Scope of Work:  (Description of services, activities, or outputs):

Under the direction of the International Consultant and overall supervision of UNICEF Chief of Child Protection and in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, UNFPA National Program Specialist/ASRH, and National Programme Officer, Population and Development, the National Consultant will support the International Consultant to complete the assignment by:

1. Leading the provision of information (such as local documents) on the local context for the purpose of undertaking a Desk review,
2. Mapping of the relevant stakeholders and leading the stakeholder’ engagement, including scheduling of meetings,
3. Working with Lead Consultant to design data collection tools and coordinating interviews, focus group discussions, consultations and stakeholder workshops
4. Serving as liaison between the leading government ministries and the International or lead/International consultant in the execution of the overall assignment,
5. Supporting field data collection by arranging logistics, mobilizing beneficiaries, translating the local pidgin English into standard English for quality reporting
6. Supporting data analysis, development and review of draft report(s), validation workshops, incorporation of inputs from stakeholders and submission of final report along with accompanying documents such as revised programme document, results framework, etc.

Expected Methodology:

1. A mix methods approach is anticipated involving both primary collection of qualitative data through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions and a collection of quantitative data from secondary sources (including a meta-analysis of existing literature on at Risk Youth Population).
2.  Development of Sampling strategy: The sampling strategy should reflect a larger scale national level participation engagement with a wide range of stakeholders including the At- Risk Youth themselves and older children who are faced with the same conditions (though below the defined youth age range (15 to 35 years) in Liberia) at the county and community levels. The sampling strategy shall form part of the consultant’s Inception Report.
3. Desk Review: Review of the relevant literature and resources related to At- Risk Youth Population.
4. Consultations: Undertake consultation meetings with key informants in key Sectors (Youth, Health, Child Protection and Justice), County Authorities, UN and other Development Partners, CSOs, the Children’s Representative Forum, Community leaders, in Monrovia and in the regions and counties, as well as other stakeholders active in youth programming in Liberia.
5. Focus group discussions (gender sensitive) with At- Risk Youth Population (segregated by age and sex), including parents is also expected during field data collection to solicit what is known about the causes and risk factors leading to At-Risk Youth population in Liberia and to what extent they have access to services (Health, Nutrition, WASH, Education, Protection, livelihood, etc). The FGDs should also be held with children/adolescents (10-15 years) who are not covered in the age definition of youth in Liberia buy yet affected by the same conditions those referred to as At-Risk Youth are faced with.
6. Observations: targeting the At-Risk Youth Population and children in their respective locations may be done during field data collection. Observations may help to reveal the character and activities that At- Risk Youth Population are engaged in and the kind of care, support provided to children (if applicable). Additionally, it might be good to have some basic ideas on gender issues and how are these affecting or contributing to ‘At risk youth population’ including children.
7. Stakeholder Workshop and Final Report: Facilitate a key stakeholder workshop in Monrovia to verify the preliminary findings, recommendation, and produce a final report clearly highlighting key findings and recommendations relevant to At- Risk Youth programming in Liberia.

Deliverables:

The National Consultant will support the International Consultant, and have a joint responsibility to produce the following deliverables:

1. Inception Report, detailing the methodology, tools and work plan designed for implementation of the assignment.
2. Draft Report, detailing the methodology utilized in the assignment, key findings, and clear recommendations (with targeted actors) to inform a better choice of interventions for At-Risk Youth programming in Liberia.
3. Final Reports, detailing the methodology utilized in the assignment, key findings, and a revised costed programme structure including a clear results framework which clearly defines baselines, the targets, relevant interventions and expected results (being informed by findings and recommendations from the assessment and validation exercises). This should include a summary power point presentation taken from the final report showing findings from the mapping assessment, recommendations, a revised programme structure inclusive of the results framework.