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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, a voice.

Purpose of Activity/Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to support the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA) in coordinating regional-level engagement and feedback within the framework of the Technical Support Instrument (TSI) project for the development of the new Child Protection and Family Support legislation. The consultant will facilitate communication between MoLSA, national legislative experts and regional child protection stakeholders, ensuring that the perspectives of municipal governments, service providers, and children themselves are reflected in the legal reform process.

Context

The Czech Republic has made significant strides in aligning its child protection policies with international human rights standards, yet its system remains fragmented and in need of comprehensive reform. While the country has demonstrated its commitment to upholding children’s rights by ratifying key international treaties and aligning its policies with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and EU standards, its child protection system remains fragmented and in need of reform. Responsibilities are divided among multiple ministries, creating service delivery challenges and prioritizing at-risk children over prevention and family support. Despite past reforms in legislation, funding, and social services, structural weaknesses persist, including a lack of standardized practices and accountability. Addressing these challenges requires a comprehensive legal framework that unifies and strengthens child protection and family support services, ensuring effective governance, accountability and the prioritization of children’s best interests.

In response to challenges within the national child protection system, the Government of the Czech Republic has recognized the urgent need for reform. To facilitate this, the MoLSA sought support from the European Commission under Regulation (EU) 2021/240, known as the TSI - Technical Support Instrument (as part of the multicounty project). The European Commission - Reform and Investment Task Force (SG REFORM) has engaged UNICEF’s Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (UNICEF ECARO), in collaboration with the UNICEF Refugee Response Office in the Czech Republic, to provide technical support. In November 2024, UNICEF launched the “Development of a Comprehensive Child Protection and Family Support Law in the Czech Republic” project to help address key challenges and establish a unified, child-centred legal framework. The project aims to enhance support for vulnerable children and families, equip professionals with updated tools, and implement legal and organizational changes.

UNICEF, in collaboration with SG REFORM of the European Commission, will provide essential technical inputs to assist the Government of the Czech Republic in drafting comprehensive new child protection and family support legislation, alongside a comprehensive Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA), to be submitted to the Government of the Czech Republic for approval. This process will ensure the inclusion of all key components necessary for the legislative framework, guaranteeing alignment with international child protection standards, such as the UNCRC, as well as EU regulations and best practices. Additionally, UNICEF will contribute to the creation of a comprehensive fiscal analysis, analysing the potential financial impacts of the proposed reforms on governance, service delivery, and sustainability. This will be complemented by a communication and public relations plan designed to facilitate the law’s rollout and nationwide acceptance, ensuring stakeholders, including policymakers, social service authorities, NGOs, and the public, are fully informed and engaged throughout the process. UNICEF will work closely with the MoLSA to ensure the new child protection legislation is based on a comprehensive and evidence-based fiscal analysis, highlighting both current and future funding needs necessary to sustain the reforms.

To support the implementation of the EU-funded Action, UNICEF ECARO will engage a national consultant to provide regional consultations and local contextual advice in the Czech Republic. The Action is led by the UNICEF ECARO Core Group, under the supervision of the Child Protection Specialist, who serves as project manager and ensures alignment with UNICEF’s quality standards. This ToR outlines the role of the consultant in contributing Czech Republic regional knowledge and practical insights to support the development of the technical inputs for the new Child Protection and Family Support legislation, RIA, fiscal analysis and communication plan. The consultant will serve as a liaison between MoLSA, national legal experts and regional stakeholders, ensuring that the perspectives of municipalities, service providers, and families are reflected in the reform process. The consultant will also support MoLSA in coordinating consultations and feedback across regions.

Scope of Work

The scope of work encompasses different areas of responsibility outlined here as per the main outputs of the Action. The specific tasks expected from this consultancy will be discussed in more detail with the selected candidate. All TSI-related activities will be carried out in close collaboration with the MoLSA. The consultant will support the implementation of the EU-funded Action by coordinating and facilitating regional-level consultations and ensuring the inclusion of perspectives from municipalities, local service providers, and children, where appropriate. Drawing on extensive experience in the Czech child protection system, the consultant will provide structured feedback on all technical inputs developed by national and international experts to ensure relevance and feasibility at the regional and local levels. The assignment is organized under four main outputs:

Output 1: Regional consultations on the technical legislative inputs and Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA)

Under this output, the consultant will support the planning, organization, and facilitation of regional and local consultations on the draft technical legislative inputs and RIA developed as part of the legislative reform process. Tasks include:

• Coordinating engagement with local experts, child protection professionals, and municipal authorities to gather feedback on the anticipated impact of the proposed legislation.
• Facilitating structured discussions in select regions to collect inputs on how legislative changes may affect service delivery, coordination mechanisms, and implementation capacity.
• Where feasible and appropriate, organizing consultations or participatory feedback sessions with children and adolescents to reflect their views on the proposed legal reforms.
• Summarizing and documenting all regional inputs to ensure they are incorporated into the final version of the technical legislative inputs and RIA.

Output 2: Regional consultations on the fiscal analysis

Under this output, the consultant will support the fiscal analysis team in collecting information and validating the financial assumptions and proposed funding models of the new legislation at the local level. Tasks include:

• Organizing targeted consultations with relevant regional and municipal actors (e.g. social department heads, budget officers, service providers) to discuss the feasibility, cost implications, and resource needs associated with the reform.
• Facilitating discussions on local budgeting practices and gaps to inform the development of realistic and regionally responsive financial projections.
• Facilitating effective communication and coordination between the fiscal analysis team and regional stakeholders to ensure technical inputs are well understood, practical concerns are heard, and local perspectives are reflected in final fiscal findings and recommendations.

Output 3: Support for the development of the communication plan

The consultant will contribute to the development of a communication plan by ensuring that regional voices are reflected in its design. Tasks include:

• Organizing consultations with regional MoLSA representatives, municipal officials, and frontline service providers to gather input on key messages, preferred channels, and communication gaps related to the legislative reform.
• Identifying region-specific challenges, hesitations, and opportunities that should be addressed in the communication plan to support ownership and buy-in at the local level.
• Sharing practical suggestions from the regions on how to effectively communicate reform objectives to professionals, caregivers, and children.

Cross-Cutting Responsibilities

In addition to the three outputs above, the consultant will:

• Review all draft documents (technical inputs to the law, RIA, fiscal analysis, and communication plan) from a regional and municipal perspective and provide targeted written feedback.
• Document and synthesize all regional inputs received through consultations, ensuring they are clearly communicated to the national expert team and MoLSA.
• Participate in meetings with MoLSA, UNICEF, and the TSI project core team to align on progress and next steps.
• Support MoLSA in organizing coordination meetings.
• Submit all deliverables in electronic format, including summary reports from consultations and feedback matrices.

The consultancy is remote, requiring traveling to the Czech Republic. The national consultant is expected to work closely in coordination with the MoLSA, as well as with UNICEF and designated national experts. The collaboration will begin with a visioning exercise to establish a shared approach for regional consultations. Monthly check-ins will be held with the consultant to review progress, address challenges, and coordinate next steps in line with national objectives and regional realities. The consultant will also consult regularly with the international expert on an ad-hoc basis for technical guidance. In addition, the consultant will review draft documents and provide feedback from a regional perspective. All progress reports will be submitted electronically.

Work Assignment Overview

Estimated Duration of the Contract

74 working days between September 2025 and August 2026

Consultant's Work Place and Official Travel

The Consultant will be remote/home-based.

As part of this assignment, some 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 EUR) based on 74 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…

• Master's in Social work or other related fields.
• Minimum of 7 years of professional experience in the field of child protection and social services, experience in a management or leadership position within the regional or municipal child protection system in the Czech Republic will be considered as advantage.
• Strong knowledge of the Czech regional child protection legal and policy framework, in depth understanding of coordination mechanisms between MoLSA and municipal actors is an asset.
• Experience coordinating or contributing to national reforms, consultations, or systemic child protection initiatives will be considered as an advantage.
• Strong knowledge of the Czech child protection legal and policy framework.
• Excellent facilitation, coordination, and communication skills, ability to synthesize inputs from diverse stakeholders into actionable feedback will be considered an advantage.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams is required.
• Strong understanding of inter-agency cooperation mechanisms and multi-sectoral coordination in child protection reform will be considered as advantage.
• Native-level fluency in Czech is required, knowledge of English will be considered an advantage.

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 Cover Letter, and a financial proposal (in EUR) in your application. 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.