Readvertisement: international consultant to support the government in building the capacity of Social Service Workforce in Czech Republic (23 days December 2023- January 2024)

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, a Champion

As of 18 June 2023, 345,311 refugees from Ukraine have Temporary Protection in the Czech Republic, with a total of 94,843 (27.5 percent) children under the age of 18 years, 162,107 (46.9 percent) women aged 18+ years and 88,348 (25.6 percent) men 18+. The refugee population includes a significant number of individuals who are dependent on social services due to age, disability, or chronic illness. To address the specific needs of refugee children, adolescents and families, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MoLSA) has undertaken steps to enhance social prevention and counseling services. These efforts include capacity building programs for service providers, aimed at improving their ability to effectively manage their roles and responsibilities. Despite significant achievements and the commitment of the Government of the Czech Republic, hosting the highest number of refugees per capita, the refugee crisis is putting a significant strain on the country’s basic services and infrastructure. There is a crucial need to prioritize the expansion of high-quality services for refugee children and families facilitated by the social service workforce through building the capacity of statutory referral bodies and practitioners, particularly when it comes to social and child protection.

MoLSA and UNICEF have signed a work plan to strengthen the child protection system and social service workforce, promote inclusion of refugees, and address their specific needs and risks. Joint interventions will enhance the capacity of the social service workforce to ensure high-quality services for all refugee children and families in need, promoting their well-being and rights.

UNICEF Refugee Response Office in Czech Republic is seeking a Child Protection expert to develop a training program and conduct Training of Trainers (ToT) to strengthen the capacities of the Social Service Workforce (SSW) on case management and social work during emergencies.

How can you make a difference?

The assignment seeks to contribute to the improvement of social service workforce competencies, case management practice and child protection in emergencies in the Czech Republic through capacity-building activities. It will ensure the utilization of international standards of social work and case management in a humanitarian context and the adaptation of effective social work interventions based on evidence and contextually appropriate international practice with vulnerable groups.

The objective of the assignment is to improve the well-being of the refugee children, adolescents and their caregivers for whom the social service workforce of the Czech Republic currently provides service.

Scope of Work:

The Child Protection expert is requested to contribute to the enhancement of social service workers’ competencies and case management practice towards refugees in the Czech Republic, specifically:

1. Conduct a brief desk review of studies, research and reviews related to the capacity and competencies of the social service workforce in the Czech Republic and other EU countries, as well as educational standards, courses, training programmes and field education in social work and case management related to humanitarian response.

2. Consultation with the representatives of MoLSA in coordination with the Child Protection team of the UNICEF to assess the needs and capacity of the social service workforce providing emergency and humanitarian work, as well as to obtain information about the participants (selected experts) to inform the ToT training program development process. Develop 5-day Trainer of Trainers (ToT) and Training programme in Child Protection in Emergencies (CPiE), adjusted to the Czech context. The final program modules will be determined in agreement with the expert, MoLSA and UNICEF in the Czech Republic but the following areas/topics are expected to be covered: Child Protection in Emergencies; Case Management, Mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), trauma-informed and community-based interventions with migrant and refugee children and families; Trafficking of Human Beings (THB); Unaccompanied and Separated Children (identification and registration, provision of relevant services and reunification), Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) for the protection of the most vulnerable refugee population.

3. Deliver one ToT for capacity building through 5 days in-person training course including delivery of the theoretical part, as well as coaching sessions. The target audience will be composed of the experts identified by MoLSA as having the right competences and capacities (“MoLSA Trainer’s Team”). The ToT will serve the purpose for the trained experts to deliver the cascade trainings afterwards for the social service workforce, staff in Social and Legal Support Units/OSPOD, Collective Centers for Refugees/KACPU, Chamber for Social Workers, Association of Providers of Social Services, and others in working with refugees.
4. Provide supervision through feedback, discussions, and technical support in the course and after the 2 following cascade trainings delivered by the ToT participants.

Specific deliverables and tasks are below:

Deliverables/Outputs

Tasks/Milestones

Timeline

Estimate working days

1. Workplan

Preparation of Workplan of the assignment providing agreed timeline and detailed description of the activities.

December 2023

1 day

2. Training program

Development of a Training of Trainers and a training program package on CPiE adapted to the Czech context and consultations with the MoLSA.

December 2023

10 days

3. Delivery of ToT

Delivery of a 5-day ToT for the MoLSA Trainers and summary report (including feedback from participants, identified needs and challenges)

December -2023 January 2024

6 days

4. ToT follow up supervision

Provision of supervision on following cascade trainings conducted by ToT participants.

January 2024

6 days

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

• • Advanced university degree in Social Work, Psychology, Psychiatry, Health, Humanitarian Sciences, legal studies, or related field.
• At least 5-7 years of professional work experience in the field of Child Protection in Emergency at the international and national level.
• Demonstrated working experience and knowledge in social work, childcare, migration, justice, PSEA, social welfare or other related field.
• Comprehensive knowledge of international and regional standards on Child Protection during Emergency.
• Demonstrated experience in developing modules and delivering trainings for professionals.
• Excellent writing skills,
• Excellent analytical, communication and negotiating skills.
• Excellent team working skills and respect for diversity.
• Ability to work through networking and in partnership.
• Fluency in English is required.

Application requirement

The consultancy is open to individual international applicants. Applicants are required to provide:

• A short cover letter, highlighting relevant experience with similar type of assignments (max 300 words).
• CV of the individual applicants
• Samples or links to at least 2 related pieces of work previously conducted by the consultant, must be provided in English.
• Technical proposal (outline of the training package) 2 pages maximum
• Financial proposal including number of days for undertaking the assignment, daily fee, travel costs. Travel costs will be pre-approved by UNICEF as per the UNICEF rules and regulations for travel for consultants i.e., irrespective of the distance and duration of the flight, most direct and economy flight ticket shall apply.
• The financial proposal should include all possible costs related to the implementation of the tasks under the present TOR including international, inter-city and in-city travel expenses and DSA. UNICEF does not provide or arrange health insurance coverage. The financial proposal must be submitted in a separate file of non-editable format (e.g., PDF). Consultancy fees should be broken down to show the details for the below-mentioned deliverables. In case the bidder is a resident of Czech Republic, please indicate VAT amount separately in your Financial Offer or clearly state if you are non-VAT payer.

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:

• • Completion of the UN/UNICEF mandatory trainings is obligatory upon commencement of the contract.
  • Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
  • All materials developed will remain the copyright of UNICEF and UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify them in the future.
  • The Consultant will perform his/her duties in line with UNICEF standards and procedures.
  • Individuals engaged under a consultancy 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.

  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.

  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.