Re-Advertisement: Field-based Consultant in Minsk* (National, Belarus) - Req

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, chance

Re-Advertisement - Consultancy Title: Field-based Consultant in Minsk* (National, Belarus)

Section/Division/Duty Station: Child Protection (CP), Programme, UNICEF Belarus CO

Duration: January 20, 2024 to July 20, 2024

Home/ office Based: Remote/Home-based (with office visits upon request/needs)

*Field coordination, monitoring and reporting on programme implementation in the Minsk city

About UNICEF

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. Over 75 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

BACKGROUND

Background

Safe and Enabling Environment at School. The purpose of this consultancy is to coordinate implementation of UNICEF projects on promotion of safe environment in schools (SEES) and in prevention of violence against children (VAC) in digital space. VAC prevention is one of the global priorities for UNICEF and a crucial part of programme intervention in Belarus (including Country Development Programme for 2021-2025, National Plan of actions in child protection, State programme on health, etc.).

In Belarus, as in other countries, peer violence in schools, institutions and communities is widespread. In a 2017 UNICEF survey[1], bullying by peers or older children was reported by 60.1% of 5th-7th graders from secondary schools and 82.1% of 5th-7th graders from residential care institutions. Those children who reported exposure to sexual violence in the house, neighbourhoods or at institutions indicated peers as the main perpetrators. Furthermore, children, from all age groups and in every setting, lack knowledge on what constitutes violence against them, including but not limited to physical, psychological/emotional, sexual abuse and child neglect.

The nature of bullying has changed too with extensive use of the internet. According to a UNICEF 2018 online safety survey[2], every third (30%) child and adolescent have been insulted or humiliated on the Internet, of them more than half (54%) did not discuss it with their parents.

UNICEF has partnered with key stakeholders to strengthen system responses and introduced “Safe and Enabling Environments in Schools” Programme that contributes to reduction of VAC, especially peer violence in 40 Belarusian schools located across the country. The SEES model envisages the engagement of parents and creation of enabling environments in the local communities where schools are located.

Online consultation platform for victims of cyberviolence, Kidspomogut.by

To address VAC in digital space in 2019 UNICEF together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs developed and launched a specialized web-site www. kids.pomogut.by, a core component of which is on-line counselling service for children - victims and witnesses of online sexual exploitation or cyberviolence.

Considering that violence threatens not only children’s survival and health, but also their emotional well-being and future prospects, UNICEF Belarus supports the Government to develop comprehensive responses that focus on prevention of VAC and strengthening support services for child victims of violence and abuse.

Unified hotline for children and adolescents

National toll-free helpline for child victims of violence and abuse 8-801-100-16-11 was established in Belarus in 2011 and operates under the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus. The child helpline is specialized on psychological services provision for children in crisis situations, victims of violence and abuse, and operates in 24/7 format. Helpline counselling services are provided by psychologists. Some of them were specially trained with the support from UNICEF in 2018 and 2019.

There are several challenges that exist in Belarus relating to operationalization of the helpline services provision for children. The first one is that there are several helpline numbers that exist all over the country operating under different numbers and provide services for child victims of violence. These numbers are promoted in different regions and are not toll free. The second, is that even though the current number (8-801-100-16-11) is free for calling from all existing operators it is long and difficult to remember for children. There is a need to mobilize national efforts to ensure the quality of the service, accessibility, and proper budgeting and coordination national wide.

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

The consultant will coordinate implementation of projects activities within contracts concluded with BSPU, facilitate discussions on cybersafety and development of child helpline service (including arrangement of meeting and development the agenda, organize training sessions for specialists).

Scope of Work:

Support Child Protection team in coordinating and implementing the projects aimed to strengthen VAC prevention mechanisms and promote psychological wellbeing in school settings and in a cyber space.

• Contribute to the development of documentation with BSPU on SEES project for 2023/2024 academic year.
• Support with technical expertise to implementation of the SEES project: collect data, arrange technical meetings, and programme visits, facilitate promotion of information campaign in piloting communities, include adolescent participation in all phases of the project implementation.
• Provide technical expertise in the monitoring of implementation and documentary support with the project “School as a secure space.”
• Facilitate the revision of the content of specialized web resource on prevention on sexual violence online kids.pomogut.by. Arrange and facilitate trainings for specialists, providing online consultations via this tool. Monitor information campaign to promote this resource in Minsk city.
• Arrange technical meetings on mapping of the existing child helplines operating in the regions and under supervision of different profile Ministries, potential evaluation and assessment of the current services of the helpline (8 801 100 1611).

Supervision and collaboration with other sections:

The consultant will be working under direct supervision of CP officer with dotted reporting line to Emergency coordinator. The consultant will be working with all UNICEF sections to plan and monitor the programmes as per needs.

Travel Requirements:

Travel to regions for program visits and monitoring is expected at least 2 to 7 working days per month. Monthly travel plan will be discussed and agreed with the supervisor and relevant sections.

Support and Training:

It is expected that consultant will undergo orientation sessions with Emergency, Child Protection and Communications Teams, as well as obliged to familiarize and know well such documents as Core Commitments for Children in Emergencies, Guidance on Social Media Use, Methodological Note on SBC Indicators.

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables / Delivery Deadline:

1. Provide technical expertise into design and implementation of piloting for SEES and “School as a secure space” programmes

• Facilitate management of the project with BSPU on the SEES project, as well as project planning
• Written recommendations provided to the development of ToR for mentors and annual plans for schools cycle with BSPU – 20 February 2024
• Written recommendations to partners’ design of decentralization plan for management of SEES – 15 February 2024
• Facilitate the revision and online organization of methodological materials for the SEES project
  • Draft conceptual framework for the online portal for methodological materials on the SEES project, incorporating feedback from UNICEF staff and key stakeholders - 1 February 2024
  • Written recommendations on the SEES methodological materials, upholding UNICEF quality standards and visibility requirements – 15 March 2024
• Conduct monthly meetings with implementing partners to monitor the implementation status (collect data, check indicators, identify challenges in implementation)
  • Facilitation of six (6), monthly meetings with implementing partners to monitor the implementation and collect data of participating schools’ experiences – 20 January 2024 – 20 July 2024
  • Six (6) monthly reports on main indicators, defining progress and identifying challenges in implementation - 20 January 2024 – 20 July 2024
  • Written recommendations to the strategic implementation plans – 10 February 2024
• Facilitate the promotion campaign on SEES project in communities
  • Written recommendations on concept for promotion campaign on SEES project in community – 15 March 2024
  • Six (6) monthly reports on the monitoring of the information campaign, with recommendations for adjustments to campaign development and shared with key stakeholders - 20 January 2024 – 20 July 2024
• Participation in the integration of AAP mechanisms into the SEES project: adolescent participation in the development and testing of the intervention mechanisms Monitor against VAC in schools
  • Google feedback form for adolescents, teachers, and mentors
  • Summary report on quarterly feedback from adolescents, mentors, pedagogues, and community regarding SEES project, with recommendations for ways to integrate feedback into further programme implementation

20 January 2024 – 20 July 2024

• Support organization of two (2) SEES events during the school year
  • Written recommendations to project concept on a training event for the adolescent leaders – 1 February 2024
  • Written recommendations to project concept on the end of the year festival for adolescents - 1 March 2023
• Support capacity-building for mentors
  • Organization and facilitation of two (2) trainings for mentors - 1 March 2024
  • Two (2) monitoring visits to supervision and intervision for mentors and two (2) written reports - 20 March 2023
• Monitoring
  • Monitoring visits to (5) new schools and five (5) written reports - 1 June 2024
  • Monitoring visits (7) to identified schools to support the implementation of the project and 7 (7) written reports - 1 May 2024
• Support in preparing programme and donor reports, and other reporting requirements
  • Written inputs to the donor report (data, human interest stories) – 1 May 2024

2. Provide support for promotion of and capacity building for kidspomogut.by

• Organization and facilitation of two (2) trainings for specialists, providing online consultations via kidspomogut.by - 25 February 2024
• Technical inputs/ recommendations provided in plan for content revision of site - 15 February 2024
  • Four (6) monthly monitoring reports regarding the effectiveness/ coverage of the information campaign to promote the site at the republican level - 20 January 2024 – 20 July 2024

3. Facilitate mapping of the existing child helplines operating in the regions and under supervision of different profile Ministries.

• Organization of three (3) technical meetings on mapping of the existing child helplines operating in the regions and under supervision of different profile Ministries - 20 January 2024 – 20 July 2024
• Based on the leadership of the international consultant, written contributions to the development of plan - 15 March 2024

Travel (if required as per TOR):

Local travels in Belarus, based on the scheduled activities within TOR.

Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, Social work, Pedagogical backgrounds, or relevant social sciences.

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

• More than 5 years of practical experience in project management and monitoring implementation at the local level
• Experience of facilitation of the dialog with the local authorities on the project implementation.
• Experience of work with UN entities in Belarus is an advantage;
• Availability to perform the ToR requirements and meet deadlines;
• Experience in interaction with state and international organizations, social service systems
• Strong managerial and organizational skills
• Fluency in local and Russian languages is a must, and a good knowledge of English will be a significant plus
• Strong skills in field monitoring, data collection, and data analysis. Experience in using monitoring and evaluation tools and methods.

Competencies:

• Knowledge and understanding of child protection issues, child rights, and relevant international conventions and guidelines related to children’s right and wellbeing.
• Cultural sensitivity, flexibility, adaptability, and ability to work under challenging and rapidly changing circumstances.
• Upholding high ethical standards, particularly in relation to child protection and vulnerable populations.
• Proficiency in standard office software (e.g., Microsoft Word, Excel, Google Forms)

Remarks:

Candidates who applied previously do not need to reapply.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process

Requirements:

Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system and

• Interested consultants should provide a letter of interest describing how they can contribute to the interventions listed under roles and responsibilities and why they should be selected for this position. In addition, they should share their latest CV and financial proposal to undertake this job.
• Upload copy of academic credentials
• Financial proposal that will include/ reflect Financial Offer _CP field consultant Minsk_UNICEF Belarus.docx:
  • the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference.
  • travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR. Consultants are responsible for arranging their own transportation arrangements. UNICEF can provide office vehicle for some duty travel missions with prior agreement as per monthly travel plan approved by the supervisor
  • Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.
  • Indicate your availability
• Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.
• At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.
• Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory 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.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. View our competency framework at: Here

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:

Individuals engaged under a consultancy 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. Consultants 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.