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, Hope

How can you make a difference? 

UNICEF estimates that 17,000 children in Gaza are unaccompanied or separated. This is almost 1 per cent of the total population displaced by the current conflict. Each child has a heartbreaking story of devastation, loss, and grief. In the context of the intense and

widespread violence in Gaza, many children have lost or been separated from their parents who have died, been hospitalized, or been detained. In some cases, children get separated from their parents during multiple forced displacements or in the midst of frantic attempts to secure urgently needed humanitarian assistance.

UNICEF’s State of Palestine office has been working for Unaccompanied and Separated Children through targeted efforts to prevent separation in the first place, to support prompt and coordinated identification and referral to alternative care services, and in all cases possible, reunification. In many cases, unaccompanied children may need temporary care, while separated children require longer term solutions. In both cases, a family environment capable of supporting the material and emotional needs of children deprived of parental care, is in the best interests of the child.

With more than 60% of residential infrastructure destroyed, more than 100,000 dead or injured, chronic food insecurity in certain areas, and extreme deprivation across the strip, every family in Gaza is suffering. All children in Gaza are expected to need mental health and

psychosocial support, particularly those who have lost family and familiar carers. The degree of traumatic exposure, witness to terrifying events, and fear of multiple threats from attack, arrest, illness, disease, and loss of livelihood is putting an impossible strain on families.

There have been many successful parenting support interventions developed and adapted to families in Palestine. Many of them are difficult to implement at this time due to access and operational challenges. For that reason, UNICEF is proposing accessible support resources and ‘light touch’ content and engagement based on successful interventions that provide parents with the time, space, support, and information to support personal and child recovery.

Additional emphasis will be place on ensuring that families caring for Unaccompanied and Separated Children (UASC) are equipped with skills and supports to nurture the physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing of unaccompanied and/or separated children in their care

Scope of Work:

The purpose of this consultancy is to support UNICEF State of Palestine in Develop an accessible, ‘light touch’ parenting programme and include modules to specifically address the needs of families caring for UASC.

Given the current challenges in delivering traditional interventions with families, this consultancy will consider the support to families in a phased approach, with deliverables under this contract forming part of more comprehensive support to be provided as possible.

Subsequent phases will engage more routine, in person assistance to families that expands on the resources developed in this first phase.

1. Work with UNICEF (partners and technical advisors) to review parenting interventions applied and tested in the State of Palestine, particularly Gaza, to identify a culturally appropriate theoretical model for developing the Parenting Programme.

2. Conduct a minimum of three FGDs (through online modality) with key child protection organizations operating in the State of Palestine and the Gaza Strip to gather information about family needs and strengths to inform the development of resources specific to the situation of unaccompanied and separated children in family care, based on the model identified.

3. Conduct KIIs (Key Informant Interview) with sectoral experts and technical personnel from UNICEF and NGOs operating in the child protection sector to inform the contextualization of the parenting package (or Programme).

4. Identification of entry points for cross-sectorial integration - either by way of integrating key messages from other sectors, or in other forms to be discussed - to provide more comprehensive support to families across different areas of need.

5. Based on inputs/findings from the FDGs and KIIs (Key Informant Interview), draft content in support of family engagement and strengthening that considers: i) a thorough review and contextualization of modules to ensure their relevance to the social fabric and cultural values predominant in the Gaza Strip; ii) an intentional design for modules, including length and content, to facilitate their delivery in conflict settings; iii) the development of new modules to specifically address the needs of separated children and families providing temporary or permanent kinship care.

6. In close collaboration with UNICEF State of Palestine/Child Protection Section and UNICEF MENA/Child Protection Section, design and support field testing of the materials for a sample of families through UNICEF partners in the Gaza Strip.

7. Incorporate findings/inputs received through the field test and finalize the Parenting Programme.

8. In consultation with UNICEF State of Palestine/Child Protection Section and UNICEF MENA/Child Protection Section, select key messages from relevant modules to be utilized for dissemination through social media posts, What’s App, radio messages,

leaflets, etc. 

9. Develop three sets of booklets (maximum 20 pages) for: children, adolescents, and care givers (if we opt for the broader parenting programme, we will need to develop a 4th booklet for parents.

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

• Education: Master’s degree in psychology, Counseling, Social Work, Childhood Development.
• Experience: A minimum of 5 years' experience in providing MHPSS programming or service delivery. Proven experience in designing and delivering mental health and psychosocial support family support programmes in complex emergencies is strongly preferred, as is experience with programming in the Middle East with Arabic speaking families, particularly Palestinian. Experience working with unaccompanied and separated children is highly desirable.
• Language: Excellent English and Arabic is essential.

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.