Consultant for the Revision of the Alternative Care in Emergencies (ACE) Toolkit

Consultant for the Revision of the Alternative Care in Emergencies (ACE) Toolkit 

• Contract Type: Consultancy (Individual Contractor) 

• Lead Agency: International Rescue Committee (IRC) 

• In collaboration with: Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action (the Alliance); Unaccompanied and Separated Children Task Force (UASC TF) 

• Level of Effort: 40 working days 

• Period: May 2026 – September 2026 (approximately 4–5 months) 

• Location: Home-based, global scope with virtual engagement 

1. Background  

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a global humanitarian and development organization that responds to the world’s most severe humanitarian crises. The IRC works to save lives, protect rights, and support recovery for people affected by conflict and disaster. As a global technical leader in child protection, the IRC delivers direct programming, strengthens national child protection systems, and contributes to global standard‑setting, evidence generation, and learning. The IRC is a co‑lead of the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action and plays a central role in advancing inter‑agency guidance, minimum standards, and tools to improve outcomes for children in humanitarian settings. 

The Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action (the Alliance) is a global inter‑agency network co‑led by UNICEF and rotating NGOs, currently the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Hurras. The Alliance brings together UN agencies, NGOs, governments, academics, and donors to strengthen the quality, consistency, and accountability of child protection responses in humanitarian contexts. Its work includes standard‑setting and guidance development, capacity strengthening, learning, evidence generation, and advocacy. One of the Alliance’s technical platforms is the Unaccompanied and Separated Children Task Force (UASC TF), which provides global leadership on responses for children deprived of parental care in emergencies. IRC currently co-leads UASC TF together with Save the Children. 

The Alternative Care in Emergencies (ACE) Toolkit (2013), originally developed by the predecessor of the UASC TF: the Interagency Working Group on Unaccompanied and Separated Children (IAWG-UASC), has served for more than a decade as a foundational inter-agency resource guiding practitioners in planning, implementing, and monitoring emergency alternative care responses. Recent global developments - including protracted crises, mass displacement, increased mixed migration flows, scaling community-based protection systems, evolving data protection standards, digital case management, and strengthened global guidance on preventing family separation - have created an urgent need for a comprehensive update of the toolkit. In 2025, the UASC Task Force commissioned the Alternative Care Survey to gather practitioner and agency insights regarding gaps, relevance, and user needs related to the ACE Toolkit. Building on these inputs, IRC seeks a consultant to lead the technical revision of the ACE Toolkit. 

2. Purpose of the Consultancy 

To lead the revision of the Alternative Care in Emergencies Toolkit, ensuring that it: 

• Reflects current evidence, and best practices 

• Responds to findings from the ACE Survey 2025 

• Aligns with inter-agency guidance (e.g. CPMS, Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, child safeguarding standards, community-based child protection frameworks) 

• Integrates practitioner needs and contextual realities across diverse humanitarian settings 

• Remains accessible, operational, modular, and adaptable for field practitioners and government stakeholders 

• Streamline existing annexes towards potential consolidation and reduction. 

3. Scope of Work 

The consultant will be responsible for delivering a streamlined, technically robust version of the ACE Toolkit. Key tasks include: 

3.1 Inception & Planning (5 days) 

• Review relevant materials, including: 

• The ACE Toolkit (2013) 

• ACE Survey 2025 results 

• Existing tools annexes and templates 

• Field Handbook on Unaccompanied and Separated Children (UASC), and Toolkit on Unaccompanied and Separated Children (UASC) 

• Latest global and inter-agency guidance including the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, CPMS and key resources, such as those from the Alliance, UNICEF, UNHCR, GPC, key INGO guidance and academic publications 

• Develop an inception note with: 

• Annotated outline of revised toolkit 

• Methodology and revision approach 

• Identification of tools to retire, replace, or update 

• Workplan and timeline for 40 consultancy days 

3.2 Revision of Core ACE Guidance (20 days)  

• Revise and, where necessary, rewrite and reorganize the ACE Toolkit, ensuring: 

• Up-to-date evidence, terminology, and standards 

• Integration of updated case management tools and practices (aligned with IM principles and BIP) 

• Practical, user-friendly structure with clear steps and flow diagrams 

• Stronger emphasis on: 

• Community-led and culturally grounded care models 

• Localization and capacity sharing 

• Integration with national child protection systems 

• Disability inclusion in alternative care, gender, and intersectionality 

• Safer digital practices, data protection, and interoperability 

• Safeguarding in emergency placements 

• Ensure alignment with survey feedback on language, accessibility, and usability. 

3.3 Revision of Tools and Templates (5 days) 

• Review all existing tools in the original toolkit (over 60) and: 

• Propose to the ACE Task Team the tools that should be updates/removed/added. Based on the feedback received:  

• Update relevant ones 

• Remove outdated ones 

• Add new tools and templates based on practitioner requests 

• Ensure tools reflect current standards for assessment, monitoring, reunification, caregiver support, reporting, and safeguarding 

• Produce consistent formatting, instructions, and version control. 

Consultation & Validation (5 days) 

• Collaborate closely with the UASC Task Force, most importantly the ACE Task Team, IRC technical leads and the Alliance leadership in reviewing the revised content and incorporating feedback based on consensus. 

• Participate in monthly technical review sessions of the ACE Task Team to present progress, gather feedback, and adjust content;  

• Organize a final consultation workshop 

• Incorporate broad inter-agency feedback from at least one wider consultation round (written or virtual workshop). 

3.5 Finalization (5 days) 

• Produce a finalized ACE Toolkit, including: 

• Full narrative text 

• Updated tools annex 

• Implementation guidance and roll-out recommendations, including for capacity strengthening through the Alliance 

• Clear cross-referencing and user navigation 

• Provide a stand-alone Executive Summary and Quick Reference Guide. 

• Submit clean and tracked-change versions of all outputs. 

4. Deliverables 

Throughout deliverables should take into account feedback from the ACE TT and other relevant actors and sources:  

Description Detailed outline, methodology, workplan 

5. Consultant Profile 

Required: 

• Minimum 10 years’ experience in child protection in humanitarian setting 

• Proven expertise and experience directly implementing alternative care and UASC programming in humanitarian contexts. 

• Proven experience working at global or inter‑agency level, including engagement with UN agencies, NGOs, and coordination mechanisms. 

• Demonstrated authorship of technical guidance, toolkits, global standards, or policy documents 

• Strong familiarity with the ACE Toolkit, UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action (CPMS). UASC Handbook and toolkit, IM, BIP and data protection 

• Demonstrated experience in synthesizing diverse feedback cohesively  

• Excellent writing and facilitation skills 

• Ability to produce practical field guidance 

• Ability to integrate equity, disability inclusion, and adolescent‑specific considerations into technical guidance. 

• Demonstrated ability to manage work independently, deliver to deadlines, and balance technical ambition with realistic scope and time constraints. 

• Ability to work collaboratively and respectfully within an inter‑agency, consensus‑driven environment. 

Desirable: 

• Prior involvement in the ACE Toolkit or Alliance working groups 

• Experience working in multiple emergency contexts 

• Experience with participatory research or large-scale consultation processes 

• Knowledge of a second UN language. 

6. Management & Coordination 

• The consultant will be contracted and managed by the IRC 

• Core technical oversight will be provided by the UASC Task Force Co-Leads, ACE Technical Task Team, IRC 

• Additional consultation with UNICEF and other key stakeholders as required. 

7. Payment Structure 

Payment will be based on successful completion of deliverables, as agreed during the hiring process. 

8. Ethical, Safeguarding & Data Protection Requirements 

The consultant must adhere to: 

• IRC safeguarding policy 

• Data protection standards consistent with IRC, UNICEF, UNHCR 

• Do no harm principles, confidentiality, and safe handling of case examples 

9. Application Process 

Interested consultants should submit: 

• CV 

• Two samples of relevant technical writing 

• Proposed daily rate 

• Brief (1page) technical approach outlining methodology for toolkit revision