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For every child, Protection
How can you make a difference?
Background :
The Government of Rwanda is strongly committed to ensuring that all children achieve their full potential in a safe and protective environment. However, the level of violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect among children and adolescents in Rwanda remains a concern. Despite violence being often under-reported, figures from the National Violence Against Children and Youth Study (2015/16) show that 42% of boys and 26% of girls aged 13-17 have been victims of physical violence, while 12% of girls and 5% of boys aged 13-17 reported exposure to sexual violence. The Early Childhood Development and Family (ECD&F) Baseline Evaluation (MIGEPROF/NISR, 2015) also indicates that 49.3% of children, sometimes very young, were exposed to violent discipline in the month preceding the study.
The government has long recognized the importance of ensuring that children grow up safe and protected within well-supported families, and of replacing institutional with family-based care. This recognition is reflected in the country’s constitution, legislation like the Law No 71/2018 on the protection of the child and in policies such as the Integrated Child Rights Policy and Strategy and the Strategy for National Child Care Reform. Government policies on care reflect global guidance in this area, which also calls for the development of alternatives to institutional care and the prioritization of support to families.
Both UNICEF and the government of Rwanda recognize the importance of developing a wider child protection system that addresses all forms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence in Rwanda. Such a system requires laws and policies, an effective child welfare workforce, strong community structures, and supportive attitudes and social norms. This also includes strong social sector linkages including with basic social services such as education, health and social protection. Given the momentum around de-institutionalization in Rwanda, care reform is viewed as an effective catalyst for wider improvements in child protection. The National Commission for Children (NCC) has been at the forefront of leading the child care reform and has recently seen its role evolving into a broader child protection and safeguarding role, with a deployment of a cadre of 30 Social Service Workforce made up of social workers and psychologists.
The country has a strong policy and legislative framework, although more could still be done to strengthen laws and policies. This is particularly with regards to clarity on role assignment in the protection of children, identification of institutional accountabilities and clear policy direction detailing how children exposed to or at risk of violence, exploitation and abuse, may access quality care and support as well as establishing and enforcing/implementing policy and administrative procedures connecting justice and protection sectors and special needs of children with disabilities and those in humanitarian crisis. The Violence Against Children and Youth Survey (VACYS, 2015-2016) is a good source of prevalence data on protection issues and other data sources like the Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey (RDHS) are rich sources of data for decision making. More could be done however to support generation and use of administrative data for programmatic decision making. At the same time, strong institutions, coordination mechanisms and strong social services workforce exists to service care and protection of children. These all represent strong ingredients and foundations for a strong child protection system that the Integrated Child Rights Policy (ICRP) makes an imperative for government to develop.
NCC has developed a concept note which clearly lays down a roadmap for the development of the child protection case management system. The first step in the roadmap is a mapping/situation analysis of the current child protection approaches in the country in order to situate and contextualise a Rwanda specific approach to case management that is based on existing legal and policy framework, current practices and local knowledge systems.
To this end, UNICEF is seeking an experienced national consultant to work with and support an international consultant in the facilitation of child protection case management situation analysis, including contextually relevant practical recommendations on the development of a national child protection case management framework and system. While incorporating lessons and practices from international best practices and elsewhere in the region, recommendations are to be rooted in the context of the child protection practices, norms, policy and legal framework of Rwanda. The national consultant will work closely with the international consultant to ensure full understanding of the Rwandan context and also to support in-country capacity development.
Justification :
As Rwanda embarks on the journey to develop a comprehensive and integrated child protection case management system, an analyst of the current approaches, practices, institutional set ups and policy and legal frameworks in child protection in Rwanda is imperative. Such an exercise requires a national with dedicated expertise to work with an international consultant to ensure that all contextual aspects of child protection are fully explored, accounted for and are analyzed to provide a complete picture of the current situation and propose recommendations for a fully integrated child protection case management system that improves service provision and outcomes on all children including those with disabilities and in humanitarian crisis .
Objectives :
The overall objective of the consultancy is to facilitate a mapping and situation analysis of the current practices, processes, institutional arrangements and legal and policy frameworks for child protection coordination and service provision in Rwanda with a view to provide recommendations on the development of an integrated child protection case management system. The national consultant will work hand in hand with the international consultant to deliver on the overall objective.
The Specific objectives are to :
- Map current child protection services and providers, the approaches and processes available in service provision, level of services satisfaction, key challenges and opportunities, coordination mechanisms in place and document client experiences ;
- Undertake an in-depth analysis of the policy and legislative frameworks and the institutional arrangements for administration of child protection related provisions to identify institutional and structural gaps as well as strengths and opportunities ;
- Provide a set of practical recommendations for the development and strengthening of the child protection system, and a contextually relevant child protection case management system.
Main Activities and Deliverables :
- Inception report outlining methodological approach, timelines and analytical framework for the assignment ;
- Joint inception report with International Consultant ;
- Support with data collection, partner meetings and interviews and site visits to districts for the mapping of child protection services and service providers including child protection services business processes, coordination mechanisms as well documentation of client experiences, opportunities and challenges in current practices as required by the international consultant ;
- Data collection report with summary of interviews, meetings and tools collected in relation systems mapping ;
- Support the international consultant with collection and analysis of data on the policy and legislative framework for child protection in Rwanda. Setting up meetings and interviews and drafting findings in consultation with the international consultant ;
- Data collection report with summary of interviews, meetings and tools collected in relation to policy and legislative analysis ;
- Based on the CP system mapping as well as legal and policy analysis, support validation of findings and recommendations through facilitating feedback and validation platforms created by UNICEF and NCC ;
- Minutes, reports and inputs submitted to International consultant on the feedback and validation of findings and recommendations
Evaluation Criteria : The Technical proposal is weighted at 70% and 30% for the Financial proposal.
Please note that the final remuneration will be negotiated by HR.
Payment schedule : Payment is linked to agreed deliverables upon satisfactory completion and certification of deliverables by the supervisor (UNICEF) and endorsement from NCC.
General conditions : The national consultant will work closely with and report to an International consultant on all deliverables. The documents to be produced will be reviewed and approved by the National Commission for Children (NCC) certified by UNICEF for technical compliance and payment purposes.
All the documents remain the property of the Government of Rwanda and UNICEF Rwanda Country Office.
UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if work/output is incomplete, not delivered or for failure to meet deadlines
The consultant must respect the confidentiality of the information handled during the assignment. Documents and information provided must be used only for the tasks related to these terms of reference.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Education : A Master’s Degree in Social Sciences, preferably Work, Psychology or Sociology, law or other related educational background.
Work Experience :
- More than 5 years experience in child protection or local governance administration, particularly within government and with international organisations ;
- Experience with Rwandan policy processes, including research, reviews and formulation ;
- Background/experience with case management and child protection service provision or local governance system in the Rwandan context ;
- Excellent research, collaboration, facilitation and report writing skills ;
- knowledge and understanding of social welfare workforce planning and development ;
- Excellent writing skills, presentation skills, strong strategic and analytical skills, computer skills, negotiations skills, interactive and interpersonal communication skills ;
- Ability to work with Government Officials at national and sub-national levels as well as with international and national development partners.
Languages : Fluency in English and Kinyarwanda is essential. Knowledge of French is an added advantage.
How to apply :
UNICEF is committed to gender equality in its mandate and its staff. Well qualified candidates, particularly females are strongly encouraged to apply.
Interested candidates should send their complete Personal History (P11) form, which can be downloaded form (
http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/P11.doc) or a CV/resume, as well as a cover letter explaining what makes them suitable for this consultancy.
Qualified and experienced candidates are requested to submit a letter of interest to be considered as a Technical Proposal for the consultancy in which candidates should highlight their previous work experience relevant to the assignment, the attributes that make them suitable, and their proposed road map and approach to undertake the assignment.
Only elected candidates will be requested to submit a Financial Proposal outlining the total costs for this consultancy with payment linked to the main deliverables outlined above.
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.
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.