Help Desk for Field Level Child Protection Coordination

Terms of Reference Help Desk for Field level Child Protection Coordination February to end of November 2015

Contract type: Consultant Duration: 120 days between 1 February 2015 to 30 November 2015 Location: Home-Based - some travel may be required

1. Background:

The Child Protection Working Group (CPWG), led by UNICEF, convenes a range of UN, NGO and other actors to meet the needs of the Child Protection1 in Emergencies (CPIE) sector, by producing key interagency tools, building capacity, and developing shared advocacy and policy. The CPWG represents one ‘Area of Responsibility’ within the broader Global Protection Cluster.

In the CPWG’s January 2013 - December 2015 workplan, one of the major areas of work outlined is strengthening coordination of child protection at field level. Along with maintaining, developing and using the existing CPWG Rapid Response Team, this part of the workplan includes activities related to ensuring child protection coordinators in the field have access to training and technical assistance on coordination as well as access to knowledge and inter-agency resources on child protection in emergencies.

In early 2013, the CPWG team identified that additional support was required in pursuit of these objectives due to the stretched nature of the team. Factors such as an increased demand for technical support to field based coordinators, an overall deployment rate of higher than 50% for CPWG RRT members, and the allocation of some non-deployment time to SBP agency tasks (such as coordination training for SBP agency or roster staff) limited the extent to which RRT members alone could ensure that the planned activities would be undertaken. To address this, a part time Consultant joined the CPWG team in 2013 and 2014 to augment the team’s capacity from March to November, enhancing its ability to carry out the planned activities and ensure consistency in the available support for field level coordinators.

The results of the 2013 and 2014 CPWG Annual Surveys of field level coordination groups indicate consistently high levels of appreciation for the outreach and the support that was available from the global level CPWG team over the two years.

The global level CPWG team will therefore continue to support field based coordination in 2015, continuing to man the Help Desk that was established to ensure that adequate, consistent support is available to field level child protection coordination and to complement the in-country deployments of the RRT. The Help Desk function will include knowledge management functions, support to trainings on coordination, as well as remote support to field level coordination groups as required.

2. Expected results:

The purpose of this consultancy is to establish a Help Desk within the global level CPWG team to provide field based coordinators of child protection with technical assistance, mentoring, training and knowledge management services. The following expected results include detail on tasks to be undertaken, although the evolving nature of this work and the high level of experience and expertise of the consultant may mean that on the consultant’s or the CPWG’s recommendation, tasks are modified or added, on mutual agreement.

1 Child Protection has been defined by the CPWG as prevention and response to violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect of children. 1 PRIMARY RESPONSIBILIITIES AND DELIVERABLES

1. Establish a Help Desk for new and existing field level child protection coordinators: a. Induct and mentor newly appointed child protection coordinators; b. In collaboration with regional advisors, provide ongoing support to coordinators in response to queries logged with the CPWG team; c. Update maintain and promote the starter pack for child protection coordinators; d. Set up, run, record and make available a series of at least 2 webinars on topics prioritized by field based coordinators, to enable transfer of knowledge between them; e. Manage and maintain the google group set up as a community of practice for field- based child protection coordinators; f. Co-facilitate a retreat for field based child protection coordinators in 2015; g. Work with global level CPWG members to develop a guidance note on key considerations for NGO co-leadership, including a presentation of case studies and based on lessons learned; h. Together with existing NGO co-lead agencies, develop a generic TOR for NGO co- leadership; and i. Collect and share learning to date on the transitioning of child protection coordination groups; j. Design and set up the 2015 Annual Survey for field-based CP coordination groups; compiling and analyzing the results once completed.

2. Support the development and use of high-quality training and related materials for child protection coordination: a. In collaboration with the CPWG Capacity Building Focal Point, co-deliver a minimum of 2 global level child protection coordination training for current and future coordinators of child protection; b. In collaboration with the CPWG team, co-deliver a minimum of 2 in-country training workshops on coordination (in the event that 2 training workshops are not required, one or more of these may be substituted by a support visits to child protection field- based groups); and c. Support the University of KwaZulu Natal faculty in charge of Module 5 of the Post- graduate Diploma on CPIE in the delivery of the distance learning module; d. Undertake agreed actions to implement the new inter-cluster training strategy for UNICEF led clusters and AoRs2, developing child protection coordination content, and providing other inputs as required.

3. Support CPWG efforts to increase the pool of available, high quality CPIE coordinators and IM staff and to facilitate their increased deployment: a. Together with the UNICEF partnership management team to identify ways to widen and increase the pools for child protection coordination, including IM staff (from SBPs and other sources); b. Maintain a list of potential child protection coordinators, working closely with the RRT and CPWG coordinator to compile the list; and

2 This strategy is currently under development and will be available in May 2014 2 c. Support measures in the CPWG to strengthening NGO co-leadership of child protection at field level (e.g. collection and presentation of case studies; consultation with partners) ;

3. Required qualifications and competencies: This terms of reference requires the consultant to have very specific areas of knowledge and experience, along with key competencies. Both are outlined in the first list below:

Essential - At least 8 years of experience in child protection in emergencies programming or child protection in emergencies coordination. - Experience of coordination of child protection responses in a range of settings including sudden onset natural disasters and conflict settings. - Experience of facilitation of child protection and child protection coordination training to interagency groups. - Excellent interpersonal skills - Experience of mentoring in a professional setting - Fluency in English and at least one other relevant language (French or Spanish) - Excellent understanding of the humanitarian architecture at global and field level and the transformative agenda - Proven ability to work independently and deliver results - Excellent communication skills

Desirable - Established relationships with field based coordinators of child protection in several key emergency affected settings - Experience in designing and implementing Knowledge Management initiatives for the humanitarian sector. - Experience in strategic planning, preferably in the area of capacity building - Experience of working in an NGO in a child protection or child protection coordination capacity - Familiarity with the work, working methods, and members of the CPWG

4. Start date: 1 February 2015 End date: 30 November 2015

5. Cost and Timeframe:

The consultant will be paid at an agreed daily rate for 120 days (an average of 12 days per month for 10 months).

6. Instructions for applicants:

Please send your application, including a full CV and your proposed daily rate, to Sabine Rakotomalala, at [email protected], by 30 November 2015.