Country: Thailand
Closing date: 15 Sep 2015
UNICEF Thailand Country Office (TCO) is seeking an individual consultant to support the lead consultant in carrying out the Adolescents Situation Analysis.
The SITAN’s primary purpose is to review existing documents related to the situation of adolescents in Thailand, available data, policy and its implementation to identify the country’s challenges to fulfil the Adolescents rights and make recommendations for policy directions, future actions and programme interventions on key priority areas including Adolescent specific HIV programming. The SITAN recommendations need to provide the basis for decision-making and selecting appropriate courses of actions during the 2017-2021 CP of UNICEF TCO and also feed in to appropriate National strategic plans including HIV related ones.
Background:
The HIV AIDS section of the UNICEF Thailand Country office (TCO) has been retooled in 2014-15 to focus on the second decade of development, Adolescence. The 2012-2016 Country Programme (CP) cycle is entering its fourth year of implementation and Thailand Country Office (TCO) is undertaking preparatory work towards the development of the UNICEF Thailand Country Programme for 2017-2021 starting with a Situation Analysis (SITAN) as one of the steps in the preparation process of the Country Programme Document (CPD) aiming at finding the common overarching theme for the new CP for Thailand, identify key gap areas, as well as determine the effectiveness and relevance of current strategies adopted to address the emerging priorities for the Adolescent development and HIV in Thailand and the causes of shortfalls and inequities, as the basis for recommending actions.
Adolescence, the transition from childhood to adulthood, is marked by significant physiological, mental, and social change. While the definition of “adolescent” varies, it is universally a period of significant adjustment and exploration for older children and young people. The UN definition of adolescence spans the second decade of life, from 10 – 19 years. For the purposes of this analysis the UN definition of adolescents will be used and where relevant segmentation of adolescents into three groups will be used (10-14, 15-17 and 18-19 years) Considering that adolescence is a crucial age that need specific interventions to support their survival, development, protection and participation, it seems the current policy and national programmes still insufficiently address adolescent age group. This is reflected in the absence of data, budgeting, realistic target setting and adolescent focused policymaking. There is an inadequate standardization of services, participation of adolescents and acceptance of their role in the system compounded by gender based inequalities. All of these issues impact the lives of adolescent themselves, their present rights and future opportunities, as well as their ability to contribute to the society to their full potential.
Accidents, suicide and early pregnancy are the leading cause of either death, disability or health risks for adolescents. HIV infection, tobacco consumption and substance abuse, exploitation, violence against them, exclusion of the most vulnerable, family situation, migration further exacerbate the circumstances of many adolescents. During times of conflict and humanitarian disaster these risks are greatly exacerbated. Disabilities, gender, sexuality and gender identity are other important areas to be considered affecting the life of adolescents.
A range of data of variable quality is available in various sectoral knowledge resources and information systems/databases However these are rarely analysed with a cross sectoral purpose. The nature and quality of data may not adequately capture all the vulnerabilities and risks faced by adolescents today. One of the example is that adolescents are growing up in a rapidly changing environment with huge impact of technology and marketing influences, as well as shifting social and political norms and standards and this situation is not well captured and analyzed for program planning and policy formulation. Another example of data gap is often survey indicators would target 15-49 or 15-24 year age groups. While this may include 15-19 year age groups, it is not very helpful for understanding specific risks, vulnerabilities of adolescents for programme planning.
The SITAN and its deliverables will be undertaken by a team comprising of a senior experienced National or International consultant (lead consultant) with support from a national consultant (assisting consultant).
Work Assignment:
This assignment calls for a comprehensive compilation and analysis of all available data relating to adolescents in the country including interactions with selected key stake holders and adolescents
In collaboration with UNICEF team the consultant/s will support on the following tasks:
- Review key documents related to situation of Adolescents including national policy, relevant strategies, budget (not detailed analysis) and plans to identify opportunities and challenges in programming promoting and protecting the rights of the Adolescent (survival, development, protection and participation).
- Adolescent HIV programming will be reviewed and highlighted to show who is doing what and where are the gaps and challenges to be addressed
- Map and review the existing adolescent specific services
- Identify and review additional available information from different data sources and ddetermine gaps in data and information and to try to fill the gaps following a consultative process
- Consult different stakeholders including the government officials, NGOs working on the issues of Children, Adolescents, Youth and key UNICEF section staff
- Undertake analysis as per the key questions included in the annex to guide the process of Situation Analysis (causality analysis, role pattern analysis, capacity gap analysis, analysis of enabling environment and validation analysis)
- Prepare the draft SITAN report (taking the structure of the sample SITAN reports provided by UNICEF)
- Present the key findings to UNICEF
- Revise the SITAN report incorporating comments and recommendations from the above presentation
The Audience:
The key intended audience for this analysis is UNICEF policy makers, UN agencies, partner agencies, funding agencies, NGOs, CBOs and media professionals.
Methodology
The SITAN main methodological approach incudes:
- Desk Review
- Consultations with key stakeholders and Adolescents
Desk Review
Review and synthesis of available data which will comprise of document review, quantitative and qualitative analysis of existing data and information. The SITAN will rely on available data and reports such as situation analyses reports, studies, surveys, assessments and evaluations and should contribute to evidence in three core areas:
Consultations with key stakeholders
Consultations with key stakeholders from governmental departments, partner institutions, and sister UN agencies which upon synthesizing alongside the information from document review will provide complementary and updated information. Consultation with Adolescents in three settings; adolescents in general/in School and out of school, Adolescent with disability and Adolescents infected and affected by HIV.
Work Schedule
The Consultant Team will commence the assignment in early September 2015 and complete the key tasks as outline in the below table. Research Assistant consultant will work 40 days spreading over September-October 2015. The proposed schedule may require some adjustment in light of changing programme context.
Steps in the SITAN development
Phase I
(1st & 2nd week of September 2015)
Briefing meetings, compiling materials for desk review
Review the key documents and analysis of the data available data
Develop the work plan and indicative outline of the SITAN
(2rd & 3th week of September 2015)
Meet with different stakeholders, including in the government and partners
(4th week of September 2015)
First draft shared with UNICEF for review
Phase II
In-depth analysis and stake holder consultation
(1st & 2nd week of October 2015)
Undertake field trips to collect additional data as required
(UNICEF will facilitate travel permit and transportation if needed for additional consultations with partners and adolescents as required)
(2nd week of October 2015)
Consultative meeting with government (relevant ministries and relevant committees)
(3rd week of October 2015)
Preparation of the final draft SITAN (capturing causality analysis, capacity gap analysis, data analysis)
(4th week of October 2015)
Final draft SITAN and Powerpoint presentation - Presentation of the final draft and incorporating suggested changes
End Product(s):
Analysis report in English as a word document and in a pdf format. The report of about 50 pages, should be well structured, logical, clear and complete. It should comply with UNICEF’s reporting standards and should mainly include:
Executive Summary: of 3 pages
o Report Objectives, Purpose(s) and Scope and Methodology: Presents description of the methodology applied to the analysis that clearly explains how the methodology was specifically designed to address to achieve he purpose.
o Findings: Should respond directly to the objectives detailed in the scope and are based on the evidence derived from the data collection.
o Recommendations: Recommendations should be firmly based on evidence and analysis, be relevant and realistic, with priorities for action made clear.
o Annexes: Should be aimed at increasing credibility of the report and should include among others, the TOR; work schedule; documents and data used, interviewed tools; list of places visited; records of interviews and focus group discussions (if any).
- A power point presentation of the synthesis with key findings and conclusions- 10-15 slides
- A policy brief to advocate for the key areas of work recommended – 3-5 pages
Deliverables
Submission of initial draft report
Duration (Estimated # of days or months)
20 days
Timeline/Deadline
30 September
Deliverables
Submission of draft final report
Duration (Estimated # of days or months)
25 days
Timeline/Deadline
25 October
Deliverables
Submission of all final deliverables
Duration (Estimated # of days or months)
5 days
Timeline/Deadline
31 October
Estimated Duration of Contract:The contract will be the period of 2 months with planned consultancy time of 50 days for the lead consultants and 40 days for the Research Assistant consultant.
Qualifications or Specialized Knowledge/Experience Required:
Research Assistant Consultant
- Advanced degree in the social sciences (sociology, anthropology, development studies), Economics/Statistics or related fields relevant for the assignment
- At least 8 years of research and other relevant professional experience
- Thai nationals
- Proven track record in data mining and analysis
- Excellent facilitation and coordination skills
- Proven experience in writing analytical papers on children and gender issues
- Fluency in Thai and working knowledge of English (written and oral skills)
How to apply:
Interested candidates are requested to submit application, CV or P-11, full contact information of minimum 2 references, a relevant work sample, availability, and proposed daily professional fee by 15 September 2015 to hrbangkok@unicef.org
Only short listed candidates will be notified.