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, protection
How can you make a difference?
Background and Justification :
Parents and families play a significant role in the fulfilment and protection of a child’s right to health, care, education, recreation, and provision of a safe and supportive environment. Nowadays children face many challenges which are a result of social change in society. Overall, illiteracy, unemployment, and household poverty are key factors that contribute to insufficient care and protection of children in Botswana. However, the family structure in Botswana has changed considerably since independence; traditional nuclear and/or extended family structures have been gradually replaced, to a significant extent, by single parent families, in particular, female-headed households. In Botswana, like in other countries, there are many children who are growing up without a father figure in the home which places a burden on most mothers. They raise children alone with meagre resources, and have to parent them alone. This presents challenges to the developmental outcomes of children and adolescents. The 2014 Vital Statistics Report in Botswana shows that 76.1 per cent of births that occurred and were registered in 2014 were born to single mothers, accounting for the largest percentage of all the births. Some single parents with little or no parenting skills and experience often struggle with the responsibility of raising children alone. Other factors that affect children’s upbringing stem from unstable families that face alcohol and drug abuse. In most cases, parents in unstable families have poor parenting skills which lead to poor developmental outcomes for children including problems of sexual, physical and emotional abuse.
The 2016 Violence Against Children Survey (VACS) by Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development found that :
- Among children aged 13-17 years who had ever had sexual intercourse, one in four females (25.1 per cent) and one in twenty males (4.6 per cent) experienced unwanted sex at the time of their sexual debut ;
- Children in Botswana also experience high levels of physical abuse and the VACS shows that 43 per cent of boys and 28 per cent of girls experience physical violence ;
- 14 per cent of both sexes experience emotional violence.
The 2016 Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance Survey by Ministry of Basic Education and CDC among 7,205 students aged between 13-19 years in secondary schools found that :
- 22.3 per cent of students had ever had sexual intercourse ;
- Of the 22.3 per cent sexually experienced students ;
- 13.4 per cent of girls reported having been pregnant and 13.0 per cent of boys reported having impregnated someone ;
- 13.4 per cent reported ever exchanging sex for money, drugs or gifts.
Parenting models are developed and implemented to provide parents with knowledge and skills to raise a child, and provide guidance on positive parenting practices. Parenting models generally cover the life cycle i.e. early child development and adolescence. The aim of positive parenting programmes are to enable parents to improve their children’s general outcomes which include health, protection, cognitive and emotional development. The development of a Botswana specific parenting model forms part of efforts to strengthen the capacity of the Social Services Workforce to support parents in the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse.
The following are some examples of programmes in the Southern African region :
- The Parenting for Lifelong Health (PLH) for Young Children Ages 2 to 9 years and Parenting for Lifelong Health for Parents and Adolescents Ages 10 to 18 years was developed in South Africa by World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and Universities of Cape Town, Oxford and Bangor. The aim of this parenting programme is to reduce the risk of child maltreatment and improve child-wellbeing among low-income, vulnerable families in low and middle-income countries. In South Africa, the Sinovuyo Kids and Teens parenting programmes are implemented in four provinces of Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Limpopo and Kwazulu-Natal. The Department of Social Development and the National Association of Child and Youth Care Workers train and coach facilitators and trainers to take the parenting programme to scale ;
- In Lesotho, the parenting programme is implemented with the involvement of the Catholic Relief Services and 4Children to deliver an HIV-enhanced version of the PLH for Teens with a specific focus on families affected by HIV/AIDS to 30,000 beneficiaries throughout 2016 and 2017. The Clowns without Borders South Africa (CWBSA) has provided training and on-the-ground coaching to 25 trainers and 390 facilitators. In Uganda, with the cooperation of Bantwana Initiative/World Education, CWBSA provided training to 30 trainers and 600 facilitators to deliver PLH for Teens to 20,000 families across Uganda in 2017.
This consultancy is aimed to support Botswana’s development of its own model or adaptation of other models, using examples from other countries as shared above. The scope of the assignment will include, submission of an inception report , consultations with key stakeholders to inform the development of a Botswana specific parenting model and the submission of a final parenting model following inputs from the reference group.
Scope of Work :
- Goal and Objectives :
Working under the supervision of the Child Protection Specialist in UNICEF Botswana Country Office and in close consultation with the Department of Social Protection in the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, the objective of the consultancy is to develop a Botswana Specific parenting model that will be used to educate parents and caregivers on the prevention of sexual, physical and emotional abuse of children in Botswana.
- Activities and Tasks :
The consultancy is expected to take 60 working days spread over 3 months :
- Submit an inception report with a detailed work plan ;
- Examine effectiveness of different approaches to family and parenting support through systematic review of evidence taking into account the design, targeting, inclusiveness, contextual factors and applicability of different models/programmes across different settings ;
- Examine different conceptual understandings and different policy orientations of family and parenting support as a key strategy to promote child and adolescent well-being ;
- Conduct at least 6 consultative meetings in six areas for service providers on parenting to determine elements to be included in the parenting model ;
- Conduct interviews and focus group discussions with key informants from the Department of Social Protection in the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development; Department of Basic Education in the Ministry of Basic Education; Department of Gender Affairs in the Ministry of Nationality, Immigration and Gender Affairs; Department of Public Health and Department of HIV/AIDS and Support Services in the Ministry of Health and Wellness; Ministry of Finance; Civil Society Actors; other development partners and UNICEF programme staff ;
- Use findings from the mapping of parenting models of 2018 to inform the development of the Botswana parenting model, which includes but not limited to positive parenting models that engage both men and women as caring parents and caregivers ;
- Draft and submit the first draft of the design of the Botswana positive parenting model ;
- Submit the final draft of the positive parenting model taking into account comments received on first draft ;
- Develop training tools for the Social Service Workforce based on the parenting model ;
- Consolidate the comments and input from the Technical Working Group into the final report of the Botswana positive parenting model that prevents and responds to sexual, physical and emotional abuse with recommendations on a model that can be adopted or adapted and implemented in Botswana.
Overall, the consultant will be expected to deliver a Botswana Positive Parenting Model that will be used to strengthen the capacity of the Social Service Workforce to support parents to prevent and respond to sexual, physical and emotional abuse
- Work relationships :
The consultant will report to the Child Protection Specialist in the Botswana Country office who works in collaboration with the Department of Social Protection (in particular Family Welfare Division) in the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development. A Technical Working Group will be established to provide technical oversight of the execution of the assignment by the consultant to ensure that there is compliance with the contractual agreements and to approve content.
- Tasks and Timelines:
The consultant will carry out the following tasks :
| Deliverables |
Duration
(Estimated # of days or months)
|
Schedule of payment
|
| Conduct training for the reference group |
1day
|
20%
|
| Conduct a desk review of literature on parenting models on the prevention of SEA
Submit draft inception report with a detailed work plan
Submit final inception report following input from reference group |
9 days
|
| Conduct interviews and focus group discussions with key informants and relevant stakeholders in Botswana on parenting |
15 days
|
60%
|
| Analyse the data and generate preliminary parenting model |
10 days
|
| Develop training tools for the parenting model |
10 days
|
| Submit and present 1st Draft positive parenting model including training tools that supports prevention and response to sexual, physical and emotional abuse of children in Botswana to the TWG |
5 days
|
| Present Final Parenting model to reference group and submit final document with their input |
10 days
|
20%
|
|
60 days
|
100%
|
Administrative issues
The consultant will use his/her own equipment to produce deliverables. Office space will be provided at UNICEF as available and necessary :
- The consultant is expected to work in-country and travel to meet with stakeholders where possible. Timing for visits and planning will be jointly agreed with UNICEF Botswana Country Office. The consultant is required to indicate an all-inclusive fee for this assignment, considering travel in-country travel as applicable. Skype calls with partners and stakeholders to be scheduled based on need ;
- As per UNICEF DFAM policy, payment is made against approved deliverables. No advanced payment is allowed unless exceptions against bank guarantees, subject to a maximum of 30 percent of the total contract value, in cases where advance purchases, for example for supplies or travel maybe necessary ;
- The candidate selected will be governed by and subject to UNICEF’s General Terms and Conditions for individual contracts.
In addition :
- Consultants are not entitled to payment of overtime. All remuneration must be within the contract agreement ;
- No contract may commence unless the contract is signed by both UNICEF and the consultant or Contractor ;
- Consultant will be required to complete online courses related to Ethics, Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and Security related trainings prior to taking up the assignment and/or travel ;
- Consultant will be required to sign the Health Statement for consultants/individual contractor prior to taking up the assignment, and to share an appropriate proof of health insurance covering COVID-19, including Medical Evacuation.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
- At least a Master’s Degree in Psychology, Social Work, Social Sciences or any other related field ;
- At least 5 years’ experience of work relating to child protection with knowledge of violence against children especially sexual exploitation and abuse of children ;
- Understanding and application of UNICEF mandates and principles of human rights, equity and gender integration analysis ;
- Knowledge of Child Protection Programmes in the Botswana ;
- Analytical, methodical and precise style of writing and presentation skills in English are essential ;
- Advanced institutional knowledge and networks in the Southern Africa region.
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.
The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…
[insert competencies]
To view our competency framework, please visit here.
Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.
How to Apply :
Qualified candidates are requested to complete an application including profile to the respective advertisement online. Please indicate your ability, availability and financial proposal/quote to complete the terms of reference above.
Rates must include all expenses related to the assignment (e.g. consultancy fee, field trips, living allowance).
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.
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.