Turkey: “Cash-Based Interventions (CBI) for Child Protection” Consultant

1. Background

As of April 2017, the Government of Turkey and the UN estimated that over 3.1 million Syrians had sought refuge in Turkey, in addition to 310,000 refugees from other origins including Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Somalia, making Turkey the largest refugee-hosting country in the world. Over half of the refugee population (54%) is estimated to be children, and 940,000 of those registered were of school age^[1]. The scale of the situation means that there are significant gaps in support to off-camp populations (more than 90%). As the conflict in Syria enters its seventh year and refugees’ economic burdens deepen, lack of access to sustainable livelihoods options continues and displacement prolongs, refugee households increasingly adopt negative coping mechanisms that pose protection risks – especially for children. These include early and forced marriage, illegal/informal employment and child labour, which also act as barriers to education access. The language barrier and lack of clear, reliable information on rights and pathways exacerbate the challenges faced in accessing basic and social services, notably education, health and legal services.

A number of NGOs and UN agencies has been increasingly using cash-based modalities to deliver humanitarian assistance over the past two years, mainly with a focus on food and non-food items but also for protection outcomes. This includes Special Needs Fund (SNF) - a multi-sectoral material and cash support - which is applied for most vulnerable cases in Case Management. In December 2015, a Cash-based Interventions Technical Working Group (CBI TWG) was formed in order to improve information sharing, coordination and harmonization of activities implemented through cash-based modalities, in liaison with relevant sectoral working groups. CARE is the Technical Advisor of the CBI TWG.

During 2016 a significant scale-up of cash assistance to vulnerable refugee households was initiated with the implementation of Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) and Conditional Cash Transfer for Education (CCTE) funded by the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO). Furthermore, government supported cash assistance programme available to the refugee population has also increased in 2016. Ministry of Family and Social Policy (MoFSP) Social Service Centers (SSC) provides cash assistance to specific families to alleviate child protection issues and similarly Social Assistance and Solidarity Foundation (SASF) provides support for people with disabilities. However, the use of cash assistance for protection outcomes – specifically child protection outcomes – is an area that is yet to be explored.

UNICEF is currently implementing a protection voucher programme that supports child protection outcomes with a Turkish local organization Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Migrants (ASAM) and aspires to explore further options and strategies for appropriate use of cash-based interventions in Turkey to achieve positive child protection outcomes. CARE, as the Technical Advisor to the Cash-based Interventions (CBI) Technical Working Group and building on its experience in CBI in Turkey will support UNICEF to host a three-month consultancy under the CARE UNICEF partnership to develop and strengthen protection outreach, response and modalities for Child Protection programming in Turkey.

2. Scope of Work/ Assignment:

CARE International is seeking a consultant to analyse the dataset of the current protection voucher programme, conduct a desk review and interviews, in order to produce recommendations on the most appropriate CBI strategies for child protection outcomes for; (a) the humanitarian response (currently) by UNICEF, NGOs and INGOs in Turkey, (b) long-term support to refugees via integrating into the social support system in Turkey and (c) Case Management and potentially the Individual Protection Assistance (IPA) model as defined by ECHO.

The consultant is expected to carry out the following activities:

· Analyze data and reports provided by UNICEF in coordination with ASAM on the existing protection voucher programme that supports child protection outcomes, revise the voucher model and the operating procedures

· Analyze data and reports from other NGO and INGO protection programmes using cash-based interventions to supports child protection outcomes.

· Review currently ongoing CBI programmes such as ESSN and CCTE to explore how a CBI method for child protection outcomes can be developed as a long-term support to refugees or/and on how to integrate such a methodology into the social support system in Turkey for refugees

· Review transfer values for the voucher program for child protection support currently being implemented in Turkey, identifygaps and needs

· Review the Case Management and potentially the Individual Protection Assistance (IPA) guidelines by ECHO and asses viability to use CBI for applying these processes for child protection

· Conduct field research via interviews or briefings from chairs of relevant sectoral working groups (Protection, Child Protection sub-working group, Case Management Task Force) and key Child Protection

· Key informant interviews with relevant stakeholders from local/national institutions; community leaders; knowledgeable persons in the communities; CARE staff members; staff from UNICEF and Child Protection sub-working group and Case Management Task Force member agencies with the aim of filling identified data gaps and/or triangulating the available data.

· Meetings with other programming agencies operating in Turkey to understand needs, gaps, programming and options as needed

· Prepare a report including a summary of key findings and recommendations.

· Conduct data analysis on the data available from above steps to produce a strategy on the most appropriate CBI for child protection outcomes

· Contribute to the development of monitoring and evaluation tools for on-going child protection program using e-vouchers, develop a programme logical framework for CBI child protection programmes and assist in identifying project monitoring and evaluation indicators including development of a performance framework.

· The Consultant will play a crucial role in researching, identifying and advising on suitable cash programing to address child protection risks for the various refugee households/individuals. S/he should pay attention to ensuring the high level of sustainability of inputs through linking with support from other actors. S/he will liaise with Child Protection sub-working groups and Case Management Task Force member members and other stakeholders.

3. Work Schedule:

The duration of the contract shall be 90 working days (6 days per week) beginning around 1 September 2017. The consultant is expected to work on a full-time basis to complete the tasks outlined in these terms of reference. Part of the consultancy for desk study and final write up work could be home-based; the consultant should, however, spend at least 60 working days in Turkey. The workplan for the activities will be developed at the beginning of the contract.

4. Deliverables/End Product(s):

· A written report (20-30 pages) and two page executive summary outlining the findings, and including the following analyses:

o The most appropriate method(s) for cash-based interventions for child protection outcomes in Turkey for refugees

o The most appropriate method(s) for cash-based interventions for existing protection voucher programme that supports child protection outcomes

o Recommendations on the appropriate CBI method(s) for child protection outcomes which could provide a long-term support to refugees or on how to integrate such a method into the social support system in Turkey for refugees

o Recommended transfer values for different types of child protection outcomes and the parameters for determining the level and type of support

o Recommendations on CBI for Case Management and Individual Protection Assistance (IPA)

o Suggested logframe and appropriate objectives and indicators for Child Protection CBI programmes

o Contribution to developing monitoring tools and a performance framework.

· Presentation of the findings and recommendations to CARE, UNICEF and ASAM as well as the Child Protection Sub-Working Group in Ankara, CARE and UNICEF

This report should be shared in draft form for review by the CARE and UNICEF, and subsequently finalized.

5. Payment Schedule:

The fee payment will be provided in two tranches based on specific deliverables being met. The specific outputs for payment can be determined at the start of the consultancy according to work plan. Per-diem will be paid at the standard CARE rates per Country Office policy.

6. Type of Supervision and support to be provided:

The CARE Program Manager along with the Protection Project Manager based in Gaziantep, shall provide overall supervision. Staff UNICEF and ASAM will provide their support through efficient information and data sharing. CARE staff will provide operational assistance and facilitate logistic support. As line manager, the Program Manager, will oversee receipt of final deliverables.

7. Consultant’s work plan and official travel:

The consultant is expected to develop a detailed work plan within the first two days of the assignment under the supervision of the CARE Program Manager in Gaziantep. The consultant should be able to travel to project sites in Turkey. Official (return) travel to Turkey and accommodation in-country will be covered by CARE. The consultant will be provided with a desk at the CARE Office in Gaziantep and in ASAM office in Ankara as per work schedule but is expected to provide his or her own computer.

8. Qualifications & Experience Required:

· Masters’ Degree, preferably in social sciences, statistics, development planning, research methodologies, etc.

· At least five years of progressively increasing responsibility in program implementation, technical advisory or monitoring and evaluation fields

· Strong, demonstrable technical experience in cash-transfer programming, particularly in humanitarian contexts, and preferably including support to urban refugee populations.

· Strong, demonstrable technical experience in protection

· Strong, demonstrable technical experience in child protection will be an added advantage

· Strong data analysis skills: excellent commands of STATA, SPSS or R

· Proven ability to deliver high quality products and work to deadlines with minimal supervision.

· Excellent interpersonal and both written and verbal communication skills

· Fluency in written and spoken English is required; knowledge of Turkish and/or Arabic is an advantage.

· Experience working in Turkey and/or other Syria Crisis response contexts is an advantage.

[1] UNHCR, April 2017. Demographic data on unregistered refugees/migrants is unavailable due to operational constraints.

Interested candidates please send a Cover Letter and Curriculum Vitae in English to TURCAREHR@care.org and the job title should be included in the subject line of the e-mail.

Applications in languages other than English will not be reviewed.

“Applications are strongly encouraged from female candidates“

only short listed Candidate will be contact,

CARE International is an Equal Opportunity Employer