Vacancy: Consultant, Terms of Reference: Facilitating Children’s Participation In Nestle Cocoa Supply Chain

Date 19 Oct 2020
Job Type Fixed Term
Description


Company Profile


The international cocoa initiative (ICI) promotes child protection in cocoa-growing communities and works to ensure a better future for children and their families. ICI has developed a Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation System (CLMRS) that allows industry partners to manage responsibly the risk of child labour in their cocoa supply chain. In line with the Ghana Child Labor Monitoring System (GCLMS), the system is based on the presence of Community Facilitators (CF) within cocoa-growing communities who raise awareness on the issue of child labour; identify cases and implement remediation activities.




Job Description


TERMS OF REFERENCE: FACILITATING CHILDREN’S PARTIPATION IN NESTLE COCOA SUPPLY CHAIN


 


Background and context  


The International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) is an independent non-profit Foundation whose mission is to oversee and sustain efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labour and forced labour in the growing and processing of cocoa beans and their derivative products.


 


ICI, in collaboration with the cocoa industry, government and the non-profit sector, collects increasingly detailed and accurate information on the type of hazardous work carried out by children living in cocoa growing communities. ICI is also continuously working on testing and improving the effectiveness and scope of different types of interventions that are proven to help reduce children’s exposure to risk. However, to date, little information has been collected on children’s own understanding of child labour, their perceived needs, aspirations and their views on how to eliminate hazardous child labour. 


 


One of ICI’s core value is to put the best interests of vulnerable children and their families at the heart of its work. Children are experts on their own lives and should have a say in what is in their best interest. ICI therefore believes that consulting children can reveal more insight into the complex root causes of child labour, while at the same time advancing children’s rights by having their opinions included in decision-making processes that relate to their lives, as stated in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. 


 


In 2019, Nestlé made a commitment to take children’s perspective into account when rolling out their child labour and monitoring system (CLMRS) to all their supply chain in West Africa by 2025, under the Nestlé Cocoa Action Plan. 


 


Nestlé and ICI are therefore partnering to implement adult-initiated consultations with children and adolescents to promote an environment in which young people can voice their opinion and take part in shared decisions affecting them. These consultations will comprise of focus groups, activities and individual interviews with children and adolescents aged 10-17, in cocoa growing communities in 


 


Ghana. ICI is seeking a consultant to support the organization, coordinate the delivery of, and report on these consultations.


During the consultations, children will participate in activities that will allow them to articulate their concerns and propose solutions to some of the challenges they face in their daily life, in the areas of education, health and wellbeing, with a focus on addressing hazardous child labour risks. 


 


Objective of assignment


The assignment has two objectives: 



  1. Conduct participatory research with children

    • Research questions: 




    1. How do children in cocoa-growing communities perceive education, child work, health and wellbeing?

    2. What challenges/priorities do they identify?

    3. What do they perceive as the reasons for these challenges?

    4. What solutions do they propose?




    • To reach this objective, the consultant will: 




    1. Design methodology for initial participatory discussions with children;

    2. Conduct participatory discussions with children to answer key research questions 

    3. Write report on findings;



  2. Propose a methodology and tools for ICI to incorporate children’s participation and perspectives in the everyday running of its CLMRS and train staff in their use:

    1. Propose an approach and tools to incorporate child participation into the CLMRS, based on the participatory discussions with children in (1)

    2. Support and train relevant ICI staff on agreed approach and tools so that they can use these going forward.





Target groups and location 


ICI would like to listen to the views, experiences and ideas of at least 30 children aged 10-17. These 30 children should include equal representation of girls and boys across the age range. They should include a mix of children both in and out of child labour, and in and out of school. Further selection criteria and methodology will be defined by the consultant. 


 


Activities and deliverables 


(1) Conduct participatory research with children


Activity/product 1:  Design methodology for initial participatory discussions with children



  • Develop methodology, workplan and agenda for planned discussions/activities; 

  • For each activity: objective, material needed, type of venue, duration;

  • A list of activities adapted to each age group that are gender-sensitive, encourage child participation and capture children’s perceptions;

  • Tools that allow the facilitation of interactive discussions and dialogue with children;

  • Support ICI in identifying role models (in communities) that are able to create interest in children and encourage them to participate;

  • A report template aimed at summarizing children’s inputs in systematic and comparable way.  



Activity/product 2: Conduct participatory discussions with children to answer key research questions


The consultant will be required to travel, with ICI staff, to the location of the two child consultations in cocoa growing regions of Ghana (exact locations to be defined), facilitate the consultations with ICI staff, collect data and/or ensure data is collected correctly. 


 


The consultations will respect ethical considerations and guidelines on child protection, particularly during group or individual interviews and discussions with children, and will include at a minimum the following points: 



  • Children's participation should be voluntary, participants should be informed of the purpose of the study in accessible language and their consent, as well as their caregiver’s consent, will be asked explicitly;  

  • Only children over the age of 10 - who are able to analyse their environment and produce a constructive discussion - will be included;

  • The confidentiality and anonymity of the answers will be respected;  



The results of consultation processes with children will be well documented in the report and will be used ethically.


 


Activity/product 3: Write report on findings


Using the report template developed in product 1, the consultant will write a report (with full analysis) on children’s inputs in the consultations highlighting: their perceived difficulties/needs in relation to their health, education, wellbeing; their aspirations; and solutions to improve their daily life, in particular to identify and reduce hazardous work in cocoa. ICI retains the right to publish the report. 


 


(2) Propose a methodology and tools for ICI to incorporate children’s participation and perspectives in the everyday running of its CLMRS and train staff in their use


Activity/product 4: Development of an approach and tools to incorporate child participation into the CLMRS 


The consultant will be required to define a model to encourage child participation that is adapted to the systems and structures already in place for the CLMRS in the cocoa growing communities. This will require developing a short manual on how to encourage and facilitate child participation, based on existing structures, activities and tools available, to systematize the methodology used. 


 


Activity/product 5: Support and train relevant ICI staff on agreed approach and tools 


Using the manual (product 4), the consultant will train ICI Programme Assistants and Technical Assistants to use the agreed approaches and tools. 


 


Timeline 


The assignment will take place between November 2020 and January 2021 and the final report will be submitted no later than 15 January 2021. 



Required Skills or Experience


Conditions for application

The successful candidate will: 




  • Be based in Ghana, preferably in Accra. 

  • Have an advanced university degree, preferably in education, social work, psychology, social psychology, or other related disciplines.

  • Have minimum 5 years’ experience in working directly with children, facilitating group work, or other related experience. 

  • Have minimum 5 years’ experience in qualitative research methods.

  • Have excellent writing skills.

  • Have excellent research skills.

  • Have excellent communication and facilitation skills.

  • Be fluent in English. Knowledge of one or more local language preferred. 

  • Be proficient with standard MS Office applications (Excel, Power Point, Word, etc.).

  • Be ready to travel to remote areas in cocoa growing areas of Ghana. 





How To Apply


Call for proposals 

To apply, please send an email by 21 October 2020 to [email protected] with the following elements: 




  • An updated CV. 

  • A concept note outlining the approach proposed for products 1, 2, 3 and 4 (2 pages maximum).

  • List or if possible, provide, 3 samples of previous research conducted in relation to child protection, children’s wellbeing, child labour or related within the last 5 years. 

  • A financial proposal including budget, daily fee and estimated number of days for conducting the assignment.



Child safeguarding


ICI has zero-tolerance for all forms of child neglect, abuse (sexual, physical, emotional and psychological) and exploitation (sexual and commercial). 


 


ICI commits to put the best interest of the child first, and at the centre of its work, irrespective of a child’s ability, ethnicity, faith, gender, sexuality and culture. 


 


ICI recognizes its responsibility to ensure and to promote a safe and secure environment for children. To effectively manage risks to children,


 


ICI requires the commitment, support and cooperation of all staff, associates, partners, suppliers, service-providers and visitors. By sending an application to ICI, you automatically agree to the above term and uphold the principles described herein. 


 


Given the nature of the assignment, the successful candidate will need to provide proof of clean criminal record. ICI also reserves the right to conduct additional thorough background checks.



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