The UNICEF Partnership Office in Greece (GPO) is looking for an international consultant to support a SitAn report of Children and Adolescents in Greece and a Programme Framework Document through a participatory process, and using appropriate methodology, a human rights-based approach and an equity focus. If you are a researcher with proven experience in public policy, social policy and policy analysis, public finance and child/human rights, apply!

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Background    

UNICEF became operational in Greece in early 2016 as an out-posted team from the Regional Office of Europe and Central Asia (ECARO) to respond to the significant influx of refugee and migrant children and their families at that time. The response centered on a two-track approach covering direct service delivery as well as national capacity building through critical partnerships with governmental bodies, ministries, local authorities, civil society and NGOs and focused primarily on three main strategic sectors – child protection, education and child rights monitoring. UNICEF interventions aimed at strengthening child rights monitoring, ensuring a protective environment for women and children, promoting alternative community-based care modalities, supporting inclusive education and digital language learning, and more.

In 2020, following a formal invitation from the Greek State and an Exchange of Letters, the UNICEF Partnership Office was established with an expanded mandate to address the needs of all vulnerable children in the country.

The Situation Analysis (the SitAn) of children’s rights and wellbeing is a flagship product designed to inform policy dialogue, partnerships and interventions to improve the lives of children. It is an assessment and analysis of the country situation, with respect to children's rights and critical issues affecting their realization. The SitAn is a crucial part of the child rights monitoring (CRM) framework and represents a key UNICEF programmatic output that helps focus on knowledge gaps related to inequities and child deprivations. By promoting the broad engagement of all stakeholders, the SitAn is expected to inform policy dialogue and child-focused advocacy in the country and to make an important contribution to accelerating the achievement of child-related goals with equity.

The SitAn reflects UNICEF’s role in urging all levels of government and key stakeholders to use the Convention on the Rights of the Child as a guiding mechanism in policy making and legislation to:

• Develop a comprehensive national agenda;
• Develop permanent bodies or mechanisms to promote coordination, monitoring and evaluation of activities throughout all sectors of government;
• Ensure that all legislation is fully compatible with the Convention and, if applicable the Optional Protocols, by incorporating the provisions into domestic law or ensuring that they take precedence in cases of conflict with national legislation;
• Make children visible in policy development processes throughout government by introducing child impact assessments;
• Analyse government spending to determine the portion of public funds spent on children and to ensure that these resources are being used effectively;
• Ensure that sufficient data are collected and used to improve the situation of all children in each jurisdiction;
• Raise awareness and disseminate information on the Convention and the Optional Protocols by providing training to all those involved in government policy-making and working with or for children;
• Involve civil society – including children themselves – in the process of implementing and raising awareness of child rights.

The analysis will provide UNICEF and its partners with robust evidence on the situation of children and adolescents in the country, particularly the most vulnerable, to inform programme decisions and guide policy advocacy and partnership efforts, as well as to track progress around child rights’ implementation.

In view of the above, UNICEF Partnership Office in Greece (GPO) is seeking the services of an international individual consultant to develop the SitAn report using the available evidence while paying due consideration to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda, UNICEF Strategic Plan for 2018-2021, UNICEF Gender Action Plan 2018-2021, and main national and global priorities. UNICEF GPO will provide the consultant with relevant national planning documents and key strategies as additional resource material for consideration during the development of the SitAn.

Building on the SitAn outcomes, the international consultant will work closely with the UNICEF GPO team and relevant counterparts to develop a Programme Framework Document that outlines the key result areas for the office and strategies to achieve them.  The process will be informed by UNICEF’s general resource material on programme development, including quality checklists tools, the Gender Toolkit, and other tools as provided by UNICEF GPO.   

Purpose, Scope and Objectives of the Analysis

Under the direct supervision of the Deputy Representative and the Monitoring Specialist, and under the overall guidance of the Representative, the international consultant will be supported by a national consultant to conduct a human-rights based and equity-focused Situation Analysis of children and adolescents in Greece with respect to the realization of their rights, identify main programme priorities and partnerships, and outline the key strategies for UNICEF GPO.  The analysis should examine the progress, challenges and opportunities for achieving child rights and well-being, and the patterns of deprivation that children and adolescents face.  The Analysis should be objective and verifiable and is expected to be used by all partners and stakeholders in the country in addressing key challenges preventing children and adolescents, especially the most disadvantaged, from enjoying their rights ensured in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and other international obligations of the country. 

The main purpose of the Situation Analysis report is to highlight the strategic priorities needed for the country to reduce disparities and address vulnerabilities, and hence make a contribution to further shape the national development agenda, and to accelerate achievement of national and international development goals regarding children and adolescents, including Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS). It should look critically at the progress that policy and programme interventions have made towards at-scale coverage of all vulnerable groups; the adequacy of policy delivery, particularly in terms of budget; and the resources for leaving no child behind.

The SitAn is expected to present robust evidence and highlight opportunities for socially-inclusive development. It should unpack and examine the bottlenecks to realization of child rights, as well as the interrelated roles of duty-bearer institutions. It should highlight inequalities between groups, socio-economic characteristics, urban/rural and intra-urban disparities, genders, geographic locations and other dimensions. The SitAn should pay special attention to looking at disaggregated data and unpacking national and/or subnational averages. Besides presenting an analysis of why inequities exist, it should also present contextualized recommendations on what could be done by key stakeholders to attain/ sustain inclusive social development that guarantees equal inclusion and participation of all groups of children and adolescents. The SitAn should be grounded in the country’s political, economic and social realities, review progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as regional and global issues that affect children’s rights and well-being. At its core, the SitAn should be focused on national issues but also explore global and regional issues that affect the national agenda. By having a strong equity focus, the SitAn should shed light on the situation of children and young people who are most deprived, left invisible or uncounted for.

The main objectives of a rights- based, equity focused SitAn in Greece are the following:

• Develop a deep understanding of the situation of children and adolescents (including relevant groups of young people in a particularly vulnerable situations) by analysing the policies and strategies, social and economic trends affecting them (data disaggregated by age, gender, urban/rural, ethnicity, socio-economic status and other relevant factors).
• Identify and analyse the barriers and bottlenecks that prevent children and especially the most disadvantaged children and families from benefiting from social services across sectors and enjoying their rights.
• Identify critical data gaps and ways to bridge those.
• Analyse to what extent there is an enabling environment for the realization of the rights of all children and adolescents, and analyse how evidence-based interventions and services needed to address deprivations are prioritized in national policies, laws, strategies, plans and budgets

The Situation Analysis is relevant to a wider audience which includes government bodies, all development partners (including UNICEF), civil society, ombudspersons, children and adolescents, academia, private sector actors, media and others. The process of developing the Situation Analysis therefore anticipates engagement with the government and key stakeholders, including children and young people. It serves as an opportunity to promote meaningful dialogue between the main child rights actors in the country on children’s and adolescents’ issues.

The main objectives of a Programme Framework Document for UNICEF Greece Partnership Office are the following:

• Review all relevant analytical and programmatic documents for the development of the Programme Framework Document.
• Contribute to further granulation of the roadmap for the new process, and propose viable ways / approaches to operationalize it, including the internal and external consultation processes. 
• Plan and facilitate a consultation workshop for relevant key counterparts.
• Prepare the ToC for the various programme components, with the support of programme team, including, when relevant, the conduct of external consultations.  
• Write up the drafts of the Programme Framework Document, including the  results framework. Incorporate feedback provided for each round of the documents consultations.  
• Perform any other task related to the preparation of the new Programme Framework Document.  

Conceptual Framework and Methodology

The consultant should adopt the following indicative framework:

Conceptual framework 

The overall conceptual framework of the situation analysis is the Human Rights-Based Approach to Programming (HRBAP). It should provide an understanding of the existing deprivations and inequities and establish the linkages between the underlying causes and barriers to achieving child rights and well-being. The conceptual framework situates the analysis in the country context and  clearly recognizes the regional and global issues that are impacting children’s lives in the country. Furthermore, it explores the reasons behind the uneven realization of child rights and inequities in well-being, and the opportunities for achieving progress for all children, especially those who are left behind or at greatest risk of being left behind.

Methodology 

The consultant will primarily rely on secondary data analysis.

The analysis must fully consider and articulate disparities related to gender, income, geographic location (national/ regional perspectives) and ethnicity.  The analysis should look across all child rights and identify where there are deprivations.

The methodology and the process of documentation should enable the periodic update of the situation analysis.

The situation analysis report outline should be based on the UNICEF Core Guidance: New Generation Situation Analysis. 

Stages of the consultancy and deliverables (exact time-frame to be agreed with consultant): 

Within the assignment the international consultant will establish partnerships with all relevant stakeholders that can contribute to the SitAn and the Programme Framework Document development. This process will be supported by the UNICEF GPO.

1. Inception phase: 

• Presentation of the conceptual framework and the tools to UNICEF and key stakeholders mapping to facilitate an in-depth common understanding of the framework.

2. Data collection and analysis: 

• In-depth desk-review of existing evidence regarding the situation of children and adolescents. This includes data/information on most disadvantaged and deprived groups of children. National strategies and planning documents, policies and budgets. Relevant data and information on climate issues, energy and environment, gender equality, public financial management, role of the business sector, and the meaningful children and adolescent’s participation should be collected and analysed. This desk review will follow an initial desk review of available data and information conducted by the national consultant during the inception phase.

3. Reporting: 

• Development of draft reports - comprehensive Situation Analysis (to be used by UNICEF, internally) and summary SitAn document[2] - for discussion and validation with UNICEF Office and key partners.  
• Development of final comprehensive reports for internal use.
• Development of a 40-page summary document to be used as an official publication for public distribution.
• Development of Programme Framework Document including key result areas, strategies, monitoring and evaluation modalities, ToC and relevant stakeholders.

Ethical Considerations

Consultants are required to clearly identify any potential ethical issue, as well as the processes for ethical review and oversight of the research/data collection process in their proposal. UNICEF Procedure for Ethical Standards in Research, Evaluation, Data Collection and Analysis can be found at:  https://www.unicef.org/supply/files/ATTACHMENT_IV-UNICEF_Procedure_for_Ethical_Standards.PDF   and should be consistently applied throughout the research process. The procedure contains the minimum standards and required procedures for research, evaluation and data collection and analysis undertaken or commissioned by UNICEF (including activities undertaken by individual and institutional contractors, and partners) involving human subjects or the analysis of sensitive secondary data. 

Key deliverables and time frame

A total of 50 consultancy working days are estimated for this assignment with the following estimated share of days:

All submissions should be electronic. All materials submitted to UNICEF should be delivered in English.

Qualifications and experience :

• Advanced university degree in social sciences, public policy, international development or related fields relevant for the assignment
• At least 5 years of relevant experience in development of analytical reports and policy documents required preferably related to children and adolescents or other relevant area
• Proven experience in  quantitative and qualitative data analysis, policy (and finance) analysis (including experience in the consistent use of age and sex-disaggregated and gender sensitive data) and report preparation is desired
• Experience in   stakeholders and social services mapping
• Knowledge of human rights-based approach to programming
• Experience in facilitating consultations with government representatives, NGOs, academia, children, adolescents and other stakeholders
• Previous experience with UNICEF is an advantage
• Fluency in English required

Contractual arrangements:

• Duration: The contract is expected to last for 50 days during a 3 month period, from 1 September 2020.
• Duty Station: Home Based with possible travel to Athens, Greece.
• Supervision: The assignment is expected to be undertaken by a team of two consultants – one international and one national expert, and is to be led by the international consultant. They will both work in close consultation and under the supervision of UNICEF GPO Monitoring Specialist and the Deputy Representative.
• Travel: The consultant will make his/her own arrangements for the travel. Travel costs (if relevant) should be estimated and included into the proposal (lump sum and break down by budget lines) along with the requested daily fee. Travel costs shall be calculated based on economy class travel; costs for accommodation, meals and incidentals shall not exceed applicable daily subsistence allowance (DSA) rates, as promulgated by the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC).  
• Payment: Two payments are envisaged during this consultancy: 
• First instalment: Upon satisfactory delivery of the final SitAn report (comprehensive and summary report) - 50%
• Second instalment: Upon satisfactory delivery of the final Programme Framework Document – 50%
• 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. All materials developed will remain the copyright of UNICEF and UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify them in the future.

Communication and Dissemination

Based on recommendations from the analysis, UNICEF will create communication strategy for dissemination of findings, conclusions and recommendations.

UNICEF staff members, consultants, contractors and partners will follow the UNICEF Guidance on External Academic Publishing (January 2017) when engaging in publishing the summary 40-page reports of the Situation analysis, whether in print or digital form.

Approval Procedures and Logistics

• Consultants should act with integrity and respect for all stakeholders in line with UNICEF ethical guidelines regarding evidence generation. 
• UNICEF GPO Office holds copyrights for all reports. The documents (including raw materials, etc.) may not be reproduced, distributed or published without the written permission from UNICEF.
• All personal data should be accessible to team members, but no one else. The consultants need to set up secure systems (a) to ensure that other staff within their institutions cannot access their data via the shared staff drives, and (b) to ensure secure data transfer between institutions. Cloud based storage with limited sharing rights could be considered in this instance. Different personal data files need to be link-able, they need to be held separately so that they can only be linked purposely, by researchers who are authorised to do so. There is also a need to ensure that data cannot be removed from secure systems in ways that might compromise data security.
• UNICEF GPO Office will share with the selected consultants all the relevant materials it has and provide required expertise.
• UNICEF GPO will provide administrative support for the work of consultants.
• All information from produced reports cannot be shared with the media without the written approval of UNICEF GPO Office.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) 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 be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

To apply: 

1. Letter of interest, including your approach to the assignment and proposed fees (daily) and travel proposal to undertake the above TOR. Please note that applications without a proposed fee will not be accepted.
2. A CVs and/or Personal history form (downloadable from http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/P11.doc). Alternatively, if a candidate profile in the UNICEF e-Recruitment System is available, you may download it and submit it as part of application.
3. Submit a sample of similar work (in English)

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.