Local consultant to strengthen national helpline for children victims of violence in Tbilisi, Georgia

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The deadline is – 23  July  , 6PM Georgian time.  The system will be automatically  closed at 6 PM and late submission will not be accepted.

 

 

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

The Government of Georgia announced its commitment to be a Pathfinding country under the Global Partnership to End Violence against Children[1] hence committed itself to accelerate efforts to prevent and provide adequate response to violence against children. In September 2016, the Government of Georgia adopted a decree on Child Protection Referral Procedures.[2] As part of this decree, the Government created a state coordination mechanism, mobilizing all state agencies working with children and municipalities to identify refer and respond to violence against children (VAC) in a cohesive way. Implementation of this mechanism was supported by the EU and UNICEF.

VAC in families[3], residential care, foster care[4] and educational institutions[5] remain a significant problem with 69 per cent of children experiencing violent discipline.[6] Major underlying reasons are social norms and beliefs that the use of physical violence against children is acceptable and that physical forms of punishment are more effective than non-violent parenting techniques. However, the confidence of the public to report cases of violence to competent authorities is on the rise. According to the Social Service Agency and General Prosecutor’s Office, the number of child victims of violence referred to the Social Service Agency has been increasing annually.

National capacities for identification, referral and response to VAC remain insufficient. Regulated by the Child Protection Referral Procedures, mentioned above, the referrals get collected by the State Care Agency[7], which is responsible for ultimate validation of VAC and addressing the needs of the victims. There is a limited number and variety of rehabilitation and support services for child victims of violence in the country.

The COVID-19 pandemic puts children in institutional care under the increased risk of violence due to increased level of stress and anxiety among caregivers as well as children and decreased monitoring of the care facilities.

Children who experienced violence need to have a safe and accessible channel to report violence, seek help and get immediate counselling. A child helpline provides a telecommunication and outreach service for children to seek emergency assistance and link them to long-term services. The child helpline should be accessible to children and young people around the clock and free of cost, enabling children to contact someone in any emergency situation; and it should provide children and young people with an opportunity to express their concerns and talk about the issues directly affecting them.

With an initiative of the Human Rights and Civil Integration Committee of the Parliament of Georgia and UNICEF technical and financial support, a child hotline “111” was created as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. The main purpose of the service is to: i) facilitate access to services (social, health, educational) and benefits for children and families offered by state and municipal structures; and ii) provide psychological support to children and families during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The hotline begun operating in the end of April 2020 under the supervision and management of the Agency for State Care and Assistance for the (Statutory) Victims of Human Trafficking (LEPL) under the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs (MoIDPOTLHSA). The legislative basis for

launching the hotline service was a Resolution No. 701 issued on 21 April 2020 by the Government of Georgia, as part of the legal framework developed in response to the pandemic. The hotline was setup with the financial and technical support of UNICEF.

The hotline service is free. The working hours before 1 June 2021 were from 10 am to 7 pm. Today, it is operating 24 hours a day. The hotline employs 11 people: 8 operators, 2 psychologists and 1 coordinator. At the outset of hotline service, the hotline operators received online training on available services and procedures within government structures as well as effective communication including asking the questions in right manner, using clarifying questions, and determining the problem and response. The hotline staff is supported by additional personnel of the LEPL when required.

The hotline assists parents/caregivers of young children by providing them with information about state and municipal services and benefits for children and families or referring them to the particular state providers of different services. In June 2020, the Child Hotline expanded its operational scope to address the mental health and psychosocial needs of adolescents and young people during COVID-19.  It should also be noted that from 1 January 2021, the service for young people is not available. More calls are received from parents than children. Operators need improvement of their skillsto serve children’s needs better and are not equipped with all necessary protocols. Information about existence of the hotline is very low among children, especially with most vulnerable ones. The hotline it is mostly oriented to providing referrals and is unable to provide quality child focused online services.

UNICEF intends to support establishment of a national helpline[8] for children victims of violence. The helpline is to be developed on the basis of the existing lines in the country by transforming or expanding the most appropriate one.

Scope of Work:

Overall objectives of the assignment

Overall task of the assignment is to work with the international consultant and support the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs  (MoIDPOTLHSA) and the State Care Agency to develop a concept, regulations, working instruments, referral protocols, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for a child helpline on violence against children which could lead to transformation of an existing hotline.

Specific tasks of the consultant 

The selected consultant will be required to:

• Prepare a concept of child helpline. It should apply a rights-based approach as helplines are a service used by Governments to ensure the rights of children to information, protection, development, support and access to justice.

The concept should outline:

• scope and issues covered by the line.
• the optimal response strategy for the child helpline (e.g. active listening, counselling, referral, phone-based interventions and face to face interventions).
• accessibility of the helpline (hours of operation, mode of response child-friendly approach, costs for the beneficiary, accessibility for ethnic minority children and children with disabilities, awareness raising, children in state care and street connected children etc.)
• awareness raising approaches of the helpline service, its functionality and importance through intensive and targeted outreach
• composition of the team and working modality
• staff profile and capacity, supervision system
• governance, referral and coordination
• quality assurance mechanism
• documenting the calls
• personal data protection
• monitoring and follow up to the calls
• effective ways of meaningful participation of children in developing and designing, monitoring and evaluating, and/or supporting child helpline initiatives
• Define and assist in the assignment of clear and specific tasks and roles to all actors (i.e. from all institutions which are engaged in the operation of the service) involved in the helpline operation to foster inter-sectoral collaboration
• Develop the outline for the data collection system
• Develop policies, procedures, mechanisms, and guidelines which facilitate the operations of the child helpline and structures its day to day work
• Conceptualize coordination and collaboration mechanism for, MoIDPOTLHSA the State Care Agency and relevant government and non-governmental organizations
• Develop SOPs as to how certain types of calls and situations should be handled (for example bomb / terror threats, adult callers, fantasy callers and testing calls, sexually demanding/masturbatory calls).

 Deliverables

• Concept of the Child Helpline
• Employees qualification and competence framework
• Child Helpline quality ensure instrument
• SOP development guidance instrument of Child Helpline, partner hotlines, relevant government, and service providers
• Confidentiality Form
• Child Protection Policies & Procedures
• Case recording & data collection forms
• Case Management Policy
• Case Management Plan
• Glossary of Helpline Terms
• SOPs

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

 Duration: from 20 July 2021 to 1 December 2021. Total number of working days 55.

 

Work Assignment Overview

Tasks/Milestone:	Deliverables/Outputs:	Timeline:
Prepare a concept of child helpline. It should apply a rights-based approach as helplines are a service used by Governments to ensure the rights of children to information, protection, development, support and access to justice. (20 days)	Concept of the Child Helpline	Mid-June/beg of August
	Employees qualification and competence framework
	Concept of coordination and collaboration mechanism for MoIDPLHSA, the State Care Agency and relevant government and non-governmental organizations
Define and assign clear and specific tasks and roles to all actors (i.e. from all institutions which are engaged in the operation of the service) involved in the hotline operation to foster inter-sectoral collaboration (15 days)	SOP development guidance instrument of Child Helpline, partner hotlines, relevant government, and service providers	August/September
Develop the outline for the data collection system (3 days)	Outline for the data collection system	August/October
Develop policies, procedures, mechanisms, and guidelines which facilitate the operations of the child helpline and structures its day to day work (10 days)	Confidentiality Form	September/October
	Child Protection Policies & Procedures
	Case recording & data collection forms
	Case Management Policy
	Case Management Plan
	Glossary of Helpline Terms SOPs
Consultant should develop SOPs as to how certain types of calls and situations should be handled (for example bomb / terror threats, adult callers, fantasy callers and testing calls, sexually demanding/masturbatory calls). (7 days)	SOPs	October

Minimum Qualifications required:

 

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

• A post-graduate degree in international development, social sciences, or related fields
• A minimum of five (5) years’ experience in child protection
• Child helpline and hotline experience
• Experience in carrying out analysis and studies
• Fluency in English
• Ability to work remotely
• Good presentation, communication, and interpersonal skills
• Ability to work with minimum supervision

 

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. [1]For more information about the Partnership visit http://www.end-violence.org/about-us
2. [2] Order # 437 by the Government of Georgia on the Approval of the Child Protection Referral Procedures; 12 September 2016, Tbilisi.
3. [3] Based on 2018 Georgia MICS (Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey), 68.8% of children in Georgia are subject to any forms of violent disciplining. (report available at https://www.unicef.org/georgia/reports/2018-georgia-mics-multiple-indicator-cluster-survey)
4. [4] “Monitoring of Child Care System – Effectiveness of Alternative Care Special report”, report developed by the Public Defender’s Office; 2018
5. [5] PDO report Violence Against Children in General Educational Institutions, special report of the Public Defender, 2017
6. [6] National Statistics Office of Georgia. 2019. Georgia Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2018, Survey Findings Report. Tbilisi, Georgia: National Statistics Office of Georgia.
7. [7] Since January 2020, this function moved to the Agency of State Care and Assistance for the Victims of Human Trafficking
8. [8] The term helpline refers to the existing model with the main function to refer children to the available services existed at the central and municipal level. After the modifications considered under this initiative the hotline will be transformed to a child helpline, or a separate line will be established to suggest children active listening, counseling service and referral to the responsible agenesis in case of child rights violation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

 

 

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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.