Care for Child Development (CCD) Consultant

LOCATION/DURATION:

Duration: 220 days

On-site working days: TBC

Off-site working days: TBC

Field Missions/Travel: yes

Estimated Start Date: May 15, 2019

Estimated end Date: April 30,2020

BACKGROUND:

Early Childhood Development(ECD)

Young children and families, in the first few years of children’s lives are typically served through the health system. To ensure improvement of child outcomes there is a strong need to understand how best to find and use appropriate entry points in the system for Early Childhood Development (ECD) interventions, packages and methodologies. Early Childhood Development is identified as the skills, competencies and abilities that children gain by age of school entry because of good health, adequate nutrition, protection and stimulation. Advances in neuroscience are beginning to drive a revolutionary shift in the way we think about child development, as we learn more about the impact of both positive and negative experiences and the interplay of experience (nurture) and genetics (nature) on the developing brain. These developments have significant implications for our work with children.

MENA – ECD Overview

Despite this compelling global evidence and momentum for ECD, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) stands out as a region that until now has not invested sufficiently in ECD. For instance, early childhood education in MENA is seriously lagging behind other regions of the world. Gross enrolment in pre-primary education stands at 27 percent as of 2011. The only region with a lower level of enrolment is sub-Saharan Africa at 18 percent (World Bank 2014). The MENA region, as well as having low enrolment in pre-primary education, also has the lowest public provision of pre-primary, with only 29 percent of pre-primary enrolment in public programs and 71 percent of pre-primary enrolment in private preschools and nurseries (UNESCO 2014). MENA countries and territories also have the world’s highest rates of violent child discipline (UNICEF 2013) and the region has the lowest coverage of iodine, an important nutrient for brain development (UNICEF 2012). These deficits in ECD in MENA are limiting the potential of a generation of children and making the region less productive and competitive in the long run.

Care for Child Development

The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, in cooperation with the World Bank Group (WB), Aga Khan University, and other partners, designed Care for Child Development (CCD) to prepare service providers and other persons who work with families of young children to promote the healthy growth and psychosocial development of children. CCD is an evidence-based framework designed to promote the responsive caregiving and early learning components of nurturing care through integration in existing services. Components of nurturing care include: good health, adequate nutrition, security and safety, responsive caregiving, and early learning. The effective integration of the CCD package in health services, in particular, will result in a beneficial impact on children’s early development and support appropriate care for health and development. Findings from several trials have shown improvements in home environment and children’s development with CCD, suggesting that the programme can be incorporated into existing health services at relatively low cost. CCD has been integrated into programmes across various sectors, including child survival and health, nutrition rehabilitation, early learning (e.g. daycare services and preschools), social protection (families participating in a cash transfer programme, prevention of violence and abuse), mental health, and services for families with developmentally disabled children. The time is ripe for the scale-up of interventions like CCD.

OBJECTIVE:

• Adapt the CCD guidance for three countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, namely Tunisia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In addition, a more general MENA regional guidance will also be expected at the end of the consultancy.
• Support training for and implementation of CCD package in three priority countries, namely Tunisia, the UAE and Egypt, by providing training (master trainings/training of trainers and follow up training) and capacity building as they relate to Tunisia, Egypt and UAE adaptations of the CCD package.
• Develop a Guidance for in-country monitoring and evaluation of the CCD

DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNMENT:

• Preparation of the Guidance on CCD Adaptation for Middle East and North Africa region and Guidance for in-country implementation in Tunisia, Egypt and the UAE. To prepare the guidance, the consultant will review all the existing documents/evaluations from countries already implementing CCD, and in consultation with UNICEF/WHO and inter-agency working group established to support the process, finalize the Guidance (4 documents in total, Tunisia, Egypt and UAE country guidance and MENA Regional guidance.) The four guidance documents should be developed as strategic documents, with a clear set of recommendations. The recommendations should include clear explanation of the process and critical steps needed to ensure effective implementation; identification of main stakeholders/partners at the country level; identification of the most appropriate and efficient delivery channels for the intervention, including clinics, home visits and groups; tips on achieving sustainability (for example, how to incorporate the CCD in the relevant policy documents; how to incorporate the training package into the curriculum of paediatricians / community health workers and others strategies proven to be effective in ensuring sustainability of the intervention).
• Support the CCD training and implementation in priority countries (initially Tunisia, UAE and Egypt.) The next stage in the roll-out is in-country training and implementation. We have documented experience on the implementation of the intervention in various countries. It is extremely important to provide adequate technical support to the MENA regional countries ready to apply implement/refine implementation of CCD, and to help them adapt the intervention to their local context, build local capacity and partnership to implement CCD effectively, establish monitoring and evaluation systems, especially to track mother and child dyads over time, and document the learnings from the entire process of training and implantation. Through this consultancy, up to three countries that are in the early planning stages of implementing CCD (namely Tunisia, UAE and Egypt) will be covered. The support will be organized through on-line technical support, in person training (training of trainers and follow up training) and frequent in-country visits, as well as through frequent consultation with UNICEF HQ and consultation with main partners, like the WHO and the WB.
• Preparation of the Guidance on CCD Monitoring and Evaluation for in-country implementation. To prepare the guidance, the consultant will review all existing monitoring tools applied in countries already implementing CCD as well as relevant monitoring and evaluation tools and frameworks used and promoted by international agencies, and in consultation with UNICEF/WHO (including select country offices) and the inter-agency working group established to support the process, finalize the Guidance. The guidance should be developed as a toolkit, establishing the framework for monitoring and evaluation activities at the country level, with a set of recommended standards and internationally validated M&E tools to be used at country level. The guidance should identify a minimal set of indicators to monitor progress and evaluate quality and recommendations on proxy measures and sampling techniques that can be used to gather useful information at lower cost. The guidance should also provide information to programme managers and others as a minimum, on monitoring the status of the implementation of Care for Child Development (i.e. status of the training; funding status; operational plan including governance / coordination, etc.); the quality of inputs to the intervention (duration and fidelity of the training and supervision, providers skills; change in practices, etc.) and how well the intervention reaches the most marginalized children and their families. As measuring the impact of the intervention on child development is costly and requires specially trained experts, it is not a recommended routine practice. However, measuring the impact of the intervention is extremely important in understanding the effectiveness of the intervention and process that lead to desired (or un-desired) results. A workshop guide for training managers and front-line workers on how to use the monitoring data to make quality improvements. The guidance should cover some of the key considerations when preparing / conducting evaluation such as: how often is feasible (in low resource settings in particular); what outcomes to evaluate; propose tools that are reliable and valid.

KEY DELIVERABLES:

• The Guidance on Adaptation of the CCD for MENA region and in-country implementation made available to country offices for use. This deliverable will entail three components: Tunisia CCD Guidance, Egypt CCD Guidance, UAE CCD Guidance and a general MENA Regional guidance that will help inform CCD guidance for other countries in the region moving forward.
• Up to three selected countries, Tunisia, UAE and Egypt, have implemented CCD with adequate training (master trainings/training of trainers and follow up training and full technical support from the consultant provided in the design, monitoring and evaluation of the intervention including support during the implementation phase, which would entail follow-up visits and supportive supervision.
• The Guidance on CCD Monitoring and Evaluation made available to country offices for use and local adaptation, including documentation of best practices and lessons learned for future implementation.

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS:

The consultant will be working from home. Regular communication including emails and phone calls on a weekly basis, or more frequently if needed, will be established between the consultant and the H&N unit in MENARO and three Country Offices.

The consultancy will also require field trip to MENA Regional office in Jordan and priority countries (namely Tunisia, UAE and Egypt) implementing the intervention.

Outputs/Deliverables

# Days

Deadline

• Preparation of the Guidance on CCD Adaptation for in-country implementation: Tunisia, Egypt and UAE country guidance and MENA Regional Guidance (4 documents)

60

Tunisia, Egypt and UAE – Month 3

MENARO – Month 12

• Support the CCD training and implementation in priority countries (3 countries Tunisia, UAE and Egypt) including monitoring and evaluation.

100

Month 2-10

• Preparation of Guidance on CCD M&E for in-country implementation

60

Month 3

Total

220 (over the period of 12 months)

TRAVEL CONSIDERATIONS

None Commencement travel (consultant’s cost) Mission travel (schedule/itinerary required):

Estimated date of travel is based on availability of the country offices (Date will be tbd).

For individual contractors and consultants, all travel arrangements to commence the assignment, including insurance and visas, will be managed and paid by the individual. Therefore, expected travel costs must be included as a budget item in the financial proposal. Should “mission travel” be required, UNICEF will manage and pay for travel via Travel Authorization. However, this will be subject to the following prerequisites: Medical Clearance, Security Clearance through the Travel Request Information Process (TRIP) system, the Basic and Advanced Security in the Field Trainings, Travel Visa, and liability waiver. Trip prerequisites will be met at the expense of the consultant.

Travel cost shall be calculated based on economy class travel, regardless of the length of travel. Costs for accommodation, meals and incidentals shall not exceed applicable daily subsistence allowance (DSA) rates, as promulgated by the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC at http://icsc.un.org). The consultant must travel on UNICEF approved airlines.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

1. Education:

• Minimum Master’s Degree in social sciences or related field, Ph.D. preferred;

2. Work experience:

• At least eight years of experience including demonstrated experience in adaptation and implementation of CCD programs

3. Technical knowledge:

• Internationally recognized expert in Early Childhood Development;
• Internationally recognized expert in ECD Monitoring and Evaluation;
• Excellent writing skills, proven with UN agencies;
• Excellent facilitation skills;
• Proven organizational and coordination skills;
• Work effectively through email, phone, and other means of communications across various time zones.

4. Language:

• Excellent command of English and French required, plus knowledge of Arabic preferred;

PAYMENT SCHEDULE:

12. PROPOSED PAYMENT SCHEDULE

By Deliverable

UNICEF Regional and Country Offices will remunerate the consultant with the total consultancy costs based on deliverables. Daily Subsidy Allowance (DSA) and ticket will be paid separately for each trip and will be organized by the respective UNICEF office).

The consultant will not be paid in the event of unsatisfactory performance in any of the above-mentioned assignments/tasks, or if major constraints/problems arise due to the consultant’s performance. Also note that UNICEF does not make advance payment except under certain conditions in line with UNICEF Financial Rules and Regulations.

Outputs/Deliverables

% of payment

Deadline

• Preparation of the Guidance on CCD Adaptation for in-country implementation: Tunisia, Egypt and UAE country guidance and (4 documents)

30

Tunisia, Egypt and UAE – Month 3

Preparation of the Guidance on CCD Adaptation for MENA Regional Guidance

10

MENARO – Month 12

• Support the CCD training and implementation in priority countries (3 countries Tunisia, UAE and Egypt) including monitoring and evaluation.

30

Tunisia, Egypt and UAE – Month 2-10

• Preparation of Guidance on CCD M&E for in-country implementation

30

Tunisia, Egypt and UAE – Month 3

Total

100

UNICEF will only make milestone payment based on achievement of specific deliverables as listed on the table above.

EVALUATION PROCESS:

Qualified candidates are requested to submit:

• Cover letter/application.
• Financial quote as lump sum for professional fees, and lump sum for travel/administrative/subsistence, if applicable.
• CV.
• Examples of previous, relevant work as applicable
• Proposed methodology/approach to managing the project.
• At least 3 Referees
• P 11 form (which can be downloaded from our website at http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index_53129.html ).

Incomplete submissions will not be considered.

“UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.”