Consultant – TOR

1. Background

War Child is striving for a world where children’s lives are no longer torn apart by war. We are the only specialist charity for children in conflict, delivering high-impact programmes that are rebuilding lives across Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Central African Republic. We understand children’s needs, respect their rights, and put them at the centre of the solution – from supporting Syrian children to access education, to reintegrating child soldiers in the Central African Republic and upholding the rights of children caught up in juvenile justice in Afghanistan.

We aim to reach children early in the conflict cycle and stay to support them through their recovery, providing education and protection services and also building longer-term livelihood opportunities. We support children to deal with the traumas of armed conflict, equipping them with the skills and knowledge to go back to school, and providing training to young people so they can support themselves. We believe that children and young people know what matters to them and that their voices and demands should be heard – we work with them to build their confidence as advocates and to mobilise others to take action in support of them.

We are seeking a consultant to help develop a guidance document on consent for use across the organisation. Informed consent is an essential aspect of both our communications and programmes work. We seek to implement best practice in consent processes and to support our teams in understanding how best to do this. The new guide will pull together existing materials, guidance notes and other materials into one streamlined document for use across our country portfolio. This document will become the main source of information and guide for programmes staff at variety of levels. As such it must be organised and presented in an easy to understand style and in a manner that helps readers understand their responsibilities and commitments.

1. Knowledge and Expertise Required

Applicants must have a strong understanding of informed consent ethics and processes in both communications and programmes work, especially in relation to work with children and youth in difficult circumstances such as those living in conflict situations. The consultant will:

• Understand ethical considerations in relation to consent and seeking informed consent
• Have a background in programmatic work of the nature War Child supports, specifically child protection, Education and Cash and Livelihoods and a good grasp of safeguarding principles
• Be able to synthesise information quickly and distil into accessible language that is user friendly
• To have a good understanding of the sector and best practice in relation to communications and programmes consent standards
• Fast worked and able to full together copy quickly and efficiently

1. Key Tasks and Responsibilities of Consultant

The consultant will be responsible for developing and drafting the guide, specifically:

• To review existing internal materials and pull relevant sections for use in the new guide
• To conduct some basic desk research into sector standards
• To draft guidance chapters as outlined by the programmes team, fleshing out key points and organising into easy to understand format
• Complete a full draft of the entire document, including relevant links to other associated documents and policies (as advised by the team)
• To incorporate edits and adjustments into final draft as suggested and advised by the programmes team

1. Deliverables

• Total number of days: 6 days
• Development of one consent guide no more than circa 20 pages

1. Timeline

The development and completion of the guide by mid-September with final review and sign off by the end of the month.

1. Proposals should be submitted to Paul Gunaratnam at [email protected] no later than 21 August 2022.