Consultant – Documentation of good/promising practices, successful models and lessons learned on children’s care reform and family-based alternative care

Child Protection and Migration Practice, Amman Centre of Excellence, Jordan

7 months

************************************************************************************

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built. We offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to care

How can you make a difference?

UNICEF seeks to engage an individual consultant to document good practices, successful models and lessons learned in children’s care reform. The assignment will draw on country, regional and global experiences, including foster care, kinship care, kafala and other contextually appropriate family-based care arrangements, with attention to inclusive family-based care options and community support and services for children with disabilities. The consultant will also provide technical support on disability inclusive child protection system strengthening.

There is growing demand from UNICEF country offices for practical, evidence-informed resources that document successful approaches to children’s care reform and translate them into actionable guidance for policy makers, practitioners and partners. While many countries are undertaking reforms to strengthen families, prioritize family-based care options, and ending institutionalization, lessons learned and implementation knowledge are often fragmented, insufficiently documented or not easily accessible across regions.

Country offices frequently seek examples of what has worked in comparable contexts, how reforms were implemented, what enabling factors contributed to success, and how challenges were addressed. At the same time, there is increasing global interest in accelerating care reform efforts, including through family strengthening, kinship care, foster care, kafala and other family-based care arrangements, while ensuring inclusive support for children with disabilities. Systematic documentation of good and promising practices is therefore needed to support cross-country learning, inform policy dialogue, strengthen advocacy, guide programme design, support resource mobilization and enable adaptation of successful approaches to different national contexts.

Country offices also seek technical support on disability inclusive child protection systems and services including in the context of children’s care. The consultant will provide technical support and guidance to country offices for operationalizing disability inclusive child protection resources and competency framework for social service workforce.

The consultancy will generate a practical learning package that can inform policy dialogue, advocacy, programme design, resource mobilization earning. The products will highlight what has been worked, under what conditions, for whom, and what transferable lessons can be adapted by UNICEF country offices and partners.

If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here: ToRTMC0006460.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

Education: Masters in Social work, child protection, social policy, law, sociology, anthropology, international development, social sciences, public policy, communications for development, or related disciplines.
Work Experience: Minimum of 8 years of relevant professional experience in child protection, children’s care reform, alternative care, deinstitutionalization, family strengthening, child rights, social service workforce strengthening, including in the area of children with disabilities.

Demonstrated experience documenting good/promising practices, case studies, learning products, evaluation syntheses or knowledge products for international organizations.
Experience with family-based care models, such as foster care, kinship care, kafala, guardianship, family support or community-based approaches.
Prior work experience in similar areas with UNICEF on relevant UN agencies.

Skills: Strong analytical writing and synthesis skills.

Ability to translate complex evidence into clear learning, advocacy and programme guidance.
Strong interview, facilitation, coordination and stakeholder engagement skills.
Understanding of ethical documentation, child safeguarding, consent, confidentiality and do-no-harm principles.

Ability to work independently and deliver high-quality products within agreed timelines.
Language Requirements: Excellent written and spoken English is required. Knowledge of another UN language is highly desirable
Desirables: Strong analytical writing and synthesis skills.

Ability to translate complex evidence into clear learning, advocacy and programme guidance.
Strong interview, facilitation, coordination and stakeholder engagement skills.
Understanding of ethical documentation, child safeguarding, consent, confidentiality and do-no-harm principles.
Ability to work independently and deliver high-quality products within agreed timelines.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

Qualified candidates are invited to submit the following documents via the online recruitment portal, TMS (Talent Management System):

An up-to-date TMS profile and curriculum vitae (CV)
Cover letter
A separate financial proposal (only acceptable in the format of the linked template) Financial proposal TMC0006460.docx
Technical Proposal: brief technical proposal including methodology, workplan, sample table of contents and proposed case selection criteria.

Remarks: If the TOR or financial proposal documents are not downloadable on certain recruitment platforms, please visit our official page Vacancies | UNICEF Careers.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.

Consultant documentation of good/promising practices, successful models and lessons learned on children’s care reform and family-based alternative care, 7 months, remote no travel, # 595843