SHORT TERM NATIONAL INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANCY: Technical Support in Mapping of Early Intervention and Support Services Available for Children with Disabilities or Developmental Delays in Earthq

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, education.

On 6th February 2023, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake on Richter Scale occurred in Pazarcik District of Kahramanmaras Province (south-eastern Turkiye affecting 10 provinces (Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kilis, Osmaniye, Malatya, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Şanlıurfa, Adana). Approximately 15.2 million people suffered (13.5 million Turkish citizens, 1.7 million registered refugees), including 4.6 million children, of whom 811,000 are refugees. An eleventh province, Elazığ, has also been affected. This is Turkiye's most powerful earthquake recorded since 1939.

Around 2.4 million people live in formal sites and informal settlements in earthquake affected provinces (1.6 million people in informal settlements and nearly 800,000 in formal sites including around 218,000 people in container cities). There are also nearly 118,000 people living in public facilities in other provinces. The key needs in informal sites continue to be access to adequate water and sanitation, information on available services and social protection schemes. The earthquake has drastically affected the availability of essential services. Number of health and education facilities, including facilities for special education were destroyed.

Within earthquake response UNICEF has cumulatively reached 267,688 children and caregivers with mental health and psycho-social support (MHPSS) and over 2.7 million women, boys and girls through social media with GBV related messaging & awareness raising as part of GBV risk mitigation efforts. Cumulatively, 985,833 earthquake affected children have access to immunization services through UNICEF’s provision of vaccines to the Ministry of Health (MoH).

To date through UNICEF support, 304,906 people have access to safe water (through water trucking, provision of chlorine/chemicals, water storage, water quality testing and repair of water supply system); and 5,175 people have access to improved sanitation facilities and services (provision of toilets, showers and solid waste management). Cumulatively, 332,587 children are accessing formal or non-formal education, including early learning, through UNICEF-supported system- strengthening and programmes; and over 1 million children have been provided learning materials. No data is available on support services available for children with developmental delays and/or disabilities.

As per Inter-Agency Disability Inclusion Task Team there is a lack of the access to information related to services provided to persons with disabilities. There is lack of data on persons with disabilities affected by the earthquake and lack of concrete evidence on the needs of persons with disabilities affected by the earthquake.

Support services for persons with disabilities by public health centers are limited due to focus on emergency healthcare.

How can you make a difference?

UNICEF Turkiye Office has initiated its support to the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Family and Social Services in re-establishment of the system of monitoring of young child development, identification of children with delays or disabilities and referral mechanism to services, that would support a child with delay/disability and his/her family.

To enable this support it is crucial to identify services remain active in the affected area and possibilities for effective referrals

Provision of the technical support in mapping of support services that remain active in the EQ area in health, social and education sector. Analysis of the role and mapping of services provided by NGOs to children with delays and/or disabilities to be also conducted.

The consultancy requires strong technical expertise and an understanding of ECD and EI in emergencies. In cooperation with the national Working Group the consultant will work to conduct:

1. • Analysis of regulatory mechanism to support referral and support to children with delays/disabilities and their families;
2. • Mapping of support services remain active in EQ affected areas, with focus on Hatay, Kahramanmarash and Adiyaman regions. Mapping will include, but not limited to child-friendly spaces, health services, nutrition counselling, psychosocial support, social services, Immigration departments support, developmental follow up provided by Governmental entities, NGOs and private sector.

List contains: service names, service details, services provided by governmental agencies, and services provided by NGOs. Services are determined as, health, breastfeeding counselling, referral for psycho-social risks, referral for social services, referral for immigration Department, Developmental follow-up (for example- Children with Down syndrome) and if available referral for child friendly areas.

Phase 1: Overview of Supportive Regulatory Base

Tasks 1: Conduct consultations with UNICEF, government counterparts, NGOs to identify relevant regulatory documents enabling support services for children with delays/disabilities.

Task 2: Conduct desk review and prepare overview report to reflect mechanism supporting and impeding the access and availability of support- services for young children with delays and disabilities (Optimized PDF)

Phase 2: Conduct Mapping of Available Services to Support Children with Delays/Disabilities in EW Affected Areas

Task 3: Hold online and face-to-face consultations with national and provincial health and social services departments, provincial municipalities, NGOs and private health, and education facilities.

Task 4: Prepare a final report with overview of services available in each EQ affected province.

Proposed Timeline

TASKS****WORKLOADReview1Conduct consultations with UNICEF, government counterparts, NGOs to identify relevant regulatory documents enabling support services for children with delays/disabilities.4 days2Conduct desk review and prepare overview report to reflect mechanism supporting and impeding the access and availability of support- services for young children with delays and disabilities.

4 days Desk Review Report8 daysMapping of available services to support children with delays/disabilities in EQ affected areas3Hold online and face-to-face consultations with national and provincial health and social services departments, provincial municipalities, NGOs and private health, and education facilities.16 days4Prepare a final report with overview of services available in each EQ affected province3 days Final report with mapping results and recommendations.19 days Total Days:27 Financial Offer template_mapping.docx

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

• Proven experience in providing consultancy services in area of developmental pediatrics and early interventions;
• Minimum 5 years of working experience in the relevant field;
• Knowledge of global policies, development frameworks in establishing of developmental pediatrics; and provision of early detection and early intervention services;
• Excellent analytical thinking, training, report writing and communication skills;
• Proven experience in assessment methodologies in the emergency context;
• Fluency in Turkish and English.

The local individual institutional consultancy shall work under the guidance of the UNICEF ECD Manager.

The assignment will be home-based, with meetings in Ankara and travels to the earthquake affected areas as necessary. The consultant will work in close coordination with the UNICEF ECD Team and other programme teams, as required.

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.