Kenya: Consultancy - Updating Advancing Children’s Rights

Organization: Save the Children

Country: Kenya

Closing date: 18 Nov 2015

Updating Advancing Children’s Rights – A Guide for Civil Society Organisations on how to engage with the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.

Background

Africa is the only continent with a region-specific child rights instrument. Building on the same basic principles as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) also highlights issues of special importance in the African context. The two treaties are both important tools for advancing children’s rights in Africa, since they complement and reinforce each other.

The African Children’s Charter Project (ACCP) is a Consortium of five organizations; Plan International Save the Children International, the African Child Policy Forum (ACPF), the Institute of Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA) and Dullah Omar Institute (formerly the Community Law Centre) at the University of Western Cape.

The project’s goal is the improvement of children’s lives in Africa through the fulfilment of their rights. To achieve this goal, the project will promote the implementation of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) through the institutional, political and public arenas of the African Union (AU). It will do this by:

• Directly supporting the ACERWC, and the capacity of the ACERWC to implement its mandate.


• Working with and through the ACERWC to promote children’s rights and welfare in the internal and external environments of the AU; and


• Strengthening civil society’s capacity to engage with AU bodies on child rights issues.

The Project aims at Building CSOs’ knowledge and capacity to engage with the ACERWC and other AU bodies by ensuring that materials to guide CSOs on how to engage with the African Children’s Charter and the Committee of Experts are updated, translated and disseminated during the project implementation. Advancing Children’s Rights, A Guide for Civil Society Organisations on how to engage with the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, was first published in 2009 as a PDF file only. This was a deliberate choice. Due to the quick evolution of the Committee working procedures in practice, the ACCP planned for the Guide to be updated at a later date. It was also planned that Second Edition of the Guide would not only be published as a PDF but also printed.

The Second Edition has been strongly appreciated and well used, not only by civil society organisations but also by Committee members, state actors and other stakeholders.

Consultancy Objectives

1. Update the text of the Guide Advancing Children’s Rights to include relevant events and ACERWC sessions since the last update; the ACERWC Strategic plan; and the ACERWC’s evolving relationship with the UN and other AU structures.


2. Update specific developments e.g. number of ratifications/number of states reporting /new ACERWC members etc.


3. Update case studies particularly in relation to civil society’s experience with reporting procedures.


4. Update specific ACERWC work related to Missions and/ Communication, General Comments and other Interpretation Documents by the Committee.

Target

Like the previous editions of the Guide *Advancing Children’s Rights,*this edition will mainly target member States NGOs and other civil society organizations that are already engaged in, or want to become engaged in child rights monitoring in Africa.

As secondary target groups can be considered the States parties to the Children’s Charter, various AU bodies (including Committee members), international NGOs as well as UN bodies. Although they are not directly addressed by the Guide, most of the information would be useful for these actors too, not least as a reference tool.

Scope

The scope of the consultant’s task will include:

I. Review the Guide and identify what needs to be updated and changed

II. Attend the 25^th Anniversary Conference of the ACRWC

III. Collect further relevant data, case studies etc, read relevant documents, contact reference group

IV. Write the first draft of the updated guide (6 days)

V. Incorporate suggestions for amendments from reference group, Plan & SC (3 days)

VI. Present the 2^nd draft of the updated guide

VII. Incorporate any final amendments from the Consortium Members (2 days).

VIII. Present the final updated guide.

Methodology:

The consultant is responsible for doing the necessary research and writing in order to update the Guide Advancing Children’s Rights into a third edition.

The work will be done in close collaboration with the Guide project focal person at Save the Children (Child Rights Governance, Senior Program Manager) in close collaboration with Plan International (ACCP Coordination office). The focal person- Child Rights Governance, Senior Program Manager will be available for exchange of ideas, support and guidance all through the process.

The main areas to be updated will be identified by the consultant, and confirmed in discussions with Save the Children and ACCP Coordination office. Informal feedback on how the Guide has been received and how it has been used will also be gathered.

An important part of the work will be for the consultant to attend the 25th Anniversary Conference of the ACRWC in Addis Ababa. Direct interviews will be conducted with Committee members and the Secretary to the Committee, African civil society organisations and other relevant stakeholders and informants. Further interviews can be done via e-mail.

Documentation

In addition to the documentation earlier used when working on earlier editions of the Guide, the consultant is expected to use the following material when updating the guide:

• States parties reports reviewed since the last Edition


• Civil society reports reviewed since the last Edition


• Revised criteria for obtaining Observer status to the Committee


• Reports from the ACERWC sessions since the last Edition


• ACERWC Strategic Plan (2015-2019)


• ACERWC revised Rule of Procedures


• ACERWC Communication guidelines


• Other relevant documents.

Output/End product

The following outputs will be expected from the consultant:

• 1^st draft of updated Guide


• 2^nd draft of updated Guide


• Final draft in the form of one complete word document for the updated Guide, including annexes.

Time frame:

November, 2015: Engage the consultant. Consultant to prepare and attend the 25^th Anniversary Conference for the ACRWC in Addis Ababa, to conduct interviews with Committee and civil society partners.

November 30^th: First draft of updated Guide submitted to Save the Children and ACCP Coordination Office.

December 05^th: Comments back to consultant.

December 15^th: Second draft submitted to Save the Children and ACCP Secretariat with relevant comments incorporated.

December 17^th: Any last comments to consultant.

December 20^th : Final version submitted by consultant.

Competencies

• Bachelors Degree in Sociology, Public Administration or any development related field.


• Demonstrated knowledge and expertise in child rights and the ACRWC


• Excellent analytical skills on civil society development in Africa


• Experience in policy level advocacy.


• Excellent writing and communication skills


• A rich and evident experience of producing CSO capacity building tools.

The consultant will be required to sign and adhere to SCI’s child safeguarding policy.

Remuneration

Daily rates will be determined after discussions with the consultant.

· Save the Children EARO will cover for the consultant’s air tickets on economy class to relevant field sites, accommodation on bed and breakfast plus airport transfers in the field. All other costs shall be borne directly by the consultant.

• Remuneration is based on submission of deliverables. No payment will be made in advance.


• Taxation laws for Kenya will apply.

Ethics, Safeguarding and Code of Conduct

As the consultant will be working on behalf of Save the Children they will be required to sign and adhere to the Child Safeguarding Policy and ethical guidelines. Note that background checks will be undertaken on all applicants.

The consultant will make clear to all participating stakeholders especially children of all ages that they are under no obligation to participate in the exercise and that it is purely voluntary. All participants will be assured that there will be no negative consequences if they choose not to participate. The consultant must obtain informed consent from all participants, including children and their care-giver if a child is to be interviewed. The consultant must receive prior permission for taking and use of visual still/ moving images for specific purposes. The consultant will assure the participants the anonymity, confidentiality and will assure the visual data is protected and used for agreed purpose only.

As regards the documentation, the title rights, copyrights and all other rights of whatever nature in any materials used or generated under the provisions of this consultancy will exclusively be vested with Save the Children International East Africa Regional Office.

How to apply:

Submitting expressions of interest

Interested individuals must submit a technical and financial proposal of a maximum of five (5) pages, which will be assessed, based on the following criteria

· A cover letter introducing the consultant and how the skills and competencies above are met, with concrete examples as appropriate.

· An outline including proposed methodology, time schedule and work plan for the development of the child friendly guide (including meaningful child participation)

· A CV detailing relevant skills and experience, including contactable referees

· Proven record of experience in civil society strengthening

· Reasonable budget breakdown and cost consideration

Applications to be sent to EA.recruitment@savethechildren.org by 18th November 2015