CALL FOR EXPERT – TERMS OF REFERENCES

Function: Legal expert for drafting of Administrative Instruction for the organization, responsibilities, type and number of professionals, as well as the operation of the Center for Social Work

Place of work: Kosovo wide

Project name: Strengthening access to justice system for girls and boys, through delivery of the capacity building programme on diversion and education measures for justice for children professionals and strengthening of social services in Kosovo

Coalition of NGOs for Child Protection in Kosovo – KOMF, established in 2011, is a coalition composed of 35 local and international NGOs working in the child protection field, with the joint mission to advocate and protect the rights of children in Kosovo.

KOMF supported by UNICEF, is implementing the project “Strengthening access to justice system for girls and boys, through delivery of the capacity building programme on diversion and education measures for justice for children professionals and strengthening of social services in Kosovo”.

In support of the process of drafting of 22 administrative instructions that derive from the new Law on Social and Family Services, based on the request for support from the Ministry of Justice, KOMF is publishing the Call for the recruitment of a local individual expert to provide legal expertise for drafting of Administrative Instruction for the organization, responsibilities, type and number of professionals, as well as the operation of the Center for Social Work.

Background

Law on Social and Family Services has been approved in December 2023. The approval of the new Law on Social and Family Services officially paved the way for the reform of social services in Kosovo. The new law is expected to ensure that children, families, and citizens in need receive more qualitative and sustainable social and family services. From the new Law on Social and Family Services, derive 22 Administrative Instructions which will enable the implementation of this law.

In the territory of Kosovo, there are 38 Centers for Social Work, in 38 municipalities with around 404 officials, out of which 164 are social service officials. Centers for Social Work are the main bodies of municipal public authorities mandated to provide social services for children and families in need and to coordinate the integrated system of services. Social and family services include protection and the direct provision of social care, counseling or, in specific cases, material assistance to people in social need.

Law on Social and Family Services provides that Centers for Social Works (CSW) should have strong professional and organizational capacities, in order to undertake the responsibility provided to them in protecting the best interest of children and families. However, even today, CSW/s don’t have the necessary human and financial resources to assess the condition of all children and families in their municipalities, and to intervene with necessary services, that is why; their services do not reach all the families in need. In lack of resources, CSW/s are overwhelmed with emergency response, leaving aside preventive services, follow-up services and achieving/maintaining the quality of service delivery. This is a consequence not only of the insufficient number of the CSW/s staff compared to cases in need, but also due to not setting the formula regarding the number of social service officials needed, in relation with the number of population or number of cases and the lack of professional profiling within the CSW/s. The lack of a minimum standard for the CSW/s itself that defines, among other, the standards for the number and category of employees continues to challenge the provision of quality services in CSW/s.

Data reported by CSW/s also indicates that social service officials have different professional profiles and are mainly in compliance with requirements derived from the Law on Social and Family Services. However, data indicates that there is an unbalanced presence of professions against professional needs for treating cases. Consequently, in the CSW/s, the profile of the lawyer mainly dominates, followed by profiles such as sociologist, pedagogue, psychologist and social worker. It is worth noting that out of 28 municipalities, 12 have reported that they have the profile of social worker within the social services staff.

Also, apart from the lack of profiling in academic terms, the lack of professional profiling is also evidently reported. Furthermore, it is also reported about the lack of specialized profiling for categories such as for victims of sexual crimes, rape, juvenile delinquency, disabilities, etc. The lack of profiling and the enormous workload of workers with cases, results in a situation that endangers the provision of services and the minimum quality of service for beneficiaries.

Thus, it is very important drafting and approval of Administrative Instruction for the organization, responsibilities, type and number of professionals, as well as the operation of the Center for Social Work.

Administrative Instruction for the organization, responsibilities, type and number of professionals, as well as the operation of the Center for Social Work is foreseen to be supported by KOMF and it is foreseen to be approved by Ministry of Justice until March 2025.

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

The purpose of this activity is provision of legal expertise in drafting of the Administrative Instruction for the organization, responsibilities, type and number of professionals, as well as the operation of the Center for Social Work.

Supervisor: Project Coordinator

Start Date: November 2024

End Date: January 2025

Number of working days: 20 working days

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

• Master degree in Law, or other relevant disciplines related to the field, PhD is desirable;
• At least five (5) years of experience on legal and policy framework on social services, child rights, social protection in international and local context and in planning;
• Working experience with the Government, international agencies and donors in a legal expertise, advisory and capacity building role.
• Strong analytical and conceptual skills;
• Excellent writing and communication skills;
• Extended professional expertise and experience on drafting analysis and reports on children’s rights, social welfare and child protection;
• Working experience with the NGOs, international agencies, government, in frame of professional expertise, advisory and capacity building role;
• Excellent command of English language, in both speaking and writing.

Quality Evaluation

The quality of the applications will be evaluated using the evaluation criteria in the evaluation grid below.

Application submission:

Interested candidates are invited to send the below listed application documents via email, at; [email protected] .

• CV;
• Portfolio (evidence of previous experiences) in the drafting of legislation in the social field;
• Three references from previous employers;
• Financial proposal with the proposed daily and total fee (Gross). The financial proposal must include the statement of the validity of the proposal, at least four weeks from the submission date.

Deadline for submission:

The proposal has to be received by latest on 10 November 2024, by midnight. Proposals must be submitted in English language. Proposals received after the deadline or in other languages, will be not considered.

Please note that only the selected candidates from their documentation will be notified for the interview.

The selected expert will read and sign the service contract, together with the below listed documents: KOMF internal personnel regulations, child protection policy, policy against sexual exploitation and abuse and KOMF job description. the mentioned document constitutes the integral parts of the employment agreement between the employer and the consultant.