Regional counselling in schools' assessment and CP Policy review consultant, Pacific Island Countries, 12 Months

Consultant Programme & Policy

Overview

Map counselling services and assess child protection policies in schools for UNICEF.

You have:

• An Advanced University degree in international development, human rights, international law, mental health or psychology, or other relevant field is required.
• A minimum of 5 years of professional experience in conducting research, impact assessments and leading evidence generation work, is required.
• Relevant experience in MHPSS or child protection, some of which preferably is from a developing country, is required.
• Experience in both development and humanitarian contexts is an added advantage; as is experience from working in the Pacific.
• Experience working in a UN system agency or UN organization is an asset.
• Proven ability to work independently under difficult conditions.
• Fluency in written and spoken English is a requirement; knowledge of a local language of any of the targeted countries will be considered an asset.

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, safety.

While data on the prevalence of mental health issues remain scarce in the Pacific region, smaller surveys, anecdotal evidence and U-Report polls all point to the existence of feelings of worry, stress, anxiety and depression among children, adolescents and youth, as well as the prevalence of violence, abuse and bullying in schools.

For example, 1 in 2 U-Reporters in Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Kiribati report that they feel worried due to climate change and from international evidence we know that climate-induced emergencies can take a toll on the mental health of affected individuals, while disrupting access to supportive services. Experience of stress and trauma among children may lead to cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and developmental difficulties, as well as infringe on children’s right to recreation and play. As parents also experience distress during emergencies, this can limit their ability to care for and provide support to their children and poses a risk factor for violence. This is worrying in a region highly affected by climate change and where most countries repeatedly face climate change related emergencies.

Specific countries have been selected, and the specific situation for counselling services in each country are at different levels. In some countries, such as Vanuatu, no formal counselling services through the Ministry of Education and Training exist on a national level, but with a government commitment to establish such a system of services it is crucial to review existing, small-scale and community-based initiatives for counselling for school-going children, to provide recommendations for the government as plans for establishment of nation-wide school counselling are taken forward. In Tuvalu, counselling systems are in school but mostly share the same space with and sometimes take on the role as disciplinarians. There is a need to separate and clearly define the roles of counsellors and disciplinarians for better results. In Solomon Islands, although a recent Education Act (2023) has been passed, it does not include provisions for a formal counseling mechanism in schools. However, the Act recognizes the importance of holistic education, emphasizing not only academic learning but also social and emotional well-being. Despite the lack of a structured counseling system, certain schools have trained chaplains and nurses who offer counseling support.

Across the Pacific, schools are often the first government institution that children come in regular contact with, and hence provide a key entry point for interaction with children and their families. Support is needed to map out and review existing counselling and MHPSS services in schools, and to provide needed recommendations to ensure that these are child-friendly and sensitive based on evidence and international and Pacific best practice, and that they make necessary referrals to further services, including through actors responsible for health and child protection services in the country.

How can you make a difference?

Under the direction of the Child Protection Specialist (Services), the consultant will further map counselling services and the role of chaplains in schools across the 4 countries targeted for the assignment (Fiji, Solomon Islands, and Tonga, Tuvalu). The mapping will include the current policy environment, existing standard operating procedures and processes in place, capacity of service providers and geographical and thematic scope of services available. The mapping should refer to equity in service provision, looking at accessibility for specifically e.g., girls and children with disabilities. This mapping will be conducted through a remote desk review as well as online interviews with a few selected key stakeholders in each of the countries, as identified between the UNICEF team and the consultant.

This action seeks to achieve the PaCREF miles stones on ensuring Child protection in Schools policies are up to date and addresses current issues for protection in schools. It will also review the status of the quality of counselling in schools considering its effectiveness, efficiency and relevance while providing a compendium of relevant resources that could contextualized and used for MHPSS service delivery in schools. Based on this mapping the consultant will assess the quality, effectiveness and impact of existing counselling services on the lives of children, care givers, teachers and school administrators in selected schools in Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and FSM. The assessment should lead to concrete recommendations, tailored for the Pacific region versus specific for the different countries as required, to be taken forward by UNICEF together with government stakeholders and other relevant partners (including faith-based organizations, local administrators, community leaders and civil society organizations). The assessment and CP policy work will be supported by in-country travel to each of the targeted countries, to ensure interaction with key stakeholders, including counsellors, teachers, principals and government staff in ministries responsible for education, mental health care and child protection.

The consultant will also support four countries with the review and endorsement, and operationalization of the child protection and safe school policies and support the development of a professional training curriculum and standard operational procedures on the CP policy in Fiji, Tuvalu, Tonga, and Solomon Islands.

The consultant will draft a review covering the status of existing Child Protection /Safe Schools Policies, and their implementation in Fiji, Tuvalu, Tonga, and Solomon Islands; identify gaps, and opportunities, and develop a detailed multi-country work plan in consultation with Government partners, UNICEF Pacific MCO and Field Offices, outlining tailored support for full implementation based on the findings of the review.

Please refer to the TOR.pdf for further information on the deliverables and the timelines.

GUIDANCE FOR APPLICANTS:

Please submit a separate financial offer along with your application. The financial proposal should be a lump sum amount for all the deliverables and should show a breakdown for the following:

• Monthly / Daily fees are based on the deliverables in the Terms of Reference above.
• Travel (economy air ticket where applicable to take up assignment and field mission travel
• Living allowance where travel is required.
• Miscellaneous- to cover visa, health insurance (including medical evacuation for international consultants), communications, and other costs.

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

Education:

• An Advanced University degree in international development, human rights, international law, mental health or psychology, or other relevant field is required.

Experience & Skills:

• A minimum of 5 years of professional experience in conducting research, impact assessments and leading evidence generation work, is required.
• Relevant experience in MHPSS or child protection, some of which preferably is from a developing country, is required.
• Experience in both development and humanitarian contexts is an added advantage; as is experience from working in the Pacific.
• Experience working in a UN system agency or UN organization is an asset.
• Proven ability to work independently under difficult conditions.

Language:

• Fluency in written and spoken English is a requirement; knowledge of a local language of any of the targeted countries will be considered an asset.

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.

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Potential interview questions

Added 2 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unicef.org