National/International Consultant: Prevention of Violence Against Children and Women

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Background and Purpose of Assignment:

UNICEF has committed to ensure that by 2026, children, families and communities in Bangladesh have increased knowledge and understanding of violence against children and women and are empowered to prevent violence and other harmful practices, including in humanitarian settings and in areas affected by climate change. This is a key pillar of the Child Protection (CP) Program in Bangladesh and is especially important in the context of Cox’s Bazar.

Bangladesh hosts 952,309 Rohingya refugees, 52 per cent of whom are children, living in 32 camps in Cox’s Bazar with 30,000 refugees, half of whom are children, relocated to the island of Bhasan Char. The refugees are heavily dependent on humanitarian support, with limited or not access to income generating and livelihood opportunities. High level of violence, abuse and exploitation remain prevalent across the Rohingya camps and host communities. Gender-Based Violence (GBV) such as intimate partner violence, child marriage, and trafficking are chronic concerns, while reports of heightened tension, rising crime and an increase in the activity of armed group bring an additional set of child protection concerns to the already challenging environment.

While UNICEF has been implementing a Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Child Protection (CP) programme in Cox’s Bazar since 2017, the GBV and CP components have tended to be implemented as two parallel work streams leading to duplication and fragmentation in service delivery. UNICEF’s child protection strategy going forward is to strive for stronger systems in the camps and host communities, with greater integration of GBV in child protection programming. This will contribute significantly to a more holistic programme that is value for money and “fit for purpose” while ensuring the best outcomes for girls and boys under the age of 18.

While UNICEF child protection partners have stepped up, to roll out an integrated program, their capacity on GBV programming for children and adolescents is sometimes limited. Therefore, UNICEF is committed to building the capacity of all the child protection partners, including NGO and government partners, on GBV to strengthen the quality of the integrated program in the refugee and host community context and in Bhasan Char.

To achieve this, UNICEF is seeking a gender-based violence in emergencies (GBViE) technical consultant to strengthen the capacity of child protection partners including government partners such as Department of Social Services (DSS) and Ministry of Women and Children Affairs (MoWCA) to deliver quality GBV programming with a focus on GBV case management including GBVIMS, and prevention packages[1] that challenge negative social norms. The consultant will collaborate with technical leads within the Child Protection section and engage with all partners operating in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char to ensure successful GBV capacity building.

The purpose of this consultancy is to provide technical gender-based violence in emergencies (GBViE) support in line with Minimum Standards for survivors, and those at risk of GBV especially children, with a focus on safe ethical and comprehensive care and protection. This support includes trainings, strategic guidance document, capacity building tools and on-the job mentoring support to all CP partners including DSS across all the child protection facilities – which include Safe Spaces for Women and Girls (SSWGs), Multi-purpose centers (MPCs) and DSS Child Protection Units (CPUs). The GBV Consultant will be based in Cox’s Bazar with frequent travel to the locations where UNICEF CP partners are operating.  The Consultant’s role therefore involves a multidimensional approach, requiring a combination of technical expertise, cultural sensitivity, and effective collaboration with various stakeholders. The goal is to create a safer and more protective environment for individuals at risk of gender-based violence in the protracted refugee camp.

Globally, UNICEF has developed comprehensive capacity building initiatives on GBV case management and caring for child and adolescent survivors (i.e., GBV Case Management Capacity Building Initiative Rollout Strategy and Toolkit, and Child and Adolescent Survivor Initiative). At local level, the GBV Sub Sector (GBVSS) has developed prevention and behaviour change packages to guide the implementation of the GBV program across Cox’s Bazar. The technical consultant will be expected to leverage these global and local resources in the capacity building exercise to improve the quality of the overall GBV program.

The consultant will report to the Child Protection Specialist, GBV (P3) in Cox’s Bazar – with strategic and technical guidance also provided by the Child Protection Specialist, CPHA, Climate Change & GBV (P3) in Dhaka. S/he will work closely with the UNICEF Child Protection team based in Cox’s Bazar and Dhaka.

How can you make a difference?

Scope of Work:

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

• Develop a capacity assessment tool and conduct a detailed assessment of UNICEF CP partners including government partners (DSS and MoWCA) both in Cox’s refugee camps, host community and Bhasan Char identifying needs and priorities for GBV capacity building. This must include a review of existing staff capabilities, technical knowledge, and skills on GBV and working closely with UNICEF CP partners to complete it, analyze results and produce a report detailing findings and recommendations.
• Facilitate workshop to go through the assessment findings with all the UNICEF CP partners (both government and NGOs) to review technical and institutional capacity building needs and co-design a comprehensive plan to support all partners advance skills and knowledge on GBV.
• Develop a strategy to mainstream GBV into ongoing child protection and other sections and simple implementation guideline to promote GBV across the sections.
• Develop a capacity building plan and materials. Based on the plan developed, provide targeted training on key topics including, but not limited to, GBV Minimum Standards in relation to GBV case management, GBVIMS+, prevention and behaviour change strategies, caring for child survivors and age-appropriate PSS.
• Provide mentoring, supervision, and technical guidance to UNICEF CP partners through remote and in-person support. At least 2 field visits will be made to all CP partner during the consultancy.
• Hold a participatory review workshop with UNICEF CP partners to assess progress, lessons learned and good practices to inform programming priorities and approaches for 2024.
• Produce a final report to document engagement with UNICEF CP partners detailing follow-up plans including technical, financial, and institutional support required for future partnerships with these organizations.

Deliverables and Timeframe

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

Education:

• Master’s degree in psychology, social work, gender studies or in other similar fields.

Other Requirements:

• Fluency in English. Fluency in Bangla and/or Burmese language an asset.
• A minimum of 5 years of GBV programming experience, preferably within a child protection framework, with the UN and/or NGO.
• Experience in GBV case management, GBVIMS+, and GBV prevention approaches.
• Strong understanding of GBV case management including care for child survivors and prevention programming approaches, practices, and applications i.e., GBViE Minimum Standards and Interagency GBV Case Management guidelines.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to effectively liaise with people in a wide range of functions in a multi-cultural environment.
• Ability to collect, collate and analyse data in an effective manner and strong writing skills.
• Proven experience of planning and facilitating trainings, workshops and other capacity building modalities.
• Ability to work independently and productively, with multiple stakeholders in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to work productively in a team and independently, and to handle requests or issues as they arise.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit  here.

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.