Children and Armed Conflict Specialist

Background:

UNICEF Somalia Country programme has been developed taking into account the complex social and political situations that exist in Somalia and it addresses child protection issues in conflict, transition phase and developmental situations, simultaneously in some of the regions. Keeping in line with UNICEF’s global commitment to protect children affected by armed conflicts and other emergencies, it equally focuses on dialogue with Government to develop laws and policies and building social and institutional capacities in the country in the belief that strong and sustainable legal and social protection mechanisms would be the long term solution to many of the issues and violations that children are facing. UNICEF has started to work jointly with the Government of Somalia in pursuing its Child Protection objectives but it also engages with a wide range of stakeholders including attempts to engage non-state actors in ensuring that the rights of Children in Somalia are respected and upheld.

The programme has supported the reintegration of 1,732 children (including at least 198 girls) from armed forces and groups since the beginning of 2011 to date. The supported children include vulnerable children since UNICEF has been employing an inclusive community-based approach which ensured that other vulnerable children in the targeted areas are included in the programme, and that released children are not stigmatized. It also ensures a protective environment through the involvement of community members and creates child protection networks aiming at identifying and responding to child protection concerns which includes preventing recruitment, re-recruitment or other child rights violations. Programme standards and procedures are governed by the Integrated Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Standards, the UNICEF Strategy for prevention of use and removal of children associated with armed forces and groups in Somalia (2006 – 2011) which are in line with child DDR best practices and the Cape Town principles and Paris Commitment which Somalia is signatory. However, despite the commitment through the signing of the Action Plan to stop use and recruitment of children and release of all children associated with them, recruitment and use of children continues in Somalia due to renewed conflicts in some parts of the country. The precise figure of children still associated with these armed groups/forces is not available, but children are still being recruited either to directly take part in hostilities or are also used in non-combat roles such as spies, bodyguards or cooks. In the year 2013 1,293 children (1,259 boys/34 girls) were recruited by conflicting parties in Somalia. The reintegration of children formerly associated with armed forces and groups (former-CAAFGs) remains a challenge in Somalia as a consequence of conflict, limited resources, expansive geography, social economic status of the country and newly established Government institutions which need significant support.

In 2006, UNICEF completed a five-year strategy for prevention of recruitment of children into armed forces and groups. The strategy recognizes that the context in Somalia is different from many other situations in Africa, and focuses on advocacy, prevention and community violence reduction. Due to changes in situation and ending of the strategy timeframe there is an urgent need for the review to inform practitioners on the required changes and advise a way forward on reintegration strategy and approaches. A salient feature of the Somali context is that most children are recruited at the behest of their communities and families in times of increased violence, and mostly perform military functions in or near their communities and families. However, the level of social and political fragmentation in south central Somalia means that it can be difficult to draw a clear line between military armed groups and criminal militias.

Justification:

The rehabilitation and social reintegration component of the programme in Somalia is being implemented mainly referring to the Global Integrated Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration Standard (IDDRS-2006) and Strategy for prevention of use and removal of children associated with armed forces and groups in Somalia (2006 – 2011), which has expired and therefore in need of review considering changes which happened in the last seven years. The thorough review of the strategy will enable the programme to have clear strategic document which will guide implementation of the programme within current situation involving all stakeholders including Government institutions, NGOs, Community and Children. However, it should be noted that the children’s DDR in Somalia is not taking place in a post-conflict situation as was originally envisaged by DDR global guidelines but rather amidst on-going fighting and in a conflict context where the actors are numerous, new splits and factions are announced regularly, command structures are often unclear and allegiances appear to be constantly shifting. Moreover, the situation is complicated by the constrained humanitarian access for children in many parts of Somalia, especially in South Central Somalia which contains areas where children have been released from armed groups/forces. The implementation of the programme is being disrupted by resumption of conflict is some parts of the country as well as offensives by Government and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), to capture areas controlled by Al Shabaab in Southern and Central Somalia (Bakool, Gedo, Galgaduud and Hiran. This leads to further challenges in prevention and response to child recruitment in the region as well as difficulties in implementation of the reintegration activities.

The Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) programme in Somalia is expanding rapidly. A number of factors have contributed to this in the past years; on the one hand, the escalation of the conflict in the South, coupled with an improvement in the security situation in Mogadishu and other regions which have opened up opportunities for cooperation with the Somali National Armed Forces backed by AMISOM and some Government ministries/institutions which are still in their infancy stages. In response to this UNICEF has in the last two years supported the significant expansion of its rehabilitation, and social and economic reintegration programme for children formerly associated with armed forces and groups including those at risk of recruitment and use. The programme has been implemented mainly in partnership with local NGOs (ELMAN and IIDA), however due to expansion of the programme and the need to have Government take responsibility in protection of children, UNICEF is in the process of ensuring that the Government plays a significant role in prevention and response component of the programme with clear understanding of international norms and standards. Despite the fact that there is initiative to advocate with conflicting parties to stop violations, support establishment of Interim Care Centres (ICC) for these children and enrol children into reintegration programs there is an urgent need to review and strengthen the social reintegration and other components of the programme and in particular, to ascertain the best way to build the capacity of current partners both local and international to be able to deliver quality services in line with international guidance and standards. This opportunity has therefore been created to bring on board the necessary expertise required to review the programme and support the team in Somalia to achieve this objective.

It should be noted that in the efforts to reduce levels of crime and conflict in Somalia UNICEF works with other UN agencies on youth programming by targeting potential and actual offenders thus paving the way for rule of law and recovery. The target beneficiaries are children and youth at risk of being recruited into armed groups; children and youth associated with conflict and with armed groups; Children and Youth in conflict with the law; Children and Youth sentenced to prison/in detention. The consultant is advised to get an overview of this project and link with on-going initiatives in protection of children affected by armed conflict.

In addition, with the emergence of the New Deal, the UN Somalia Assistance Framework has been discontinued and UNICEF need to engage in preparing a new country programme that contributes to the government plan for achieving the New Deal goals. Furthermore, the end of Somalia’s political transition presents an opportunity to establish a new partnership between the international communities and other relevant stakeholders in supporting children affected by armed conflict and Somalia at large; hence this offers a timely opportunity to streamline support being offered in reintegration programme and improve the system for possible policy dialogue in Somalia.

Objectives and Key Questions:

The objective of the consultancy is to review the current rehabilitation and social reintegration component of the programme being supported by UNICEF and its partners including the review of the Strategy for prevention of use and removal of children associated with armed forces and groups in Somalia (2006 – 2011), and make concrete recommendation on how to strengthen the programmein line with Global Guidelines linking with support being provided by other stakeholders (i.e. AMISOM, IOM, NGOs, Government) and considering current situation in the country. Some of the key questions to be addressed include:

1. Are the current demobilization/release practices effective in facilitating the successful reintegration of children in Somalia?
2. Are social work mechanisms effective in ensuring regular follow-up and can assist children to reintegrate with families and communities and help them access the required services?
3. Are the implementations of reintegration projects effective in supporting the inclusive reintegration of former CAAFG and other vulnerable children? Is the package relevant and uniform to all service providers? What is the selection criterion?
4. What objectively verifiable indicators and measures exist to support responses to Questions 1, 2 and 3 above?
5. Has the implementation of the programme been successful in supporting the release of children from armed groups that are in conflict with the government?
6. Has the implementation of the programme been successful in addressing gender aspects of the recruitment and use of children: What is the difference in terms of motivation for a boy or a girl? How are girl being recruited/approached? Have girls been systematically included in the child DDR program? Have they been excluded intentionally because of whatever reasons?
7. What is recommended to the Government of Somalia to strengthen the implementation of the national reintegration strategy for children? What should be the exit strategy?
8. What is recommended to UNICEF to strengthen its support to the national reintegration strategy for children? What are the capacity of partners and recommendation to strengthen them?
9. What amendments to the current rehabilitation/reintegration strategy are recommended (if any)?
10. What are the suggestions on preventive measures to be implemented at the community level? Given security realities, how have the limitations of monitoring implementing partner work been managed to mitigate risks. Are there potential recommendations for improved modalities?
11. How practicable, effective and safe are existing information management systems. How could they be improved?
12. Where is the program positioned in emphasis, for example service delivery, technical assistance, advocacy, coordination? How well does this match an analysis of sector wide gaps and added value of UNICEF? How could this be adjusted for greater impact?

Methodology:

The Consultant will, inter-alia use all or a combination of the following methods and techniques:

· Desk review of existing evidence, data, strategy, survey and research on recruitment and use of children by armed groups and armed forces in Somalia. Secondary data analysis could include analysis of data from the latest Somalia MICS or national surveys on situation of children and youth in Somalia.

· Stakeholders’ consultation workshop, focus-group discussions and in-depth individual interviewswith boys and girls formerly associated with armed forces and groups (observing inclusion of other vulnerable children in the community for better review on vulnerability and inclusive reintegration), their families and community members.

· Interviews with selected officials from Government ministries (Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Interior and Federalism, Ministry of National Security, Ministry of Justice and Constitution, Ministry of Work and Social Affairs and Ministry of Women and Human rights Development), civil society organizations, UN agencies and members of Disengaged Combatants Working Group, Defense Working Group, Country Task Force on MRM, CAAC Working Group members and implementing partners in the current child rehabilitation/reintegration program.

· Review writingwill be undertaken by the consultant in cooperation with relevant staff in Somalia and with technical support of and in close collaboration with UNICEF.

It is important that high ethical standards are maintained during the review. Care will need to be taken so that enquiries and activities do not further stigmatize children especially girls, for example it may be necessary to develop activities for "vulnerable children" rather than for former “child soldiers”. It is also important to actively involve girls not as research “subjects” but as active participants in the study.

The entire process will be undertaken in close cooperation with staff from national NGOs implementing reintegration programme in Somalia who will provide insights and guidance on the local context and cultural background of Somalia’s children. In addition, it is required that the consultant consult key stakeholders during the study, including government department and ministries, other child protection actors, community members, UN agencies, United Nations Mission for Somalia (UNSOM), African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM)as well as other related working groups including Military Technical Working Group, Country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism on Grave Child Rights Violations and Disengaging Combatants Working Group. The Protection working Group under leadership on UNHCR, Child Protection Working Group lead by UNICEF and GBV Working Group will be very important groups to discuss in details protection issues, prevention and response component in Somalia. UNICEF child protection staff in the field will also be involved in the data collection process and provide support to identify children formerly associated with armed forces and groups while the consultant will report to and seek required guidance from the Child Protection Specialist in Nairobi.

Expected Deliverables:

The review will be carried out by a single consultant with support from UNICEF staff who are based in the review areas. However, the consultant will be the one ultimately responsible for the deliverables and all aspects of the review, including the desk based and field based components. The following then are expected to be delivered by the consultant:

a) Detailed work plan and methodology, to be provided one week after commencement of consultancy period.

b) Review report and recommendations on rehabilitation/reintegration programme in Somalia with clear suggestions on registration process and reintegration support to children associated with armed forces and groups (max. 40 pages if on A4), including an executive summary (max. 2 page), the report should also include lessons learnt from key stakeholders and recommendations. The report should be in English. The consultant should provide UNICEF with 3 hard copies of the final report and a soft copy of the report. The first draft report will be provided to UNICEF at least two weeks prior to the completion of the consultancy period. The final draft report will be provided prior to the completion of the consultancy period. The consultant will make him/herself available for a period of two weeks following the completion of the consultancy period to respond to requests for additional information on the final draft report.

c) Reviewed Strategy for prevention of use and removal of children associated with armed forces and groups in Somalia (2006 – 2011).

d) Report on Rehabilitation/reintegration stakeholder’s consultation workshop.

e) Power Point presentation of the key findings and recommendations that can be shared with counterparts in meetings, dissemination workshops, and other venues to agree on the findings of the exercise.

f) Final report of the review of reintegration programme in Somalia.

Reporting:

Child Protection Specialist responsible for Children Associated with Armed Conflict/MRM will be the primary contact for the consultant, with guidance from the Chief of Child Protection Section. Additional programmatic support will be provided by the other staff in the section, including those who are based in the state offices, especially South Central Zone. The consultant will provide an update in the weekly basis with regards to progress, challenges being encountered, opportunities, support required or proposed solutions.

The following table is the proposed key tasks and deliverables:

Ref.Key Task Deliverable Timeline Conduct desk review, including on secondary recent data from national surveys on children and youth in Somalia Short report/briefing By 1 wk 1 Detailed work-plan and methodology Detailed work plan and methodology By wk 1 (One wk after beginning of consultancy period) 2 Conduct interviews with selected government officials, civil society, service providers and other key actors Brief report on the interviews By wk 2 + 3 3 Conduct focus group discussions and individual interviews with CAAFG, their parents and community representatives (i.e. youth and women’s groups leaders) Brief report on the groups By wk 2 + 3 + 4 Conduct stakeholders consultations workshop with staff, NGOs, relevant Government staff/institutions and beneficiaries to take stock of and review reintegration past activities and impact Report on Consultation Workshop and recommendations By wk 4 + 5 + 6 5 Produce final draft report accepted by UNICEF, that includes integration of UNICEF comments from first draft report, and annexed report on DDR stakeholders’ workshop. Reviewed Strategy, Reports, key findings and recommendations. By wk 7 6 Produce final report of the review with integrated inputs. Final Report By wk 8

NB: The timeline might change depending on the situation on ground inside Somalia, hence might cause extension of extra time.

Remuneration:

The consultant will be remunerated based on satisfactory completion of deliverables:

30% payment upon submission of the following deliverables

• Detailed work plan and review methodology
• Briefing on the practical way forward on undertaking the consultancy

30% payment upon submission of the following deliverables

• Draft report accepted by UNICEF, that includes integration of UNICEF comments from first draft report, and annexed report on DDR stakeholders’ workshop.
• Produce reviewed Reintegration Strategy

40% payment upon submission of the following deliverables:

• Final review report accepted by UNICEF that includes integration of UNICEF comments from the first draft
• Annex report on the stakeholders workshop and agreed way forward/activities

In case of late submission of the final draft report, a penalty of 1.5% of total consultancy fee will be deducted for every calendar day following the end of the consultancy period.

Expected background and experience:

This assignment is expected to be undertaken by international consultant who will travel in Somalia where reintegration programme is being implemented by UNICEF and its partners. The required background and experience is as follows:

1. Advanced Degree in social sciences, international law or conflict resolution with a strong focus on international relations, development studies, children’s studies or other social sciences.
2. Eight years professional experience in child protection or related fields of work, including at least three years addressing issues of children and armed conflict at an international level.
3. Proven experience in leading monitoring or evaluation exercises using participatory social research methodologies
4. Demonstrated familiarity with key international human rights frameworks and principles relevant to children and armed conflict
5. Excellent written and oral communication skills
6. Fluency in English required. Spoken Somali language skills a plus to this assignment.
7. Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to contribute to a team research process and abide to deadlines.
8. Good conceptualization, drafting, analysis and study writing skills, ability to communicate with a wide range of different stakeholders required, including children.
9. Computer literacy essential.
10. Familiarity with Somalia current national conflict dynamics will be an asset.
11. Knowledge/experience of UN system preferred.

General Conditions:

• The consultant will work on site and is expected to spend the majority of his/her assignment in Somalia. He or she will work closely with field staff.
• Air travel for approved trips will be paid for/arranged by UNICEF only if expressly authorized, UNICEF will buy the tickets of the consultant. In exceptional cases, the consultants may be authorized to buy their travel tickets and shall be reimbursed at the “most economical and direct route” but this must be agreed to beforehand.
• The consultant must bring his/her own laptop. UNICEF will provide internet access.
• Under the consultancy agreements, a month is defined as 21 working days. Consultant is not paid for weekends or public holidays.
• Consultants are not entitled to payment of overtime. All remuneration must be within the contract agreement.
• No contract may commence unless the contract is signed by both UNICEF and the consultant.
• No consultant may travel without a signed travel authorization prior to the commencement of the journey to the duty station.

HOW TO APPLY:

Interested and qualified candidates should send their applications with updated UN Personal History Form P11, updated CV attaching copies of academic certificates to the email below. UN staff are requested to provide the last two Performance Evaluation Reports (PERs). Applications submitted without a duly completed and signed Personal History Form (P11) which can be downloadedathttp://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/PersonalHistory_Form_UN_P_11-UNICEF_version.docwill not be considered.*Please indicate your expected fee for the assignment - applications without quotation for fee will not be considered*. The fee should be quoted as a lump sum, with any travel costs and daily subsistence amounts indicated separately. Applicants must quote the vacancy number (UNICEF-SOM/2015/012) and post title in the subject line of the application.

Email application to: somaliahrvacancies@unicef.org

Only short-listed applicants will be contacted

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all nationals, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organisation.

More vacancy announcements are posted on UNICEF Somalia websitehttp://www.unicef.org/somalia/index.html