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For every child, Empowerment...

The overall goal of UNICEF Malawi’s Country Programme (2024-2028) is to contribute to the Government of Malawi’s efforts to implement and decentralize policies related to children, focusing on the most disadvantaged and deprived, to have their rights progressively respected and fulfilled so they can survive, grow and develop to their full potential in an inclusive and protective society. This activity sits under Outcome 4: Vulnerable girls and boys, including adolescents are learning in a healthy, safe, quality, and inclusive pre-primary, primary, and secondary education, acquire transferrable skills, and benefit from gender-responsive, equitable, and inclusive child protection services, including in emergencies by 2028; Output 4: Social service workforce and institutions at national and sub-national levels have increased capacity to provide resilient, sustainable, inclusive and gender-sensitive rehabilitation services to child survivors of violence and harmful practices, especially in remote areas.

UNICEF aims to support Government and local authorities to strengthen its structures to operationalize key policies and legal frameworks. Among these key frameworks is the Child Care, Protection and Justice Act, which provides the framework for assisting children in need of care and protection. The Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare (MoGCDSW), with support from UNICEF Malawi, is currently implementing various child protection programs and interventions districts.

The Government of Malawi recognizes a “Case Management” approach for the delivery of integrated CP services. Case Management is a coordinated service delivery approach at the individual and household levels involving the identification of vulnerable children, assessment and planning, referral to services and follow up, in collaboration with the extended family, community and other service providers. The District Social Welfare Offices, through Child Protection Workers, collect Case Management data using the national approved framework and booklets.

Malawi’s Child Protection Case Management program evolved as a core service delivery mechanism in 2011. Case Management tools for assessment and case planning were first field tested in five pilot districts. After six months of pilot implementation and many stakeholder discussions, revisions were made, and the new tools were tested again in early 2014. Following a learning visit to Zimbabwe, these were revised again and streamlined in 2018 to i) ensure they were more HIV sensitive and aligned to the 90:90:90 goals; ii) to increase user-friendliness and data generation capacity; iii) improve detailed assessment, goal planning and follow-up functions; and iv) significantly reduce the number of pages.

How can you make a difference? 

Under the supervision of the Child Protection Specialist (Services), the consultant will be responsible to:

1. Assess the level of Child Protection Program integration into other sectors in a country through:

• Conduct a desk review and literature search on:

- Existing policies, strategies, and plans related to child protection and other relevant sectors (e.g., education, health, social welfare) integration.

- Identify key sectors and stakeholders from government, civil society, international organizations, and community groups in CP integration.

• Collection data:  developing and administering of surveys, interviews, or focus group discussions with stakeholders to gather data on:

- Current level of integration between child protection programs and other sectors.

- Establish their knowledge on existing policies, procedures, and protocols supporting integration of CP and challenges, gaps, and opportunities for improved integration.

• Based on analysis of the data collected, assess the level of integration between child protection programs and other sectors using a predefined framework or tools.

- Evaluate the effectiveness of existing integration mechanisms and identify areas for strengthening.

- Identify good practices and lessons learned from successful integration efforts in the country or other countries.

- Document case studies or examples of effective integration to inform future programming.

2. Assess the quality of data in the Case Management booklets through:

• Verifying data for a minimum of 50 Case Management booklets in each of the selected districts for completion of the data in the booklets.
• Review the HIV indicators to determine if they are being correctly addressed using the new booklets, referral pathways for HIV booklets.
• Track the general referral of cases as documented in the booklets.
• Check if the action plans in the Case Management booklets addresses the identified gaps and feasibility of the proposed interventions.
• Capacity development on gaps identified during the assessment of the Case Management booklets

3. Cross check the Case Management booklet data entry against the Case Management training manual to identify gaps if any from the recently entered data.
4. Support District Social Welfare Officers to develop plans and processes to ensure data quality of Case Management booklets by government and non-government partners.
5. Provide other support to the Services unit and Child protection section as required.
6. Produce a quarterly bulletin on case management
7. Consolidate the January to June 2025 data for contribution in the RAM report.

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

Academic qualification:

• Bachelor’s degree in social work, social science, development studies, education, psychology, health or related discipline is required.
• Masters degree in the relevant field is an added advantage.

Work experience:

• At least seven years’ professional experience in Child Protection, Child Protection in emergencies, Case Management, integrated services, data analytics and gender-based violence in emergencies is required.
• Demonstrated experience working with District Councils and the ability to foster and maintain strong professional relationships at local levels with community leaders, CSOs, families and children and adolescents is required.
• Demonstrated experience working with multiple stakeholders (e.g. Government, CSOs, UN) is essential.
• Experience in working with UN, donor, and national or international NGOs is considered an asset 

Technical skills, knowledge and strength areas:

• Expertise in case management, integrated services and case management booklet verification is an asset.
• Expertise in M & E and data analysis is considered an asset.
• Excellent analytical, writing and presentation skills; excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and analytical and strategic thinking is an asset.
• Excellent organizational skills and familiarity and confidence working with high level political and government stakeholders is desirable.

 Languages:  

• Fluency in both English and Chichewa is required.

Please refer to the attached full Terms of Reference  Terms of Reference Case Management Data Verification.pdf for more details on the consultancy and requirements.

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 committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

HOW TO APPLY...

Interested consultants should provide the following:

1. Curriculum Vitae
2. Brief technical proposal (no longer than five pages) demonstrating the consultant’s understanding of the assignment and approach/methodology to the assignment
3. Financial proposal including a breakdown of their all-inclusive fees (including professional fees, travel, living cost, visa and other costs). Financial Proposal for Consultancy.xlsx Complete the attached form.
4. References details

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.