CONSULTANCY – TERMS OF REFERENCE
UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and is mandated to provide assistance and protection to a population of some 5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip to achieve their full potential in human development, pending a just solution to their plight. UNRWA’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance, and emergency assistance. UNRWA operates 702 elementary and preparatory schools across its five Fields of operations, including nine secondary schools in Lebanon, providing free basic education for around half a million Palestine refugee children. UNRWA is the largest UN operation in the Middle East with more than 30,000 staff and is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions.
Consultant – AVAC Child Safeguarding – International
BACKGROUND
Violence against children is a global challenge. It exists in every country in the world and it cuts across culture, class, education, income and ethnic origin.[1] Every year, at least a billion children globally are exposed to violence[2], with children with disabilities at greater risk[3]. Research suggests that 70% of children with disabilities in the developing world have experienced some form of abuse[4] and that they are 1.7 times more likely to experience violence than their non-disabled peers[5]. It is a global health problem, an affront to the dignity of the child and a violation of their rights and developmental needs, with consequences for the health, wellbeing and educational attainment of the individual child as well as costs at the societal level. Violence, or the threat or fear of it has immediate and long-term consequences, including long-term psychological and health impacts, which stop a child from reaching their full potential. The scale and impact of violence against children is better understood now than ever before. Supporting children to grow up protected and cherished means they are more likely to lead healthy, fulfilling lives.
UNRWA works in a unique context where Palestine refugees, including children, can suffer from difficult social conditions which negatively affect their enjoyment of many of their basic human rights. Each of the Agency’s five Fields of operation face however specific contextual challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented global public health crisis which has also precipitated major social, economic and financial shocks and secondary crises, has added another layer of complexity and challenge.
Recognizing its duty and responsibility to children placed under its care, UNRWA determined that addressing violence against children must be an Agency-wide priority. In 2019, UNRWA published the ‘Strategic Framework to Address Violence Affecting, and Involving Children in UNRWA Installations and Services,’ (referred to as the ‘AVAC Initiative’) which aims to provide a coherent, coordinated Agency-wide, multi-sectoral and holistic approach to eliminate violence against children. This includes staff-to-child or child-to-child violence occurring in all UNRWA installations and services, in both the development and humanitarian contexts, as well as in the online space – an area requiring renewed focus given the COVID-19 context.
The project, funded by the Belgium Government, comprises of six components; (1) Strengthening communication to promote new social norms where children are better protected, cared for and respected; (2) Skill strengthening, of students, parents and caregivers, staff and community members, to prevent violence against children and promote a culture of non-violence; (3) Establishing child-friendly complaints mechanisms and strengthening the capacity of investigators; (4) Enhancing institutional accountability and responsibilities with regard to child safeguarding; (5) Enhanced protection of children in the West Bank through monitoring, documentation and advocacy and (6) Strengthening monitoring and evaluation of progress in addressing violence against children.
PURPOSE AND RATIONALE
UNRWA is a direct provider of a range of services to more than five million Palestine refugees registered within the Agency’s five Fields of operation (West Bank, Gaza, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan) including two and a half million children. The Agency has a duty and responsibility to the children in its installations, receiving UNRWA services and placed under the Agency’s care. Palestine refugee children have the right to be safe and protected from violence whether it is attending classes in our schools, among their peers in the playground, seeking medical help or during emergency shelter, which UNRWA is committed to uphold. Making sure that children access, and benefit from, the Agency services in a violence-free environment that ensures their protection and human development with dignity is at the core of the mandate of UNRWA.
One key aspect of preventing and responding to violence against children is having an accessible child safeguarding system in place which includes the roles and responsibilities for all stakeholders with child safeguarding responsibilities and outlines the reporting system. This includes complaint mechanism in schools through which children can, regardless of their gender or disability, safely and confidentially raise their concerns.
For that reason, UNRWA is seeking a consultant to work across and with all Fields: **
· To develop an Agency-wide Child Safeguarding policy; and**
· To design of a child sensitive complaint mechanism in UNRWA schools. **
All policies, complaint mechanisms and guidelines will be developed taking into account the particular challenges and sensitivities of the context in which UNRWA operates and include cross-cutting issues such as disabilities and gender.**
The consultant will report administratively to the Director of Education and will work closely with the AVAC Coordinator.
DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
He/she and will have the following duties and responsibilities:
Task **
Deliverable
Duration
1.
Conduct a thorough desk review of existing UNWRA child safety practices and procedures (HQ and Field), building on work previously conducted in the Agency. Review other relevant child safeguarding policies and frameworks, including in relation to children with disabilities.**
An inception report
10 days*
2.
Inventorize needs, risks and gaps in in existing child safety practices and procedures in UNWRA installation with staff from relevant departments at HQ and Field level.**
15 days*
3.
Develop a Child Safeguarding Policy in close collaboration with relevant UNWRA departments and fields.
Draft Child Safeguarding Policy
20 days*
4.
Develop child friendly and accessible complaint mechanism for UNWRA schools and installations
Draft child friendly complaint mechanism
20 days*
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
· Bachelor degree from an accredited educational institute
· A minimum of 10 years of professional work experience in the field of child protection with demonstrated experience in Child Safeguarding and/or Child Protection policy and practice
· A minimum of two years of experience of implementing child safeguarding in organizational settings
· Fluency in spoken and written English
· A profound knowledge of the Middle East & North Africa region, Palestine refugees and UNRWA, including a culturally conversant attitude in social relationships of the region.
· At least two continuous years of relevant international experience outside the country of which the candidate is a national or holds citizenship, a passport or national identity card.
· Independent, well-organized, and strong initiative.
COMPETENCIES
· Planning and Organizing
· Creating and Innovating
· Adapting and Responding to Change
· Learning and Searching
· Relating and Networking
DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS
· Fluency in spoken and written Arabic
· A Master degree from an accredited education institute
CONDITIONS OF SERVICE
• Expected start date is 15 December 2021. The duration of the consultancy is until 28 February 2022 (extendable according to performance and availability of funds).
• The consultant will mainly be working with colleagues at UNRWA HQ.
• The consultancy will be deliverable based, and payments will be released on instalments upon satisfactory receipt of agreed deliverables according to the work plan. Renumeration based on P-4 level.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Applicants should submit a CV and cover letter demonstrating clearly the knowledge and experience required to meet the consultancy requirements, an overview of the intended approach, methodology and proposed output (max. 2 pages), proposed fee per day and an example of previous work completed in this area via consultancy@unrwa.org indicating the title of this consultancy “**AVAC** Child Safeguarding Consultant” in the subject line and field/country of applicant of the message.
The deadline for the submission of applications is 15 November 2021.
UNRWA encourages applications from qualified women. Only those applicants shortlisted for interview will be contacted. UNRWA is a non-smoking environment.
21 October 2021
[1] United Nations General Assembly, Report of the independent expert for the United Nations study on violence against children, 29.08.2006, A/61/299, p.5.
[2] Global Partnership to End Violence against Children, Strategy 2016-2020, p.4.
[3] UNICEF, 2005.
[4] Stopler 2007; Njelesani et al. 2018.
[5] UNICEF 2005; also see Ellery et al. 2011; Rosenthal 2009.
How to apply
APPLICATION PROCESS
Applicants should submit a CV and cover letter demonstrating clearly the knowledge and experience required to meet the consultancy requirements, an overview of the intended approach, methodology and proposed output (max. 2 pages), proposed fee per day and an example of previous work completed in this area via consultancy@unrwa.org indicating the title of this consultancy “**AVAC** Child Safeguarding Consultant” in the subject line and field/country of applicant of the message.
The deadline for the submission of applications is 15 November 2021.
UNRWA encourages applications from qualified women. Only those applicants shortlisted for interview will be contacted. UNRWA is a non-smoking environment.