National Consultancy: Hiring of 7 Local Facilitators for the Program: “National Network of Safe Spaces for Children and Adolescents” in 39 Communities and 21 Prioritized Cantons”, UNICEF Costa Rica, Approximate Duration 06 months

For Every Child, Protection

General Objective:

Strengthen the operational and management capacity of 39 Safe Spaces throughout the country in order to ensure their optimal functioning and the effective provision of protection and violence prevention services for children and adolescents in high-risk communities, as well as their active involvement in the work of the Local Protection Subsystems of each canton.

How can you make a difference?

This consultancy is part of the program “National Network of Safe Spaces for Children and Adolescents, ES” that UNICEF, PANI, DINADECO and other allied institutions and agencies have been promoting since 2021, through which the National Protection System and the active involvement of Community Development Associations in the protection of children and adolescents directly in their communities are strengthened.

To date, the program has 47 Safe Spaces nationwide, of which five (5) are installed in border areas addressing the humanitarian needs of migrant children and adolescents in transit and 42 Safe Spaces installed in communities and cantons throughout the national territory. UNICEF has also been promoting the participation of local governments in the establishment of policies and lines of action to support and multiply the Safe Spaces as a way to sustain and give scalability to this initiative in their cantons.

In Costa Rica, these Safe Spaces have the particularity of being promoted by Community Development Associations in which local leaders make this work part of the community’s well-being development agenda. This is achieved through programs designed to meet the specific needs of each age group, promoting values ​​of respect, inclusion and solidarity.

Their success largely depends on the training, awareness and encouragement they receive from facilitators that UNICEF periodically hires for specific periods to promote greater involvement of municipalities, PANI, Dinadeco and other organizations that make up the Local Protection Subsystems created in the country since 2009 by decree No. 35105-MP-S and which currently has around 70 Local Protection Subsystems at the canton level.

Through this consultancy, UNICEF will hire the services of 7 facilitators who will supervise 39 Safe Spaces located in 21 cantons of the country. The rest of the Safe Spaces already have UNICEF personnel hired.

The geographic areas and total amounts of each consultancy for 5 months are as follows:
1. South Pacific Region.
2. North-North Region.
3. Central Pacific Region.
4. Atlantic Region.
5. Central GAM Region.
6. Northern La Cruz Region.
7. Northern Sarapiqui Region.

Job Assignment Overview:

Product 1: To be delivered on October 7, 2024
Resume and develop the sustainability plan developed in 2023 for each of the 39 Safe Spaces, which includes financial, operational, and human resources strategies to ensure the continuity and impact of protection and violence prevention services for children and adolescents.
Deliverable:
• Comprehensive Plan to Strengthen the Safe Spaces assigned under your responsibility. Preparation of the Comprehensive Plan that includes the components of sustainability, training, municipal action, and youth participation in a cohesive and detailed initial document.

Product 2: To be delivered on October 31, 2024
Update and improve the municipal action plans, promoted in 2023 by Safe Spaces in conjunction with UNICEF, to increase the involvement of municipalities and their commitment to promoting and strengthening more Safe Spaces in their cantons.
Deliverables:
• Updated and improved Municipal Action Plans with the participation of municipalities and the Safe Spaces under their responsibility.

Product 3: To be delivered on December 2, 2024.
Homologate the standardized training toolbox for the 39 Safe Spaces, ensuring that it covers the best practices and standards in violence prevention and child protection for children and adolescents promoted by UNICEF.
Deliverables:
• Standardized training toolbox for the Safe Spaces under your responsibility, validated and aligned with the best practices and standards in violence prevention and child protection promoted by UNICEF.

Product 4: To be delivered on January 23, 2025
Strengthen the actions of accompaniment and support to the group of Youth Communicators started in July 2024, and expand the participation opportunities of these adolescents and young people in the activities of the Safe Spaces, in order to integrate their contributions in the promotion and strengthening of protection and violence prevention services in the communities.
Deliverables:
• Report of the Group of Youth Communicators under your responsibility with a proposed action plan to open opportunities for participation within the Safe Spaces, municipalities or SSLPs.

Product 5: To be delivered on February 17, 2025
Train the staff of the 39 Safe Spaces in the use of computer tools to generate accurate reports on the numerical participation of children and adolescents, in order to ensure accuracy in monitoring and understanding the participation and acceptance of the activities promoted by each Safe Space.
Deliverables:
• Staff of the Safe Spaces under their responsibility are trained and use digital attendance registration systems, such as Google Forms and other tools, to effectively control and record the numerical participation of children and adolescents participating in Safe Spaces activities on a monthly basis.

To qualify as an advocate for all children you must have…

• • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in relevant areas such as Social and Economic Planning, Social Work, Administration, Recreation and Education.
  • Minimum of 2 years of work experience in areas related to child protection, community development, or working with non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
  • Experience in the management and development of child protection programs, working with vulnerable communities, or in the implementation of policies and programs related to children and adolescents.

• Other Requirements:
  •  Availability: Availability to travel, if necessary, and to work in different locations within the country.
  • Organizational Skills: Ability to manage multiple tasks and projects simultaneously, with attention to detail and meeting deadlines.
  • Residence: In one of the cantons of the region of your interest.
  • Self-employment insurance: Since this is a contract for professional services, the consultant must have self-employment health insurance coverage.

How to apply:

Complete the application form correctly and attach the following documents:

• Only natural persons may submit bids.
• Preference will be given to bidders with proven experience in similar work.
• The offer must contain a presentation of the methodology to be used, the program of activities and the work schedule. (Attach in the Technical Proposal section of the Application)
• Likewise, an economic proposal must be submitted in accordance with the products, including all costs for their production (fees, travel expenses and other operating costs), as well as the required payment schedule.
• Both offers must be attached to the platform with the application for this consultancy.
• Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria: experience of the bidder, logic of the methodology, experience of the assigned work and price of the offer.
  • Evaluation criteria and scores:
    • Logic and coherence of the Technical Offer (methodology, organization and work proposal) 40 pts
    • Academic preparation 15 pts
    • Specific experience 20 pts

For every child, you show…

UNICEF values ​​of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Responsibility and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit  here .

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the United Nations Staff Regulations and Rules and UNICEF policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their terms of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Engagement for Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax obligations and the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible for ensuring that the visa (if applicable) and health insurance required to perform the obligations of the contract are valid for the entire term of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of their full vaccination status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to starting the assignment. This does not apply to consultants who will be working remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF campuses, programme sites, or interact directly with the communities UNICEF works with, or travel to perform duties for UNICEF during the term of their consultancy contracts.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodations for consultants with disabilities, which may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal assistants. We ask that you indicate your disability during the processing of your application in case you require reasonable accommodations during the selection process and subsequently during your assignment.