Consultancy: Gender Based Violence Capacity Building Expert, Athens, Greece (4 months)

UNICEF is seeking a GBV expert to help strengthen GBV prevention and protection response components of ongoing child protection services for at risk-groups and survivors, with a focus on refugee and migrant women and children including adolescent girls and boys.

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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.

Background:

Greece is the major point of entry into Europe for refugees and migrants fleeing conflicts, with an estimated million migrants and refugees arriving in the country since January 2015. During 2016 alone, some 37% of refugees and migrants were children, including an over 2,O00 unacompanied children (UAC), who face grave protection risks, including trafficking, exploitatoin and abuse. As border closures and restrictions in Europe tightened in early 2016, refuges and migrants faced an unforeseen extended stay in Greece while waiting for their asylum claims to be processed. As of March 2017, an estimated 60,000 refugees and migrants are situated across the islands and mainland Greece.

UNICEF also responds to the needs of refugees and migrants in Bulgaria, Slovenia, Serbia, Italy and Germany by strengthening protection standards and child rights monitoring, building capacity of frontline service provider and supporting development of SOPs and referral pathways for survivors seeking health, legal and psychosocial care.  GBV in emergencies programmes are complimented by measures to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse.

Many refugee and migrants (including women and children) may have been exposed to various forms of Gender Based Violence (GBV) either in their country of origin, first asylum, along the journey to or inside Greece.  As populations stay longer inside the country, reported incidents of GBV are on the rise - due in part to increased opportunities to identify cases. Risks of GBV are expected to increase as affected populations inside Greece face an uncertain future and resources to support themselves and their families are depleted. Unaccompanied minors – most of them boys - are exposed to specific risks as a result of their status and limited services available to protect and support them.

A GBV rapid assessment carried out by UNICEF in June 2016 found that while other forms of GBV are known to be occurring across the refugee and migrant community in Greece (including trafficking, transactional sex, early marriage), service providers have identified domestic violence against women and children as the most commonly occurring and/or reported form of GBV. Severe psychosocial stress is common among affected populations, as are reports of physical and sexual abuse, sexual harassment and sexual assault. Furthermore, women and girls have had limited access to sexual and reproductive healthcare, leading to unplanned pregnancy and increased health complications for both mother and baby.[1] The high level of frustration felt by refugees waiting for progress on their asylum applications is often compounded by a sense of economic disempowerment, and a lack of activities to facilitate both resilience building and investment in longer-term integration.  This places pressure on and within families, which can, in some cases, compound domestic violence.

National services and capacities to prevent and respond to GBV are overstretched and not well adapted to meet the linguistic and cultural needs of a mixed refugee and migrant population. Significant cultural, language, and administrative barriers prevent refugee and migrant survivors from accessing GBV response services in the country.  Despite growing efforts, GBV response services for refugee and migrant survivors remain very limited, and GBV remains neither prioritized nor high on the agenda for the response. Frontline workers may not have the tools or experience to properly assess and deal effectively with the gender-specific needs of this population. There is a significant need for gender, GBV awareness, sensitization and capacity building.

In March, 2017, the General Secretariat for Gender Equality (GSGE) Launched its national plan – this includes three key actions related to refugee and migrant populations: (1) Strengthening gender aspects of law and public policies related vulnerable groups; (2) strengthening targeted GSGE policies to protect against multiple discrimination and specific categories of discrimination, (3) ensuring equality and reducing discrimination for women facing multiple discrimination.  Furthermore, Greece has been selected as a priority country for inter-agency rollout of the IASC Gender-based Violence Guidelines and initial trainings will take place in April/May 2017.

UNICEF’s overall multi-sectoral response in Greece aims to ensure that protection, care and support is assured for refugee and migrant women and children inside Greece including through the provision of integrated technical assistance and service delivery support, and a complementary focus on systems building and advocacy. Child Protection is one of the core pillars of UNICEF’s response in Greece, and within this, GBV prevention and response with a specific focus on women and children, including adolescent boys and girls.  In order to make services as safe and accessible as possible, UNICEF Greece is also committed to integrating GBV risk mitigation throughout all sectors of its programming including Education.

Duration:

4 months (18 weeks) starting July 2017

Location:

Based in Athens, Greece, with frequent travel throughout country as well as to countries in the region for Regional level support.

Purpose:

Under the supervision of Chief Child Protection, P4, with technical reporting to Regional Adviser GBV, UNICEF is seeking a GBV expert to help strengthen GBV prevention and protection response components of ongoing child protection services for at risk-groups and survivors, with a focus on refugee and migrant women and children including adolescent girls and boys. This will include strengthening the GBV response capacity of existing child- and family focused refugee protection interventions, as well as strengthening the capacity of government-run local level GBV services to respond to the particular needs of refugee and migrant women and children including, adolescent girls and boys. In addition, the post will support protection mainstreaming in education programming in Greece.

In Greece, the GBV expert will work in complement to ongoing capacity building work being undertaken by UNICEF team in country on education and child protection (for example, training has been carried out with front line workers on the identification and referral of persons with heightened GBV protection risks). The expert may also build on the tools developed through the SGBV sector working group, including GBV SOPs and referral pathways.

Finally, the GBV expert will provide technical support to GBViE programming in other European and Balkans programmes, with discrete deliverables, as time allows.

Major duties and responsibilities

1. Compile a package of existing tools on child- and youth-focused GBV prevention activities and adapt to the Greek context for easy reference and dissemination to implementing partners.
2. Support the design and delivery of GBV prevention activities in UNICEF areas of operation including in the context of ongoing child protection programs, such as child and family support hubs, UASC shelters.
3. Build capacity of teachers and other front line workers (including social workers) attached to non-formal learning centres on GBV risk mitigation. This includes promoting prevention activities and identifying and referring individuals with heightened GBV protection risks, including adolescent girls and boys.
4. Develop guidance note on GBV for educators and related training module in line with GBV guidance and SOPs developed in country.
5. Strengthen the GBV component of Mother Baby Corner SOPs developed in the context of the Child and Family Support Hubs.
6. Support other UNICEF sectors (Education, Nutrition etc.) to integrate elements of GBV risk mitigation into their programming, in-line with the IASC Guidelines on Integrating Gender-based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Action (GBV Guidelines)
7. Working through the Network for Children on the Move, improve understanding and monitoring of emerging GBV risks facing children, including adolescent girls and boys (as well as their caregivers). The GBV risks include domestic violence, sexual exploitation and abuse, trafficking for sexual exploitation and survival sex as part of UNICEF’s core role to monitor the violations of child rights.
8. Provide GBV technical support with review of GBV protection systems and capacity building in European and Balkans programmes, as requested.

Key Deliverables

1. A reference toolkit/package of existing child and youth focused GBV prevention activities compiled and adapted for the Greek context, to be piloted through suitable UNICEF supported child and family support hubs, UASC shelters, or non-formal education settings (week 4).
2. Design and delivery of training on child- and youth-focused GBV prevention programming for key partners working on child protection and education (including in child and family support hubs, mother baby corners, and UASC shelters). (week 4, week 8, week 12)
3. A GBV guidance note and related training module specific to teachers and social workers attached to non-formal education learning centres. (week 8)
4. Monitoring tool on GBV risks and realities for children on the move (week 6).
5. Create and/or revise key documents and tools from other UNICEF programmatic sectors to ensure integration of GBV risk mitigation, including any necessary follow-up from the inter-agency rollout of the IASC GBV Guidelines (such as defining UNICEF’s concrete commitments within sectoral action plans). (week 10)
6. Review of Germany minimum protection guidelines for reception centers and provide technical inputs for capacity building measures in Italy and programme development in Bulgaria. (weeks 16-18)
7. Monthly progress reports (monthly)

Payment Schedule:

Payment will be made on a monthly basis, based on deliverables and submission of monthly progress reports to UNICEF by the consultant, upon approval by the UNICEF Greece Country Coordinator. Monthly progress reports will be brief, produced in English and summarize key activities, achievements and challenges faced during the reporting period, priorities for the next reporting period, highlighting any support needs from or recommendations for UNICEF

Management and Reporting

• The GBV expert will be contracted by UNICEF with a view to supporting key partners. 
• For Greece based activities, the incumbent will report for Chief Child Protection, P4, UNICEF Greece; with technical reporting line to Regional Adviser GBV P5
• Elements of the expert’s role related to training and capacity building will be carried out in close cooperation with Child Protection Specialist leading on capacity building for UNICEF in Greece.

Minimum Qualification and Experience

• Experience developing GBV prevention programs with a focus on children and adolescents, including adolescent boys.
• Experience in addressing GBV issues in a multi-cultural environment with a view to supporting the adaptation and increased accessibility of services.
• Experience carrying out applied capacity building of front line workers identification, assessment and referral of GBV cases
• Knowledge of key standards and resources on GBV in emergencies, including the IASC GBV Guidelines.
• Advanced professional university or technical degree in Social Work, Gender Studies, or other field related social/humanitarian sciences.
• At least 8 years professional experience working on gender based violence, including with refugee and migrant populations in displacement and integration contexts.
• Ability to work through networking and partnership.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a multi-cultural environment and establish harmonious and effective working relationships.
• Ability to work with professionals from other disciplines to deliver collaborative assessment results strengthening the quality of care provided.  
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively. 

• UNICEF experience preferred, with a combination of UN/NGO work in GBV humanitarian assistance required.

How to Apply:

Please indicate your availability and monthly rate (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference above. Applications submitted without a 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 organisation.