International/National Consultant to support the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare in drafting a new Law on Social and Child Protection in Montenegro

UNICEF is looking for an International/National Consultant to support the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare in drafting a new Law on Social and Child Protection in Montenegro.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

For every child, a fair chance.

Montenegro is in the process of accession to the EU and leaving no one behind has been one of the cornerstones of its development agenda, among other, through SDGs nationalization. Montenegro, therefore, has undertaken relevant measures to implement institutional, legislative, and administrative reforms to align its policies with those EU accession processes and UN human rights standards. Montenegro has been carrying out comprehensive reform of the social and child protection system over the last 10 years. The initial incentive for the reform was the expert support of UN agencies (UNICEF and UNDP) and significant financial support of the European Union (IPA 2010 and 2014), which resulted in adoption of the Law on Social and Child Care (2013) as the main legal framework for social and child care service and social assistance. The reform also introduced , establishment of the Institute for Social and Child Protection (in charge, inter alia, for quality assurance), establishment of an integrated Social Welfare Information System, strengthening of intersectoral cooperation and professional capacities of relevant sectors for the prevention of family breakdown; and expanded family and community based services, implementation of a comprehensive reform of the Centers for Social Work, as well as intensification of the deinstitutionalization and decentralization processes, which resulted in a significant reduction in the number of beneficiaries of residential care and the expansion of the number of services provided at the family and community levels. One of the most significant of the mentioned results is the reform of the CSWs, which introduced case management methodology into the work of the CSWs, changed the organization of the work of the centers and introduced supervision. Centers for Social Work are the key institutions in social and child protection in Montenegro, with the public authority to provide social and child protection assistance to their beneficiaries: children (families), adults and elderly people. Despite the achieved results, there are still many challenges in social and child protection systems that must be addressed, including through the strategy document and changes in the legislation. EC Montenegro Report 2023 states that the Centers for Social Work still do not have sufficient capacity to support the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare in implementing the transition from institutional service provision to community-based care. According to the same report, the overall social policy system needs thorough assessment and reform to effectively respond to the needs of most at-risk groups. It also reminds that the Institute for Social and Child Protection lacks resources and that its role in the overall social protection system needs to be clarified. As per the EC reports, gender-based violence and violence against children are issues of concern, with an overall weak institutional response and availability of services, social support services for vulnerable groups remain scarce and unsustainable, mostly organized by civil society organizations, without continuous support from the local or national level. Following the expiry of the implementation period of the Strategy for the Development of Social and Child Protection (2018-2022), the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare of Montenegro has requested UNICEF technical assistance to support the development of the new Strategy for the development of the social and child protection system and the first national Deinstitutionalization Strategy. The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare established a working group for the development of both above mentioned strategic documents and, their fine-tuning and full alignment with the Roadmap on Social and Child Protection Reforms, after which they will be submitted for adoption, which is planned before the end of 2024. Upon the finalization of the Strategies, the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare intends to intensify its work on drafting of the new Law on Social and Child Protection Services. The experts engaged by UNICEF have provided initial inputs for the development of this significant and comprehensive legal document, and these inputs shall serve as a basis for the detailed elaboration and preparation of the document by the Working group. The ongoing reform of the strategic and legislative framework is aligned with Montenegro EU accession priorities and EC Montenegro 2023 Report recommendations. The new Government included the reform of SCP system and development of sustainable SCP services in its Economic Reform Program (ERP) for 2024 – 2026.

How can you make a difference? 

The main purpose of the assignment is to provide support to the Government of Montenegro i.e. the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare in drafting a new Law on Social and Child Protection Reform in Montenegro. The secondary objective of the assignment is to  support the national discussion and agreement around main social and child protection concepts and alignment with international and regional standards, primarily in line with the Roadmap on social and child protection system reforms and social assistance and the ERP, as well as global developments, and in the areas of poverty reduction and social inclusion, protection from adversity, violence and exploitation, deinstitutionalization.

The objective of the consultancy is to provide direct and continuous assistance to the Working Group of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare in drafting of the new Law on Social and Child Protection Reform in Montenegro by means of the provision of relevant guidance, inputs, feedback, addressing comments and recommendations, as well as presentation of the key legislative provisions and elements to the Working Group during the Law drafting process and to the general and professional public at the public discussion round.

Under the direct supervision of UNICEF Social Policy Officer, the International/National Consultant is expected to undertake the following tasks:

• Perform desk review, within the preparatory phase, of the existing strategic documents pertaining to the social and child protection in Montenegro – draft Strategy on the Development of Social and Child Protection System 2024-2028 and Deinstitutionalization Strategy 2024-2028;
• Perform desk review of all available relevant international standards and best practices, national reports, analyses, data relevant to poverty, adversity, material deprivation, social exclusion, prevention and protection of children from violence; Recommendations of the CRC Committee for Montenegro, CEDAW Recommendations, GREVIO and GRETA reports, EUD Progress reports for Montenegro, Montenegro Economic Reform Program 2024-2026;
• Participate in at least five meetings of the Working Group for drafting of the new Law on Social and Child Protection Reform in Montenegro, lead discussion on the formulation of the Articles of the new Law and on the inclusion of the existing inputs for the Law development received from UNICEF international experts in the preparatory phase and be available for online meetings with the representatives of MLSW upon their request;
• Prepare the presentation of the draft Law to the members of the Working Group with the aim of obtaining comments, inputs and suggestions;
• Incorporate comments, inputs and suggestions obtained from the Working Group of MLSW in the draft Law and fine-tune it for the public discussion;
• Assist the MLSW in the integration of the comments, inputs and suggestions received during the public discussion in the Proposal of the Law on Social and Child Protection Reform in Montenegro;
• Finalize and fine-tune the Proposal of the Law on Social and Child Protection Reform to be submitted for adoption to the Government and Parliament by MLSW;
• Prepare and submit the Final report on the completed activities to UNICEF CO Montenegro (2-page Final report in English and local language) along with the final Proposal of the Law on Social and Child Protection Reform to be cleared and approved by UNICEF Social Policy Officer. As the final report it will be considered the final document version accepted and approved by UNICEF.

The International/National Consultant will be the lead in the process and will work in a close collaboration with the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare and UNICEF Country Office Montenegro.

The Consultant is expected to work both in the field and from home. The detailed timeline will be agreed with UNICEF and the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare.

Work Assignment Overview

Tasks/Milestone:                                                                              Deliverables/Outputs:                 Timeline:
Desk review, within the preparatory phase, of the existing strategic documents pertaining to the social and child protection in Montenegro – draft Strategy on the Development of Social and Child Protection System 2024-2028 and Deinstitutionalization Strategy 2024-2028; and of all available relevant international standards and best practices, national reports, analyses, data relevant to poverty, adversity, material deprivation, social exclusion, prevention and protection of children from violence; Recommendations of the CRC Committee for Montenegro, CEDAW Recommendations, GREVIO and GRETA reports, EUD Progress reports for Montenegro, Montenegro Economic Reform Program 2024-2026 (4 days)	Desk review conducted	By the end of September 2024
Participate in at least five meetings of the Working Group for drafting of the new Law on Social and Child Protection Reform in Montenegro, lead discussion on the formulation of the Articles of the new Law and on the inclusion of the existing inputs for the Law development received from UNICEF international experts in the preparatory phase and participate in at least five online meetings as per MLSW’s request (8 days – 5 days for in-person and 3 days for on-line meetings)	Five meetings of the WG held with the Consultant participation	By the end of December 2024
Prepare the presentation of the draft Law to the members of the Working Group with the aim of obtaining comments, inputs and suggestions (3 days)	Presentation delivered	By the end of January 2025
Incorporate comments, inputs and suggestions obtained from the Working Group of MLSW in the draft Law and fine-tune it for the public discussion (4 days)	Draft Law finalized for the public discussion	By the end of February 2025
Assist the MLSW in the integration of the comments, inputs and suggestions received during the public discussion, finalize and fine-tune the Proposal of the Law to be submitted for adoption to the Government and Parliament by MLSW (4 days)	Proposal of the Law finalized and submitted for adoption to the Government and Parliament of Montenegro	By the end of April 2025
Prepare and submit the Final report on the completed activities to UNICEF CO Montenegro (2-page Final report in English) along with the final Proposal of the Law on Social and Child Protection Reform to be cleared and approved by UNICEF Child Protection Officer (2 days).	Final report on the completed activities submitted to UNICEF	By mid-May 2025

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

Education:

• Advanced university degree in legal, social work, social policy, social and child protection, or a similar technical field.
• Master’s degree and/or PhD will be considered a distinct advantage.

Experience:

• At least 10 years of relevant professional experience in policy and legislation development in social and child protection, particularly in relation to social assistance, social and child protection services, poverty, material deprivation, prevention and protection of children from violence.
• At least 5 years of experience in aligning policy, strategic and legal documents with international and regional human rights instruments;
• Good knowledge of the reform processes in the social and child protection system in Montenegro;
• Excellent knowledge of the relevant international and regional standards and documents in social and child protection (Convention on the Rights of the Child, Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, European Social Charter, Revised European Social Charter, European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Rights, etc.
• Previous experience of collaboration with the UN or UNICEF will be considered as an asset.

Language:

• Fluency in both Montenegrin and English is required.

Other:

• Excellent writing skills, presentation skills, strong strategic and analytical skills, demonstrated by proven record of participation in laws development and/or concise and clear publications and reports related to analysis of social and child protection policies, strategies and plans development, etc. As a part of technical evaluation, applicants are requested to provide a recent piece of work and/or proof of participation in the law development process;
• Experience in working with policy makers and multiple government stakeholders for multisectoral approach is a strong advantage;
• Strong communication and negotiation skills, participatory planning skills;
• Demonstrates tact and high sense of responsibility and discretion;
• Ability to work under pressure and strict timelines;
• Demonstrates integrity and high ethical standards;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

All deliverables should be produced in local language and final product local and English language.

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

Payments:

The payments will be made upon successful completion of the deliverables and submission of invoices. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if work/outputs is incomplete, not delivered or for failure to meet deadlines. 

Mandatory – E-learning: 

Upon conducting the recruitment process and prior to the signing of the contract, the consultant will be required to complete the following online courses. All certificates should be presented as part of the contract.

• Ethics and Integrity at UNICEF
• Prevention of Sexual Harassment and Abuse of Authority (PSEAA)
• Prevention of Sexual Exploitation Abuse (PSEA);
• General Information Security Awareness Course.

The above courses can be found on Agora through the following link: AGORA: Log in to the site (unicef.org).

Course completion certificates should be shared and retained with the human resources unit of the hiring office.

Selection methodology:

All applicants will be screened against qualifications and requirements set above. Candidates fully meeting all the requirements will be further evaluated based on the criteria below. The proposal will be evaluated against the following criteria:

A) Technical criteria – Technical evaluation process – Maximum points: 70

Desk review of CVs -70 % of total evaluation– max. 70 points

• Education: 20
• Previous experience, where a recent piece of work (publication, report, analysis of social and child protection policies, etc.) needs to be provided by the applicant within application: 30
• CV, Motivation/ cover letter and proposed work plan: 15
• Other 5

Only candidates who obtained at least 70% of points from the technical part (who will score at least 49 points) will be qualified for considering for financial proposal evaluation.

B) Financial criteria – evaluation of financial proposal – Maximum points: 30

The applicants are requested to submit their lump sum financial proposal consisting of a daily professional fee, proposed four travel costs to Montenegro and daily subsistence allowance (DSA) for Podgorica when applicable which will be paid up to a maximum of the official UN rate. The Financial scores will be calculated using the formula [lowest offer / financial offer of the candidate x 30].

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check. 

Remarks:  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.