International consultant to support the conceptualization of the specialized residential service for children with “difficult behavior” and below the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility (MACR) in Tbilisi, Georgia.
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Job no: 542045
Contract type: Consultancy
Level: Consultancy
Location: Georgia
Categories: Child Protection
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Purpose of Activity/Assignment:
Since 2009, significant progress has been made in reforming the juvenile justice system in Georgia. The reform produced tangible results for children in conflict with the law with children in the criminal justice system benefiting from an individual approach and work of specialized professionals. The number of children deprived of their liberty has been dramatically decreased and the number of diverted children has increased with a very low rate of re-offending (9%).[1]
The Juvenile Justice Code adopted in 2015, strengthened multidisciplinary cooperation, introduced mandatory specialization of professionals and various guarantees for children in conflict with the law, as well as child victims and witnesses of crime.
Despite the progress achieved in the area of juvenile justice, significant gaps exist. The Ministry of Internal Affairs statistics indicate increased crime rates among children above and below the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR), which raises concerns about crime prevention mechanisms and capacities.[2] A Juvenile Referral Centre was established in early 2020[3] under the National Agency for Crime Prevention and Probation. The Juvenile Referral Centre is authorized to consider cases of children under the MACR committing illegal acts and exhibiting “difficult behavior”, assess their needs and refer to rehabilitation services.
The Juvenile Referral Centre can refer children with difficult behaviour and children below the MACR to the residential referral facility under the Ministry of Education and Science, however the Government Decree explicitly claims that referring children to the facility should be a measure of last resort.[4] Furthermore, the definition of “difficult behavior” is defined as a behaviour that endangers safety, welfare and social development of the child and others. Difficult behaviours can be manifested through substance abuse, engaging in antisocial, delinquent behaviours, gaming, and various violent activities/behaviours (Article 2, Government Decree).
It is noteworthy that, the only residential facility Boarding School #15 situated in Samtredia, West Georgia currently stopped receiving beneficiaries and is now finalizing the closing process. According to the Government Decree, instead of Samtredia Boarding School a semi-closed residential care facility shall be created under the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs (MoIDPOTLHSA). Hence, it shall represent the care facility concerning both sectors: MoIDPOTLHSA and the Ministry of Justice with an overlapping emphasis on childcare and crime prevention.
The Government of Georgia has been undertaking a substantial deinstitutionalization reform entailing closure of big institutions and reuniting children with their biological families or placing them in the alternative care services alongside with the development of community based and family support services. The closure of Samtredia Boarding School falls under the deinstitutionalization umbrella, however, it is important to consider the specificities of the children who were referred there.
UNICEF plans to support the Government to transform the Samtredia Boarding School to create specialized services for children with difficult behavior and below the MACR. In this regard, UNICEF seeks to hire an international consultant to (1) provide international best practices of such services, (2) situational analysis of the Georgian context, and (3) conceptualization of the specialized service including the functions and competencies of the service staff and relevant SOPs. The international consultant will work closely with UNICEF and major stakeholders: UNICEF, Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs (MoIDPOTLHSA), Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, Juvenile Referral Center under the National Agency for Crime Prevention and Probation, Samtredia Boarding School and so forth.
Scope of Work:
Overall objectives of the assignment:
Overall objective of the assignment is to explore international best practices for specialized services for children with “difficult behavior” and below the MACR, conceptualize the design of the specialized service including relevant staff requirements, functions and competencies; respective SOPs; and costing in line with the international standards and best practices.
Specific tasks of the consultant:
Assignment for the international consultant shall be carried out in three main directions:
- Provide overview of the international best practices for the specialized services for children with difficult behaviour and below the MACR (7 days)
- Explore various best practices concerning children with difficult behavior and below MACR vis-Ã -vis the international standards in the field of child protection and justice system
- Provide a review of the international best practices and formulate the recommendations for Georgia’s specific context
- Situational Analysis of the Georgian Context (10 days)
- Prepare an initial analysis of the Georgian legislation, justice and child protection system concerning the children with “difficult behavior” and below MACR. The analysis should cover:
- Identification of the difficult behavior and relevant response mechanisms by the State
- Identification of the delinquent behavior below the MACR and relevant response mechanism by the State
- Different child protection and justice mechanisms to tackle the issue of the difficult and delinquent behavior below the MACR
- Issues related to coordination between different sectors, involvement of non-justice professionals (psychologists, social workers), their role, responsibilities, specialization requirements, etc.
The task will be conducted through desk review, interviews with the representatives of various systems, agencies, non-governmental organizations, professionals. This will be used as the basis for further work.
- Formulation of the concept of the specialized residential service for children with difficult behaviour and below the MACR
(23 days)
- Conceptualize the specialized service for children with difficult behavior and below the MACR. The concept should be based on the requirement of the Juvenile Justice Code, Code on the Rights of the Child, UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, UN Guidelines for Alternative Care, and international and regional childcare standards. The concept should include (but is not limited to) the following thematic domains:
- Identification of the target group for the specialized service and formulation relevant intake mechanisms and procedures
- Staff requirements, functions and competencies;
- Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) necessary for day-to-day running of the specialized service;
- Practice standards for the specialized service;
- Relevant tools and instruments with respective guidelines for the specialized service;
- Relevant training programmes for the personnel of the specialized service;
- Formulation of quality control and supervision systems for the specialized service;
- Mechanisms of multisectoral cooperation between justice and non-justice agencies and professionals.
- Provide costing and implementation plan of the specialized service for children with difficult behaviour and below the MACR
- Participate in the discussions regarding the draft concept and review feedback submitted by main stakeholders.
Deliverables:
- Inception report and work plan/detailed timeline of the consultancy;
- Review of the international best practices and the recommendations for Georgia’s specific context;
- Analysis of the Georgian context concerning the children with difficult behavior and below the MACR;
- Concept note on the specialized residential service for children with difficult behavior and below the MACR;
- Costing of the specialized service and an implementation plan.
The consultant will be hired for up to 40 days within the period 1 September 2021 – 31 December 2021 .
The assignment will be mostly home based and will include various meetings outside and in UNICEF office depending on the COVID-19 situation. If the covid-19 pandemic does not allow international travel, then the consultancy will be entirely home-based, and the selected consultant will apply online working modality. Location – Tbilisi, Georgia.
Remuneration and entitlements
The consultant will be paid a daily fee negotiated between UNICEF and the consultant based on an initial offer of the consultant to be submitted with the application. The fee will be paid against the provision of deliverables to be approved in written by the supervisor.
The consultant has no entitlement for annual leave, sick leave, maternity, adoption or paternity leave or any other kinds of special leave. UNICEF will not undertake any liability for tax, duty or other contribution payable on payments made under this contract. UNICEF will not issue a statement of earnings.
Health insurance
UNICEF does not provide or arrange health insurance coverage for this position. The consultant will be required to provide a proof of health insurance for the duration of the contract.
Performance indicators
The performance of the consultant will be evaluated against the following criteria: timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, and quality of the products delivered; also drive for results and a willingness to work within a team environment will be essential and will contribute to the performance evaluation.
Work Assignment Overview
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Tasks/Milestone |
Deliverables/Outputs: |
Timeline: |
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Consult with UNICEF partners to prepare the discussions with relevant agencies and professionals and submit a detailed workplan (2 days) |
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Beg of Sept /Mid Sept |
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Prepare an initial analysis of the Georgian legislation, justice and child protection system concerning the children with “difficult behavior” and below MACR (8 days) |
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Provide overview of the international best practices for the specialized services for children with difficult behaviour and below the MACR (7 days) |
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Mid Sept/beg of Oct |
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Based on the Georgian context and international practices, prepare a comprehensive concept of the specialized service for children with difficult behaviour and below the MACR |
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– Beg of Oct/Mid-November |
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Present the concept note with various stakeholders, take into consideration their feedback and submit the finalized document (5 days) |
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Mid-November – Mid December
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Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:
- Advanced university degree in social sciences, social policy, social work, or/and law/international law;
- At least 5-7 years of professional work experience in field of child protection, child’s rights, crime prevention, juvenile justice at the international and national levels including experience in working on issues concerning children with difficult behaviour, children below the MACR and children at risk of becoming in conflict with the law;
- Comprehensive knowledge of international and regional standards on child protection, alternative care, social work, social services, crime prevention and juvenile justice, as well as in rehabilitation and psychological services for various groups of children;
- Extensive experience in analyzing systems and programs, designing concepts, guidelines, practical tools and manuals
- for child protection and juvenile justice systems, and institutional development using multidisciplinary approaches and methodologies.
- Experience in designing practical tools, manuals and materials for professionals working with children;
- Demonstrated experience in providing supervision and quality monitoring aspects of different mechanisms, desirably with an emphasis on specialized service for children with difficult behaviour;
- Experience in designing services for children, related tools and standards;
- Excellent writing skills;
- Excellent analytical, communication and negotiating skills;
- Excellent team working skills and respect for diversity;
- Ability to work through networking and in partnership;
- Fluency in English is required
Duration: 40 days within the period 1 September 2021 – 31 December 2021.
Location: The assignment will be mostly home based and will include various meetings outside and in UNICEF office depending on the COVID-19 situation. If the covid-19 pandemic does not allow international travel, then the consultancy will be entirely home-based, and the selected consultant will apply online working modality. Location – Tbilisi, Georgia.
Remarks:
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.
1 Source: General Prosecutor’s Office in Georgia
2 According to the data provided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the number of illegal acts committed by children below 14, was increased from 115 in 2017 to 250 in 2018.
3 The Government decree #681 on the approval of Juvenile Referral Procedures dated on 31.12.2019 available at https://www.matsne.gov.ge/document/view/4765155?publication=0
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.
To view our competency framework, please visit here.
Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.
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:
Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.
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.
Advertised: Georgian Standard Time
Deadline: Georgian Standard Time
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