International Consultancy to Develop the Academic Course for Preparation of Youth Workers

The proposed consultancy assignment is to support the Government – with the lead role to be assigned to the Ministry of Youth and Sport and the selected academia - with the establishment of an academic/educational platform for preparation and accreditation of qualified youth policy specialists and adolescent/youth workers.

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Purpose of the Assignment

The proposed consultancy assignment is to support the Government – with the lead role to be assigned to the Ministry of Youth and Sport and the selected academia - with the establishment of an academic/educational platform for preparation and accreditation of qualified youth policy specialists and adolescent/youth workers.

The selected consultant/organisation is expected to develop a normative framework, curriculum, as well as tools, such as teachers’ guide and students’ book, for the academic course.

 Based on the preliminary agreement with the Government, the new academic course will be institutionalized under the auspices of the Government-selected academia/higher education institution that will commit to prepare and accredit youth policy specialists as well as adolescent/youth workers to implement practical aspects of youth policy through provision of youth-friendly services.  

 The current assignment will also need to be closely aligned with and contribute to another Government-requested and UNICEF-led process of developing the guidelines for social work and capacity building for social workers in order to ensure synergies and complementarity of the two processes. It will imply detailed discussions and brainstorming with the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population as well as the international and national experts leading the effort.

 The consultancy is also expected to include the Government’s considerations vis-à-vis SDG reporting on youth-related indicators and youth participation in the SDGs’ implementation.

Methodology 

Development of an academic course on preparation of youth workers will need to combine two complementary approaches that will target two potential groups of course recipients:

• Pre-service education for individuals preparing to work directly with adolescents and young people to implement the State Youth Policy through public (Youth Houses, Olympic Centres, etc.) and non-governmental (Youth NGOs etc.) platforms and networks.

• In-service training for government employees in charge of further enhancement and operationalisation of the State Youth Policy (Ministry of Youth and Sport, Departments of Youth and Sport, Management of Youth Houses and Olympic Centres, etc.);

   Based on the above consideration, the methodology is expected to envisage the course to be developed at two levels:  

• Level 1: a course that will provide the status of professional youth worker;

• Level 2: a course that will provide the status of youth policy specialist.

   Level 1 programme study areas will have to be identified by the international consultant in close consultation with multiple stakeholders, including key decision makers and adolescents and youth. They may include, but not limited to, adolescent development, diversity, crisis prevention and resilience building, adolescent and youth management, recreational activities, basic counselling theory and practice, health and well-being, group and family work and much more. The course will prepare youth workers as professionals in facilitating change in adolescents and youth while working alongside other professionals including educators, medical and social work professionals, families and communities at large.

   Level 2 programme study areas will mainly aim at introducing the leading international youth policy frameworks and relating those frameworks to the variety of realities from the local regional and national levels; analysing national youth policy concepts and interrogating their main principles (e.g. evidence-informed, participatory and cross-sectorial) and approaches (e.g. youth rights, youth needs and youth well-being with application of gender and disability lenses); facilitate the shaping of manageable strategies for operationalisation of the youth policy.

 The methodology should specifically detail eligibility criteria and entry requirements for both levels as well as make a recommendation with regards to validation and accreditation mechanisms and structures necessary to be in place to grand the status of a qualified youth worker and to ensure that the degree reflects the current demands of the role and that the course delivers a suitable level of work experience too.

 Special focus will need to be placed on peculiarities of working with following groups:

• 10-14 year-old adolescents;
• Out-of-school adolescents;
• Disadvantaged, vulnerable and marginalised adolescents, such as adolescent girls, adolescent with disabilities, and adolescents in contact with law.

 Desk review of the existing documents:

 Data and information will be provided and reviewed from existing international frameworks, state youth policy related documents, and programme documents to inform the design of the academic course and its practical implementation. It includes but is not limited to:

• Convention on the Rights of the Child;
• Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;
• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women;
• UNICEF Azerbaijan Country Programme Document 2016-2020;
• "Azerbaijan 2020 Look Into The Future” Development Concept;
• 2015-2025 State Youth Development Strategy;
• National Education Development Strategy of Azerbaijan;
• The Law on Youth Policy of the Azerbaijan Republic;
• 2017-2021 State Youth Programme;
• Technical Rules for the Youth Houses;
• Baku-2015 Adolescent Declaration on Safe and Inclusive Sport;
• UNICEF CEE-CIS Regional Strategy and Theory of Change on ‘An Adolescent's Right to a Second Chance’;

 Three in-country visits:

 The first in-country visit will be carried out at the beginning of the consultancy to clarify the expectations from the academic course as well as further practical implications and thus inform its design and content. Inception meetings will be held  with the main stakeholders, such as the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Department of Youth Policy and Sport issues of the Presidential Administration, Public Administration Academy or/and other education institution to be identified by the Government, Youth Houses, Youth Foundation, UN Youth Advisory Council, lead youth NGOs and youth networks, etc.

 The second country visit will aim to present the draft course curriculum and tools to the Government and conduct a pre-test. The consultant is expected to provide an introduction training to the specialists/professors of the selected academic institution who will support the pre-test and, upon finalization of the package, apply the curriculum by delivering the course to students. As part of the training, the consultant will facilitate a master class to demonstrate the use of the course curriculum and tools, guide local specialist/professionals on how to conduct the pre-test, and collect and analyze the findings and feedback.  After the second visit, the consultant is expected to revise and finalize the curriculum and other tools based on the pre-test.

The third country visit will be paid closer to the end of the assignment to conduct the second round of capacity building for the trainers, share the results from the assessment of the academic course with the Government (MoYS) and support the launch of the revised course package.  During the third visit, the consultant will also devise the next steps for making the course work at a large scale and if a study visit to learn from the selected best international practices is planned by that time – provide technical support for its preparation.     

 Key deliverables:

 Key deliverable of the consultancy will include development of the normative framework, curriculum, as well as tools, such as teachers’ guide and students’ book, for the academic course; provision of robust capacity building for the specialists of the selected academic institution; designing and overseeing the assessment of the course modelling and provision of recommendations for its scaling up to the Government. The consultant is also expected to explore the possibility of adding innovative components to the course design, for instance the use of new technology for the course delivery.

Assignment Tasks and Expected Deliverables

To develop the academic course for preparation of youth workers, the selected institution/individual will work closely with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Department of Youth Policy and Sport Issues of the Presidential Administration, UNICEF, Public Administration Academy and other relevant stakeholders, Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population and others. The selected institution/individual will perform the following actions as listed below: 

The consultant is expected to start within one week after selection and complete all the tasks by 30 September 2018. The total number of working days is expected to be approximately 75.

Qualifications of Successful Candidate

The consultancy is open to both individual and institutional international applicants. The core competencies of the consultant/leading researcher of the institution are the following:

• Advanced university degree in the Social Sciences.
• Robust knowledge of adolescent and youth programming and/or social work.
• Proven experience of developing academic training courses related to work with adolescents and young people.
• A minimum of 8 years of experience in youth programming and/or youth policy development
• Good understanding of human rights based approach to programming and results based management principles.
• Proven expertise on child rights and social inclusion. Knowledge of global policies and development frameworks on adolescents and youth will be an added benefit.
• Familiarity with UNICEF's mission and mandate. Experiences of working with UNICEF/UN and working in the CEE/CIS region will be an added benefit.

 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.

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