International Consultant/company to support the development of a needs assessment study on youth crime prevention in Moldova

 Terre des hommes Moldova is looking for an International Consultant/company to support the development of a needs assessment study on youth crime prevention in Moldova

Organization Background
Working in Moldova since 2004, Terre des hommes (Tdh) is dedicated to ensuring the fulfilment of all children’s fundamental rights and to contributing to the improvement of the Moldovan child protection system. By means of its projects, Tdh Moldova aims for sustainable prevention of and response to violence, neglect and exploitation against children at the community, district and national levels. Tdh Moldova is geographically operating in the entire country. Currently, Tdh’s work in Moldova is built along three complementary axes – Child Protection Systems, Children Affected by Migration and Access to Justice, and seeks to develop synergies between them as well as with other key thematic areas of Terre des hommes Foundation.

Project Background
Within its OSCE-wide project on youth crime prevention, the TNTD/OCEEA aim to foster youth’s understanding and awareness on the dangers of organized crime, corruption, drug use and cybercrime, with the focus on South-Eastern and Eastern Europe, South Caucasus and Central Asia, to ensure a holistic and sustainable intervention through fostering legality and a culture of lawfulness among youth. In this effort, the OSCE aims to: 1) enhance the capacity of educational institutions (schools and universities), civil society organizations (CSOs), law enforcement and other relevant authorities to educate youth on legality; 2) conduct large-scale public awareness campaigns centred on the importance of legality, the socio-economic risks caused by OC and corruption, the relevance of youth crime, drug use and cybercrime prevention and good governance; 3) facilitate educational and networking events for secondary and tertiary school youth to receive a comprehensive understanding about OC, corruption, drug use and its enablers, as well as cybercrime.
Within the project activities in Eastern Europe, the OSCE will conduct a needs assessment in the field of youth crime prevention in Moldova. Demographically, the percentage of youth in Moldova is declining, yet in the past years juvenile delinquency has increased and the age of delinquents declined. The war against Ukraine has significantly exacerbated existing vulnerabilities and created new ones, making youth in Moldova even more susceptible and at risk to being recruited into organized crime groups and involved in illicit activities. However, recent figures, statistics, assessments on that matter are lacking. The Implementing Partner (IP) will thus fill in the mentioned gap by assessing youth crime trends in Moldova, map institutional framework on youth crime prevention, interview relevant institutional, youth and civil society actors, formulate recommendations for future capacity building assistance on youth crime prevention, and organize and hold an event with target stakeholders to present needs assessment report and recommendations.

SCOPE OF WORK
Supporting the development of a needs assessment study on youth crime prevention in Moldova. To carry out this assessment, the following data will be collected and analyzed:

• Statistical data from law enforcement and prosecution in Moldova on youth crime since 2018 and on the prevention of juvenile delinquency.
• Statistical and qualitative data from law enforcement, prosecution and other relevant institutional actors on the effect of the war in Ukraine on youth and juvenile delinquency in Moldova.
• Overview of the relevant legislation/actors on youth crime prevention and on youth-related components of strategies on organized crime, corruption, drugs, and cybercrime.
• Overview on how the topics of organized crime, corruption, drugs, and cybercrime are covered in school and university curricula, as well as how police and other relevant actors working with and for youth are trained on youth crime prevention.
• Data on the perception of the public (among others, youth, parents, and educators) on crime among young people.
• Data gathered from interviews with relevant institutional (relevant ministries, law enforcement, prosecution, relevant agencies dealing with juvenile justice and anti-corruption, school teachers and university professors, youth agencies,), youth and civil society actors on youth crime prevention trends and challenges, as well as capacity gaps and training needs.

Deliverables and timeframe:
The assignment should be carried out within a period of 5 months.

Management arrangements:
The International Consultant/company will work under the supervision of the Tdh project manager. The Consultant shall work with a team of national consultants/company that will be contracted by Tdh in order to collect data and conduct interviews/surveys.
Disbursements shall be made only after the endorsements of the submitted deliverables to the Tdh project manager.

Qualifications and Skills required

• Relevant academic education preferably with experience in sociology, criminology, as well as youth work.
• At least 5 years of professional working experience in conducting research in the field of youth crime, delinquency, youth work etc.
• Demonstrated capacity of team-orientation work; excellent planning and organizational skills; creative and innovative thinking.
• Ability to achieve results and deadlines in a timely manner, maintaining a high standard throughout;

Submission of proposals: 
Interested candidates shall submit the following documents:

1. Candidate’s CV;
2. Technical proposal, with a short concept of the methodology
3. Financial offer expressed as a fee/day;
4. Documents/links confirming experience.

How to apply:
The applications will be submitted to: mda.office@tdh.ch in Romanian or English language, no later than 2023, January 9. Please refer to the position you are applying to in the subject section of the application e-mail.

Please note that only the selected candidates will be contacted. Any application received after the deadline will not be considered.