CALL FOR EXPERT – TERMS OF REFERENCES

Function: Individual Expert to conduct an analysis to identify bottlenecks and opportunities to link and integrate social assistance with social services sectors within Centers for Social Work and Active Labor Measure Policy (ALMP) with Employment Offices

Place of work: Kosovo wide

Project name: Strengthening social service workforce to provide continued quality social services for most vulnerable children and their families

Coalition of NGOs for Child Protection in Kosovo – KOMF, established in 2011, is a Coalition composed of 34 local and international NGOs working in the child protection field, with the joint mission to advocate and protect the rights of children in Kosovo.

KOMF supported by UNICEF and in partnership with USAID, is implementing the project “Strengthening social service workforce to provide continued quality social services for most vulnerable children and their families in Kosovo”. The project has four main objectives as follows: 1. Strengthen capacities of child protection and non-child protection front-line workers, to implement the Law on Child Protection, enabling provision of quality and sustainable protection services for children; 2. Strengthen capacities of social service workforce to provide quality social services for children; 3. Strengthen capacities of Municipal Directorates of Health and Social Welfare and CSWs on planning, monitoring, budgeting, and contracting of social services; 4. Increase awareness of decision makers, social workforce and wide public, on the importance of social work and provision of quality social services.

Background

In Kosovo there are 38 Centres for Social Work in 38 municipalities with about 400 social service officials and social welfare officials. CSW/s are the main bodies of municipal authorities mandated to provide social services and social assistance scheme for children and families in need.

The organizational structure of CSW/s in Kosovo is as follows:

1. Social Service– is a professional service within CSW that provides social and family services, and performs the function of the Guardianship Body (CB).
2. Social Assistance Service – is responsible for the administration and operation of the Social Assistance Scheme.
3. Administrative-Financial Service – is responsible for the administration of the budget and finances of the CSW institution as well as technical administrative work.

Currently, around 22,000 families living in poverty are beneficiaries of social assistance scheme provided by Centers for Social Work. While around 35,000 citizens are receiving social services from Centers for Social Work.

Based on the information from the field, Social Service and Social Assistance sectors operate separately as isolated within Center for Social Work. Besides the fact that these two sectors are operating within the same Center for Social Work still there is a lack of cooperation, coordination and referral of cases. Often there are cases where families who are beneficiaries of social assistance are also in need social services, and they are not referred toward Social Service Sector. Therefore, social services and social schemes sectors must work in an integrated system.

The number of unemployed persons registered in the Employment Offices, beneficiaries of Category II of the Social Assistance Scheme continue to be high, although there is a lack of interest of family members of the Social Assistance Scheme beneficiaries, to be engaged in the framework of Active Labor Market Measures. The total number of families in the Social Assistance Scheme in both categories is around 22,000 families, while in Category II there are about 6,000 families with around 24,500 family members.

Relatively few social assistance beneficiaries are offered participation in active labour market measures (ALMMs) by public employment services, which would enable them to “graduate” from the scheme and enter (stable and formal) employment. The opportunities are particularly difficult for individuals beyond the age of 40 lacking appropriate qualifications. For women with children, and especially for single mothers, the conditions are exacerbated due to lack of access to childcare institutions. Kindergartens are typically lacking in rural areas and unaffordable for women with low qualifications in urban areas. However, even when opportunities for training or employment offered, beneficiaries are often not willing to take them. The hesitation to work and lose access to benefits temporarily appears to be driven partly by fears that employment opportunities offered are not sustainable, which is perhaps related to previous experiences whereby social assistance beneficiaries were typically offered participation in short-term public works. Generally, beneficiaries do not consider social assistance benefits as a temporary source of income to cope with financial hardship, but as a permanent – though very partial – solution.

Thus, KOMF is seeking an Individual Expert to conduct an analysis to identify bottlenecks and opportunities to link and integrate social assistance with social services sector within Centres for Social Work and with the Active Labour Measure Policy (ALMP) in Employment Offices.

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

The main purpose of this activity is to identify bottlenecks and opportunities to link and integrate cash assistance with social services functions/sectors within Centers for Social Work and with the Employment Offices.

Specific responsibilities:

• Provide professional expertise, regarding an integrated system between cash assistance sector and social services sector in Centres for Social Work;
• Conduct field interviews, focus groups and research in four municipalities;
• Propose a model for delivery and integrated social services;
• Draft the analysis to identify bottlenecks and opportunities to link and integrate cash assistance with social services sector within Centers for Social Work and the Employment Offices.

Deliverables:

• Analysis to identify bottlenecks and opportunities to link and integrate cash assistance with social services sector within Centers for Social Works and ALMP in the Employment Offices.

Supervisor: Project Coordinator

Start Date: June 2023

End Date: July 2023

Number of working days: 20 working days

Requirements:

• Master degree in Social Sciences, Social Work, Law or other relevant disciplines related to the field, PhD is desirable;
• At least five (5) years of experience on legal and policy framework on social services, child rights, social protection in international and local context and in planning;
• Working experience with the Government, international agencies and donors in a legal expertise, advisory and capacity building role.
• Strong analytical and conceptual skills;
• Excellent writing and communication skills;
• Extended professional expertise and experience on drafting analysis and reports on children’s rights, social welfare and child protection;
• Working experience with the NGOs, international agencies, government, in frame of professional expertise, advisory and capacity building role;
• Excellent command of English language, in both speaking and writing.

All interested candidates are invited to send the below listed application documents via email, at; [email protected].

• CV;
• Portfolio (evidence of previous experiences) in the drafting of analysis and reports in the social field;
• Proposal of the methodology;
• Financial proposal with the proposed daily and total fee (Gross). The financial proposal must include the statement of the validity of the proposal, at least four weeks from the submission date.

Deadline for submission:

The proposal has to be received by latest on June 02, 2023, at 12:00 (midday). Proposals must be submitted in English language. Proposals received after the deadline or in other languages, will be not considered.

Please note that only the selected candidates from their documentation will be notified for the interview.

The selected expert will read and sign the service contract, together with the below listed documents: KOMF internal personnel regulations, child protection policy, policy against sexual exploitation and abuse and KOMF job description. the mentioned document constitutes the integral parts of the employment agreement between the employer and the consultant.