Terms of Reference (ToR)
National / International Expert to Design Trauma-Informed Care Training Package for Multi-Disciplinary Teams

1. Project Information

Terre des hommes Kosovo is implementing the regional project "Multidisciplinary approach to preventing and responding to violence in schools - CARING 2.0" (March 2025 - February 2027), as part of a consortium and in partnership with organizations operating in 5 countries such as Romania, Greece, Croatia, Bulgaria and Kosovo, and financially supported by the European Commission, within the CERV[1] program.

In line with the European Union's commitment to protecting children from all forms of violence, the European Commission recommends the development and strengthening of integrated child protection systems, based on the best interests of the child. This recommendation emphasizes the need for children to be at the center of protection systems, guaranteeing their rights to protection from all forms of violence and ensuring their active participation. It also emphasizes taking appropriate measures and allocating the necessary resources to protect the physical and mental integrity of children as part of an integrated approach to preventing and responding to violence.

The overall goal of the project is to contribute to the strengthening and functionality of integrated child protection systems through a multidisciplinary approach to preventing and responding to violence in schools. The project places particular emphasis on gender dimensions and the meaningful participation of children, especially those in vulnerable situations.

Violence in schools is considered a complex and multifaceted social problem. Driven by societal norms and stereotypes, including gender perceptions, it is widespread because of unequal power dynamics between adults and children, between women and men, and between peers. Gender plays an important role in the forms of violence that occur in schools, with girls being more exposed to sexual and psychological violence, while boys are more exposed to physical violence.

To address this, Terre des hommes Kosovo, with support from Tdh Hungary and the Project’s Technical Advisory Board, will engage an external consultant to develop a trauma-informed care training package for multi-disciplinary teams, including school staff, law enforcement officials, support service providers, and health and social service professionals. This training package will equip professionals with the skills to apply a trauma-informed approach when working with children who have experienced violence. Additionally, based on the developed training package, the consultant will deliver a three-day Transnational Training of Trainers (ToT) in Kosovo for participants from five implementation countries

1. Background

Terre des hommes is dedicated to strengthening child protection systems and ensuring that professionals across sectors have the necessary skills and knowledge to prevent and respond to violence against children. Recognizing the need for a trauma-informed approach, we aim to develop a Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) Training Package tailored for multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs), including schools, law enforcement, support service providers, health and social service professionals, and other key stakeholders. This training package will provide a holistic framework to enhance the response and prevention of violence against children through intersectoral collaboration and trauma-sensitive practices.

3. Objective

The primary objective of this assignment is to design a structured, evidence-based Trauma-Informed Care Training Package that aligns with best practices and international standards, and to implement a 3-day ToT. The package should be adaptable to various professional sectors and equip multi-disciplinary teams with the competencies needed to provide trauma-sensitive support and interventions to children affected by violence.

4. Scope of Work

Consultant is expected to

▪ Perform all work in accordance with the signed contract, Terms of Reference, and the Technical and Financial Offer, including Tdh policies, and submit all deliverables as per the agreed-upon deadlines.

▪ Be available for regular check-in calls, as necessary throughout the assignment, to share updates on progress.

▪ Ensure that the identified Tdh project staff is regularly informed in case of any questions or issues (particularly delays and blockages) that may emerge during the assignment and require mutual discussion or planning.

The expert will be responsible for:

• Conduct a desk review and hold a meeting with partners to assess the need for a transnational needs assessment. If required, conduct an assessment to tailor the training package to the roles and responsibilities of multidisciplinary teams in the project’s implementing countries.
• Designing a comprehensive training curriculum covering core principles of trauma-informed care, including but not limited to:
  • Understanding trauma and its impact on children
  • Principles of trauma-informed care across different sectors
  • Preventing, recognizing, and responding to trauma in educational, healthcare, social services, and justice settings
  • Building trauma-sensitive environments in schools, law enforcement, and child protection services
  • Multi-disciplinary collaboration for trauma-responsive care
  • Self-care and resilience for professionals working with children with potentially traumatic experiences
• Developing training materials, including:
  • A facilitator’s guide featuring detailed session plans, including an integrated participant manual to support effective delivery of the training.
  • PowerPoint presentations
  • Case studies and role-playing scenarios relevant to schools, law enforcement, healthcare, and social services
  • Practical exercises and group activities tailored for multi-disciplinary team collaboration
  • Assessment tools (pre- and post-training evaluations)
  • Design agendas for a series of three webinars based on the training content, aimed at supporting trained professionals in effectively delivering and replicating the training sessions.
  • Additional materials might be needed based on feedback and consultations with the Technical Advisory Board
• Ensuring that the training package is adaptable to various learning environments, including in-person, online, and hybrid formats.
• Ensuring that the training package incorporates feedback from CARING 2.0 Technical Advisory Board and relevant stakeholders.
• Conducting a 3-day transnational Training for Trainers in Kosovo for 18 professionals participating from 5 countries: Romania, Greece, Croatia, Bulgaria, and Kosovo.

5. Deliverables

The expert is expected to deliver the following in English:

1. Draft Training Package – including curriculum and training materials for review by Technical Advisory Board.
2. Finalized Training Package – incorporating feedback from stakeholders to ensure quality and suitability for multidisciplinary teams. Finalized Training Package includes facilitation tips and recommendations for replication and scale up. Min. 40 pages.
3. ToT Agenda and training presentations/materials
4. ToT Report – summarizing findings, participant feedback, and recommendations for improvement. (Min. 5 pages)

Timeline

The timeline and efforts estimated for the assignment in the table below are indicative and will be finalized through mutual agreement between Tdh and the Consultant. Consultants are invited to develop their detailed work plan for the assignment with a detailed breakdown in their Technical Proposal. Throughout the assignment, Tdh and its partners will jointly provide feedback and guidance.

6. Required Qualifications and Experience

• Advanced degree in psychology, social work, public health, education, law enforcement, or a related field.
• At least 5 years of experience in trauma-informed care, child protection, and multi-sectoral prevention of and response to violence against children.
• Proven experience in curriculum design and adult learning methodologies.
• Strong understanding of intersectoral collaboration and working with professionals from schools, law enforcement, health, and social services.
• Excellent facilitation and training skills.
• Experience working with NGOs, government agencies, or child protection systems.
• Ability to develop engaging and interactive learning materials.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English are a requirement.

7. Duration and Location

• Contract Type: Short-term consultancy
• Location: Combined remote and in-person for development and finalization of training package, and a 3-day training in person to take place in Kosovo
• Duration: 15 working days for development and finalization of training package, plus 3-day training
• Planned start and end date: April – June 2025 training package and – mid September 2025 latest with ToT

8. Application Process

All interested candidates who meet the criteria are strongly encouraged to apply and submit the following documents to [email protected] :

• A detailed CV highlighting relevant experience in English
• A technical proposal outlining the approach to designing the training package in English
• A financial proposal in English outlining daily fees in EUR and including any additional costs such as travel, accommodation, and related expenses.
• 3 samples of previous relevant work in English

The application for this position will be open from 07.04.2025 to 21.04.2025. Please write “National / International Expert to Design Trauma-Informed Care Training Package for Multi-Disciplinary Teams” in the subject line.

Please note that applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

Child Protection Policy:

Commit to complying with Tdh’s Risk Management, including the Global Code of Conduct, Child Protection Commitments, and Anti-Fraud/Corruption Policy. Security Policy and General Data Protection Regulation.

Due to the large number of applications, TdhK cannot respond to each one individually. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

ATTENTION: The following guidelines must be followed when preparing the technical and financial proposals.

I. INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING THE TECHNICAL PROPOSAL

The Technical Proposal must provide a straightforward, concise statement of how the Bidder intends to implement and meet the requirements outlined in this call. No information on the contractual price should be included in the Bidder’s technical proposal, so that it can be rigorously evaluated on its technical merits.

Technical proposals will be limited to a total of 15 pages. Proposals exceeding 15 pages will not be read or evaluated. Detailed information should be provided only when required by the specific call instructions. CVs of key personnel, past performance report forms are not included in the page limit. No material may be included in the proposal by reference, attachment, appendix, etc., to circumvent the page limit.

Technical proposals MUST be written in English.

The technical proposal should include:

1. Technical approach (up to 15 pages)

The Bidder must demonstrate its understanding, ability, and overall approach to meeting the requirements outlined in the ToR. The Technical Approach should include:

• The Proposal should contain an evaluation approach suggested by the Bidder, based on their understanding of the requirements. This approach should cover the following elements: an initial plan for the evaluation, creation of an evaluation plan and initial report, collection, cleaning, analysis, and presentation of evaluation findings and data.

• The Proposal should describe the tools, methods and sampling plan recommended by the Bidder to meet the evaluation objectives.

• The Bidder should suggest appropriate approaches regarding evaluation design, research methods, additional research questions, etc.

• Detailed description of plans for conducting the evaluation, including:

o Roles and responsibilities of individual team members

o Plans for designing the evaluation

o Plans for developing research designs, questions, and instruments

o Plans for collecting, cleaning, and analyzing data

o Plans for writing reports and delivering key findings

o Detailed evaluation plan.

2. Team Composition and Qualifications (up to 4 pages)

The Bidder shall provide a summary of the names and anticipated positions of the individuals proposed to fulfill the requirements of this solicitation. The Bidder shall indicate the level of effort for each proposed individual who will perform the work under the contract. The Bidder shall submit a complete and current CV for each proposed professional staff member (no more than three pages each) who will perform the work if the bid is awarded. These CVs should clearly describe the education, experience, and professional credentials of the individuals.

The Contractor is expected to have a team composed of individuals with experience in research design and methods, qualitative and quantitative tool development, and data collection and analysis; as well as technical competence in the field of social services and child protection in Kosovo, including the legal and institutional framework. In particular, the evaluation consultant (or key members of the evaluation team) will have the following qualifications:

• Must have proven experience in trauma-informed care, child protection, and multi-sectoral prevention of and response to violence against children, including the but not limited to legal and institutional framework (as required), and hold an accredited degree in psychology, social work, public health, education, law enforcement, or a related field. A master’s degree is preferred, but a bachelor’s degree in combination with relevant experience is also acceptable.

• Experience in trauma-informed care, child protection, and multi-sectoral prevention of and response to violence against children, as well as the ability to work in multicultural teams, is desirable.

• Experience in statistics, including designing quantitative and qualitative instruments, as well as data collection and analysis.

• Demonstrated experience and ability in producing high-quality, visually appealing curriculum and training materials with a strong focus on intersectoral collaboration and working with professionals from schools, law enforcement, health, and social services.

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required. Excellent writing and presentation skills in English.

3. Business Certificate (for companies)

In accordance with the tender/call requirements, all bidders are requested to submit a valid and up-to-date business certificate as part of their proposal. This document serves as essential evidence of the bidder's official status and compliance with the necessary regulatory procedures. Failure to include the business certificate may result in the bid being disqualified. Therefore, bidders are requested to ensure that the attached certificate is current and accurately reflects the details of the bidder’s corporation.

These lists will be attached as an annex to the Technical Proposal, which will not be included in the page limit.

II. INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING A FINANCIAL PROPOSAL

The Bidder is required to submit a financial proposal that reflects their realistic and reasonable estimates for the work as described in their technical approach. A comprehensive cost proposal must be provided, and all financial data and costs must be supported with full details and organized in a manner that allows for easy review and cost analysis.

The financial proposal for each working day must include the bid amount exclusive of VAT (for companies) and the net amount (for individuals), before any tax deductions in the country of origin are calculated.

[1] Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV)