Consultant - Provide mentoring in Child Safeguarding and Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse

Background

ChildFund is committed to community and systems change through partnerships which enable vulnerable children and young people, in all their diversity, to assert and realise their rights. We protect and promote children’s rights as described in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). As a child rights focused organization, we will ensure all steps are taken to safeguard children and to create a culture of safeguarding at ChildFund Australia, in Country Offices and in partner organisations.

ChildFund works in partnership with a number of local civil society organisations to foster social change in communities, focusing on children’s education, health, social-emotional learning, protection and disaster risk reduction. As part of its commitment to localisation as well as to strengthening the integration of GEDSI into programming, ChildFund has been supporting its partners in Timor Leste to strengthen their GEDSI programming practices. So far this has been achieved through supporting some dedicated training and mentoring sessio

Objectives

The objective of this role is to provide mentoring in child safeguarding and in the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEAH) to six safeguarding focal points from three partner organisations of ChildFund Timor Leste.

The mentoring goals will be identified by the safeguarding focal points with the support of ChildFund. The mentoring should enhance mentees' knowledge, skills, and confidence in identifying and responding to safeguarding risks, reviewing their own organisations safeguarding policies, and delivering training on their own organisations policies.

The three partner organisations already have their own policies and have access to training materials provided by ChildFund Timor Leste which can be adapted to suit their context.

Mentoring Goals – to be co-created with mentees from partner organisations but as a guide:

• Build capacity in delivering training and awareness-raising on child safeguarding and PSEAH.
• Strengthen skills in child safeguarding risk assessment and reporting processes.
• Strengthen skills to review and improve safeguarding policies.
• Build awareness of good record keeping and maintaining evidence of safeguarding for the organization.

Mentoring Activities:

• Conduct an initial orientation session to create the mentoring program (one per organisation) and establish goals and expectations.
• Collaboratively set specific objectives based on the organisation's needs.
• Provide monthly mentoring sessions to share information, resources, and best practices on safeguarding. Mentoring can be in a group or by organisation based on partners' needs and within the budget.
• Discuss case studies and real-life scenarios to enhance practical understanding of child safeguarding and PSEAH.
• Provide guidance on conducting child safeguarding risk assessments.
• Explore ways to communicate their safeguarding reporting processes to the community.
• Provide guidance on reviewing and improving safeguarding policies (could be in workshop format delivered collectively)
• Offer guidance on delivering effective child safeguarding training programs for staff. Provide resources, tools, and templates for developing training materials (ChildFund resources will be provided).
• Facilitate practice sessions and role-playing exercises to enhance training delivery skills.

Networking and Collaboration:

• Identify opportunities for the focal points to connect with peers from other organisations for sharing experiences and learning.
• Foster collaboration and mutual support among the focal points through regular communication channels.

Mentoring Duration and Frequency:

• The mentoring program will span over 6 months from October 2023 to April 2023.
• Mentoring sessions will be held regularly, at least once a month face to face, with additional support available as needed.
• Mentoring can be in a group or by organisation based on partners' needs and within the budget.

Monitoring and Evaluation:

• Create baseline self-assessment on mentees' levels of skills and knowledge in safeguarding practice to track progress.
• Feedback from the mentees will be collected to identify strengths and areas for improvement for each organisation's safeguarding practice.
• Complete end-line assessment on mentees' levels of skills and knowledge in safeguarding.
• A final report on progress with recommendations per partner organization will be produ

Deliverables

• Baseline self-assessment on mentees' levels of skills and knowledge in safeguarding to track progress.
• Progress and final report on mentoring session topics, documented changes in mentees capacity and confidence to deliver safeguarding training, evidence of policy review, and examples of any updated or new resources created by the partner.
• Stories of change (ChildFund template) for each mentee reflecting on learning outcomes.
• End line analysis of on mentees' levels of skills and knowledge in safeguarding.
• Recommendations specific to each partner to continue to improve their safeguarding practice.

Skills and Experience Required

• Tetum speaking.
• Extensive experience delivering child safeguarding and PSEAH training in Timor Leste with local organisations.
• Experience in writing and reviewing safeguarding policy and procedures.
• Knowledge of international donor compliance and standards for child safeguarding and PSEAH.
• Skills in mentoring.

The Expression of Interest should include:

1. CV/resume
2. name and contact details for two referees.
3. covering letter explaining competence for the required work, mentoring approaches/methodologies proposed (including a sample mentoring session outline), professional fee, and timeline for the work based on the Terms of Reference.

Please Click on Position Description to find more information about the ToR of this consultancy job.

How to apply:

Please click on the Apply for This Job button on the right-hand side of your screen above to submit your application.  Note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

For further information, please contact Manuel Marques at mmarques@childfund.org.au (don’t use this email to submit the application)

Application closes by 5 PM Dili time, 2 October 2023

ChildFund is an equal opportunities employer and has a strict child safeguarding policy and background checks will be undertaken prior to any offer of employment.

ChildFund is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and strongly encourage people from all backgrounds, abilities, and identities to apply for any vacancies.