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Terms of Reference for Local consultant to support establishment of local level child protection mechanisms

1. Programme information:

Programme (No. & Name) : Social System Strengthening
Project (No. & Name) : 0039 YI205-10, CP: Child Care Reform
Activity Reference : 0039 YI205-10-003, Advocacy and technical support to the coordination and implementation of the State Program on De-institutionalization and Alternative Care

2. Background and Context: (Attach background documents, if necessary)

According to the UNICEF Azerbaijan Country Program for 2005-2010, which is based on the UNDAF for Azerbaijan (United Nations Development Assistance Framework) the child protection reform is one of the priority areas. UNICEF Azerbaijan signed with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy Annual Work Plan for 2010, in which all parties agreed to work jointly towards the implementation of the child protection reform to enhance the implementation of the Presidential State Program on De-Institutionalization and Alternative Care approved in March 2006.

In terms of institutional mechanism and in order to strengthen and coordinate the implementation of the State Program Division on De-institutionalization and Child Protection was established under the Ministry of Education in 2009. In addition to that UNICEF, the Ministry of Education, the State Committee for Family, Women and Children’s Issues, and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population signed Memorandum of Understanding on Establishment of Local Level Child Protection Mechanisms in 2 pilot districts.

The successful implementation of the pilot project on Establishment of Local Level Child Protection Mechanisms in Surakhani and Khazar districts should be supported by the creation of adequate alternative services and proper gate-keeping mechanism, which in turn should be based on the unified standards of the child care system. Based on this particular need Ministry of Education requested UNICEF to recruit an international expert to develop child care standards and a local expert to support the work of the international one and enhance the work in pilot districts.

3. Purpose of the assignment

The consultancy will be aimed at:
1) Assisting international consultant to develop legal and procedural framework for national child care system in support to the implementation of the State Program on De-institutionalization and Alternative Care;
2) Supporting implementation of pilot project on establishment of local level child protection mechanisms in Surakhani and Khazar districts

4. Duty station: in and out of Azerbaijan

5. Supervisor: The work will be supervised by the UNICEF Child Protection Officer and overall supervision of the assignment lies on the Deputy Representative.
6. Major tasks to be accomplished:

The consultant will be responsible for:
• Closely work with international consultant on development of standards and regulations for the creation and implementation mechanism on gate keeping and reintegration of children into families and alternative services;
• Support project team in Surakhani and Khazar districts through:
o Designing day care services including the criteria of admission of children, the case management, procedures and standards, the reporting and monitoring system;
o Assistance in mapping out the existing health, education and social services for vulnerable children and families to identify gaps in service provision (infrastructure, accessibility, etc)
o development of transition plans for children to be reintegrated into communities
o designing the assessment tool to measure professionalism of personnel in child care institutions
• Develop capacities of: a) pilot project team on family and child psychosocial assessment and care plan development; b) Coordination Committees of Surakhani and Khazar districts on child protection and social work; c) pilot project team on developing reconstruction plan for institutions (according to the Master Plan on Transformation of Residential Institutions)
• Develop a tool for assessing access of children with disabilities to services
7. Deliverables:

• Assisting international consultant during in and out of country phases of the assignment through accompanying him/het during official meetings, helping to gather necessary information/materials, providing inputs for development of child care standards;
• Interim and final consultancy reports to include progress in development of the capacity of the local structures, level of assistance and recommendations/inputs provided to international consultant on development of child care standards, recommendations on the further implementation of the pilot project in two districts, tool for assessing access of children with disabilities to available services, transition plans for children to be reintegrated into communities.

8. Time-Frame:

The selected consultant will work during the period of 3 months (September-December 2010). The schedule of the activities will be agreed with the consultant based on the consultancy concept and implementation progress. The deadline for submission of final deliverables to UNICEF is 15 December 2010.

9. Qualifications or specialized knowledge/experience required:

• Advanced university degree and/or academic background in social work, research and/or statistics, communication;
• Minimum 5 years work experience in related field; Previous working experience in child protection sector;
• Proven very good communication skills with government and community members;
• High analytical and conceptual skills and ability;
• Fluency in Azerbaijani and English (written and spoken), knowledge of Russian would be an asset;

10. Procedures and logistics:

UNICEF does not provide or arrange health insurance coverage for consultants. Whenever the Consultant will be required to travel at UNICEF's expense, a travel authorization (TA) will be issued to the Consultant and travel expenses provided on the basis of UNICEF standards.

UNICEF is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential.

11. Application:
Interested individual should send:
a) a cover letter;
b) individual resume;
c) reference of previous relevant work (if applicable);
in a sealed envelop/email to:
Head of Section
__________________________
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
24 S.Dadashev St., AZ1073
Baku, Azerbaijan
or send the documents mentioned above electronically to baku@unicef.org
All applications will be treated with strict confidentiality. UNICEF is an equal opportunity employer.

Deadline: September 30, 2010

For further information please contact: Munir Mammadzade , Child Protection Officer,
mmammadzade@unicef.org 99412 4923013 (ext 102)

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