Terre des hommes
TERMS OF REFERENCE – CONSULTANCY
International expert or team of experts
Building an evidenced-based model of social rehabilitation embedded in a reintegration approach and a competency framework for main actors involved with juveniles associated with armed groups
1. Terre des hommes Iraq – Access to Justice Program
Tdh is a leading Swiss child rights agency present in the MENA region since 1973. Currently, Tdh operates in Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, and Iraq. Afghanistan and Pakistan belong programmatically and operationally to the MENA portfolio at Tdh as well. Within the region, Tdh has in place 3 specialized programs: (1) Access to Justice for Children and Youth, within which a ‘Gender Justice’ specialized programmatic theme is carried out, (2) Children and Youth Affected by Migration, and (3) Child and Maternal Health. Those programs, in addition to the specialized technical staff within each of them, are supported by a Child Protection Transversal Unit as well as a Quality and Accountability Unit.
More information can be found here: https://www.tdh.ch/en
Since January 2019, Tdh has been a pioneering actor in justice for children programming in Iraq. Within the current Access to Justice program, Tdh aims at promoting justice practices that incorporate a restorative component to provide appropriate solutions to (re)establish the concept of positive and child-friendly justice among offenders, victims, witnesses, and their communities, but also towards the stakeholders in the country, from authorities to national civil society involved in child justice matters. The complementary objectives are to ensure (1) the application of strong legal principles such as specialized justice systems for children, diversion, and alternatives to detention, (2) the best interest of the child at all stages of the judicial procedures including post-release/aftercare, (3) psychological, sociological and criminological theories that take into account the comprehensive development of children and youth, (4) the setting up of safe and effective reintegration pathways from the first contact with the justice systems till long after their release in order to ensure the continuum of care, sustainability and minimize the risks related to re-offending/recidivism.
Tdh activities mainly focus on providing specialized support to foster safe and sustainable reintegration processes for children in contact with the law and their families, reinforcing the child justice system through promoting their access to child-friendly legal aid, fostering synergies between formal and informal justice actors, reinforcing child protection community-based mechanisms, and providing specialized capacity building to juvenile judges pertaining to different stages/practices of child justice proceedings.
2. Rationale of the consultancy
Five years now after formally declaring victory over the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Government of Iraq (GoI) and the state authorities are gradually shifting from providing emergency assistance to long-term recovery and development. Critical to this transition is the need to develop a rights-based approach to address the social rehabilitation needs of thousands of children associated with ISIL and other parties to the conflict. Currently, there are efforts from the Iraqi Government to develop a national strategy guiding the Government’s response to the rehabilitation of children associated with armed forces/groups (CAAFAG). To date, there is an under-development approach to the rehabilitation embedded by the government authorities, especially considering that there is very often too little staff available to deal with the children, and very often the staff is underqualified. Taking into account that children/youth affiliated with ISIL have received sentences between 4-7 years, many are expected to be released in the upcoming 1-2 years. Hence there is a need to react promptly to facilitate rehabilitation and reintegration to prevent conflict and contribute to the acceptance of these children by their families and the receiving community.
Beyond rehabilitation, there is an acute need for better reintegration services. The Iraqi Government exercises very good oversight and coordination on the reintegration of juveniles affiliated with ISIL through the National Reconciliation Committee, which is attached to the Office of the Prime Minister. However, there is still a need to unify a comprehensive effort to consolidate local and national-level reintegration efforts.
Based on the above-mentioned context, Tdh, in close partnership with the Ministry of Justice, is proposing to support the GoI in its efforts to develop and implement a social rehabilitation and reintegration model for juvenile detainees, especially children/youth (formerly) associated with armed groups – particularly ISIL – aiming at re-establishing their roots and place in society. The model will be built upon Tdh model for the region, ready to be custom-fit to the context, authorities, and beneficiaries. The model will include safeguarding and accountability measures by the state institutions as part of the rehabilitation and reintegration model.
3. Objective of the consultancy
Under this consultancy, Tdh requires the services of an International Expert or Team of experts to develop an evidence-based model of social rehabilitation and a competency framework document for the main actors involved in the social rehabilitation and reintegration of juveniles associated with armed groups. The expert/team of experts will work in close coordination and collaboration with the Tdh team and the Ministry of Justice and the national expert or team of experts that will be selected for this consultancy.
Specific emphasis should be put on the international environment of child justice in counter-terrorism contexts, the analysis of the most recent regional and national framework of intervention and standards of work with rehabilitation of children affiliated with ISIS/armed groups approaches for social workers and other primary caregivers to social rehabilitation of children in detention facilities, including mental and social support services, the global lessons learned, as well as best practices on rehabilitation and reintegration and disengagement from extremism to propose a model of intervention which will be adapted to the Iraqi context in coordination with the MoJ and other institutions as part of the Steering Committee. The above-mentioned work informs not only the development of an evidence-based and context-based model of social rehabilitation but also of the competency framework for the main actors involved in the social rehabilitation and reintegration process of children involved in armed groups to detail how the main principles and safeguards are present and should apply to facilitate the smooth return of these children in their families and communities.
The process of development would require engaging with the Ministry of Justice, and other relevant ministries, (as per the needs based on the rehabilitation and reintegration models, including the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, Ministry of Migration and Displaced, Ministry of Interior, etc) and International and national NGOs (Steering committee). It would be essential to bring the voice of children to the process so as to not only rely on the legal framework and adults involved in the process but to know, acknowledge and act upon children’s experience and their needs for social rehabilitation and reintegration.
Kindly note that the technical proposal to be submitted should include a concrete specification and details of the aforementioned elements. It should be practical and straightforward but comprehensive, technically solid, and well-grounded.
4. Scope of the consultancy and deliverables
The scope of work and expected deliverables are the following:
4.1. Mapping and assessing of the regional and national framework of intervention, including standards of work with rehabilitation of children affiliated with ISIS/armed groups, approaches for social workers and other primary caregivers to social rehabilitation of children in detention facilities, including mental and social support services. Tdh will facilitate the process of data collection and access to relevant state institutions.
4.2. Review of the global lessons learned, and best practices on rehabilitation and reintegration and disengagement from extremism.
4.3. Inception report composed of a summary of the desk review of mapping and assessment, a summary of the best practices recommended, drafts of the data collection tool to be used, and the work plan.
4.4. Focus Groups Discussions (FGD)/Interviews with key actors, including children and their families, as well as the community members and private sector. The FGD is to be complemented by a questionnaire for quantitative data. A concrete list is to be proposed in the technical proposal. The process will be accompanied and facilitated by Tdh lead.
4.5. Conduct a needs assessment of the main stakeholders involved in the rehabilitation and reintegration process related to their capacity building and implementation of the model of rehabilitation.
4.6. Draft the evidence-based model of social rehabilitation embedded in the reintegration approach and the competency framework (in English only).
4.7. Develop and submit the competency framework manual and the ToT program.
Deliverables summary:
1. Develop a model of social rehabilitation of juveniles associated with armed groups
Tasks
Timing
– Mapping and assessing of the regional and framework of intervention (including also national legal and policy framework)
– Review of global lessons learned, and practices on rehabilitation and reintegration.
– 3 workshops with the Steering Committee
– Inception report and workplan
– Develop model of rehabilitation Develop tools for the data collection during the piloting phase
– Delivery of the training for piloting purposes.
– Analyze data from the piloting and revise the model after the piloting results
– Prepare the tools for the child advisory group consultations and participate in the consultation meetings with children
Feb 2023 – Feb 2024
2. Develop a Competency Framework for actors involved in the social rehabilitation model
Tasks
Timing
– Mapping and assessment of the need in capacity building of the workforce needed for the implementation of rehabilitation and reintegration services
– Develop the competency framework manual and the ToT program
– Deliver the ToT
Feb – Oct 2023
5. Methodology
The consultant will strictly follow the work plan and the time schedule agreed with Tdh in undertaking the consultancy assignment.
An appropriate methodology will have to be determined by the consultant and submitted with the consultancy technical proposal. It will be reviewed by Tdh and adjusted accordingly with the consultant if needed prior to the signature of the consultancy contract.
6. Timeframe
The consultant is expected to use their own computer and other equipment required for the task***.***
The duration of the consultancy contract shall be for a maximum of 40 working days between February 2023 – March 2024. The final deliverable shall be submitted (in English) on the agreed timeline with Tdh and the Ministry of Justice:
– Inception Report and work plan – May 2023
– Draft 1 of the Model of Social Rehabilitation embedded in a reintegration approach – August 2023
– Final Model of Social rehabilitation embedded in a reintegration approach – March 2024
– Final document of Competency Framework Manual – August 2023
– ToT delivered – October 2023
NOTE: The international expert or team of experts will be involved in the selection process of the national expert/s who will be working closely for the development of the above-mentioned deliverables.
7. Profile of the consultant: qualifications and experience
· A post-graduate or equivalent qualification/degree in Social Science, PVE, Human rights, Political Science, Development Studies, Humanities, or any other relevant discipline. Excellency’s level of legal expertise in the country would be prioritized.
· At least 6-9 years of prior work experience in dealing with violent extremism and counter-terrorism contexts involving children.
· Proven sound experience in drafting similar deliverables (providing concrete examples and when possible, excerpts/samples).
· Excellent written and speaking skills in English
· Fluency in Arabic is strongly recommended
8. Payment method
Tdh-F will process the payment after receiving the delivery report validated by the program coordinator. The payment will be processed by Bank transfer under the consultancy name / or company name in case its a company.
9. Application procedure
Consultants/firms that meet the requirements should submit an expression of interest, which should include the following:
1. Cover letter including the consultant’s/firm’s suitability for the assignment and current contact information (max. 1 page)
2. Include 1-2 samples of previous similar work
3. Technical offer; detailed response to the Terms of Reference herein, with a specific focus addressing the purpose and objectives of the assignment, methodology to be used, and key selection criteria (max. 7 pages)
4. Financial offer; detailed budget breakdown based on expected daily rates and initial work plan. (max. 2 pages)
5. Initial draft of the proposed work plan (max. 4 pages)
Prerequisites for accepting financial offers:
– Prices are to be submitted in EUR and are valid for 60 days starting from the applications’ closing date. Prices have to be inclusive of taxes. The daily fee should be inclusive of travel costs and accommodation.
– The quotation must be detailed and based on the working mechanism proposed by the consultant.
6. Consultant should submit bellow documents with the application:
· Consultant ID or Passport
· Bank account under the consultant’s name if freelancer or under the company name.
· Tax clearance If it’s a company.
· All the documents should be signed by the consultant / signed and stamped in the case of the company.
· Signature on word document will be disqualified all the documents should be on the PDF version.
Please be informed that you can get the full ToR document on PDF version in the below Link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YMT_7HViBu5feeFgySU6Sw7Ys8d1-Yue/view?usp=sharing
How to apply
Interested applicants should submit to the procurement department at the e-mail: [email protected] .
Deadline submission: 15th of February 2023 at 11.59 pm (Baghdad time).
Please mention the subject of the e-mail as: “Model of Social Rehabilitation in Iraq”
Only proposals in English and that include all the required documents will be assessed. Only contact short-listed candidates will be contacted.