INTRODUCTION

NGO Atina is actively engaged in development of programs for social inclusion of victims of trafficking in human beings and other forms of exploitation and gender based violence, as well as development of policies that are aimed to secure support to children on the move, as one of the most vulnerable groups of children in Serbia. 

Based on the experience from SCORE I and in partnership with NGO Atina and Group 484, Save the Children is implementing a programme SCORE II - Setting an agenda for Child Oriented Social Reform – Phase II which is financially supported by European Union. 

Overall objective of the action is: Child rights based social institutions are strengthened and social protection system is provided for children on the move in Serbia. Within this action, Save the Children and the partners in the Action will identify and/or develop, jointly and in consultation with key state and CSOs stakeholders with child protection mandate and with children themselves, a set of comprehensive and inter-connected models, tools and capacity building programs for addressing the needs and rights of CoM in Serbia. This will improve and enable the full implementation of the legislation and strengthen capacities of professionals to network and respond to the needs and rights of CoM and provide quality services. As a result, boys and girls on the move in Serbia will have better access to processes and services that respond to their care, protection and development needs. 

Specific objective of the action is: CSOs and institutions with child protection mandate are strengthened and networked to develop child friendly assistance, services and policies grounded in the best interest of children on the move. The project will build capacity of professionals (men and women) directly targeted by the Action so that they have improved knowledge about and skills to address the needs and rights of CoM in Serbia. The project will also provide decision-makers in Serbia with recommendations for improvement of national and local inter-sector procedures that promote cooperation and coordination among child rights-based social institutions for the benefit of CoM, based on identified best practices. Through developing and testing evidence-based solutions, the project will open avenues for scaling them up through advocacy and partnerships. 
 

RATIONALE

Save the Children define children on the move (CoM) as “children moving for a variety of reasons, voluntarily or involuntarily, within or between countries, with or without their parents or other primary caregivers, and whose movement might place them at risk (or at an increased risk) of inadequate care, economic or sexual exploitation, abuse, neglect and other forms of violence9.” Save the Children has pioneered the concept of protecting CoM, leading the international debate on care for children on the move in development and emergency settings, as well as in reception, assistance and durable solutions in the EU. 

In Serbia, children on the move include several “sub-categories”, such as victims of human trafficking, members of the Roma community, homeless children, children under readmission, victims of international abductions and unaccompanied children - foreign nationals. Because various State agencies and CSOs are responsible for different CoM sub-groups, and there are no linkages between them, data about numbers, vulnerabilities and needs of those children (collected by each agency separately) are inconsistent and fragmented. It is evident though, from available state and civil society statistics (as detailed in the concept note), that the numbers of boys and girls on the move are increasing in Serbia. Policy and program responses to support the growing numbers of these children are disjointed and inconsistent, while the lack of subject-specific expertise and discrimination against CoM are persisting problems. Save the Children and two local civil society organizations (CSOs) experienced and knowledgeable about the issues of children on the move in Serbia - Atina and Group 484 - have joined hands to address these issues through the projects named SCORE II (Setting an agenda for Child Oriented Social Reform - Phase II). This Action is a scale up of SCORE I and will address issues and challenges that came to forth in the (SCORE I) project. As in all other initiatives globally, Save the Children designed this Action in line with its Child Safeguarding Policy: Rules for Keeping Children Safe, binding on all Save the Children staff. 

Best interest of the child is a primary consideration in all actions concerning children, including the search for short and long-term solutions (Article 3, the Convention on the Rights of the Child - CRC). Its determination requires a clear and comprehensive assessment of the child’s identity, including her or his nationality, upbringing, ethnic, cultural and linguistic background, particular vulnerabilities and protection needs . Determination of the best interest of the child is rights based decision making tool and should not be based on a subjective judgment but on a professional, inter-sector assessment of each child’s individual circumstances. The qualitative research Children on the move – Status and programmes of support and protection of children on the move in the Republic of Serbia conducted within the SCORE I project highlighted the need for collaboration between state and non-state role players in determining the best interest of individual children on the move, and building capacity of professionals to enable them to apply this principle in their day-to-day practice. 
 

SCOPE OF WORK

Expert for development of the best interest determination tool for State and CSO professionals with child protection mandate and capacity development will be responsible for development of the tool as well as implementation of two-day training aiming at building capacities of professionals for the implementation of the best interest principle in their everyday work.. Specific responsibilities of Expert for development of the best interest determination tool are:

1. To participate in the work of the Expert team. As a member of the Expert team, Expert for development of the best interest determination tool will be responsible for participation at the Expert team meetings, providing inputs for development of overall methodology and of the formats for reporting.
2. To develop best interest determination tool based on existing international good practice, Save the Children’s own practice and in line with the evolving Serbian social policy reform. The idea is to mainstream and coordinate responses to individually assessed vulnerabilities of CoM, using existing referral and assistance mechanisms rather than trying to create a new set of services for children on the move “category”. In order to develop a tool, the expert is to to analyze existing international models of BID against current legislative framework and child protection mechanisms in Serbia. Of a particular relevance will be three international documents: the 2010 Save the Children’s publication Best Interests Determination for Children on the Move: A Toolkit for Decision-Making and the 2008 UNHCR Guidelines for Determining the Best Interests of the Child with accompanying (2011) Field Handbook for the Implementation of the BID Guidelines
3. To design a two-day training program for professionals from border police and state-operated services who are usually the first official contact persons for CoM. The training program will include: 1) Best Interests Determination and children on the move in Serbia - an overview; 2) BID as a part of a wider social protection system in Serbia; 3) Using BID components in the context of durable solutions for CoM (such as voluntary repatriation to the country of origin, resettlement in a third country and local integration in the country of destination, with a particular focus on unaccompanied children); 4) Communicating with children, and; 5) Serbia-specific BID process step-by-step. Protection and gender-specific needs, vulnerabilities and strengths of children on the move will be included in the program. It will be the first such comprehensive training material in Serbia.
4. To implement two two-day trainings on the best interest determination for children on the move. Pilot-testing a training program is an important aspect of quality control. It provides an avenue for professionals to train target groups and receive meaningful feedback that will improve the quality and applicability of the program, besides building capacity of professionals involved in pilot training sessions. Trainings on practical application of the tool will be delivered to at least 70 professionals from border police and providers of services for CoM, both state- and CSO-operated (such as shelters, drop-in and asylum centers, assistance programs for victims of trafficking and psycho-social support
5. To develop report on the implemented activities. The Expert for monitoring of CSW work and implementation of training for Local Networks should propose report format for the final reports to be approved by Project team and develop the report on monitoring activities and trainings.

OBLIGATIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CONSULTANT:

• Get to know all the relevant legal framework and documents related to the process;
• Participate in the Expert team activities and cooperate with the Project team;
• Develop BID and submit it for the approval;
• Develop training agenda, programme and materials for the training and submit it for the approval
• Implement two two-day trainings
• Develop report

TIMEFRAME

These activities are to last four months and should finish by 30 September 2015.

Timeframe Activities

01/03-15/03/2015 Developing draft BID and submitting it for approval
15/03-01/04/2015 Developing final version of BID 
01/04-15/05/2015 Developing training program, agenda and materials
15/05-15/09/2015 Implementation of trainings
30/09/2015 Developing report on implemented activites 

BUDGET:

NGO Atina will negotiate number of days of engagement with the selected consultant on the basis of the financial offer (gross amount) that will classify the following:
 

*Add columns as needed depending on the number of activities needed to perform the assignment

Subtotal     Euro__________
Other costs (specify)     Euro__________
TOTAL     Euro__________

The total costs should cover all preparatory work regarding methodology development, communication costs between Project team, consultants and organizations (e-mail, telephone, fax, mail). 
 

BIDDING PROCEDURE

Interested consultant should develop and submit the bidding proposal in English language to respond to above mentioned specific tasks no later than February 26 th, 2015. The bidding proposal should include:

1. Description and contact details of a consultant applying;
2. A clear description of the methodological approach;
3. A detailed Budget Proposal (in the required form);
4. CV of expert involved emphasizing only relevant
5. experience;
6. Past performance in similar areas of a consultant applying with reference of previous contracting agencies.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Project team will make decision on the selection of the most successful bidder, subject to the available budget, on the following four criteria:

• University degree in the relevant field
• At least 5 year of relevant experience
• Experience of the candidate in performing similar projects or programs;
• An example of previous work as a reference of previous experience is desirable

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF BID

All bids need to be submitted no later than February 26th, at 17:00h in electronic version, to the emailatinango@eunet.rs. A selection will be made no later than February 27th, 2015 and the selected consultant will be contracted no later than February 27th, 2015.

Only selected candidate will be informed.