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National Consultancy to provide support to International Expert for the Operationalisation of the Family and Child Support Centres in Tajikistan

Dushanbe

  • Organization: UNICEF - United Nations Children’s Fund
  • Location: Dushanbe
  • Grade: Consultancy - Consultant - Contractors Agreement
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Children's rights (health and protection)
  • Closing Date: Closed

The purpose of this assignment is to operationalize the content of the Family and Child Support Centre Regulation, which now focuses on community-based support services for vulnerable families and children with the aim to prevent unnecessary institutionalization of children and promote the right of every child to grow in a safe and supportive family environment. The assignment will be delivered in a very participatory and consultative manner in order to capitalize on the existing capacities and assets, including among NGO partners.

UNICEF works in some of the world's toughest places, to reach the world's most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child,

Background
The average number of children aged 0-4 placed in baby homes in Tajikistan varies approximately between 200 and 300. According to an assessment conducted in 2014, only 3 per cent of the 251 children residing then in all four baby homes in Tajikistan were double orphans. The main reasons for placement were found to be poverty or single parenthood. In other words, young children placed in baby homes are mainly "social orphans" whose families need support services and benefits to be able to care for them and not be forced to resort to institutionalisation.

As part of a Call to Action to end placement of children under three in residential childcare institutions, UNICEF Tajikistan is closely working with the government of Tajikistan to create alternative family-based care options and services to prevent children from being placed in institutions. These initiatives originate from the Regional Ministerial Conference that took place in Bulgaria in 2012, which was attended by a high-level government delegation from Tajikistan.  During the conference, the delegation expressed its commitment to creating more community and alternative family-based care options in Tajikistan to ensure that every child has an opportunity to grow in a safe and supportive family environment.

Setting up family support services is reflected in the Plan of Action of the Government on the implementation of the UN Committee on Economic, Cultural and Social Rights for the period of 2015- 2020, as well as the Plan of Action of the Government for implementation of the Concluding Observations of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child for the period of 2018-2022.

Over the years, UNICEF has worked mainly with the Commission on Child Rights under the Government of Tajikistan (CCR), the MOHSPP, selected local authorities, INGO HealthProm, NGO Sarchashma and NGO Hayot dar Oila. The aim was initially to generate evidence on the situation of children living in residential care (e.g. Rapid Assessment on Children in Residential Care, 2014) and to learn from the experience of other countries that successfully developed alternative family care (e.g. study visit to Saint Petersburg in 2015 and study visit to Scotland in 2018). Other areas of work included the piloting of foster care in selected districts in 2015 and 2016 as well as the revision of the Baby Home regulation starting from 2015. During this period, the Government enacted the Law on Child Rights Protection (2015), which provides for family and community-based services for vulnerable children, including foster care.

How can you make a difference?

OBJECTIVE:

The purpose of this assignment is to operationalise the content of the Family and Child Support Centre Regulation, which now focuses on community-based support services for vulnerable families and children with the aim to prevent unnecessary institutionalisation of children and promote the right of each child to grow in a safe and supportive family environment. The assignment will be delivered in a very participatory and consultative manner in order to capitalise on the existing capacities and assets, including among NGO partners.

The specific objectives of this assignment are as follows:

- Provide input to the overall situation analysis of the “Baby Homes” or Family and Child Support Centres in the country in light of the new changes brought about by the revised regulation, as may be required;

-  Assist in developing a detailed roadmap for the incremental implementation of the Family and Child Support Centre Regulation, listing the planned activities and timeframe, as may be required;

-  Contribute to the development of new job descriptions for the staff of the Family and Child Support Centres in light of the new duties they will be expected to perform as per the Family and Child Support Centre Regulation, as may be required;

-  Assist in developing guidelines, standard operating procedures (SOPs) and other operational tools, as may be required, for the effective functioning of the Family and Child Support Centres;

-  Contribute to conducting training needs assessment of all staff working in the Family and Child Support Centres and other concerned stakeholders (e.g. Child Rights Units officers and existing family support workers) and to developing a training plan for the effective implementation of the Family and Child Support Centre Regulation;

-  Map out all relevant role players around the Family and Child Support Centres and assist in devising and pre-testing a strong gatekeeping mechanism, with clear referral pathways, to be used by the Family and Child Support Centres and other concerned stakeholders (e.g. CRU officers) to prevent unnecessary institutionalization of young children;

-  Building on existing tools whenever relevant, provide input for the development and pre-testing of one uniform methodology for carrying out individual systematic child assessments and case reviews to be used in all four Family and Child Support Centres. The assessments should be child-centred, evidence-based, rooted in child development, and focused on the best interests of the child and context of the child, as well as on maintaining or restoring contacts between the child and the family;

-  Assist in developing and pre-testing one uniform procedure and tools for gathering and analysing data, including information on the family background and other socio-economic factors to allow for better understanding of the drivers of child institutionalization;

-  Assist with communication (written and oral) between the international expert and national stakeholders. *Within the partnership between MOHSPP, UNICEF, HealthProm and its local associates, HealthProm and its associates (i.e. Hayot da Oila, Iroda and Sarchashma) will be responsible for the training and mentoring of Family and Child Support Centres staff. The international consultant may be required to co-facilitate some of the training events if deemed necessary.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

The main deliverables of the assignment are as follows:

1.  Relevant and quality input provided in a timely manner to ensure brief situation analysis is conducted, which identifies the opportunities and challenges in operationalising the changes brought about by the revised Baby Home regulation and concrete recommendations are provided (estimated duration: 5 days);

2.  Quality and timely input provided to the international expert for drawing a detailed roadmap with specific activities, timeframe, required resources, etc. for the incremental transformation of Baby Homes (estimated duration: 5 days);

3.  Quality and timely contribution made to the drafting of new job descriptions of Family and Child Support Centres staff (estimated duration: 5 days);

4.  Quality and timely input provided to the international expert to develop guidelines, SOPs and other operational tools (estimated duration: 5 days);

5.  Quality and timely contribution provided to the international expert for conducting the training needs of the staff and stakeholders and developing the training plan (estimated duration: 5 days);

6.  Mapping of relevant role players around the Family and Child Support Centres is carried out; Input provided for devising and pre-testing a gatekeeping mechanism and referral pathways aimed at preventing institutionalisation of young children (estimated duration: 5 days);

7.  Quality and timely input provided for the development and pre-testing of a uniform methodology to re-assess the child and the family with the aim to develop an exit strategy for each child and to refer the family to other support services (estimated duration: 5 days);

8.  Quality and timely input provided for the development and pre-testing of a uniform procedure and tools for data gathering and analysis for easy reference and use by the Family and Child Support Centres (estimated duration: 5 days);

9.  Communication between the international expert and national stakeholders facilitated (estimated duration: 5 days);

10.  High-quality report produced (estimated duration: 2 days).
 
KEY DELIVERABLES and PAYMENT SCHEDULE:

The assignment will be carried out in 47 days spread over a period ranging from 13 March 2019 to 31 October 2019.

Tasks / Deliverables                         
1. Brief situation analysis, 25 Mar 2019; 2. Detailed roadmap, 15 Apr 2019. Payment schedule: 20%

3. New job descriptions, 3 May 2019; 4. Guidelines, SOPs, etc., 1 Jun 2019; 5. Capacity gap assessment and training plan for capacity building of Family and Child Support Centres staff, 28 Jun 2019. Payment schedule: 30%

6. Mapping exercise related to the gatekeeping mechanism, including referral pathways, 1 Aug 2019; 7. Procedure on child and family assessment, 23 Aug 2019 

8. Data gathering and analysis procedure and tools, 23 Sep 2019. Payment schedule: 30%

9. Completion report with incorporation of UNICEF feedback, 10 Oct 2019. Payment schedule: 20%

Structure of the Report

The completion report to be produced and submitted to UNICEF should be presented in the following format:
- Executive Summary; - Methodology and limitations; - Purpose ; - Findings; - Conclusions ; - Recommendations and follow-up actions.

The Annexes to the report should contain the TORs, data collection instruments and other relevant information, list of documents reviewed, list of stakeholders consulted during the assignment, tools and other formats developed. The report should be provided in English in both hard and soft copies.

The evaluation of the results will be based on:
1. Technical and professional competence (quality of the products delivered to UNICEF);
2. Scope of work (e.g. No. of meetings with the stakeholders);
3. Quality of work (quality of methodology, draft and final report);
4. Quantity of work (completing the tasks indicated in the table above within the set timeframe)

In addition, such indicators as work relations, responsibility, drive for results, and communication will be taken into account during the evaluation of the Consultant's work

Estimated duration of contract and remuneration: The total duration of the assignment will be seven and half (7.5) months (47 working days: On-site working days-approx. 25 days and Off-site working days - approx.22 days) from 13 March to 31 October 2019.

Supervision: The national consultant will work in support of the International Expert and will liaise with the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population (MOHSPP).  She/he will work under the technical guidance of UNICEF Chief Child Protection and the day-to-day supervision of the Child Protection Officer in charge of Child Care.

Reporting to: Chief, Child Protection, UNICEF Tajikistan

Insurances: UNICEF does not provide or arrange life or health insurance coverage for consultants and individual contractors, and consultants and individual contractors are not eligible to participate in the life or health insurance schemes available to United Nations staff members. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for assuming all costs related to required inoculations, vaccinations and medical examinations.  
Consultants and individual contractors are fully responsible for arranging, at their own expense, such life, health and other forms of insurance covering the period of their services as they consider appropriate. The responsibility of UNICEF is limited solely to the payment of compensation for service-incurred death, injury or illness as per the provisions detailed below.

Recourse: UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if work/outputs is incomplete, not delivered or for failure to meet deadlines.

Ethical considerations: Adequate measures should be taken to ensure that the process responds to quality and ethical requirements. The contracted consultant should be sensitive to beliefs, manners, and customs and act with integrity and honesty in their relationships with all stakeholders. It should also protect the anonymity and confidentiality of individual information.

Mandatory trainings: Consultants and individual contractors, regardless of contract duration, must complete the applicable mandatory trainings. The link will be provided during the selection process for the successful candidates.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have¦

Education: Advanced university degree in Social Sciences, Development Studies, Public Policy or any related discipline.
Work Experience: At least five years of work experience in a relevant field. Proven experience in designing and conducting assessments and/or mapping exercises.
Technical Knowledge: Strong knowledge of child rights, child protection system approach and child care system design and reform, social protection and social welfare. Familiarity with rights-based approaches, gender mainstreaming and institutional strengthening concepts.
Competencies: Strong analytical and conceptual thinking. Excellent writing skills. Excellent communication and presentation skills with stakeholders and ability to work under pressure and commitment to work to tight timeframe.

Language: Fluency in English and Tajik or Russian.

EVALUATION PROCESS:
Qualified candidates are requested to submit:
1. Cover letter/application/CV; 2. A technical proposal with proposed methodology/approach to managing the project, showing understanding of tasks; 3. Financial quote for the consultancy in USD per deliverable, stating also the timeframe for completion of deliverable and/or daily rate in USD; 4. Examples of previous, relevant work related to the deliverables; 5. At least 2 References

During the selection, the ratio between the technical evaluation and commercial offer is 70 to 30.

Queries can be sent to: tad-procurement@unicef.org  with subject line “National Consultancy to provide Technical Assistance for the Operationalisation of the Family and Child Support Centres in Tajikistan”.  Applications must be received in the system by 5 March 2019 on our website: http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index.php

Please indicate your availability and rate per deliverable in TJS to undertake the terms of reference above. 

Travel costs and DSA will be covered in accordance with UN rules and regulations. No other remunerations apply. UNICEF considers best value for money as criteria for evaluating potential candidates.  As a general principle, the fees payable to a consultant or individual contractor follow the “best value for money” principle, i.e., achieving the desired outcome at the lowest possible fee. Please note that consultants and individual contractors are responsible for assuming costs for obtaining visas and travel insurance.

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis methodology. The award of the Contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
b) Having received the highest score out of a weighted set of technical and financial criteria.* Technical Criteria weight - 70%;* Financial Criteria weight - 30%;

TECHNICAL QUALIFICATION (max. 70 points) 70% 70
Overall Response (25 points): 
- Understanding of tasks, objectives and completeness and coherence of response-15
- Overall match between the TOR requirements and proposal-10

Proposed Methodology and Approach (20 points): 

- Quality of proposed approach/methodology-10
- Quality of proposed work plan-10

Technical Capacity (25 points): 

- Advanced university degree in Social Sciences, Development Studies, Public Policy or any related discipline -5
- At least five years of work experience in a relevant field. Proven experience in designing and conducting assessments -5
- Strong knowledge of child rights, child protection system approach and child care system design and reform, social protection and social welfare. Familiarity with rights-based approaches, gender mainstreaming and institutional strengthening concepts-5
- Strong analytical and conceptual thinking. Excellent writing skills. Excellent communication and presentation skills with stakeholders and ability to work under pressure and commitment to work to tight timeframe-5
- Fluency in English and Tajik or Russian-5

FINANCIAL PROPOSAL (max. 30 points) (daily rate, lump sum, per deliverable) 30% 30

TOTAL SCORE (max. 100 points)  

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in Technical Criteria evaluation will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Financial Proposal: Please provide a rate all-inclusive price (in US dollars) for delivery of professional services in accordance with the assignments described under this TOR.

The formula for the rating of the Financial Proposals will be as follows: FP Rating = (Lowest Priced Offer / Price of the Offer Being Reviewed) x 100

For every Child, you demonstrate¦

UNICEF's core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

View our competency framework at http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.
 
Remarks:
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

This vacancy is now closed.
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