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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, innovation.

Purpose of Activity/Assignment

The Czech Republic hosts the highest number of refugees from Ukraine per capita in the European Union (EU). Since the onset of the refugee crisis, the Czech Republic welcomed over half a million Ukrainian refugees. Based on the re-registration over 370,000 refugees remain in the country, out of which 26 per cent are children and 43 per cent women. The registration data show that on average 8,000 new Ukrainian refugees enter Czech Republic every month, including around 30 – 50 minors entering the country unaccompanied or separated. There are about 76,000 youth between 15 – 24 years old in the country. Estimated survey data indicate that around 16% of young people between 15 – 19 years are not in education, employment, or training.

UNICEF together with partners, launched the CESTY (pathways) program to address the challenges faced by young Ukrainian refugees who often have to choose between continuing their education and entering the workforce. It connects vulnerable youth—particularly those who have left school, are at risk of dropping out, or have experienced harm—to various learning and income-generating opportunities. By facilitating this connection, youth are supported on their transition to decent work through addressing the diverse needs of displaced youth, helping them build a brighter future. While opening opportunities is essential, evidence from across the EU shows that it must be complemented by holistic and long-term support, proactive outreach, and meaningful participation from youth themselves. Access to quality case management is particularly important to ensure that all youth have access to available services addressing their basic needs, mental and physical health, safety, and psychosocial well-being. As they navigate unfamiliar educational environments and labor markets, young people will benefit from tailored professional development support both before and after they engage with educational opportunities, services, and jobs. Establishing strong connections with social service partners through effective case management will be crucial in helping youth remain on their journey of skill-building and personal growth. The role of case management in delivering individualized and coordinated support to vulnerable beneficiaries in the CESTY program is essential for addressing the complex challenges of Ukrainian youth.

The objective of this assignment is to develop Case Management and Referral Pathways for UNICEF's CESTY program tailored to meet the needs of Ukrainian youth in the Czech Republic. This will be achieved by mapping existing services, consulting with all relevant stakeholders and enhancing the capacities of involved professionals to establish region-specific referral pathways across all regions of the Czech Republic.

Scope of Work

Under the direct supervision of the Child Protection Specialist, the consultant will support the following activities:

• Conduct a mapping and assess existing standards and frameworks already in use in the Czech Republic. This will involve a thorough review of national policies, legal frameworks, and established practices related to case management. The consultant will ensure that best practices and existing resources are identified and integrated, creating a foundation for the development of new case management processes.
• Design comprehensive Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that effectively address the basic needs, protection risks, and access to education and skills-building opportunities for vulnerable refugee youth. The SOPs will be developed with active input from key stakeholders, ensuring they meet the practical needs of refugee youth. The consultant will collaborate with relevant actors, incorporating their insights and a literature review to align the SOPs with the "Child Protection Minimum Standards on Case Management" and the "Inter-Agency Guidelines for Case Management and Child Protection," ensuring standardized approaches.
• Organize and facilitate validation workshops covering Prague and two other regions of the Czech Republic with key partners and stakeholders involved in the Cesty program, including the state and non-state actors (CSOs and experts). These workshops will focus on consulting, mapping, and validating the Case Management and Referral Pathways, ensuring they comprehensively address the specific needs of vulnerable Ukrainian refugee adolescents and youth. By closely collaborating with participants, the consultant will gather valuable insights, identify gaps, explore existing practices, and obtain feedback. The outputs from these workshops will inform the SOPs, ensuring that the developed pathways are both practical and tailored to the unique contexts faced by the Ukrainian youth.
• Create a case management training package and deliver 4 trainings for key stakeholders. The trainings will gather social workers, case managers, youth workers, education and employment counselors, NGO Junior Achievement staff and service providers to equip them with the necessary skills to navigate and implement the new Case Management and Referral Pathways effectively.

The consultant's work will be carried out in close collaboration with the UNICEF Cesty team, and with identified local partners to ensure a cohesive and unified approach, leveraging the expertise and maximizing efforts for better protection of refugee youth. Regular coordination meetings, joint planning sessions and continuous communication will align efforts, share progress, and address challenges. The consultant will also facilitate knowledge exchange among major stakeholders to ensure the sustainability and effectiveness of the support provided to Ukrainian refugee youth.

Work Assignment Overview

Estimated Duration of the Contract

39 working days between November 2024 and January 2025.

Consultant's Work Place and Official Travel

The Consultant will be home-based in Prague.

As part of this assignment, some local travels are foreseen. The consultant will arrange her/his travel as and when they take place, and related costs will be reimbursed per UNICEF travel policy.

Travel Clause

• All UNICEF rules and regulations related to travel of Consultants apply.
• All travels shall be undertaken only upon the prior written approval by UNICEF.
• The consultant must be fit to travel, be in a possession of the valid UN BSAFE certificate, obligatory inoculation(s) and have a valid own travel/medical insurance and an immunization/vaccination card.

Estimated Cost of the Consultancy & Payment Schedule

Payment will be made on submission of an invoice and satisfactory completion of the above-mentioned deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if work/outputs are incomplete, not delivered or for failure to meet deadlines. All materials developed will remain the copyright of UNICEF and UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify them in the future.

Please submit a professional fee (in USD) based on 39 working days to undertake this assignment, without travel fees as these will be reimbursed as and when they take place.

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

Required:

• Master’s degree in Social Work, Psychology, Psychiatry, Health, Humanitarian Sciences, legal studies, or related field.
• At least 5-7 years of professional work experience in the field of social work, child/youth protection, and/or support to vulnerable youth and adolescent development.
• Demonstrated working experience and knowledge in social work and case management in area of Adolescents and Youth.
• Demonstrated working experience in developing and defining case management methodology.
• Demonstrated experience in developing modules and delivering trainings for professionals.
• Fluency in Czech and English is required.

Skills:

• Excellent writing skills.
• Excellent analytical, communication and negotiating skills.
• Excellent team working skills and respect for diversity.
• Ability to work through networking and in partnership.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS), and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most marginalized children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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.

Remarks:

Please submit:

• a full CV,
• a financial proposal (in USD) outlining your daily rate and estimated number of days needed for completion of each deliverable,
• a Cover Letter with clarification of availability as well as detailed relevant experience and approach to this consultancy,
• a two (2) page technical proposal outlining workplan and tentative methodology for implementing the activities of the assignment within timeframe, as well as
• samples of relevant work (attachments or links).

Applications submitted without a professional fee will not be considered. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

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.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants 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.