Organization: UN Children’s Fund
Country: Zambia
Closing date: 12 Oct 2017

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world’s leading children’s rights organization would like to hear from you.

For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children’s survival, protection and development. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

Purpose of the Assignment

The purpose of this study is to a) develop and test a quality assurance tool to assess the child sensitivity of OSCs and b) use the quality assurance tool to assess the child sensitivity levels of a sample of OSC that represent the different models and practices across the range of OSCs in Zambia and c) provide recommendations to GRZ on how to improve the quality of existing services to meet the developmental needs of children and as such to inform the scaling up the OSC model in Zambia.

Assignment Tasks

Under the guidance and supervision of UNICEF Child Protection Specialist (Child and Family Welfare systems), and in co-operation with the Research Manager in Child Protection, who together will ensure close collaboration with the 5 line Ministries involved (Ministry of Health; Ministry of Home Affairs; Ministry of Community Development and Social Services; Ministry of Gender; and Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Child Development), the engaged consultant will undertake the following tasks and deliver the respective outputs:

Contextual familiarization.

Consultations with line ministries, NGOs, service providers and beneficiaries.

Design research strategy, detailing design and methods.

Research protocol submitted to relevant organization/institution ethical review board for clearance.

Travel schedule, accommodation and travel requirements determined, and focal points in the field identified.Quality assurance instrument piloted and refined.Quality assurance instrument co-operatively applied in three sites.

Data analysed and consolidated into key findings.

Finalise report and quality assurance instrument with guidelines for application.

Expected Deliverables

Contextual familiarization;

Consultations with key line ministries involved in OSCs and international non-government organisations funding OSCs to a) identify where OSC exist and b) brainstorm indicators to measure child sensitivity of an OSC. The indicators, which will need to reflect principles imbued in relevant global conventions and Zambian policies and be contextually relevant, will be finalised after consulting UNICEF and Government partners. It would also be advantageous to involve community members, including children, in developing and validating relevance of indicators for child friendly one stop centres.

Develop a research strategy outlining research design and methods for working co-operatively with service providers to develop, pilot and apply a child sensitivity quality assurance instrument in the sampled 1 site per OSC model (n=3).

Conduct fieldwork for data collection in line with the research strategy, as defined above.

Conduct data analysis and draft an initial report with a summary of key findings, which need to indicate a) the findings within each of the four categories listed above for each of the three OSCs b) the appropriateness, usefulness and applicability of the quality assurance instruments in ascertaining levels of child sensitivity and c) recommendations for improved levels of knowledge and sensitivity to children’s needs.

Write report on findings within each of the four areas for each of the OSCs outlined above with recommendations for improvement of child sensitive services. The report will include a review of the usefulness, applicability and appropriateness of the quality assurance instruments and make recommendations for a process to improve levels of child sensitivity in each of the OSC models.

Other Areas to be Considered

Conducting this assignment requires specialised expertise regarding child safeguarding and protection and qualitative research. The interested consultant should factor in the cost of a Zambian counterpart who can provide translation and support the fieldwork.

Qualifications of Successful Candidate

Education

Possess a post graduate (masters level) qualification in social science and knowledge in at least three of the following areas – gender based violence, child protection, multi-disciplinary services, indicator development and quality assurance processes

Years of relevant experience

Have at least 7 years proven experience in conducting co-operative studies; provide examples of previous completed and relevant research assignments

Additional Knowledge Required

Experience of working in the eastern and southern Africa region and able to communicate (with/without a translator) in appropriate Zambian languages;

Excellent writing and documentation skills in the English language; and

Ability to work independently, informed by prudent consultation with UNICEF and other key stakeholders.

Competencies of Successful Candidate

To view our competency framework, please click here.

Please indicate your ability, availability and daily/monthly rate (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference above (including travel and daily subsistence allowance, if applicable). Applications submitted without a daily/monthly rate will not be considered.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organisation.

How to apply:

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organization. To apply, click on the following link http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/?job=507708