Consultant - Child Protection Systems (Mapping & Assessment) at Project Hope

Type of Contract: Consultancy
Duration: 20 Days (includes 3 days Training Facilitation)
Date: June - July 2021

Background

• The Association for Reproductive and Family Health (ARFH) is currently implementing the Integrated Child Health and Social Services Award (ICHSSA) in Lagos State, in partnership with Project HOPE and FHI360, with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and in collaboration with the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development (MYSD).
• The project is currently being implemented in ten (10) LGAs in Lagos State and focuses on providing gender sensitive HIV services, comprehensive health and social services to Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC), through partnership with Community Based Organizations (CBOs).
• The project has a purpose to provide services to orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) while strengthening government systems to adequately respond and coordinate these implementation activities. A major objective of this project is to provide care and support services for vulnerable children and their households, especially those infected and affected by HIV.

Scope

• The Consultant will work with the ARFH ICHSSA 2 team, CBOs and the ten focal local governments to conduct an assessment and analysis of the social service workforce which will help inform decision makers on policies and scopes of practice and distribution in Lagos State.
• Program Goal: The goal of this assessment is to facilitate an understanding of the current status of the Child Protection Systems, policies, resources and structures at State, LGA and Community levels in order to ensure that the workforce is well planned, developed and supported to provide the highest quality services to children, their caregivers and families.
• Based on the review and assessment, the Consultant will work with LGA and ARFH ICHSSA project personnel in developing appropriate procedures for programs working with children and adolescents, develop/adapt an overall project Child Safeguarding Policy, design and implement training of CP desk officers to ensure understanding and compliance with international standards and best practices.
• Upon completion of training, LGA and other project personnel will exhibit practices and knowledge consistent with core child protection competencies. Finally, the Consultant will develop tools to train LGA CP desk officers on core child protection competencies, case management systems and reporting/response mechanisms.

Objectives

• Objective 1: Assess baseline of CP desk officer’s knowledge of, and compliance with, child protection standards. The consultant will interview key staff on general knowledge and will review critical incidents and responses over the last six months. The consultant will also review internal reporting systems for abuse and neglect, for critical incidents, and for confidentiality.
• Objective 2: In consultation with ARFH ICHSSA team, compile an SOP on best practices for Children in Conflict with the Law.
• Objective 3: Review current policies and procedures in place for projects with a significant service component focusing on children or adolescents. (UNICEF, Save the Children and other emergency protection projects, Juvenile Justice program, women and children protection program.)
• Objective 4: Develop curriculum for child protection standards training with materials specific to Nigeria, and based on gaps in staff knowledge, attitudes and practice identified earlier in the assessment.
• Objective 5: Train relevant staff at State and LGA level on child protection best practices and procedures.
• Objective 6: Conduct a half-day collaborative workshop together with M&E staff on evaluation of child protection projects.
• Objective 7: Incorporate suggested changes into ARFH ICHSSA policies and procedures so that they are compliant with international standards and best practices.

Tasks

• Conduct orientation on child protection/protection mainstreaming.
• Assess baseline of CP desk officers on their compliance with child protection and emergency standards
• Review current written policies and procedures to determine gaps in policies and procedures.
• Develop curriculum with dynamic training methods, to include dialogue, brainstorming, group discussion, and lecture, as well as training materials and samples of training agenda that can be used by the staff according to their targeted groups.
• Implement structured training on core child protection standards and best practices in service provision
• Develop and cascade Child Safeguarding Policy for all staff members, Consultants, volunteers, visitors, LG Child Protection Officers, etc
• Work with ARFH ICHSSA technical and M&E team where necessary
• Handover the results of the training, to assure project continuity
• Compile child protection principles literature review (or SOPs) to reference as needed
• Determine any overlapping/cross-cutting issues between child protection principles and juvenile justice principles.

Qualifications

• Education and experience: Social work or related field and extensive experience in child protection, juvenile welfare system, legal services for minors, or other relevant experience. Training and teaching experience will be helpful for this position
• Expertise in the methods and practices outlined in UNICEF’s Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action and the Child Protection Working Group’s Child Protection in Emergencies Competency Framework
• Ability to articulate and explain child protection core principles and practices to a non-expert audience and ensure their understanding of those subjects, as well as ensuring that the trainees are competent in implementing those principles and practices
• Experience assessing NGO staff’s adherence to child protection standards and conducting child protection training, coaching, and mentoring using participatory and practical methodologies
• Ability to assess the needs of participants during the training experience and modify application of themes as appropriate

Deliverables:

• Assessment and training of ARFH ICHSSA and LG personnel on child protection standards
• Review of ARFH ICHSSA internal policies and procedures to determine compliance with UNICEF Child Protection standards
• Review of internal policies and procedures for reporting abuse and neglect, and other critical incidents
• Assessment report on program staff capacity on child protection and child protection in emergencies (CPiE) standards and programming
• Modify or adapt existing training curriculum on child protection and CPiE with facilitator’s manual, participant’s manual, PowerPoint presentations, pre- and post-test forms, training evaluation sheet, and training resources checklist
• Training report on the CP and CPiE training and capacity building activities carried out with program staff
• Digital and hard copies of materials constructed and/or shared during assessments and training seminars, to assist in continuity of program implementation.

Special Conditions:

• The Consultant is expected to be familiar with both Local Government and State structures in Lagos State
• Given the current restrictions around COVID-19, the Consultant should be prepared to move around Lagos, LGAs and State Ministries if need be (observing all safety guidelines in relation to COVID-19).

Languages:

• Fluent in English

Costs

• Costs for consultant travel as approved in the workplan will be reimbursed
• Project HOPE will pay a lump sum towards communication costs
• Consultant daily rate will be N50,000 (Fifty thousand Naira); to be paid on submission of satisfactory final consultancy report + invoice.