Child Participation Specialist

Duration: 6 months

Closing Date: 1st 2017

Background

UN-Habitat has been working in Mozambique since 2002 to reduce the vulnerability of housing and critical public infrastructures, including schools by cooperating within the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), outcome 3 for more disaster resilient communities (3.2, 3.3, and 3.4) and in particular through more safe and resilient school environment (3.1). The project known as ‘Safer Schools’ was appropriated by the Ministry of Education (MINEDH) and Ministry of Public Works and Housing (MOPHRH), in coordination with National Institute for Disaster Management (INGC). Also through ECHO funds (DIPECHO initiative 2008-2015) UN-Habitat tested a range of disaster adaptive school building models in order to train local teams and create awareness at national level on school safety construction and building codes.

Throughout these projects, a strong partnership has been built with UNICEF as well as local and national authorities and other key stakeholders to work towards improving living conditions and environment of children in Mozambique. Therefore, a joint UN-Habitat and UNICEF Project on Child Friendly Cities contributes to the further development of improving children’s safety and well-being with a specific focus on urban areas. Combining the profound knowledge and experience of UN-Habitat Mozambique in mapping and reporting on specific issues related to human settlements with UNICEF’s expertise on child-rights, participation and policy dialogue and advocacy – this project will promote and advocate on issues related to child safety and needs to competent authorities and relevant stakeholders in order to raise awareness about specific difficulties and challenges faced by children in urban areas, as well as to provide specific policy recommendations on how to make cities more child friendly. The project will thus provide practical and easily replicable solutions that allow public space improvement specifically fitted for children.

By involving children and youth in a participative process, the project will seek to improve the living conditions of children in Mozambican cities by improving the quality of public spaces, as well as acknowledging the special status of children in urban settings and the necessity to consider their best interest in local government activities and practices. The process will give the opportunity to better integrate children to planning, hearing from their experiences and opinions about urban childhood with the aim of shaping adequate cities and communities.

Responsabilities

The Child Participation specialist will support the CFC project in Mozambique. During the consultancy period, the Child Participation specialist be supervised by the Project Coordinator with the support from the UNICEF Project team. The consultant will be expected to:

• Develop the child participation methodology, approach and protocol for the entire Project, with a special focus on ethical considerations, and potential risks and mitigation measures;
• Develop the plan and engage with schools and local NGOs and universities to mobilize and select children who will participate in the project;
• Organize and conduct workshops with children at key stages of the project implementation (app design, activity planning, mapping, data interpretation, selection of public spaces for reconstruction, recommendation development)
• Support the participatory mapping and data collection with appropriate counselling and supervision;
• Support data analysis exploring linkages between urban children and the challenges of urban mobility;
• Support the identification of best practices and interventions to improve public spaces adapted to children needs in both Maputo and Quelimane;
• Develop a methodology paper and brochure on the Child Participation component of the Project
• Other tasks and activities defined by the Project team.        

This project aims to understand and map the public spaces and facilities that children use in two Mozambican cities: Maputo (exact project are/neighbourhoods to be defined) and Quelimane.  By involving the children as project agents, the project will also identify their needs and perceptions in terms of needs and suggestions on how to improve their public spaces. Based upon this digital map an assessment will be conducted on what is needed to make the cities more children friendly. Digital maps will be used to generate more donor attention and to develop a platform for specific investments in functions or upgrading of public space.

Child participation throughout every stage of the project will be pivotal for its success. Children as agents and key end users, will: 1) inform the design of the intervention, 2) design key features of the mobile application (data collections tools); 3) map their neighbourhoods; 4) participate in the interpretation and validation of the data collected; 5) select key public spaces to be improved; 6) inform the design of these public spaces; 7) give recommendations on how to make cities more child friendly.
Against this background, a Child Participation specialist who is familiar with the participatory planning, child participation techniques and design thinking approaches is needed to support the implementation of the Child Friendly Cities initiative in Mozambique, including definition of the intervention protocol, implementation and reporting of related activities.

EDUCATION

Qualifications

• Advanced University Degree in Social Sciences such as Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology, Social Communication, Economics, Political Science, Development, International Relations, Design, etc.;

Competencies and skills

• Professionalism: Ability to identify issues, analyse and participate in the resolution of issues/problems. Knowledge or understanding of countries in transition (especially Mozambique) and adaptation related challenges and priorities. Ability to implement child participatory activities and support data collection and technical assessment using various methods. Conceptual analytical and evaluative skills to conduct independent research and analysis. Ability to apply judgment in the context of assignments given, plan own work and manage conflicting priorities. Shows pride in work and in achievements; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations
• Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.
• Planning and Organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently
• Professional awareness for using user-centred design methods and child-participatory research;
• Keep abreast of the innovations; deliver technical advice to other members of the team.

Other skills

• Capacity to analyse and synthesize information
• Ability to work independently with a high degree of responsibility, in a flexible manner and   often under pressure
• Capacity to coordinate technical teams
• Good communication skills

Work Experience

• At least 5-7 year of working experience in the area of child participatory planning, research, adolescent development, education, social innovation, community engagement and/or user-cantered design, if possible in developing countries;
• Knowledge on ethical standards of child participation in evidence generation;
• Good interpersonal, networking and communication skills;
• Willingness to contribute and work as part of a team;
• Flexible and open to learning and new experiences;
• Respect for diversity and adaptability to other cultures, environments and living conditions;
• Familiarity with the Mozambican context with a focus on child related issues in urban environments;
• Computer skills (MS Office, social media, and others).

Language Skills

Fluency in spoken and written English and Portuguese is required;

Remuneration

To be discussed