org