National consultant to support the establishment of a family strengthening and support programme in Uzbekistan

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.

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For every child, protection!

The purpose of this consultancy is to support the National Agency for Social Protection (NASP) and UNICEF in designing a framework and implementation plan for a comprehensive and integrated family strengthening and support programme, and to support the design and initial roll-out of a Family Outreach Service for social work (para-)professionals under the NASP within an integrated social (welfare) service system.

The Government of Uzbekistan is committed to establishing a more effective child protection and care system, and in this regard has recently taken several important steps, including the development of a more robust legal regulatory framework, and the establishment of the National Agency for Social Protection (NASP) that unifies social protection, and is mandated to provide social welfare services for children and families and to coordinate child protection services. The Agency is currently recruiting a new social service workforce of more than 5,000 social work (para-)professionals which will be deployed to district-based “Inson” Centres for Social Services, including with functions related to child protection, and at the community-level, including through mobile outreach teams. UNICEF is supporting the NASP in equipping this new social service workforce with basic skills and knowledge in social work, social welfare for children and families, and child protection and care while at the same time supporting the finalization of a Law on Social Work, and the development of a Strategy for planning, developing, and supporting the social service workforce in the long-term. The Agency, in a first phase, will model the delivery of social (welfare) services in 28 districts, two in each of Uzbekistan’s 14 regions. Whereas the initial focus is primarily on the delivery of social (welfare) services that are already regulated by national law (and rather response/crisis-oriented), there is an opportunity to introduce and model new social (welfare) services, including those focusing more on prevention and early identification. The existing Law on Social Services will be revised in 2024.

Within the EU-funded Action “Phase II of the EU-UN Support to the States in Central Asia for their Citizens Returned from Conflict Zones” (October 2023 to March 2025), UNICEF and the NASP have committed to developing and rolling-out in target locations a family strengthening and support programme/service which should initially benefit in particular children and their caregivers repatriated from Iraq and Syria but finally benefit all vulnerable families (albeit considering the resource-poor context, likely for the years to come an emphasis needs to be placed on the most vulnerable families). The family strengthening and support programme/service should apply a social work strength-based approach to help families that are struggling to care for and protect their children. The service should help manage and mitigate risks associated with violence, neglect and abuse of children while strengthening conditions to achieve the long-term best interests of a child, addressing the underlying circumstances that hamper caregivers’ abilities to care for and protect their children such as poverty, social exclusion, disabilities, mental health problems or substance abuse.

Scope of Work: The Government of Uzbekistan is committed to establishing a more effective child protection and care system, and in this regard has recently taken several important steps, including the development of a more robust legal regulatory framework, and the establishment of the National Agency for Social Protection (NASP) that unifies social protection, and is mandated to provide social welfare services for children and families and to coordinate child protection services. The Agency is currently recruiting a new social service workforce of more than 5,000 social work (para-)professionals which will be deployed to district-based “Inson” Centres for Social Services, including with functions related to child protection, and at the community-level, including through mobile outreach teams. UNICEF is supporting the NASP in equipping this new social service workforce with basic skills and knowledge in social work, social welfare for children and families, and child protection and care while at the same time supporting the finalization of a Law on Social Work, and the development of a Strategy for planning, developing, and supporting the social service workforce in the long-term. The Agency, in a first phase, will model the delivery of social (welfare) services in 28 districts, two in each of Uzbekistan’s 14 regions. Whereas the initial focus is primarily on the delivery of social (welfare) services that are already regulated by national law (and rather response/crisis-oriented), there is an opportunity to introduce and model new social (welfare) services, including those focusing more on prevention and early identification. The existing Law on Social Services will be revised in 2024. Within the EU-funded Action “Phase II of the EU-UN Support to the States in Central Asia for their Citizens Returned from Conflict Zones” (October 2023 to March 2025), UNICEF and the NASP have committed to developing and rolling-out in target locations a family strengthening and support programme/service which should initially benefit in particular children and their caregivers repatriated from Iraq and Syria but finally benefit all vulnerable families (albeit considering the resource-poor context, likely for the years to come an emphasis needs to be placed on the most vulnerable families). The family strengthening and support programme/service should apply a social work strength-based approach to help families that are struggling to care for and protect their children. The service should help manage and mitigate risks associated with violence, neglect and abuse of children while strengthening conditions to achieve the long-term best interests of a child, addressing the underlying circumstances that hamper caregivers’ abilities to care for and protect their children such as poverty, social exclusion, disabilities, mental health problems or substance abuse.

In close cooperation with the NASP and UNICEF including an international UNICEF consultant, the national consultant will support the following: Establishment of a family strengthening and support programme, building on promising global practices and adapted to the Uzbekistan context.

Task 1: Support and facilitate the review and contextualisation of a framework for a comprehensive and integrated family strengthening and support programme under the leadership/coordinating role of the NASP. The framework should guide the implementation of a comprehensive, integrated, rights-based, adequately resourced and quality family strengthening and support programme/services. The framework should provide a theoretical framework and approach that is human rights based and participatory; describes the collaborative partnerships essential for the service (governmental, non-governmental); defines the practice environment for the delivery of an integrated family strengthening and support programme/service; describes the integration of the service (intersectoral and interdepartmental integration, intradepartmental integration, integrated interventions); identifies vulnerable target groups and strategic focus areas for the delivery of family strengthening and support services; describes enabling factors for integrated family strengthening and support services; and establishes mechanisms for the promotion of family strengthening and support services that are linked to monitoring and evaluation as well norms, standards and business processes.

Task 2: Support the development and facilitate the review with national stakeholders of a plan for the implementation of a comprehensive and integrated family strengthening and support programme under the leadership/coordinating role of the NASP. Support the development of an implementation plan to guide and coordinate the implementation of the framework for a comprehensive and integrated family strengthening and support programme for an initial period of five years, and facilitate the review and consultation with relevant national stakeholders.

Task 3: Facilitate the review with national stakeholders of a draft monitoring and evaluation framework for family strengthening and support programmes/ services. Facilitate the consultation and review with relevant national stakeholders of a set of indicators covering outcomes, processes, and impact to allow for the effective monitoring of family strengthening and support services, based on the reviewed draft standards that govern social (welfare) services in general and the draft standards of quality for family strengthening and support services. These indicators should provide evidence on compliance and the effectiveness of family strengthening and support services.

Task 4: Support the design of a Family Outreach Service for social work (para-)professionals under the NASP within an integrated social (welfare) service system. The Family Outreach Service should provide intensive support to families possessing multiple and complex needs that are at risk of separation, and for families that are planning for the return of a child following a period of separation, or those providing family-based alternative care to children. The service should aim to improve the capacities of families to ensure children’s care and protection from neglect, violence, and abuse, and create positive conditions for girls’ and boys’ development in a family environment. The focus should be on strengthening caregivers’ capacities to care for their children, improving communication and relationships within the whole family; securing children’s access to and inclusion in other services that are of benefit to their development such as education and healthcare services; strengthening adolescent girls’ and boys’ life skills (the components related to strengthening caregivers’ capacities and adolescent girls’ and boys’ life skills should have a strong gender-transformative aspect); strengthen the informal support network around the family; and providing practical, administrative and logistical support to enable the family to access financial entitlements, improve their living conditions and overcome barriers to enjoying their rights. The design of the family outreach service should specify the delivery characteristics such as the competencies of the practitioners, support provided to the practitioners, and fidelity to programme design and delivery modalities, and be complemented by a Guide for Trainers and a Handbook for Practitioners. As the national consultant, technical support will be needed to provide support to the UNICEF international consultant in designing the Family Outreach Service, including gathering relevant data and information from national sources, facilitating discussions with relevant national stakeholders, and reviewing and supporting the contextualisation of materials produced, as necessary, and translations from English to Russian and vice versa.

Task 5: Build the knowledge and skills of trainers and practitioners for the implementation of the Family Outreach Service. Jointly with the UNICEF international consultant, co-facilitate the 5-day in-person training of trainers to an approximate 20 practitioners and trainers to equip them with skills and knowledge needed for the roll-out of the Family Outreach Service. Jointly with the UNICEF international consultant, co-facilitate a series of online supervision sessions in the initial phase of the roll-out of the programme to allow for discussion of complex cases and guidance to practitioners in enhancing their practice in family strengthening and support. Support the roll-out of training to additional practitioners and continue to facilitate online and offline supervision sessions (group and individual sessions) to practitioners in target locations.

Task 6: Document the roll-out of the family strengthening and support programme, in particular the Family Outreach Service. Collect baseline data at the start of the roll-out of the Family Outreach Service as well as at the end of 2023 to further inform the design of the service, including any adjustments needed. Document the roll-out of the family strengthening and support service and the Family Outreach Service, providing regular updates to the NASP and UNICEF.

Work Assignments Overview - Deliverables/Outputs - Timeline

Task 1: Support and facilitate the review and contextualisation of a framework for a comprehensive and integrated family strengthening and support programme under the leadership/coordinating role of the NASP - 30 days (11 Dec 2023 to 31 Jan 2024)

1.1 Support the international consultant with the development of a framework on family strengthening and support (approx. 15 pages), including collection of necessary data and information from national sources, review of the draft framework and provision of recommendations for contextualization where needed, and translation of the draft framework into Russian - by 17 Jan 2024 1.2 Co-facilitate with the international consultant a consultation of the draft framework with the UNICEF international consultant, the NASP, UNICEF and other relevant national stakeholders in a hybrid (online/offline) workshop - by 19 Jan 2024 1.3 Support the international consultant with the finalization of the framework, incorporating feedback from the NASP, UNICEF and other relevant national stakeholders (including necessary changes to the Russian translation) - by 9 Feb 2024

Task 2: Support the development and facilitate the review with national stakeholders of a plan for the implementation of a comprehensive and integrated family strengthening and support programme under the leadership/coordinating role of the NASP 10 days (1 to 15 Feb 2024)

1.4 Support the international consultant with the development of an implementation plan (approx. 5 pages) including collection of necessary data and information from national sources, review of the draft framework and provision of recommendations for contextualization where needed, and translation of the draft plan into Russian 1.5 Co-facilitate with the international consultant a consultation of the draft implementation plan with the NASP, UNICEF and other relevant national stakeholders in a hybrid (online & offline) workshop 1.6 Support the international consultant with the finalization of the implementation plan, incorporating feedback from the NASP, UNICEF and other relevant national stakeholders (including necessary changes to the Russian translation)

Task 3: Facilitate the review with national stakeholders of a draft monitoring and evaluation framework for family strengthening and support programmes/ services - 4 days (1 to 29 Feb 2024)

1.7 Translate the set of draft indicators from English to Russian 1.8 Co-facilitate with the international consultant a consultation with the NASP, UNICEF and relevant national stakeholders on the draft indicators in a hybrid (online & offline) meeting 1.9 Support the international consultant in finalizing the set of indicators, incorporating feedback from the NASP, UNICEF and other relevant national stakeholders (including necessary changes to the Russian translation)

Task 4: Support the design of a Family Outreach Service for social work (para-)professionals under the NASP within an integrated social (welfare) service system, including design of training materials to be incorporated into the Re-training Centre of the NASP - 7 days (12 Feb to 8 Mar 2024)

1.10 Support the international consultant with drafting a concept note for the Family Outreach Service, including collection of necessary data and information from national sources, review of the draft framework and provision of recommendations for contextualization where needed, and translation of the draft concept note into Russian (approx. 10 pages) - by 22 Feb 2024 1.11 Co-facilitate with the international consultant a consultation with the NASP and UNICEF on the draft concept note in a hybrid (online & offline) workshop - by 23 Feb 2024 1.12 Support the international consultant in finalizing the concept note for the Family Outreach Service, incorporating feedback from the NASP and UNICEF (including necessary changes to the Russian translation) - by 8 Mar 2024

Task 5: Build the knowledge and skills of trainers and practitioners for the implementation of the Family Outreach Service - 134 days (18 Mar to 28 Feb 2025)

1.13 Co-facilitate with the international consultant the 5-day Training of Trainers, including logistical preparations, administering pre- and post-tests - by 30 Mar 2024 1.14 Co-facilitate with the international consultant five online supervision sessions for practitioners engaged in rolling-out the Family Outreach Service, including logistical support, and compiling of summary reports non the outcome of the supervision sessions - by 30 Nov 2024 1.15 Co-facilitate with national trainers a series of trainings to ensure practitioners in all target districts are trained, including logistic support (the exact number of trainings to be determined in March 2024) - by 17 May 2024 1.16 Co-facilitate with national supervisors a series of online and offline supervision sessions for practitioners engaged in rolling-out of the Family Outreach Service (2 per week as of April 2024) 134 days (18 Mar to 28 Feb 2025) - by 28 Feb 2025

Task 6: Document the roll-out of the family strengthening and support programme, in particular the Family Outreach Service - 65 days (1 Apr to 31 Dec 2024)

1.17 Provide a baseline and endline to measure the effectiveness of the family strengthening and support programme including the Family Outreach Service and to inform further revisions. 1.18 Ensure ongoing documentation on the roll-out of the programme, number of beneficiaries, type of support provided, satisfaction of the beneficiaries with the service provided, etc.

Local travel is required.

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

• An advanced university degree in Social sciences, preferably social work or psychology.
• At least 8 years of relevant work experience, including in designing/developing social welfare services for children and families.
• Very good knowledge of international promising practices in design and implementation of family strengthening and support services.
• Excellent knowledge of the relevant context in Uzbekistan, including legal regulatory frameworks, key stakeholders, etc.
• Very good communication skills in English, and excellent communication skills in Russian.
• Previous work experience with UNICEF desirable.

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.