Local Consultant to Assess and Design Community-Based Programmes for At-Risk Children in Kenya at United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) – July 2025

Specific tasks to be performed by the consultant:

• Under the overall supervision of the Regional Representative in the UNODC Regional Office for Eastern Africa (ROEA) and the direct supervision of the UNODC ROEA Head of the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme, and in close cooperation and consultation with DCS, UNICEF and other child justice actors, the consultant will perform the following substantive duties and responsibilities:
• Development of an Inception Report: Prepare, present, and finalize a comprehensive inception report detailing the assignment’s understanding, methodology, and timelines, incorporating feedback from the TWG.
• Development of the Data Collection Tools: Develop, review, and finalize context-appropriate data collection tools for authentic information gathering, incorporating stakeholder feedback and securing approval from UNODC, UNICEF, and DCS. c) Assessment of the Status of Community-Based Programmes: Conduct a comprehensive assessment of community-based programmes through literature review, institutional mapping, programme evaluation, stakeholder consultations, and produce a validated status analysis report with contextualized recommendations.
• Development of a Directory of Community-Based Programmes: Document and compile a validated directory of functional community-based programmes, detailing services, target children categories, and innovative scalable approaches, for use by child protection actors.
• Design of Proposed Community-Based Programmes: Design tailored community-based programme models addressing prevention, early intervention, rehabilitation, and reintegration needs, with clear referral pathways, coordination mechanisms, and sustainability strategies.
• Monitoring and Evaluation Framework: Develop and validate a monitoring and evaluation framework with clear indicators to track the implementation and impact of community-based programmes and models.
• Sensitization of Child Justice Stakeholders: Develop materials and conduct online sensitization sessions for child justice stakeholders on community-based programmes, followed by producing a sensitization report.
• Reporting and Other Requirements: Submit a final comprehensive, output-oriented report summarizing all deliverables and findings at least three working days before the consultancy ends.

Qualifications/special skills

• An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in law, criminal justice, social work, community development, child protection, child justice, child development, sociology or in a closely related subject is required; A first level university degree in similar fields in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree.
• Minimum 10 years of work experience in either of child protection or child justice system in Kenya is required.
• At least 5 years of relevant experience in development of analytical reports and policy documents related to child justice and child protection in general is required.
• Experience in developing policies and legislation, manuals, procedural documents or guidelines aligned to policies, legal frameworks and international standards and norms is desirable.
• Sound understanding of child rights instruments, diversion mechanisms, and community-based approaches to child justice including diversion, restorative justice, rehabilitation and reintegration in Kenya is desirable.
• Proven experience in providing technical advice to multidisciplinary teams in Government or national stakeholders and international organizations in the area of child justice, social protection and policy is desirable.
• A strong understanding of the Kenyan context, including existing community and statutory child protection systems, is desirable.