Consultant

Background

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries, the IRC aims to restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. In response to the arrival of refugees in Greece in 2015, the IRC has been offering SMS, WASH and Protection services. Among others, through its child protection programs, the IRC has been offering individual support through case management to vulnerable children and their families, non-formal educational activities for children through Safe Healing and Learning Spaces and emergency accommodation and protection to unaccompanied children (through safe zones).

Currently, IRC Hellas is implementing three child protection programs; Supported Independent Living (SIL) apartments for UAC, 16 to 17 years old, Child Friendly Spaces (CFS) and child protection case management activities in Lesvos. A new child protection project will be launched in January, aiming at building the capacity of educators and child protection practitioners who work with vulnerable children, as well as at empowering children themselves.

IRC Hellas currently has offices in Athens, Lesvos, Chios and Samos.

General Goal of the Project

Terre des Hommes Hellas (Project Lead), IRC Hellas and Municipality of Milan, will implement REEC project – Reinforce Educators; Empower Children, a DG Justice project in Greece and Italy. The project will forge a protection response reinforcing existing capacities of Early Childhood Development (ECD) and primary educators as well as child protection (CP) practitioners’ capacities to detect and provide responsive services to children experiencing or at risk of adverse childhood experiences (ACE). It will benefit all children, with a focus on vulnerable social groups (refugee and migrant children). The project aims to protect children from harm (physical, sexual, emotional or neglect) by providing them with support and positive development in safe environments.

Purpose of the Assignment in relation to the Project

IRC Hellas will contract a Consultant to conduct desk research and review of three existing training curricula (IRC’s Healing Classrooms, HC and Social Emotional Learning, SEL) and methodologies (Tdh’s Movement Games Sport, MGS) and to adapt and contextualize them in the current situation in Greece. The result of this process is expected to be a combined methodology and a training toolkit that will be rolled out to educators and child protection practitioners, at a later stage in the project.

To achieve this, the Consultant is expected to organise Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with parents/caregivers as well as with educators in Greece, in order to:

• present the project’s proposed approach and the HC/SEL and MGS methodologies

• better identify their needs and those of their children.

A practitioner’s FGD will target ECD educators, primary teachers, CP actors and other relevant stakeholders. A community FGD will target parents/caregivers and/or community members. The duration of each FGD will depend on participants’ availability and the context needs.

A group of experienced educators will be identified from practitioners FGD to participate in two consultative workshops. The purpose of these workshops will be to select the most relevant elements of the HC/SEL and MGS methodologies to incorporate and to provide feedback on the best way to integrate them into a new curriculum.

Based on the results of the desk research, the FGDs and the consultative workshops the consultant will develop the adapted curricula and training packages, with support from IRC and partners’ project staff.

Participatory and consultative approach **

Focus group discussions (FGDs) and consultative workshops will be used with parents/caregivers and with educators. In Greece, both target groups will be consulted about the needs of children and will be enabled to share their concerns and experience. The FDGs and consultative workshops will be fora to present the proposed methodology and to gather feedback on them. This feedback will inform the adaptation of the curriculum.

Major tasks to be accomplished by Consultant

1. Conduct a baseline assessment to inform programmatic activities in Greece, in order to:

o Better understand stakeholders’ level of awareness, competences and experience towards child protection and child safeguarding issues, including parents/caregivers

o Actively engage and consult with the direct beneficiaries from the first stages of planning, in order to achieve effective partnerships and better results

o Use findings to inform contextualization and adaptation of training material and training delivery

o Identify contributing and counteracting factors to be taken into consideration regarding project planning

1. Design of research methodology

o Desk research

o Data collection, including Key Informant Interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) with professionals and parents.

o Qualitative data analysis

1. Create a methodology that promotes protection and wellbeing of children through education and/or strengthen the toolkits available to education and child protection practitioners to support child victims and witnesses of violence.

Timeframe of deliverables:

Deliverables

1. Base Line assessment Report (Electronic document of 15 pages in English)

Deadline: May 2021

2. Curriculum adapted for Greece (Electronic document: 150 pages in English)

Deadline: June 2021

3.Training materials adapted for Greece (Electronic document: 80 slides in English)

Deadline: June 2021

Competencies and skills

The Consultant should have:

• Excellent knowledge of inclusive education, social and emotional learning and trauma informed approaches and methodologies (Healing classrooms approach and Social and Emotional Learning);

• Sound understanding and knowledge of the educational system in Greece;

• Sound technical background in child protection;

• Extensive experience in developing educational material, methodologies, and curricula;

• Extensive experience in designing and implementing training curricula;

• Extensive experience in organizing trainings for the purpose of acquiring special knowledge of persons working in the field of children’s rights, ECD and primary education level, family relationships and others that work with children exposed or in danger of being exposed to ACE;

• Excellent writing skills in both Greek and English;

• Excellent knowledge of Greek and English;

• Certification in adult education will be considered as an asset.

Reporting arrangements

The Consultant will report to the Child Protection Manager. Contractual arrangements, invoicing and payments are to be coordinated by the IRC Hellas.