Terms of Reference (ToR)

Develop a Specialised course in Counselling Children & Adolescents for existing counsellors in Papua New Guinea

Introduction & Background

ChildFund Papua New Guinea is registered as a local NGO under the Papua New Guinea Association Incorporation Act, working to reduce poverty for children in developing communities. ChildFund Papua New Guinea was established by ChildFund Australia, which is a member of the ChildFund Alliance – a global network of 12 member organisations which assists almost 23 million children and their families in 70 countries.

ChildFund began work in Papua New Guinea in 1994 and works in partnership to create community and systems change which enables vulnerable children and young people, in all their diversity, to assert and realise their rights. Projects are implemented in seven provinces across the country, in both rural and urban settings, with a focus on maternal and child health, nutrition, water and sanitation, education, and child protection and resilience against family and sexual violence. ChildFund PNG also priorities climate change and disaster preparedness.

Papua New Guinea (PNG) has one of the highest rates of violence against children (VAC) in the Asia-Pacific region. UNICEF reports that 3 in 4 children have experienced physical violence, while 60% of girls have experienced sexual violence. Child neglect is also prevalent, with 70% of children experiencing neglect, including lack of access to basic needs like food, shelter, and healthcare. There are multiple intersections between VAC and violence against women (VAW) including: co-occurrence, shared risk factors, similar underlying social norms, consequences and intergenerational effects. The service response system for women and children affected by violence in PNG faces significant challenges. Many, particularly in rural areas, do not have access to face-to-face services. Where services exist, they are often under-resourced and there is a shortage of trained service providers. There is an urgent need to invest in actions to prevent violence against children, but also ensure adequate response services are in place.

ChildFund established PNG’s first telephone counselling helpline in 2015 (with funding from New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade). While the Helpline was established primarily to provide a service to women experiencing gender-based violence (GBV), it is increasingly receiving calls from children and adolescents in need of counselling and support. In the 24 months between June 2020 and May 2022, the Helpline received 1,782 calls from children (57% male / 43% female). The top presenting issues facing these callers were child sexual abuse, child welfare, safety issues and family violence. This reflects evidence that children in PNG face a range of child protection issues including violence, neglect, exploitation and abuse. In this context, it is imperative to strengthen the service sector, including those providing counselling, to ensure provision of comprehensive support to children who are at risk or have experienced harm.

Current Helpline counsellors all have formal qualifications in basic counselling and have received some basic training in child counselling and child protection. However, there are no specialised courses in counselling children and adolescents available in PNG, presenting a major barrier for counsellors in PNG to specialise in this area. Strengthening the Helpline to respond better to child and adolescent callers has been identified as a priority within the Helpline’s 2022-2026 Strategic Plan and strengthening counselling. In addition, both the Lukautim Pikinini Act 2015 and the National Child and Youth Development Policy 2020-2030 highlight the importance of counseling services for children who have experienced, or are at risk of, violence, abuse, neglect, or exploitation.

In this context, ChildFund PNG, with support from UNICEF, is seeking to develop and a short course, contextualized to PNG, to upskill counsellors in the area of counselling children and adolescents. The training will target existing counsellors (already holding a basic counselling qualification) working with ChildFund (telephone counsellors), as well as other service providers (providing face-to-face counselling). The course will enable counsellors to apply an appropriate counselling process and engage in developmentally appropriate therapy with children, which requires using different therapeutic approaches to adult clients. This includes addressing needs of more marginalised children, including those with disabilities.

The consultant will be required to work with ChildFund PNG project team, the PNG Counsellors Association and the Advisory Group.

Scope of Work

Objective of the consultant

The overall objective of this consultancy is to develop child counselling course based on the recommendations of the scoping exercise to identify the need and approach to the course development:

Specifically, the consultant will:

Course development

Undertake desk research and analyse all the necessary documents, including the scoping report to fully understand the needs and situation and recommendations of the scoping exercise that included key informants.
ChildFund is keen to align to the recommendations of the scoping report therefore, it is recommended that best approach is for the adaption of an existing course to the unique context and needs of PNG. The most appropriate and ‘fit for purpose’ existing course is one that was initially developed for Fiji and has been adapted to a number of different Pacific contexts (including a 2-day iteration in PNG). Analysis of this course finds that it contains many of the key topics identified as needed for PNG, is evidence-based and uses participatory methods to build both knowledge and skills of counsellors.
The course would need some adaptation and additions to ensure it comprehensively covers the essential topics identified in the scoping report (see Section 3) and is responsive to PNG’s unique context. Additionally, It would also require specific guidance for those providing telephone counselling. A key resource to support this is the Child Helpline International’s Counselling Practice Guide.
Ideally, the course should be developed in a similar format to the Certificate IV in Counselling so that it would potentially become an additional unit attached to this accredited course. This would require the development of a qualification strategy and other supporting documents to comply with PNG TVET Framework.
An Advisory Group needs to be established to work closely with the consultant to ensure that the course is appropriate for PNG. This will include representatives from PNGCA, ChildFund PNG, IEA, Department for Community Development, Department of Education, Family Support Centres, UNICEF and National office of Child and Family Services.
ChildFund will consider contracting PNGCA or another local expert in the counselling profession, to work closely with the consultant and manage the Advisory Group process.

Testing of the course:

Design and implement a program to test the course.
Testing of the course will be undertaken with a select group of existing counsellors who could potentially go on to deliver the course in future iterations (see considerations for long-term sustainability in scoping report).
Develop a report with key recommendations based on the testing program.

Development of costed roll out plan:

Develop a costed roll-out plan to deliver this course in PNG.
If funding allows ChildFund will consider:

Engagement of the same consultant to review the child-focused sections of the Helpline Minimum Standards and Guidelines and ensure they reflect best practice, including counselling of children with a disability. In addition, the development of a short guidance document specifically on counselling children and adolescents to complement the Minimum Standards and Guidelines.

Key Deliverables and Timeframe:

Final Deliverables:

Child Counselling Course developed
One testing workshop to review course with counsellors and report with recommendations and feedback on course developed.
Final report on consultancy including costed roll out plan for course; and recommendations for next steps and to support sustainability.
Optional: Review report on helpline minimum standards and training package for telephone counsellors

Timeframe: This assignment is for a period of 6-months between June 2023- December 2023.

Required Competencies and Qualifications

Degree in a relevant field
At least 5-7 years of prior work experience in the field of training, counselling, social work, child counselling and training especially in the regional and international context.
Demonstrated knowledge and experience in developing course and curriculum, training materials etc.
Demonstrated experiences and skills in facilitating stakeholder/working group consultations and training.
Relevant regional and international experience will be an added advantage. ·
Excellent writing, editing, and oral communication skills in English.

The project seeks to identify experts that fulfill the above criteria and have demonstrated ability of involving key stakeholders to provide relevant expertise and bring a wider perspective in developing of the course materials.

Management & Reporting Arrangements

The consultant will work closely with ChildFund PNG’s Strengthening Services for Survivors of GBV project team, and report to Project Coordinator, Gender and protection program manager, PNGCA and Advisory committee.

All reports must be written in English and provided in an electronic format (Microsoft Word).

Terms of Agreement

Payment:

Consultancy fees will be paid based on satisfactory completion of all deliverables and acceptable progress against the agreed deliverables and upon receipt of invoice from the consultant.
Agreement between ChildFund and the consultant on the payment milestones will be determined before commencement of the study.
ChildFund acknowledges that work progress against the deliverables and scope of deliverables may be subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances such as natural and human-caused disasters however, adjustment is to be made by mutual agreement.
Payment (including daily fees) and time frames to be negotiated and indicated in all expressions of interest.

Expressions of Interest:

Candidates are invited to submit expressions of interest providing the following:

Proposed methodology for course development based on this TOR and inclusion of daily professional fee and indicative budget.
Brief CV including referees.
Expressions of Interest are required by 11 July 2023.

Confidentiality:

All discussions and documents relating to this TOR will be treated as confidential by the parties.

Child Safeguarding:

The successful applicant will be required to comply with ChildFund Child Safeguarding Policy and Procedures and to sign the Code of Conduct. If the consultant will be having direct contact with children or having access to children’s personal information, a Criminal Background Check must also be carried out.

Preventing Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (PSEAH):

The successful applicant will be required to comply with ChildFund PSEAH policy and sign the ChildFund Code of Conduct.

Counter-Terrorism:

ChildFund acknowledges its obligation under the Papua New Guinea and Australian laws relating to counter-terrorism. In order to meet its obligation, the consultant’s name will be reviewed through internal counter terrorism checks.

Acknowledgment and disclaimer**:**

ChildFund, its Board and staff make no express or implied representation or warranty as to the currency, reliability or completeness of the information contained in this TOR. Nothing in this TOR should be construed to give rise to any contractual obligations or rights, expressed or implied, by the issue of this TOR or the submission of an EOI in response to it. No contract will be created until a formal written contract is executed between ChildFund and a selected consultant.

Remain alert and responsive to any child safeguarding or sexual exploitation, abuse or harassment (SEAH) risks, acquire relevant knowledge and skills to promote strong safeguarding practices, understand the child safeguarding and PSEAH policy and procedures, and conduct yourself consistent with those policies.

procedures, and conduct yourself consistent with those policies.

Full Terms of Reference (ToR) can be downloaded from www.childfund.org.au/work-with-us

Applications closing date: 11 July 2023