International consultant to develop the strategy on preventing and responding to violence against children in the Republic of Congo
Job no: 562741
Type position: Consultant
Rental: Congo Division / Equivalent: Dakar ( WCAR ), Senegal
School / Unit: Congo
Department / Office: Brazzaville, Congo
Categories: Child Protection
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1 Background
The Republic of Congo is carrying out its fifth general population and housing census ( RGPH-5 ), the previous general population and housing census ( RGPH-4 ) dates from 2007. According to RGPH-4 data, the population is predominantly urban and has 5.5 million inhabitants. 66% of this population live in the two major cities of the country ( Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire ) and 47% of the inhabitants are under 18 years of age.
The school-age population ( children under 18 of school age ) is estimated at 1,556,944 children including 764,848 children aged 6 to 11 ( of primary school age ), 463,860 children aged 12 to 15 ( of 1st cycle of secondary school ) and 328,236 children aged 16 to 18 ( of 2nd cycle of secondary school ) . These children are either at school or outside of school.
In the country, the school and community circles are prey to several deviant behaviors which are incompatible with social ethics. The consequences of these behaviors translate into gender violence in schools and communities. This violence, whatever its form, is a major concern, not only for the government, but also for households, families and educational, social and community actors.
In this context and to generate evidence on the problem of violence, a study on gender-based violence and online violence in schools was carried out in 2019 and analysis reports on child victims of gender-based violence and on street and mobile children, including child victims of trafficking, were produced in 2022, with the support of UNICEF.
The data from these documents, which all converge, indicate that 7 students out of 10 are victims of verbal or psychological violence, 4 students out of 10 are victims of physical violence, 3 students out of 10 are victims of economic violence, 3 students out of 10 are victims of sexual violence and 1 in 10 students are victims of online violence. Girls are the main victims of gender-based violence compared to boys ( 93.2% of girls against 6.73% of boys ), the average age of victims is 12 years old. This violence is mainly committed by the victim’s entourage ( parents, brothers, cousins, neighbors ) and is especially observed in large cities such as Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire.
The factors negatively impacting children and adolescents most observed in school and community settings are, among other things, habits and customs in certain communities, social norms ( stigma, forced marriage and incest ) as well as fights at school or around school between pupils generating conflicts between schools. Acts of school incivility, sexual misconduct in schools and negative deviation of adolescents and young people are also observed.
In addition, the weakness of the current legal and regulatory framework, in particular because of the absence of texts for the application of laws protecting children, and the inadequacy of the necessary resources ( human resources and financial resources ), does not facilitate the entry into force of the laws and allows the factors favorable to the appearance of violence against children to persist.
Furthermore, the strategic framework for strengthening the integrated national child protection system, validated since 2015, has not been implemented as planned, preventing concrete actions against the violation of children’s rights, including violence. suffered.
The approaches to the fight therefore remain sectoral and lack effective coordination to reduce the cycle of violence at school, in institutions and in communities.
To this end, the development of a strategy accompanied by an action plan, which will enable the country to prevent and respond effectively to violence against children is essential.
2 General objective of the consultation
The purpose of the consultation is to enable the country to have a strategy that will contribute in the short, medium and long term, to reducing the cycle of violence against children according to a holistic, coordinated and effective approach in order to enable students to ‘teach children safely and in community to live in a safe and protective environment. Specifically, this will involve producing a national strategy document that will enable the country to:
- Promote prevention, early identification of violence and the best response to school and community violence by taking into account socio-cultural and politico-economic factors;
- Strengthening the capacities of judicial, child protection and health services to respond effectively and efficiently to school and community violence;
- Improve the management of information and knowledge on violence against children in order to facilitate the planning and implementation of evidence-based services.
How can you tell the difference?
Main tasks
The consultant will have the following responsibilities:
- Conduct a literature review and present successful international initiatives on gender-based violence, particularly in economic, social and cultural contexts comparable to that of the Republic of Congo.
- Examine the documentation currently available on gender-based violence in schools and communities ( study reports, legal texts, and other relevant documents relating to violence ) produced by the country and identify the socio-demographic profile of child victims and survivors of violence.
- Discuss with the actors involved in the prevention and fight against violence against children in the country, analyze the initiatives carried out by each and propose avenues for synergy in order to improve the impact of the actions to be implemented.
- Identify the socio-cultural and politico-economic factors that help to understand the roots of violence in schools and in communities.
- Based on all the information collected, develop the 5-year national strategy document on the prevention and response to school and community violence that will help break the cycle of school and community violence.
- Propose a multi-year action plan on the prevention and response to school and community violence, together with a budget and a timable that will contribute to implementing the said national strategy.
Expected deliverables
The following outputs are expected from the international consultant:
- A national strategy on the prevention and response to violence in schools and communities;
- A budget action plan on preventing and responding to violence against children, together with a realistic implementation schedule.
The proposed 5-year strategy and action plan should include vulnerable children including indigenous children, refugee children, children living with disabilities, out-of-school girls and boys.
NB : A technical committee made up of staff from the Ministries involved, NGOs and civil society will be set up to work with the consultant. The tasks of this committee will be to validate the technical offer or the methodological note and the timable proposed by the consultant as well as the validation of the draft strategy.
Duration of consultation
The consultation period will be 45 working days from the signing of the contract.
Working conditions and travel
During the period of the contract, the consultant will be subject to the provisions in force at UNICEF relating to security, compliance with the rules, standards and procedures governing United Nations and UNICEF personnel in particular. . He / she must have his / her computer tools for the smooth running of the activities. The supported department will provide him with a workspace in its premises located in Brazzaville.
Procedures for submitting applications
Candidates must submit a technical offer and a financial offer.
The technical offer will include:
- a detailed curriculum vitae including references of previous experiences;
- a mission statement of no more than 20 pages;
- a work schedule.
The financial offer will include a detailed budget ( incl. VAT ) with the unit costs.
The selection method used will be quality and cost based selection. Proposals will be ran according to their combined Technical ( ST ) and Financial ( SF ) scores after introduction of weights.
The consultant with the highest combined technical and financial score will be invited to the negotiations.
To qualify as an advocate for every child, you will need to have…
Education :
- Have a university degree at Master’s level or equivalent in the field of legal sciences, educational sciences, planning in the social sectors, economics, sociology, anthropology, development, project management or an equivalent field.
Required experience:
- At least 5 years of professional experience in the development of projects, programs and action plans or other sectoral policy documents;
- Have knowledge of the issues of the violation of children’s rights, protection systems and gender-based discrimination in developing countries, more particularly in African countries;
- Strong communication and writing skills in French;
- Ability to work effectively remotely and face-to-face.
Language :
Fluency in French is compulsory; a good knowledge of English is an asset.
Female candidates are strongly encouraged.
For every child, you demonstrate…
The UNICEF values of caring , respect , integrity , trust and accountability .
Click here to learn more about UNICEF values.
To consult our competence framework, go here.
UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce and encourages all applicants, regardless of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic background, including people living with disabilities. , to apply to be part of the organization.
UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation for individual consultants / contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability when applying in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and then in your assignment.
UNICEF operates a zero-tolerance policy for behavior inconsistent with the purposes and purposes of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also supports to strict child protection principles. All selected candidates will be required to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore be subject to rigorous reference and background checks. The background check will include verification of academic creditors and employment history. Selected applicants may be required to provide additional information to complete a background check.
Notes : Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and proceeded to the next stage of the selection process.
Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the United Nations Staff Regulations and Rules and UNICEF policies and procedures. , and will not be entitled to any benefits provided thereon ( such as time off and medical insurance coverage ). Their terms of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for Consultant and Individual Services. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax obligations and paying any taxes and / or duties, in accordance with applicable local or other laws.
The selected candidate is solely responsible for ensuring that the visa ( applicable ) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire duration of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 ( Covid-19 ) with a vaccine approved by the World Health Organization ( WHO ), which must be confirmed before starting the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will be working remotely and are not expected to work or visit UNICEF premises, program delivery locations or interact directly with the communities with which UNICEF works, nor travel to perform functions for UNICEF during the term of their consultancy contracts.
Advertised: Jun 06 2023 W. Central Africa Standard Time
Close application: Jul 11 2023 W. Central Africa Standard Time
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- Close Jul 11 2023International consultant to develop the strategy on the prevention and response to violence against children in the Republic of Congo in Congo
UNICEF Congo wishes to rely on international expertise to develop a national strategy on the prevention and response to violence against children, along with an action plan.
