Social Work Technical Assistance (Consultancy), Apia, Samoa, 12 Months

UNICEF Pacific is hiring a Social Work Technical Assistance Consultant to be based in Apia, Samoa for 12 months.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

For every child, protection.

In the Pacific we work in Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu: These 14 Pacific island countries are home to 2.3 million people, including 1.2 million children and youth, living on more than 660 islands and atolls stretching across 17.2 million square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean, an area comparable to the combined size of the United States of America and Canada. Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu are classified as Fragile States according to World Bank/OECD criteria. 

All 14 Pacific Island countries and territories have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, but only a third are on track with reporting obligations. Explore the different areas of our work in the link provided here www.unicef.org/pacificislands. 

Background of Assignment: 

In the course of 2020-2023, Samoa drafted a Child Care and Protection Bill, Child Care and Protection Policy and National Action Plan 2020-2030, and Inter-agency Essential Services Guide (IESG) for Responding to Cases of Gender Based Violence and Child Protection.  The Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development (MWCSD) is now working on getting the Bill enacted by the Parliament.  The Attorney General has provided their comment and proposed to conduct further consultations with different stakeholders.  Once the Child Care and Protection Bill is passed, MWCSD will become the mandated statutory child protection authority in Samoa.

MWCSD’s Social Development Division has a Principal Child Protection Officer, a Senior Child Protection Officer, and a Child Protection Officer.  Other personnel in the Ministry are also involved in child protection, including in the Ministry’s Office on Savaii Island.  MWCSD’s response to the measles outbreak in 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity to build on the capacities, networks and mechanisms developed for emergency preparedness and response, to establish the multi-sector multi-stakeholder child protection system currently underway in Samoa in keeping with the evolving legal and policy framework. The ministry is also leading in multi-sectoral efforts to prevent and respond to GBV and Child Protection issues. In the last couple of years, they have been leading the development of the development National Prevention Framework for Samoa and the National Public Information campaign significantly contributing to the country’s evolving child protection system, which will eventually sustain efforts under Spotlight.

For the time being, most child protection services are provided by a non-government organization called Samoa Victim Support Group (SVSG), including case management.  With the adoption of the new policy framework, the respective role of MWCSD and NGOs in the delivery of child protection services will need to be revisited and levelled off.  MWCSD requires capacity building in its role as the lead of the child protection coordination platform in Samoa.

How can you make a difference? 

The Consultant, a child protection social work, will be under the overall supervision of UNICEF Pacific Multi-Country Office Child Protection Specialist focal point for Samoa.  The Consultant will also be able to draw on the expertise of UNICEF Pacific staff and consultants in various areas, including child protection legislation and policy, child justice, social work, mental health and psychosocial support, emergency, education, and community-based interventions, and to use the resources they have developed specifically for the Pacific, to be adapted/contextualised to Samoa. These resources include guidance notes, presentations, factsheets, training materials, information education and communication (IEC) materials, tip sheets, and forms.

Activities to be implemented with support from the Consultant are part of the Government-UNICEF joint work plan and will therefore be funded by UNICEF through quarterly cash advances, reimbursements, or direct payments to Government partners as per UNICEF policies, rules, and regulations.

Please refer to the ToR for further information on the deliverables and the timelines.

GUIDANCE FOR APPLICANTS

Please submit a separate financial offer along with your application. The financial proposal should be a lump sum amount for all the deliverables and should show a break down for the following:

Monthly / Daily fees– based on the deliverables in the Terms of Reference above

Travel (economy air ticket where applicable to take up assignment and field mission travel)

Living allowance where travel is required, noting the consultant is expected to spend approximately two-thirds of the assignment in Samoa.

Miscellaneous- to cover visa, health insurance (including medical evacuation for international consultants), communications, and other costs.

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

Education

• Master's degree in Social Work, Social Sciences, international law, international development, human rights, psychology, sociology or other related disciplines.

Professional experience

• At least 5 years of professional experience in child protection at national and/or subnational level.
• Knowledge of the Samoa or other similar Pacific country context and system of child protection is an asset.
• Experience in strengthening social workforce and system of social services.
• Experience in development of normative frameworks for child protection.
• Experience in building a dialog with national and local governments and CSOs.
• Experience providing consultancy services to UNICEF and other UN agencies

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

To view our competency framework, please visit  here

Remarks:  

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

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. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts. 

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.