National consultant for the development of a training cycle on the principle of the best interests of the child and the psychosocial development of the child – UNICEF jobs in Algeria

Context

As part of UNICEF’s 2023-2027 Cooperation Program with the Algerian State, and its 2023-2024 Work Plan with the National Body for the Protection and Promotion of Children (ONPPE), the UNICEF supports the country in strengthening the child protection system, including technical support for professionals working in the child protection sector to improve the quality and accessibility of child protection services. protection services at national and local level.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child extends the principle of the best interests of the child to all decisions concerning them.

The drafters of the Convention not only broadened the scope of the principle, but also made it one of the “general” provisions, therefore giving it fundamental importance for the general framework of the Convention. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has gone even further, defining the best interests of the child as a “general principle” to serve as a guide for the interpretation of the entire Convention. The principle of the best interests of the child must guide the development of laws, the making of administrative decisions and any other measures affecting the child. Enriched by General Comment No. 14 [1] , the best interests of the child can be a very useful tool for evaluating laws or political actions.

Law No. 15-12 relating to the protection of children of 2015 [2] aligned with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the new Constitution enshrines the best interests of the child as a priority.

Placed under the authority of the Prime Minister, the National Body for the Protection and Promotion of Children (ONPPE) is responsible for ensuring the protection and promotion of the rights of the child and enjoys legal personality and financial autonomy. The organizational and operating methods of the ONPPE are set by Executive Decree No. 16-334 of December 19, 2016 [3] . Placed under the authority of the Prime Minister, the institution has among its responsibilities the establishment and evaluation of national and local programs for the protection and promotion of children’s rights in coordination with other protection actors.

In order to respond to the growing needs on the ground in terms of training in the field of child protection, ONPPE has identified priority sectors for which the assistance of external expertise will be sought in order to strengthen the skills of the various child protection actors.

To do this, it is requested to develop a specific training program on the best interests of the child and the psychosocial development of the child for juvenile judges, open environment services and cell staff. violations of the rights of the child of the ONPPE.

Goals :

Due to the particular vulnerability of children and the major challenges for the future and the quality of the decisions to be adopted in order to guarantee appropriate and quality care, this training will aim to strengthen the capacities and theoretical and professional knowledge on child development, on the dangers children face, knowledge on the consequences of abuse and skills on spotting signs of child suffering.

Methodology

The training program will be developed and implemented by a national consultant. The latter must propose a well-structured methodology capable of achieving the above-mentioned objectives. The consultation will begin with the preparation of a work plan which will be validated by the ONPPE. This plan will clearly indicate the issues to be addressed, the methodology to be adopted, the sources of information, the work schedule, and the structure of the training program. The consultant will intervene in parallel with the lawyer who will provide training on “the best interests of the child and the legal framework for child protection”.

Activities to implement:

1. Develop training modules

• Based on the analysis of skills strengthening needs carried out with the partner, the training program will develop several relevant axes on the child’s development: the construction of the child’s personality from early childhood to adolescence ; child and adolescent psychopathology, consequence of abuse; the child’s speech, identification of signs of child suffering.
• The consultant will intervene in parallel with the lawyer who will provide training on “the best interests of the child and the legal framework for child protection”
• The training modules will be available and adapted for the two identified trades, namely:
  • Juvenile judges
  • The staff in charge of the “Cell for receiving complaints relating to violations of children’s rights”.
• Develop training materials, control their quality before reproducing them to participants. The materials can be shared with participants on USB keys.
• Develop a training plan including a schedule for implementing the facilitation of the different training sessions.
• Develop the participants’ knowledge assessment form before the training (pre-test) and summarize the aspects that deserve more precision/attention.

2. Conduct training

• The consultant will implement 3 distinct training courses:
  • Three 3-day training sessions for juvenile judges (3*25 juvenile judges)
  • Two 3-day training sessions for 2*20 ONPPE staff in charge of the “Cell for receiving complaints relating to violations of children’s rights”.
• Ensure the effective participation of participants through appropriate facilitation
• Develop and administer the post-test evaluation form in order to capitalize on training learning and identify potential areas of application of training learning.
• Establish a complete assessment of the training for each category of participants in order to identify possible gaps which have not been sufficiently treated/addressed and which deserve to be reviewed/reworked

Deliverables:

The deliverables must be in electronic version.

Working languages: the working language will be Arabic for the workshops, working meetings and reports will be in French.

Technical supervision and responsibilities

The call for tenders is addressed to an independent consultant. An individual contract is signed with the expert selected for the consultation.

Support and monitoring of the consultation will be provided by the UNICEF Child Protection Specialist under the general supervision of the Deputy Representative.

Administratively, the contract will be managed by the Child Protection Specialist who will monitor the project by evaluating the activities and deliverables. The organization of the consultation will be coordinated by UNICEF with ONPPE.

• Role and responsibilities of UNICEF: UNICEF will ensure the overall coordination of the implementation of this consultation, and will be responsible for the administrative and financial management of the contract. UNICEF will facilitate contacts with ONPPE. UNICEF will also be responsible for technical monitoring. UNICEF will provide the secretariat of the meetings, share relevant information, including meeting minutes and other important communications.
• Role and responsibilities of ONPPE: the partner will facilitate the general implementation of the consultation and will provide the expert(s) with all the documents and contacts necessary to carry out the mission.

Duration of the mission and working conditions

The selected expert will carry out 22 days of work over a total period of 4 months from the signing of the contract.

The mission will take place mainly in the Wilaya of Algiers.

 Required Qualifications

Offers must meet the following criteria:

National expertise is required.

Profile sought for training in the best interests of the child and the psychosocial development of the child

• Have postgraduate training at doctoral level in the field of psychology, social sciences or other relevant fields,
• Have at least ten (10) years of professional experience in the social field in Algeria with knowledge in the sector of child protection and care for victims of violence.
• Experience in developing training modules
• Have excellent knowledge of adult training and education, diagnosis and strengthening of organizational and institutional capacities
• Have satisfactory experience of collaboration with State technical services, the United Nations system, NGOs or bilateral and multilateral partners;
• Excellent capacity for summarizing and drafting documents;
• Have a good knowledge of the Algerian context;
• Have good communication and teamwork skills.
• Fluency in oral and written French and Arabic
• Experience working with UNICEF or another UN agency will be considered an asset.

Documents to provide when submitting

Candidates must include in the file the following information and documents:

• A technical offer including

1. A letter presenting the assets that the consultant(s)/firm judges to be able to rely on to carry out this work satisfactorily (academic training, professional experience, similar work), supported by the CV(s) as well as professional references. 
2. An introduction to understanding the Terms of Reference including any comments
3. The methodology recommended for carrying out the work 
4. A timetable for completing the various tasks

• A financial offer offering

1. The amount of remuneration requested per deliverable specifying the daily fee, as well as any costs necessary for the accomplishment of the mission. (Note that the logistical organization of the training will be taken care of by UNICEF)

Evaluation of offers:

The evaluation of financial offers will be made only for candidates having obtained at least a score of 40 points at the end of the technical evaluation.

Any incomplete file will be considered inadmissible.

The consultant will be recruited on the basis of an individual contract.

The application file including all the required documents must be posted online.

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UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

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.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.