The “Armenian Association of Social Workers” non-governmental organization (hereafter AASW) announces a competition for the selection of the “Leading Local Consultant for the development of methodological document for social case management intervention, operational manual, training materials,  development/revision of tools for social workers and referral protocols for key service providers, and implementation of the training for social workers” assignment within the framework of the “Promoting Social Inclusion and Self-Reliant Livelihood Activities in Armenia” Project (hereinafter Project).

The main objective of this consultancy is to support the implementation of Component-1 covering the design and implementation of a structured social case management approach that can serve as a tool to enhance the internal cohesion of services and benefits in the country’s social protection and labour system.

The assignment will be implemented in March 2021 – December 2022 period.

Scope of work

Under the leadership and guidance of two International Consultants and the supervision of the representative of the Project Implementing Agency (Project Component-1 Coordinator) and in close collaboration with three local consultants (as per Project dimension), the Leading Local Consultant shall contribute to the:

1. Elaboration of the methodological document for the social case management intervention
2. Development of the Operational Manual for social workers,
3. Development of training materials to train social workers,
4. Delivery of the training for SW local trainers/experts (ToT)
5. Development/revision of the tools for social workers such as
• Comprehensive tools (screening and assessment) to assess households’ vulnerabilities
• Templates for the preparation of “family development plans”
• Referral manual linked to an inventory of key social and active labour market services
• Management Information System (MIS) for social workers

1. Development/revision of the referral protocols for key service providers,
2. Conducting the training (workshops, SW’s on-job-the training (coaching)) for social workers.

THE LEADING LOCAL CONSULTANT SHALL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FOLLOWING TASKS:

1. Under the “Elaboration of methodological document for the social case management intervention”, the Leading Local Consultant shall be responsible:

•  Support the International Consultant to develop an outline for Local Consultants on Social Case Management Report in Armenia covering the following components:

1. Case management practice in the country 
2. Case Management Policy Regulations including, (i) Social Case Management procedure and tools, referral protocols for key service providers and (ii) Training curricula including content and certification criteria.

• Lead the work of three Local Consultants (as per dimension) to elaborate the Social Case Management Report. The report is to be based on the analysis of the field (qualitative research)
• Support International Consultant to Develop Recommendations on the conceptual framework of the social case management based on the main dimensions identified by the MLSA and the local context;
• Lead the development of the Methodological Document (Guidelines, Procedure, etc.) on social case management carried out by local consultants,
• Attend and support the international consultant to introduce the developed methodological document at the workshop with relevant stakeholders (Government/MLSA officials, social work practitioners, NGO stakeholders, etc.)

The methodological document will be based on the specifics of all three dimensions indicated by MLSA, and (self-) employment support for vulnerable individuals.

1. Under the “Development of the Operational Manual for social workers” the Leading Local Consultant shall be responsible for the following tasks

 Support the International Consultant to elaborate an outline of operation procedures (to be described in the Operational Manual) based on the new methodological document for social case management,

• Participate in an on-line workshop to present an outline of operational procedures and relevant best practice and incorporate the recommendations/comments of MLSA and other relevant counterparts (if any).
• Coordinate and lead the work of three Local Consultants to elaborate the Operational Manual, which should:

1. reflect the revised/developed social case management methodology in a step-by-step process,
2. provide a detailed description of tasks that social workers need to complete in each step and relevant annexes (intake, screening, assessment, planning, networking, clarification the role of the network participants, including community social workers, and definition of procedures for cooperation, monitoring, positive guidance, evaluation and case closure).
3. provide the features of social work with various social groups (children, elderly people, persons with disabilities) as well as in the case of various social issues (violence, armed conflicts, discrimination, etc.),
4. provide clarification of the functions of members of the social assistance network (case manager, community social worker, etc.), procedures for their cooperation and networking mechanisms,
5. describe social protection system in emergency situations, and rapid renewal mechanisms in accordance to situation specific features,
6. include a user-friendly guide for social workers with key messages and techniques for screening, interview and observation during home visits and interview, case conference, assessment interview, motivational interview, needs-based intervention, etc.

• Attend and support the international consultant to introduce the developed Operational Manual at the online workshop with relevant stakeholders (Government/MLSA officials, social work practitioners, NGO stakeholders, etc.)

1. Under the “Development of the training materials to train social workers” the Leading Local Consultant shall be responsible for the following tasks:

• Supervise and support the Local Consultants (per dimension) to carry out training needs assessment of social workers (in consultation with MLSA), and contribute to the development of training need assessment Report.
• Lead the local Consultants to develop training (including on-line and/or offline training) package (including manual, handouts, guidelines, presentations, practical exercises, etc.). The training package should be comprised of:
• Detailed description and explanation of social case management (procedures and processes),
• Features, attributes and peculiarities of applying case management methodology in work with families with complex needs, differences with clinical intervention of social worker, social case coordination and management and other type of social workers’ functions,
• Tools describing standardized methods on how to identify the needs of marginalized people, undocumented persons, how to cope with resisting clients, how to map community social services and maintain effective interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral collaboration,
• Definition and concept of activation approach, specifics of activation, support and care, advanced practices and lessons learned; the practical tips/examples for self- employment support will be provided by the Consultant for Component-2.
• Roles and functions of social workers’ in the frame of the Project.

1. Under the “Training for SW local trainers (ToT)”, the Leading Local Consultant shall:

• Support the International Consultant to Conduct a 3-days ToT for local SW consultants (trainers), based on the training materials produced under the afore-mentioned activity (training materials to train social workers).

1. Under the “Development/revision of the tools for social workers” the Leading Local Consultant shall:

• Support the International Consultant to develop recommendations on the development/revision of tools for social workers;
• Coordinate and lead the team of Local Consultants to develop/revise/test the tools for social workers (except MIS for social workers), consolidate and finalize the developed drafts,
• Attend and support the international consultant to introduce the developed/revised tools for social workers at the workshop with relevant stakeholders (Government/MLSA officials, social work practitioners, NGO stakeholders, etc.) as well as consolidate the recommendations/comments/remarks from the participants of the workshop (if any).
• Supervise the testing of the social workers’ tools in project target marzes (provision of guidance to SW Consultants in charge of training/coaching, provision of counseling through site visits and other communication means (phone, zoom, etc.)) and carry out adjustment of the tools (if necessary)).

1. Under the “Development of referral protocols for key service providers” the Leading Local Consultant shall:

• Coordinate and lead the activities of the team of Local Consultants and IT Consultant to study existing IT tools used by social workers and develop recommendations on the development of MIS for social workers,
• Support the International Consultant to elaborate an outline for new referral protocols for key service providers
• Coordinate and lead the team of Local Consultants to develop referral protocols, which should cover the work with various social groups (children, elderly people, persons with disabilities, etc.), and social cases (violence, armed conflicts, discrimination, etc.) as well as describe formal arrangements on preferential access for referred beneficiaries to various institutions (such as social assistance, health, education, police, etc.) and provide the integrity of the support from referred institutions.
• Attend and support the international consultant to introduce the developed referral protocols for key service providers at the online workshop with relevant stakeholders including Government/MLSA officials, social work practitioners, researchers and NGO stakeholders, as well as consolidate the recommendations/comments/remarks from the participants of the workshop (if any).

1. Under the “Conducting the training (workshops, SW’s on-job-the training (coaching)) for social workers” assignment the Leading Local Consultant shall:

• Conduct three two-day training workshops for state and community social workers in project target marzes following the training workshops schedule.
• Supervise the SW consultants (trainers) conducting three two-day training workshops for state and community social workers in project marzes
• Deliver on-the-job training activities (coaching) to social workers involved in training workshops.
• Carry out group supervision sessions to promote best practice exchanges among the case managers coming from various social services.

Trainings and coaching sessions will be in person, virtual or of mixed modalities, depending on the official health recommendations in the country associated to

Timetable & Milestones

The working days for the activity N7 (training workshops and coaching) will depend on the personal workload of the Consultant and will be fixed by work-sheets.

The Lead local Consultant’s contributions for the development of Methodology, Operational Manual, training materials, tools and other documents (to be finalized by International Consultants) have to be provided in English  (if there is no special request from PIA to prepare in Armenian).

The above-mentioned tasks shall be carried out within the framework of a Service Contract concluded between the contracting body (Armenian Association of Social Workers) and the Consultant. 

The Leading Local Consultant should satisfy the following qualifications and requirements:

The Contractor shall fulfil the following qualifications and skills:

• Higher professional education in the task-relevant field (e.g. sociology, social work, social sciences, etc.),
• Sound knowledge of social work frameworks and models and at least 6 years of working experience in the relevant field,
• Experience in developing methodologies, tools, designing and delivering of trainings,
• Experience with the social protection sector, transformative social work, case management
• Strong experience designing and undertaking social analysis,
• Fluency in English (written and spoken) and Armenian
• Very good communication, presentation and facilitation skills
• Relevant computer skills necessary to execute well-designed, professional documents

Application

All interested candidates meeting the above-listed requirements are requested to submit their letters of interest and CVs to the e-mail address below until March 8, 2021.

Please clearly indicate the title of the position (Lead Local Consultant) in the subject line of the e-mail. Please note that only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for the interview.

E-mail:  procurement@aasw.org

Tel: (374 93) 514499 (for questions and clarifications)

The Project

The project is expected to help increase access to social assistance benefits and services and provide self-employment support to about 11,000 vulnerable members of society in urban and rural communities in Ararat, Armavir, Kotayk, Lori and Shirak regions of Armenia. The Project grant was received under the Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) which is financed by the Government of Japan.  

The project has been designed by the World Bank in partnership with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of Armenia and will be implemented by the Association of Social Workers– a non-governmental, not-for-profit national professional representative body of social workers in Armenia.  The JSDF was established by the Government of Japan and the World Bank as a mechanism to provide direct assistance to the poorest and most vulnerable groups in eligible World Bank countries. The aim is to enhance their capacities, strengthen their empowerment and participation in society and economic life.

The Project includes three components:

Component 1. Development and implementation of a pilot counseling program:

This component will support the country’s efforts to design and implement a structured social case management approach that can serve as a tool to enhance the internal cohesion of services and benefits in the country’s social protection and labor system. The objective of the Component-1 is twofold: a) to increase the accessibility of social services for the most vulnerable populations (FBP beneficiaries) in Armenia, and b) to activate those FBP beneficiaries with spare labour to become self-reliant by providing a number of (self-) employment opportunities. These objectives will be achieved by policy and technical support to the development of a social case management system through the development of operational procedures for identification, registration, enrolment and targeting beneficiaries as well as procedures for grievance redress, monitoring, community outreach, information campaign and capacity building.

The conceptual framework and methodology of the social case management will be based on the following main dimensions been identified by the government as priority needs to be met within the Project:

• Activation,
• Inclusion/involvement of households experiencing the highest rates of marginalization and extreme poverty (provision of state and non-state resources including education and health services for children, health services for adult members, and specialized services),
• Reduction of child poverty(ensuring access to education and health services; addressing the issue of malnutrition for children up to age five; prevention from institutionalization and early intervention to mitigate risks).

Special attention in all dimensions will be paid to households with a disabled family member.

Component 2. Capacity building and entrepreneurship support:

This component will strengthen the supply of programs supporting entrepreneurship by testing the provision of small business grants and the accompanying business training/coaching to FBP beneficiary households with spare labour to support their “graduation” out of the program. Based on lessons learned, including from the previous JSDF project, the project will emphasize strong screening, comprehensive evaluation and continuous capacity building (including training, mentoring, and coaching) to ensure sustainability of project outcomes.

Component 3: Project management and administration; monitoring and evaluation; and knowledge dissemination.

The project has been designed by the World Bank in partnership with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of Armenia and will be implemented by the Association of Social Workers– a non-governmental, not-for-profit national professional representative body of social workers in Armenia.  The JSDF was established by the Government of Japan and the World Bank as a mechanism to provide direct assistance to the poorest and most vulnerable groups in eligible World Bank countries. The aim is to enhance their capacities, strengthen their empowerment and participation in society and economic life.