Position:

• Social Care Service Model Design Expert
• Social Care Service Model Cost-Estimation Expert

Start Date: July 15, 2025
End Date: October 15, 2025

Location: Aragatsotn region

Project title: RISE – Armenia: Rehabilitation, Social Inclusion and Empowerment of the Displaced and Vulnerable Population

Project objective: Improve the social protection systems for vulnerable people, specifically refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh, in Armenia, with a focus on enhancing the quality of local social workforce and ensuring the availability and accessibility of relevant social care and socio-rehabilitation services.

Project location: Aragatsotn, Tavush, Gegharkunik, and Shirak Regions of Armenia

1. Background and Context:

About the Project: The EU-funded project “RISE – Armenia: Rehabilitation, Social Inclusion, and Empowerment of the Displaced and Vulnerable Population” (hereafter referred to as the Project) is a joint initiative led by World Vision Armenia (WVA) and implemented together with the Armenian Association of Social Workers (AASW) and People in Need (PIN).

The Project seeks to empower vulnerable population through the development of innovative social services, specifically targeting refugees from NK across Armenia’s regions across the four regions of Armenia (Aragatsotn, Gegharkunik, Shirak, and Tavush).

2,000-2,100 most vulnerable population, including refugees from NK, will directly benefit from the Action activities through targeted social work and enhanced opportunities for income generation, as well as through sub-granting component.

Focus of the ToR: The project goals are in line with the newly adopted law on Social Assistance and Laws on the righst of persons with disabilities and Functional assessment of persons with disabilities(May 2021) in Armenia (October 2024), which mandates the development of services that will aid vulnerable populations in gaining better access to social support , integration, inclusion and independent living skills.

This Terms of Reference (ToR) describes the scope of activities within the framework of the “RISE-Armenia” Project, with an aim to design a new multifunction social care service model.

The proposed multifunctional service model should combine the benefits of small group homes, assisted living, and home care to provide comprehensive community-based living arrangements and care solutions for individuals with dependencies, mental health issues, and other special needs.

The service model should describe the professional skills of the personnel engaged in the service provision and involve the necessary modules of the trainings for the professional staff members.

By integrating small group homes, assisted living, and home care, this multifunctional service should offer a flexible and comprehensive care solution. It should address the diverse needs of individuals with different types of disabilities, dependencies and mental health issues while reducing operational costs and ensuring high-quality care.

2. Objective of the Assignment:

The main objective of this Terms of Reference (ToR) is to design a Community-Based Multifunctional Social Care Service Model, aimed to improve the quality of life, resilience, and, independence for individuals with different types of physical and mental disabilities, including dependencies, and other special needs, with a specific focus on refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh (NK).

 The designed model should incorporate the following key features:

• Address the specific needs of individuals with physical and/or mental health issues, and other special needs deriving from the person’s disability type and its severity,
• Include components such as MHPSS, social care, assisted living, recreational activities, employment support and other elements that promote well-being and independence, as well as develop models and tools for those in need of home care,
• Propose inter-disciplinary and inter-agency operation model, based on the existing social protection, health, education and any other relevant systems in Armenia,

The proposed model should be adaptable and replicable for implementation in other regions across Armenia.

3. Scope of Work

Under this Terms of Reference, the Expert should be responsible for the following tasks:

• Analysis of the Need Assessment Report Results (conducted in the frames of the RISE Project) with an aim to examine and prioritize the main social, psychological, health, care, economic and other aspects of the target population, regarding the development of service model. If necessary, the expert should conduct additional desk review, focus group discussions and/or key informant interviews to define the specific needs based on the possible location of service provision, taking into consideration the disability extra cost study in case of children
• Analysis of the International and Local Multifunctional Social Care Service Models: To analyze the best practices and lessons learned from international and local experiences, with an aim to identify the most relevant components for the local context. Under this task, the Expert should conduct at least the following activities:
  1. Desk Review and Comparative Analysis of international best practices, as well as applicable practices (considering cultural, institutional, and economic factors) for the implementation in Armenian realities, and in the local context of care system. The analysis should provide insights in regard to the key parameters of services, such as target population, service components, implementation mechanisms, outcomes, and scalability.
• Design of the Community-Based Multifunctional Social Care Model: To develop a comprehensive social care service model based on the identified needs and lessons learned from international and local practices, the designed model should include components related to operational, methodological, and administrative aspects of the service provision. Specifically:
  1. Description of the Service, including vision, mission, goals and objectives, as well as scope and main components of the support (MHPSS, homecare, assisted living, vocational training, community engagement, employment support, etc.), eligibility criteria for service provision, personnel (including job descriptions, competencies and qualifications).
  2. Methodology and Toolkit, including intervention strategies (case work, care management, peer-support groups, community engagement), tools for assessment, planning, intervention, and monitoring, etc..
  3. Standard Operational Manual, including step-by-step procedures for the service delivery from intake of beneficiaries to exit (including follow-up), as well as roles and responsibilities of team members, and partnership strategies with other community and state agencies.
  4. Internal Rules, that are rules for administrative and managerial operation of the service in line with the legal regulations. In addition, it will cover areas, such as residents’ participation, confidentiality, data protection, complaint and grievance redress mechanisms, beneficiary safeguarding, inclusive, rights-based, gender sensitive and culturally competent service provision.
  5. Service Quality Standards, covering at least the following criteria: Management and Administration, Personnel and Professional Development, Service Provision, Beneficiary Participation and Engagement, Community Participation and Partnership, Monitoring and Evaluation, Sustainability, Safety.
  6. Competency Framework of the Personnel engaged in the service provision,
  7. Training Modules for the professional staff members.
  8. Cost Estimation, which includes calculation of estimated annual and per-beneficiary costs.
• Presentation of the designed Model in discussions and verification workshops to present the results of conducted assessments and analysis, as well as the developed model for the Multifunctional Social Care Service.

4. Deliverables:

• Inception Report - A detailed outline of the methodology, prioritized needs and identified resources, based on the analysis of existing data.
• Comparative Analysis Report on the International and Local Multifunctional Social Care Service Models - A comprehensive analysis of the best practices and lessons learned from international and local experiences, including recommendations applicable to local realities.

• Design of Community-Based Multifunctional Social Care Model - A structured document, including at least the following components: Description of the Service, Methodology and Toolkit, Standard Operational Manual, Internal Rules, Service Quality Standards, Competency framework of the staff, Training Modules.

• Cost Estimation of the Social Rehabilitation Service Model - detailed cost-estimation of the service design, including establishment and operational financial costs annually and per beneficiary.
• Final Report: A comprehensive report summarizing the design process, challenges, outcomes, and recommendations for future implementation.

5. Qualifications and Experience

The ideal candidate for this consultancy should have the following qualifications and experience:

Education:

• Social Care Service Model Design Expert:

• Education: At least master’s degree in Social Work, Social Services, Mental Health, Human Rights, Law or a related field.
• Experience: At least 5 years of experience in designing and piloting social service models, particularly in the areas of social rehabilitation, social care, social support, employment support and/or community development, knowledge of ICF system and assessment principles, gender-sensitive and human-rights based service design.
• Strong familiarity with the national legislation in social protection field, including the recently adopted Laws on Social Assistance (October 2024), Laws on the rights of persons with disabilities and Functional assessment of persons with disabilities (May 2021) and its implications for social service design.
• Previous experience working with vulnerable populations in Armenia or similar contexts, particularly in rural and remote areas.

• Social Care Service Model Cost-Estimation Expert:
  • Education: At least master’s degree in Economics, or a related field.
  • Experience: At least 5 years of experience in financial estimation of social service models, particularly in the areas of social rehabilitation, social care, employment support and/or community development.
  • Strong familiarity with the national legislation in social protection field, including the social service standards and its implications for social service cost estimation.
  • Previous experience working with vulnerable populations in Armenia or similar contexts, particularly in rural and remote areas.

Skills:

• Excellent written and oral communication skills in Armenian and/or English.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Skills in developing social services’ models and toolkits of the social services.

6. Reporting and Supervision

The Community-Based Multifunctional Social Care Model Design Expert will report directly to the Project Manager, AASW   and will work closely with local partners and stakeholders throughout the assignment. Regular progress reports will be required, as well as an initial briefing at the start of the consultancy and a final presentation upon completion.

7. Application Process

Both individual experts, expert groups and organizations are applicable to apply for this consultance.

Interested candidates should submit the following documents by 05 July, 2025.

• Past performance of implementation-relevant tasks (for organisations only).
• A CV outlining relevant experience and qualifications.
• A technical proposal outlining their approach to designing the social care service model, including methodology and timeline.
• A financial proposal detailing the cost of the assignment.

Applications should be sent to procurement@aasw.org .