UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND
REQUIRES
International consultancy
For the provision of technical assistance to the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare to
further strengthen the capacity to lead, plan, coordinate, implement and monitor the process
of social and child protection reforms in line with the EU accession requirements
(Continuation of the Child Care System Reform – IPA 2014)
Minimum Requirements:
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An advanced university degree preferably in Public Administration, or alternatively in
social sciences or other relevant field;
Proven expertise and experience in functional review of public administration, especially
vertical review of ministries and agencies, preferably with experience of work in the
region of WB/SEE;
Analytical skills and experience in diagnostic/analytical studies of organisations,
benchmarking and comparative analysis;
Experience related to the organising work in a similar institution;
Familiarity with the local context in Montenegro in particular with respect to the social
protection and child care reform;
Knowledge of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and relevant international
standards in the area of social and child protection;
Previous work experience with UNICEF will be considered as an advantage;
Excellent knowledge of written and spoken English language, whilst command of
Montenegrin language is desirable (both spoken and written);
Strong advocacy, communication and facilitation skills;
Excellent writing skills.
Ability to work in a team.
Terms of Reference for the position and P11 form can be found on the website
www.unicef.org/montenegro or picked up at UNICEF Montenegro office.
If you are a dynamic person who would like to contribute to delivering of long-lasting, positive
changes for Montenegro’s children, please apply with a CV, P11 form, financial offer and cover
letter by email, mail or fax quoting the position “Functional review of the Ministry of Labour
and Social Welfare of Montenegro” to the following address:
UNICEF, UN Eco House, Stanka Dragojevica bb, 81 000 Podgorica
Fax: +382 20 447 400
Email: podgorica@unicef.org
Closing date for applications is 11 March, 2015 by 12:00h.
Only short listed candidates will be contacted for interview.
UNICEF IS A SMOKE FREE ENVIRONMENT
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Terms of Reference
International Consultant for the provision of technical assistance to the Ministry of Labour and Social
Welfare to further strengthen the capacity to lead, plan, coordinate, implement and monitor the
process of social and child protection reforms in line with the EU accession requirements
(Continuation of the Child Care System Reform – IPA 2014)
Background and Context
Observance of human and child rights represents an essential value of the European Union and an
important part of the enlargement policy for Montenegro and the Western Balkan countries.
Montenegro recognised the need to undertake relevant measures to implement institutional,
legislative and administrative reforms in order to make sure that the rights and needs of each
individual child are observed and protected in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of
the Child and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
The overall goal of the Government of Montenegro and UNICEF Country programme for 20122016 is to strengthen the country’s efforts towards increasing equity and ensuring the inclusion of
children and women who are in need of special protection, live in poverty, or are socially
marginalized so that they can enjoy and exercise their rights.
Since 2011, the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare has implemented the Child Care System
Reform initiative implemented in partnership with UNICEF with the financial assistance of the
European Union (currently IPA 2014, as a continuation of the Child Care System Reform IPA
20101). In addition to the Government of Montenegro having identified UNICEF as the
implementing partner, the European Union has called for the application of UNICEF instruments
and child protection standards2 in the implementation of the reform process so as to ensure
compliance of national policy, legislation and practice with these standards.
The reform follows a systematic approach to social and child protection, targeting all levels of the
system and covering all areas of law reform, development of social and child protection standards
and monitoring mechanisms, capacity building of professionals in the child protection system,
deinstitutionalization and transformation of the residential institutions for children, development of
prevention mechanisms and family and community based services for children and families.
Within the Child Care System Reform IPA 2010, in a complex process led by the Ministry of
Labour and Social Welfare with technical assistance provided by UNICEF, the legal framework in
the area of social and child protection has been largely aligned with the recognized international
standards (development of secondary legislation is under way; all bylaws operationalizing the law
to be developed by mid-2015). In line with the new Law on Social and Child Protection adopted in
2013 (Off. Gazette of Montenegro 27/2013), access to services in the least restrictive environment
and prevention of institutionalization, and pluralism of services providers are among the principles
of social and child protection. Placement in residential care became a measure of last resort and a
child younger than three years of age cannot be placed in an institution unless in exceptional
circumstances. Standards and quality in the provision of all services including foster care are
As a component of the comprehensive project entitled “Social Welfare and Child Care System Reform: Enhancing Social
Inclusion” implemented between January 2011 and July 2014 by the Government of Montenegro (the Ministry of Labour and Social
Welfare and the Ministry of Education) in partnership with UNDP and UNICEF Montenegro and financial assistance from the
European Union (IPA 2010), and as a component of the project’s continuation entitled “Support to the Montenegrin Social Reform”,
funded through IPA 2014 between August 2014 and January 2016.
2 Analytical Report accompanying the Commission Opinion on Montenegro’s application for membership of the European Union,
Brussels 2010
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introduced. Further, transformation of residential institutions in line with transformation plans in
order to provide services supporting independent living, counselling, therapeutic, socio-educational
services is prescribed by the Law. In line with the new Law, the Institute for Social and Child
Protection to play a complex role in the development of the social and child protection system,
provide professional support and supervision, license professionals and accredit training
programmes and execute analytical and research programmes to inform policy and decision-making
was established. On the other hand, it is envisaged that the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare
will license service providers.
All these novelties need to be implemented in a well-planned manner requiring management,
coordination, monitoring and administrative capacities of the Ministry of Labour and Social
Welfare pursuing a successful change of the system. The process of capacity building of MoLSW,
as observed in the mid-term evaluation of IPA 2010, is “time consuming and not normally
amenable to shortcuts”3. The capacity building for the central managerial level of the reform of the
social and child protection system is crucial, especially in the areas of conducting qualitative and
quantitative analysis on the determinants of social exclusion, drafting of high-quality, wellstructured and ready-to-understand policy documents relying on limited information under very
tight deadlines, gender analysis and rights-based approaches to policy and program development,
cost benefit policy and programme analysis, risk management, etc.
In this regard, the international technical expertise will be engaged to conduct a functional review of
the MoLSW, particularly the Directorate for Social and Child Protection and to formulate
recommendations on the needed improvements in planning, management, coordination, knowledge
base, professional skills and internal processes and work flow in the Directorate and build capacities
for managing the reform.
An effective review, including training needs assessment, will identify the "gap" between
performance required and current performance and help direct resources to areas of greatest
demand. The review should address resources needed to enable the MoLSW’s Department for
Social and Child Protection pursuing the main aims, improve productivity, and provide quality
social and child protection.
Purpose and Objective
The purpose of this activity is to support the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare’s Department
for Social and Child Protection to further strengthen the capacity to lead, plan, coordinate,
implement and monitor the process of social and child protection reforms in line with the EU
accession requirements.
The purpose of the review, including the training needs assessment, is to identify performance
requirements and the organization, knowledge, skills, and abilities needed by the Department for
Social and Child Protection personnel, predominantly in relation to the areas of evidence-based
policy making, management and coordination of reform process, rights-based approaches to
budgeting, management of the financial aspects of the reform, risks identification and management,
availability of technical expertise following the mandate of the Department of Social and Child
Protection with particular focus on the issues relevant to:
 Children and persons living in or exposed to risk of extreme poverty
 Children and persons with disabilities
 Children without parental care
 Victims of violence
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Arkadi Toritsyn PhD. Ibid. P. 52-53.
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 Children in conflict with the law
 Roma population
 Displaced persons and refugees/migrants/UAM
Methodology and Technical Approach
The methodology will include desk review, written inputs, consultations with the Ministry of
Labour and Social Welfare, active participation and interviews with the staff of the Department for
Social and Child Protection, consultations with UNICEF, UNDP and EU Delegation, and other
relevant stakeholders.
The Consultant is expected to work both in the field and from home.
Activities and Tasks
The Consultant is expected:
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To review the Indicative Strategy Paper for Montenegro 2014-2020; the Sector Planning
Document for the sector Education, Employment and Social Policies as well as the
Employment and Social Reform Programme; the Mid-term and Final evaluations of the IPA
2010 project; the Law on Child and Social Protection (2013) with the set of secondary
legislation developed so far, the Strategy on the Development of the Social and Child
Protection System (2013-2017), the Strategy on the Development of Foster Care in
Montenegro (2012-2016), the Strategy for the Integration of Persons with Disability in
Montenegro (2008-2016), Family Law (2007); the Law on Budget of Montenegro for 2015;
other relevant laws and international human and child rights standards and reports on the
status of human and child rights in Montenegro4 and other relevant documents.
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To review the internal systematization of the MOLSW, particularly the Directorate for
Social and Child Protection (including organigram and job descriptions of key advisory and
managerial posts), especially in terms of human resources, allocation of functions and the
working methods and rules.
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To have meetings with all the relevant stakeholders, primarily UN System and EU
Delegation.
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To have meetings and close communication and consultations with the Directorate for
Social and Child Protection of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare as well as
UNICEF.
Key Deliverables and Timeframe
The Consultant will be engaged for 10 working days in total.
The Consultant is expected to produce the following key deliverables, by the following tentative
deadlines:
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UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, UN Convention on the Rights
of People with Disabilities, the Council of Europe Convention on the Exercise of Children’s Rights, the Council of Europe’s
European Social Charter, the International Covenant on Social and Economic Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, Concluding Observations for Montenegro issued by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Commission
Opinion on Montenegro's application for membership of the European Union, EU’s Montenegro Progress Reports
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1. First draft of the Functional Review with recommendations relevant for strengthening the
capacity to lead, plan, coordinate, implement and monitor the process of social and child
protection reforms, by 31st March 2015.
2. Final Functional Review with recommendations relevant for strengthening the capacity to
lead, plan, coordinate, implement and monitor the process of social and child protection
reforms by 10th April 2015.
Management and Organisation
Management: The Consultant will be supervised by the UNICEF Child Protection Officer.
Organization: International Consultancy, individual at P3 level, with extensive experience in the
area of social and child protection is required for this assignment.
The candidate is requested to submit a financial offer consisting of fee for the services to be
provided, travel and subsistence costs, as applicable.
The consultant’s fee may be reduced if the assignments/deliverables are not fulfilled to the required
standard. In a case of serious dissatisfaction with the consultant’s performance the contract may be
terminated in line with UNICEF procedure in such matters and as spelled out in SSA.
Schedule: This assignment will commence on 13th March 2015.
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