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In recent decades, Türkiye has shown significant social and economic development, achieving substantial results in reducing poverty and improving access to basic services for the most vulnerable population.  Nevertheless, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT), this ratio of individuals at risk of poverty and social exclusion is 38.9% (2024) for children in 0-17 age group, whereas the relative poverty rate is 13.6% (2024).  Although laws and regulations in Türkiye are fully aligned with ILO Conventions (138 and 182) and do prohibit child labour, the gaps in monitoring, reporting and following-up, and the shortcomings in enforcement of laws hinder a complete elimination of child labour across the country . According to TURKSTAT’s Child Labour Force Survey (2019), 720,000 Turkish children are engaged in or at risk of child labour. 70% of these children are boys and 30% are girls. The proportion of working children in the 5-17 age group is 4.4%. 45.5% of these children work in the service sector; 30.8% work in agriculture; and 23.7% in industrial manufacturing. A significant number of these children have limited access to education. Despite the lack of comprehensive data, child labour is reported to be prevalent among refugee children as well. UNICEF Türkiye Office (TCO) studies show that a considerable number of refugee children of all ages in Türkiye engage in child labour.

For every child, inclusivity

Background: 

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MoLSS) and UNICEF TCO in partnership with multisectoral public, private and CSO partners, have been leading national efforts in combatting child labour. In this regard, “Elimination of Child Labour Through the Development of Joint Cooperation” Project has been developed to improve national efforts in addressing child labour.

The overall objective of the Project, co-funded by the European Union and UNICEF TCO which is implemented by the MoLSS DG Labour with technical support of UNICEF TCO, is to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of national system on the elimination of child labour in Türkiye. Final beneficiaries of the project are the children engaged in or at risk of child labour and their parents and caregivers in Türkiye.

The Project aims to achieve two main outcomes through below key programme components (between June 2025 – May 2028):

1. Strengthening the national system in combatting child labour

• Development of a new national policy and programme framework on combatting child labour informed by sectoral child labour prevalence analyses and impact assessment of the previous national programme.
• Development of standard operational procedures for provincial units combatting child labour.
• Development and implementation of action plans at local level.

2. Strengthening the capacity of non-governmental stakeholders in combatting child labour in all forms and sectors

• Monitoring, prevention, reporting and responding capacity of CSOs, business stakeholders, professional organizations, and universities.
• Developing and disseminating guiding documents for different stakeholders on how to contribute to the elimination of the worst forms of child labour and combating all forms.
• Providing technical and financial support to CSOs and social partners’ programmes on combatting child labour

For footnotes please see ToR.  INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANCY ToR (MoLSS based) - 26.06.2025.docx

How can you make a difference? 

The main objective of this consultancy is to provide technical and coordination support to the MoLSS and UNICEF in the implementation of the "Elimination of Child Labour Through the Development of Joint Cooperation" Project by ensuring the effective implementation, monitoring, and reporting of planned activities.

The Consultant will be responsible for the following tasks, with monthly progress reports due at the end of each month, summarizing achievements against the activities:

1. Support to National System Strengthening

• Contribute to the development of a new National Policy and Programme Framework on Combatting Child Labour.
• Assist in the preparation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for provincial units combating child labour.
• Support the design and implementation of local level action plans aligned with national strategies.

2. Support to Public Institutions Capacity Building

• Assist in assessing and improving monitoring, prevention, reporting, and response capacities of public institutions.
• Facilitate the planning and delivery of training sessions and stakeholder coordination meetings.

3. Support to Non-Governmental Stakeholder Capacity

• Support the development and dissemination of practical tools and guidance documents for CSOs, private sector actors, and academic institutions.
• Assist in managing Programme Cooperation Agreements and monitoring implementation.

4. Project Coordination and Reporting

• Track the implementation of project activities.
• Monitor risks, gather lessons learned, and support adaptive programming.
• Liaise with MoLSS and UNICEF to support preparation of reports and communication materials.

Duty Station: The consultant will be based at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security in Ankara, at least 4 days in a week with possible field travel, as needed and approved. The consultant’s presence at the Ministry is solely for coordination purposes related to deliverables, and s/he will not be involved in routine operational tasks or ongoing functions typically performed by staff.

Supervisor: Policy Officer, UNICEF Türkiye Country Office

Estimated Duration and Cost of Consultancy:

Duration: The contract shall commence on the date of signing and remain in effect until the successful submission of all deliverables. The consultancy is expected to require a total of 252 working days. The consultancy period will span from 1 August 2025 to 31 July 2026.

Estimated Cost of Consultancy: Applications shall include a detailed financial proposal that elaborates on daily costs based on the completion of above-mentioned deliverables, including a total sum demanded. The candidate is required to specify their daily rates and the total amount as per the number of anticipated working days in the financial proposal and provide the breakdown of the lump sum amount in TRY.

Payment: UNICEF will issue a contract in TRY. The payment will be done in instalments upon submission of the deliverables as per the above list and will be executed in TRY.

Payment Schedule: UNICEF will issue a contract in Turkish Lira (TRY). The payments will be made according to the payment schedule noted in the financial proposal template, upon UNICEF's approval of requested outputs as specified in the contract (please see financial proposal template).

Reservations:  UNICEF reserves the right to terminate the contract without a prior notice and/or withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if the rules and the regulations regarding confidentiality, ethics and procedures of UNICEF and the relevant partners are not followed, if work/outputs are incomplete, not delivered or for failure to meet deadlines.

All relevant intellectual property rights in the developed materials/products/documents and associated tools will, upon their development, vest in MoLSS and UNICEF. MoLSS and UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify them in the future. The selected consultant shall not use the data for their own research purposes and shall not license the data to be used by others, without the written consent of MoLSS and UNICEF.

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

Qualifications:  

• A university degree in Economics, Public Policy, Sociology, International Relations, Political Science, Law or a relevant field.
• Minimum one year of working experience in projects/programmes in combatting child labour is considered as a strong asset
• Experience working with or coordinating projects with public institutions, CSOs, and/or UN agencies.
• Experience in supporting management of any IPA project is considered as a strong asset.
• Proficiency in Turkish and English.

Skills and personal traits:  

• Sensitivity to and awareness about ethics regarding human and child rights issues, different cultures, local customs, religious beliefs and practices, personal interaction and gender roles, disability, age, and ethnicity.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work closely with national and international actors under tight deadlines and to facilitate the coordination of a process.
• Computer literacy.

*After the selection process the consultant will be expected to complete the mandatory UNICEF AGORA Trainings.  

Application and Selection Criteria

Please note that the assignment can only be held by an individual consultant. Applications should be submitted in English and should include: 

• Financial proposal using the Financial Proposal Template,  Financial Offer Template (IC-MoLSS based).docx
• Most recent CV (TMS Profile)
• Sample of relevant work developed by the consultant. 

The submission deadline is 30 June 2025 by 23:59 hrs. Türkiye time. Financial proposals should be submitted in separate folders from the remaining documentation. After the technical evaluation, the financial proposals of qualified candidates will be evaluated. The technical evaluation will be completed based on the attached technical evaluation criteria.

The applications will be evaluated from the technical and financial point of view. Technical aspects will be evaluated using the criteria outlined in the matrix below:

The financial proposals will be opened only for the candidates that reach or exceed forty-nine (49) points out of maximum seventy (70) points. Thirty (30) points will be awarded to the candidate that presented the lowest fee for the services requested. The remaining financial offers will receive proportional points ([lowest bid/bid] x 30 points).

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. 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. 

Remarks:  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.