Strengthening the Capacities of Care Givers and Social Workers at the Ministry of Social Development

Background:

UN Women (UNW), grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, the UN Women leads and coordinates the United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

UN Women’s triple mandate, along with its global network and deep policy and programming expertise, continues to endow the Entity with a unique capacity to: (i) support Member States to strengthen global norms and standards for gender equality and women’s empowerment, and mainstream gender perspectives in other thematic areas; (ii) promote coordination and coherence across the UN system to enhance accountability and results for gender equality and women’s empowerment; and (iii) undertake operational activities to support Member States, upon their request, in translating global norms and standards into legislation, policies and strategies at country level.

UN Women plays an innovative and catalytic role in the State of Palestine since its inception in 1997 (as UNIFEM). In line with the national priorities, the work of UN Women for the period 2023-2025 is aligned with three of the Palestine United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework’s (UNSDCF) outcomes:

• Palestinians have greater access to economic opportunities that are inclusive, resilient, and sustainable, including decent employment and livelihoods opportunities in an empowered private sector.
• Palestinians, including the most vulnerable, have equal access to sustainable, inclusive, gender responsive and quality social services, social protection, and affordable utilities.
• Palestinian governance institutions, processes, and mechanisms at all levels are more democratic, rights-based, inclusive, and accountable.

Its three-year Strategic Note supports the efforts to achieve measurable results in country in terms of four UN Women global Strategic Plan impacts (2022-2025): (SP Impact 1). Governance and participation in public life; (SP Impact 2). Women’s Economic Empowerment; (SP Impact 3). Ending Violence Against Women and Girls and SP Impact 4. Women peace and security, Humanitarian & Disaster Risk Reduction.

Under its work within SHAML Project -  Enhancing the Protection and Reintegration of Furthest Left Behind Groups of Women and Girls, UN Women will capitalize on the ongoing efforts exerted by the different actors, particularly the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MoWA), and the Ministry of Social Development (MoSD) in relation to realizing the rights, and  enhancing the status and services provided to the furthest left behind groups of women and girls’ victims and survivors of violence, and further support  related national and local initiatives.

The furthest left behind groups of women and girls for this project are the seven groups of women and girls who are denied access to sheltering services as per the Cabinet’s decision of 2011 on Protection Centers for Women Victims of Violence: women who have committed crimes (misdemeanors and felonies) and are executing court sentences, women with physical and mental disabilities, substance abuse cases, women accused of prostitution, women or girls who have infectious diseases, women who form a threat to other women, and girls who are below the age of 18, in addition to elderly women particularly those with mental or physical disabilities.

Elderly women with disabilities face intersectional discrimination based on age, gender and disability. They often face multiple compounded obstacles, including attitudinal, environmental and institutional barriers, which increase their vulnerability, and lead to the violation of their human rights including their access to protection and re-integration services. In 2022, UN Women implemented a capacity building programme on the rights of elderly people, and the specificities of their vulnerabilities and consequently their needs amongst other topics. The training targeted caregivers at the Center and supported the Center’s leadership in drafting protocols for some key functions of the Center.

Girls victims of violence and girls in conflict with the law face intersectional discrimination based on age and gender, which increase their vulnerability, and lead to the violation of their human rights including their access to protection and re-integration services. Within this framework, UN women is working in partnership with the MoSD to enhance the responsiveness of the protection and the reintegration services provided to girls victims of violence and girls in conflict with the law in line with the best interest of children.

Within this framework, UN women is working in partnership with the MoSD to enhance the protection and wellbeing of elderly women, including elderly women with disabilities, and girls victims and survivors of violence and in conflict with the law. In this regards, UN Women is working closely with the Elderly Center in Jericho “Bayt Al Ajdad” and the “Girls Care Center- GCC” in Beit Jala to enhance the capacity of caregivers and social workers, to enable them to provide gender responsive and inclusive services.

Against this background, UN Women within Shaml programme plans to recruit an experienced consultant to support the Ministry to develop a functional plan to guide the development of the vision, mission, objectives, and scope of the  Girls Care Center, including types of cases, types of services, admission policies, safety and security considerations, capacity of the Center, coordination and referral mechanisms, and required human resources amongst other; and to revise the GCC’s Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs), to ensure its alignment with the Ministry’s vision and children’s best interests.

Moreover, in line with the findings of the capacity assessment of the Elderly Center which UN Women devleoped, and which highlighted institutional and capacity gaps, particularly in areas related to the organizational development aspect including the lack of standard operating  procedures-SoPs, the  consultant will support the Ministry  in developing a SoPs for the Elderly Center and delivering a capacity building training to the Center’s workers on the effective application of the  SoPs.

The objectives of the assignment:

The main objective of the assignment is to support the Ministry in ensuring the provision of gender responsive and inclusive services to elderly women, particularly elderly women with disabilities, and child- friendly services to  girls victims and survivors of violence and in conflict with the law.  

More precisely, this assignment evolves around the below sub- objectives:

Girls Care Center:

1. To support the MoSD and its partners to build a consensus on the vision, mission, objectives, scope and types of services, target groups, in addition to the ethical considerations, coordination and referral mechanisms, safety and security considerations, capacity of the Center and required human resources.
2. To develop the girls care center functional plan that defines the key functions of the facility, types of services to be provided according to the target audience, and target groups\beneficiaries to be served, with full engagement of the center’s team members and relevant actors at the MoSD among other key actors.
3. To review, revisit and further develop the Center’s SoPs in line with children’s rights, child best interests, the report/ list of issues of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, Palestinian child’s law, juvenile law and others, with full engagement of the Center’s team members and relevant actors at the MoSD among other key actors.

Elderly Center:

• To develop a SoPs for the elderly Center – Bayt Al- Ajdad, ensuring full engagement of the Center’s team and relevant actors at the MoSD among other key actors.
• To build the capacity of the Center’s team on the effective application of the developed SoPs.

Description of Responsibilities:

Under the overall supervision of the UN Women Special Representative in the State of Palestine, the direct supervision of UN Women Rule of Law Programme Specialist, and through full coordination with UN Women’s technical team and the MoSD focal points, the selected consultant will undertake the following tasks, duties, and responsibilities:

• Inception phase:

To develop an inception report that includes a detailed description of the work plan, and methodology, and share it with UN Women for review and approval, following the below tasks:

• Meet with UN Women’s technical team and stakeholders, to discuss the assignment’s objectives, methods and tools that will be used, and the main deliverables.
• Develop a methodology and a detailed work plan and share with UN Women for feedback. The workplan should include the main objectives of the assignment, deliverables and the time frame.

• Implementation phase:

Elderly Center:

Development of SoPs and delivering of training on the developed SoPs:

• To conduct a desk review on national, regional and international references, including the MoSD strategy, the National Strategy on Combatting VAW (2023- 2029) which is currently under review by the Cabinet, UN Women PALCO Strategic Note, CEDAW General Recommendations, United Nations Principles for Older Persons, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, plans and policies adopted by the MoSD and CSOs running shelters for elderly people and others. The desk review should include references to experiences, practices and recommendations of other countries at the regional and international levels.
• To meet with the Elderly Center team and other relevant actors from different institutions to learn about the applied practices, challenges, lessons learned and recommendations, and to set the expectations.
• To conduct field visits to the Center to get first-hand information and collect observations on the applied practices.
• To review the available draft protocols to ensure alignment or identify needs for revision.
• To facilitate focus groups discussions with the Center’s Team, other departments at the Ministry, CSOs representatives and others.
• To draft standard operating procedures for the Elderly Center ensuring the Center’s team full engagement, and submit it to UN  Women for review and inputs.
• To facilitate a consultation session on the draft SoPs with relevant actors in the Center, MoSD, the Ministry of Health, CSOs running similar centers, UN Women among others.
• To finalize the SoPs  in line with the provided comments and submit it to UN Women.
• To deliver 6 days training programme targeting the Center’s team to familiarize them with the developed SoPs.

Girls Care Center:

Development of the Girls Care Center functional Plan:

· To conduct a desk review on national, regional and international references, including, the State of Palestine National Strategy for Early Childhood Development and Intervention 2017-2022, UN principles and guidelines; CRCs Committee General  Recommendations, plans and policies adopted by the MoSD and CSOs running shelters for children. The desk review should include references to experiences, practices and recommendations of other countries at the regional and international levels.

· To hold bilateral and multilateral meetings with the Center’s team and other relevant actors to learn about the applied practices, challenges, lessons learned  and to set expectations.

· To visit the Center to get firsthand information and collect observations on the applied practices.

· To facilitate collective workshops with representatives of relevant institutions to discuss the vision, mission, objectives, scope and types of services, target groups, coordination and referral mechanisms-including roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders, ethical considerations, safety and security considerations, amongst others.

· To draft the functional plan for the Girls Care Center through full coordination and collaboration with   the Center’s team and other national and international actors, as relevant, and share it with UN Women for review and approval.  

· To discuss the draft functional plan with relevant actors, including the MoSD, the Center’s team,  UN Women,  UNICEF,  the Ministry of Education,  the Ministry of Health and civil society specialized organizations.

· To amend the functional plan in line with the provided comments and facilitate a validation session to generate consensus on the different components of the functional plan.

. To submit a final approved functional plan.

Revision and Refinement of the SoPs:

• To review the Center’s SoPs, taking into consideration the Center’s functional plan.
• To review national, regional and international related references.
• To conduct bilateral and collective meetings with services providers to discuss the procedures and practices, lessons learned, challenges and recommendations.
• To revisit and refine the SoPs and submit it for UN Women for review and inputs.
• To facilitate discussions amongst stakeholders on the amended SoPs, including the MoSD service providers and decision makers, MoH, MoE, specialized justice and security sectors actors.
• To submit an amended version of the SoPs in line with the provided inputs.

3) Final report:

To submit a final narrative report that includes a description of the assignment, the achievements, used methodology, lessons learned and recommendations for future interventions. Annexes should include a list of interviewed people, the training related documents such as agenda, list of participants, utilized methodology and others.

Deliverables:

Deliverable 1:

1. An approved inception report that includes the work plan, the methodological framework, and the timeline for the deliverables, in English. (Expected delivery date:  10 days after the signing of the contract)
2. An approved draft of SoPs for the Elderly Center (Expected delivery date: 2 months after the signing of the contract).

Deliverable 2:

1. Final approved SoPs for the Elderly Center (Expected delivery date: 3 months after the signing of the contract).
2. Successful delivery of the 6-day training on the Elderly Center SoPS. (Expected delivery date: 4 months after the signing of the contract).
3. An approved functional plan for the Girls Care Center (Expected delivery date: (Expected delivery date: 4 months after the signing of the contract)

Deliverable 3:

An approved revised SoPs for the Girls Care Center, and a final approved narrative report in English that includes description of the assignment, methodology used, lessons learned, recommendations for future related programming. (Expected delivery date:  5 months after the signing of the contract).

جميع الحقوق محفوظة لموقع جوبس.

Competencies

Core Values

• Respect for Diversity;
• Integrity;
• Professionalism.

Core Competencies

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender, disability and elderly people issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

Functional Competencies

• Very strong background on gender;
• Strong knowledge of elderly care services.
• Familiarity with the concepts, practices, and procedures of the home care industry
• Ability to manage time and meet tight deadlines;
• Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
• Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
• Proven networking, organizational and communication skills.

Qualifications

Education: 

• Bachelor of Nursing, Social Work, Sociology, Phycology or any related field. A master’s degree in community health is an asset. 

Experience:

• At least 5 years professional working experience in the field of Geriatric care and or/ Children’s Care. Working in a residential home care for the elderly or a protection center for children is an asset.
• At least 2 previous assignments in developing procedures, or policy papers, specifically in areas related to the elderly care systems and services and/ or children’s care systems and centers.
• At least 2 previous experiences in delivering training to service providers providing services to elderly people. 
• Experience with the UN system or/and International Organizations is an asset.

Language Requirements

Professional knowledge of English, and fluency in Arabic.

Evaluation Criteria

This SSA modality is governed by UN Women General Terms and Conditions. UN Women will only be able to respond to applicants who meet the minimum requirements.

Candidates should clearly indicate how they meet the above-mentioned criteria in their applications.

The following documents should be submitted as part of the application. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials:

• UN Women P11 including experience in similar assignments; the P11 form can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment, a signed copy should be submitted;
• A sample of a developed policy document, an assessment related to the rights and services to elderly people and/ or children.  

Note: Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Please upload as one attachment of the documents as mentioned above online through this website.

Candidates should have the ability to quickly submit degree certificates, medical certification (of good health) expression of Interest (EoI).

Evaluation Criteria

Candidates will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications mentioned above, and financial proposal. A contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer receives the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria. Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 50 points in the technical evaluation will be considered for financial evaluation. Only candidates obtaining 30/50 in the desk review will be considered for Technical Interview.

Technical Evaluation (70%) – max. 70 points:

• Bachelor of Nursing, Social Work, Sociology, Phycology or any related field.  A Master’s degree in community health is an asset. (max. 10 points)
• At least 5 years professional working experience in the field Geriatric care and or/ Children’s Care. Working in a residential home care for the elderly or a protection center for children is an asset. (max. 20 points)
• At least 2 previous assignments in developing procedures, or policy papers, specifically in areas related to the elderly care systems and services and/ or children’s care system and centers. (max. 15 points)
• At least 2 previous experiences in delivering training to service providers providing services to elderly people. (max. 10 points)
• Experience with the UN system or/and International Organizations (max. 5 points)
• A sample of a developed policy document, or an assessment related to the rights and services to elderly people, and /or children. (max. 10 points)

Financial Evaluation (30%) – max. 30 points.

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal. All other price proposals receive points in inverse proportion. A suggested formula is as follows:

p = 30 (μ/z)

Using the following values:

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

μ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Only long-listed candidates will be contacted.

Financial proposal. Shortlisted candidate will be requested to submit a financial proposal. The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount breaking down a daily professional fee, proposed number of working days and any related expenses, i.e. travel and communications expenses.