Re-advertisement: Social Policy Expert Consultant, ECARO, Rome outpost, Italy, 11.5 months (Remote & Office-based)

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, results

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. As part of its efforts to provide all children with an equitable chance in life, UNICEF works to identify, monitor, and effectively address the underlying causes of child poverty and deprivation.

Despite the strength of the European economy and a tradition of investment in the welfare of the most vulnerable citizens, nearly one-quarter of Europe’s children remained at risk of poverty and social exclusion as of 2018. Poverty and deprivation in childhood can have lifelong detrimental impacts, undermining an individual’s health, educational attainment, income earning capacity, and social connection, and contributing to an increased risk of exposure to violence, among others. The EU has long recognized the need to address entrenched issues of child poverty and social exclusion, including through a call by the European Parliament for a Child Guarantee to reduce inequalities. As families, societies, and governments around the world struggle to cope with the devastating impacts of COVID-19, which are expected to result in significant economic contraction, employment impacts, and a likely increase in poverty, these efforts have taken on a new urgency.

To test the European Child Guarantee in practice, the European Commission has partnered with UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECARO) to pilot the Child Guarantee in seven EU Member States through July 2022. Four Member States (Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece and Italy) are developing and testing for scalability, evidence-based models of services and interventions focused on ensuring access to services for the most disadvantaged children. Along with three other EU Member States (Germany, Lithuania and Spain) they are also planning their interventions in relation to the Child Guarantee objectives using nationally available policy and programme information, culminating in the development of “deep dives” which are designed to inform the development of the Child Guarantee National Action Plans (CGNAP).

In Italy, the testing phase of the Child Guarantee is being carried out under the oversight of an interinstitutional Steering Committee, composed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies (MLSP), the Presidency of the Council of Ministers - Department for Family Policies and UNICEF. During this pilot phase, in addition to the deep dive analysis currently ongoing, models of intervention for the support of children particularly at risk of poverty and exclusion are being tested. These include foster care and other alternative care solutions for particularly vulnerable children, support of care leavers towards autonomy, skills building for adolescents to support their school to work transition, support to vulnerable families and the contrast to educational poverty.

On 24 June 2021, the Council of the European Union unanimously adopted the Recommendation Establishing a European Child Guarantee. According to this recommendation, the Member States are expected to develop national action plans on how to implement the Guarantee within 9 months.

Since the approval of the Child Guarantee Recommendation, Italy is currently undertaking the preparatory actions for the establishment of a National Child Guarantee, by nominating a Child Guarantee Coordinator and defining the modalities for the development of the Child Guarantee National Action Plan (CGNAP). UNICEF, upon request of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, will support the Child Guarantee Coordinator in the development of the Child Guarantee National Action Plan and the monitoring of its subsequent implementation.

How can you make a difference?

The purpose of this assignment is to provide technical support to the Government of Italy in developing the CGNAP, as required by the Council Recommendation establishing the European Child Guarantee, and in its subsequent implementation and monitoring. The CGNAP will aim to implement the Council Recommendation establishing the European Child Guarantee in the Italian context.

The consultant will work directly with the Office of the Child Guarantee Coordinator in Italy and will work closely with UNICEF’s ECARO team in Italy.

The consultant, in coordination with the Child Guarantee National Coordinator and with the technical assistance, will provide technical inputs and support to the coordination and participation processes, to the CGNAP development process and content to support national stakeholders in the development of the CGNAP and subsequent monitoring of the implementation. In particular, the consultant will ensure that the CGNAP: a) addresses the needs of the most vulnerable children – and in particular those experiencing specific disadvantages – and the barriers they face in accessing and taking-up the services; b) builds on the findings of the Deep Dive Analysis of existing policies, programmes and services and on the local level testing of models of services and interventions; c) is developed in a participatory manner and consulted with main stakeholders, including children, families, and service providers and d) includes a clear monitoring and evaluation framework, is costed and budgeted, and has a clear timeline.

In doing so the individual contractor, will:

• Support relevant national stakeholders to implement an effective planning process for the development of the CGNAP, in line with national legal and normative framework and in the spirit of the Council Recommendation for the establishing of the European Child Guarantee.
• Facilitate effective coordination and engagement of different relevant stakeholders, in particular through the mechanism/platform established by the government to develop the CGNAP and with the Child Guarantee National Coordinator.
• Provide technical support to the working group tasked with the development of the CGNAP, provide inputs into the drafts of the CGNAP, and mobilizing additional in-country expertise and political support, when needed.
• Support Governmental partners to ensure consistency of the CGNAP with the findings of the Deep Dive Analysis, in particular ensuring that the CGNAP takes into account the needs of the most disadvantaged children and the enabling policy framework. This will also include presentation of the findings and recommendations of the deep dive analysis to the working group tasked with the development of the CGNAP and provide concrete proposals on how to reflect those in the CGNAP drafts. In addition, the consultant will identify any entry points in which other sectoral or inter-sectorial policies could benefit from the findings and recommendations of the Deep Dive Analysis and the discussions around the CGNAP.
• Advocate for the CGNAP to include the evidence-based and -informed models of services and interventions tested as part of Phase III of the Child Guarantee, with the view to ensure their institutional and financial sustainability at the district or local level and foster further nationwide replication or scaling up.
• Provide technical inputs into the development of the CGNAP monitoring and evaluation framework, which include clear quantitative and qualitative indicators and targets, based on the results of the Deep Dive Analysis and operational research of the models of services and interventions piloted in the country.
• Provide technical support to ensure that the CGNAP is adequately costed and budgeted, taking into account the country existing fiscal space, requirements of the European Child Guarantee and other European funding instrument and has a clear timeline.
• Support the planning and implementation of the consultation process during the preparation phase of the CGNAP aimed at ensuring the participation of a wide range of stakeholders as expressed in the Council Recommendation (letter e), in particular with children – including through the Children Advisory Board established during the pilot phase of the Child Guarantee – families, and service providers.
• Support the establishment of a system for the continuous monitoring of the implementation of the CGNAP, including through the development of monitoring tools based on the monitoring and evaluation framework of the CGNAP.
• Conduct monitoring activities and analyse and document progresses, gaps and bottlenecks of the implementation of the CGNAP in Italy to provide recommendations for its strengthening.
• Support the Child Guarantee Coordinator in ensuring the engagement of all relevant stakeholders, and in particular all different Ministries involved in the implementation of the CGNAP.
• Support the organization of periodic update and monitoring sessions to present the advancements in the implementation of the CGNAP to relevant stakeholders and receive their feedbacks and recommendations (for example with, but not limited to, the National Observatory on Childhood and Adolescence and Children Advisory Board).

Contractual modalities:

• Duration: The consultant will be expected to work full-time for a period of 11.5 months between January and December 2022.
• Duty Station and travel: In accordance with the current Italian regulations, the contractor will work office-based at the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies in Rome for three days per week and home-based two days per week.The consultant will be expected to travel throughout Italy, depending on COVID-19 travel restrictions. The Consultant will be responsible for organizing their travel. All travel expenses (tickets, accommodation, public transport, meals) will be reimbursed.
• Payment: The consultant will be paid monthly upon timely and satisfactory submission of deliverables as per the table above.

• Travel:

• All UNICEF rules and regulations related to travel of Consultants/ Individual Contractors apply.

• All travels shall be undertaken only upon the prior written approval by UNICEF.
• The consultant is responsible for his/her for travel arrangements. The most economic and direct route is authorized.
• Travel costs will be reimbursed after the completion of mission upon submission of the invoice together with the supporting documentation. The maximum amount allocated for travel will be EUR 4,360.
• The consultant must be fit to travel, be in a possession of the valid UN BSafe certificate, obligatory inoculation(s) and have a valid own travel/medical insurance and an immunization/vaccination card.

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Social Policy, Social Sciences, Political Science, or a related field.
• Proven knowledge of the context, policy, and process for child poverty and social exclusion reduction at the national and subnational levels in Italy.
• Proven experience in conducting similar tasks (i.e. supporting government in policy making processes, stakeholder consultations, research, reporting)
• At least 10 years of experience in the development and/or monitoring processes of policies and programmes on poverty and social exclusion
• The ability to be flexible and deliver results under tight deadlines.
• Previous engagement with and demonstrated understanding of the EU Child Guarantee development process will be an advantage.
• Fluency in Italian and English required.

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.

To apply:

Applicants are invited to:

• Complete their UNICEF profile FULLY;
• Attach CV and Cover Letter;
• Indicate a monthly fee. Applications without fees will not be accepted.

Remarks:

This is a re-advertisement in order to expand the candidate pool. Previous applicants need not reapply as their original application will be duly considered.

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.