National Consultant - study on violations of children’s rights in the Bolama-Bijagós Region of Guinea-Bissau
Organizational Context
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) seeks a National Consultant to contribute to a study on violations of children’s rights in Guinea-Bissau's Bolama-Bijagós Region. This role supports the production of an evidence-based study with practical recommendations to enhance child protection mechanisms within the national and local context.
Job Purpose
The National Consultant will play a crucial role in developing and validating a comprehensive study on children's rights violations in the Bolama-Bijagós Region, focusing on sexual exploitation and other harmful practices. This involves providing essential national context, facilitating research, and ensuring recommendations are practical and culturally appropriate for Guinea-Bissau. The consultant's work will directly contribute to strengthening prevention, child protection, referral systems, accountability, and institutional responses, ultimately aiming to improve the well-being and rights of children in the region. The three-month consultancy will be supervised by OHCHR-WARO/PAPEV and collaborate closely with an International Consultant.
Responsibilities
The National Consultant will provide critical national contextual inputs on Guinea-Bissau's child protection framework, legislation, policies, and practices related to children's rights violations. Responsibilities include supporting the International Consultant in desk reviews, adapting research methodologies and tools, and facilitating engagement with national and local authorities, child protection actors, civil society, and community leaders. The role involves supporting field research, conducting data collection, providing contextual interpretation of findings, and contributing substantively to the analysis and drafting of the study report. The consultant will also assist in developing practical recommendations, presenting preliminary findings, and ensuring ethical standards for research involving children are met.
Work Experience
A minimum of five years of relevant professional experience in child protection, human rights, social research, or community-based research within Guinea-Bissau is required. Demonstrated experience in field research, qualitative data collection (interviews, focus groups), and stakeholder engagement is essential. Experience with the national child protection system and its legal framework is also necessary.
Skills
Child protection, human rights research, qualitative data collection, stakeholder engagement, contextual analysis, report writing, communication (Portuguese, Creole, English/French), knowledge of Guinea-Bissau's child protection system and legal framework.