The consultancy to support the Ministry of Health, the Min-ry of Labour and Social Protection, the Min-ry of Education in review and improvement of existing policies and standards in support of social work for children with the focus on quality assurance

The UNICEF Office in Kazakhstan is looking for an International Consultant to support the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, the Ministry of Education in review and improvement of existing policies and standards in support of social work for children with the focus on quality assurance components

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you.

For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

Purpose of the Assignment: to review and contribute to improvement of existing policies and standards in support of social work for children with the focus on quality assurance components.

Specific objectives are:

1. to identify gaps in existing policies and standards in support of social work in health, social protection and education with the focus on quality assurance components and child rights (definitions, ratio of social workers, case management, supervision, gate-keeping and referrals) in line with international standards and provide recommendations for improvement;
2. to map out existing guides, tools and instructions that support the quality of social work;
3. to review the quality of draft forms guiding the social workers in health, education, social welfare, courts and probation in needs assessment, family plans and closing the cases and provide recommendations for unified format.  

Activities:

1.1 Identify the gaps in existing policies:

• conduct the desk review of recent studies, reviews on social work, social protection and specialised social services with the focus on legislative gaps that have been mapped out in relation to quality assurance of case management, supervision, referrals and gate-keeping in the best interest of the child, collect and classify them into one chapter of the report;
• review the existing policies (the provisional list is enclosed) with the focus on social work development in health, education and social protection, specifically on how quality assurance components are presented in service provision in a) planning b) implementation, c) performance assessment, d) pre-service and in-service training curriculum

1.2 Map out the gaps in standards:

• review the following documents:
• a. social services standards with the focus on social work quality assurance and ratio of social workers per number of population;
• b. qualification requirements for social workers, staff performing the functions of social work;
• c. job descriptions of social workers and specialists performing the functions of social work in health, education and social welfare;
• d. forms guiding the social workers in needs assessment, family plans and closing the cases.
• conduct interviews with the managers and social workers in health, education and social welfare and identify the bottlenecks that they face in implementation of the standards and delivery of social work. The bottlenecks could be built around main system determinants (enabling environment, demand, supply, quality);
• map out existing tools, guides and instructions that support social workers in delivery of social services;
• prepare a set of recommendations for improvement of standards.

2.1. Support the improvement of standards and forms for assessment of the family needs across sectors:

• prepare a list of provisions for inclusion into the legislative amendments (policy recommendations) in support of number of social workers, quality assurance of case management, supervision, gate-keeping and referrals;
• present the international experience and the format for assessing the needs of children/family;
• review the draft forms currently being developed under the model services in health, justice, education and social protection;
• provide recommendations for unified format of the forms across the sectors;
• participate in the policy discussions at the meetings with the government bodies and NGOs and present the findings and recommendations.

 The international consultant will work with the national consultant (hired by UNICEF office separately) on access to key informants and data sources.

 Assignment Tasks and Expected Deliverables:

Qualifications of Successful Candidate:

International consultant, PhD (social science, law, social work)

• Minimum 7 years work experience in child rights related fields, including child social protection and social work;
• Good knowledge on child rights, social work standards, social protection services and current political and social trends and social reform processes in CEE and/or CIS countries;
• Knowledge on recent international trends in social work development and policy improvement;
• Experience in conducting the legislative research with the practical application component;
• Ability to develop research questions;
• Very good communication and presentation skills with government and community members;
• High analytical and conceptual skills and ability;
• Fluency in English (written and spoken), knowledge of Russian and Kazakh is an asset;
• Ability to work within the international and multicultural environment;
• Good knowledge of computer applications.

To view our competency framework, please click here. 

Please indicate your ability, availability and daily/monthly rate (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference above (including travel and daily subsistence allowance, if applicable).  Applications submitted without a daily/monthly rate will not be considered.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organization.

 Additional information.docx