Consultant, Children’s Care Reform and Family-Based Alternative Care

Document children’s care reform and family-based care models for UNICEF. Seven-month remote consultancy linked to Amman, with no travel; eight years’ experience required.

Assignment and location

• Seven-month individual consultancy with the Child Protection and Migration Practice at UNICEF’s Amman Centre of Excellence, Jordan. Remote work without travel.
• Develop a practical learning package on country, regional and global care-reform experiences, including disability-inclusive family and community support.

Responsibilities

• Conduct a structured evidence review on care reform and family-based alternatives, assessing uptake of disability-inclusive child-protection resources and the social-service workforce competency framework.
• Select and document geographically diverse case studies involving foster care, kinship care, kafala and other context-appropriate family arrangements, incorporating disability inclusion.
• Consult practitioners, families and children with disabilities; document lived experience, recommendations, consent and clearance requirements.
• Advise country offices on care reform, disability-inclusive protection and implementation of the resource pack and workforce competency framework.
• Produce briefs, tools and learning materials; contribute to training, webinars and practice communities; analyse enabling conditions, challenges and transferability.

Deliverables and timetable

• Inception report and methodology, including operationalisation of disability-inclusive resources and competencies: 31 October 2026; indicative input 10 days.
• Final desk review and organised practice repository with resource-uptake analysis: 30 November 2026; 30 days.
• UNICEF-endorsed shortlist of 8–12 practices, models or campaigns, with selection rationale and balanced coverage: 15 December 2026; 20 days.
• Remote consultations, interview records, case templates and consent tracking: 20 January 2027; 25 days.
• Draft 30–40-page compendium containing 8–12 cases, lessons, challenges and recommendations: 15 February 2027; 30 days.
• 6–8 communication-ready stories/models, slide deck and two-page synthesis: 28 February 2027; 30 days.
• Two facilitated remote learning sessions and agreed revisions: 15 March 2027; 10 days.
• Cleared final compendium, case package, slides, brief and dissemination note: 31 March 2027; 25 days.
• Respond to at least 20 country-office technical-support requests: 30 April 2027; 40 days.

Qualifications and experience

• Master’s degree in social work, child protection, social policy, law, sociology, anthropology, international development, social sciences, public policy, communication for development or a related discipline.
• At least eight years in child protection, care reform, alternative care, deinstitutionalisation, family strengthening, child rights or social-service workforce development, including disability.
• Proven practice documentation, case-study, learning-product, evaluation-synthesis or knowledge-product experience for international organisations.
• Experience with foster, kinship, kafala, guardianship, family-support or community-based care and comparable prior work with UNICEF or relevant UN agencies.
• Strong analysis, writing, evidence synthesis, interviewing, facilitation, coordination and stakeholder engagement; ability to turn complex evidence into practical guidance.
• Understanding of ethical documentation, consent, confidentiality, safeguarding and do-no-harm; ability to deliver independently to deadlines.
• Excellent written and spoken English; another UN language is highly desirable.

Application

• Apply through UNICEF’s official portal by 5 October 2026, 11:55 PM Jordan time.
• Submit an updated talent-management profile, CV, cover letter and a separate financial proposal using only the template linked in the vacancy.
• Include a brief technical proposal with methodology, workplan, sample contents and proposed case-selection criteria.

Contract and recruitment conditions

• Fees are payable after deliverables are submitted and accepted. Payment may be withheld for late or inadequate outputs; service conditions are governed by the consultancy contract.
• Consultants are not UN or UNICEF staff members and do not receive staff leave or medical-insurance benefits. They are responsible for applicable taxes, valid health insurance and any required visa throughout the contract.
• Selected candidates undergo credential, employment-history and reference checks. UNICEF requires child safeguarding and prohibits exploitation, abuse, harassment, discrimination and abuse of authority; applicants married to a child under 18 are ineligible.
• All qualified applicants are welcome and reasonable accommodation is available for applicants with disabilities. The organisation’s values are care, respect, integrity, trust, accountability and sustainability.
• WHO-endorsed full COVID-19 vaccination may be required before assignment. The exemption covers fully remote consultants with no UNICEF premises or programme-site visits, direct community interaction or assignment travel.
• No recruitment fees or bank-account information are requested. Only shortlisted candidates are contacted.