TERMS OF REFERENCE

for contracting an expert to provide technical support to HelpAge International team in Moldova to study and deepen understanding of environmental factors that can support provision of services for older people at risk of violence through creation of enabling environments for older people in Moldova.

Organisation: HelpAge International

Who can apply: Consultants, individuals, residents or non-residents, who can work both in Moldova or online, and are available for the indicated period of time

Area: environment and development, community development and mobilization, active and healthy ageing, rights of older persons, age-friendly communities, social participation, protection and combating elder abuse

Type of contract: contract of service provision

Location: Services can be provided both in the R. Moldova/Chisinau or online, hybrid mode

Deadline for submission of application: 23 Noiembrie 2022, 17:00.

The period for service provision: November-December 2022

Context

HelpAge International is the secretariat to a global network of organisations promoting the right of all older people to lead dignified, healthy and secure lives. The mission of HelpAge International is to promote the wellbeing and inclusion of older women and men, and reduce poverty and discrimination in later life.

The technical support is required to strengthen the outcomes of the project under implementation of HelpAge in 12 communities in Moldova entitled “Age inclusive assistance and protection services for older persons affected or at risk of violence in Moldova” with the financial support of BMZ, the Federal German Government, in the period December 2020 – December 2023.

One of the areas of work of HelpAge in Moldova is VAN prevention of violence, abuse and neglect on older persons, where the organization is implementing projects though local partners in order to collect data on abuse and domestic violence and bring more evidence for what interventions and policy adjustments are required, in order to ensure a better protection and security for people in older ages. At the same time HelpAge is partnering with the Moldova government and supports the implementation of MIPAA commitments and the measures for promoting an active and healthy ageing at country level (a second Programme in this area is in the process of elaboration and approval in the meantime).

The international frameworks in the area of active and healthy ageing are quite new for Moldova and there is little information at country level around the newly developed concepts, sets of measures and their integration into activities tailored for older persons. Therefore, the project team and wider HelpAge Moldova teams is requiring technical support to study and deepen understanding of the environmental factors that can support the provision of effective protection services for older people at risk of violence and abuse, and to develop strategies for effective mitigation and prevention of violence through creation of enabling environments for older people.

Information about the project

The project: ”Age inclusive assistance and protection services for older persons affected or at risk of violence in Moldova” is implemented at national and community level with a life span of 3 years and is built on 5 objectives that all are set to contribute to better protection of older persons against domestic violence, reduction of stereotypes associated with older age and inequalities between men and women, etc. The interventions aim to create and extend assistance and shelter services for persons affected by domestic violence with an ultimate goal to adjust these to the needs of older persons; to inform older persons at risk of violence about their rights through outreach activities held with support of 12 local partner organisations; to encourage older women at risk or affected by domestic violence to engage in income generating activities; to offer information and space for communication through a knowledge and communication platform for older persons; and finally to monitor public policies, relevant for older persons with the goal to mainstream their needs into these as pertinent.

The target groups of the project are older women and older men and their family members from 12 implementing sites, NGOs or Initiative Groups from these communities and their groups of volunteers, the Platform on Active Ageing with 18 members non-governmental organisations, two centers for assistance and protection of victims of domestic violence, the larger public and media agencies, related to social and human rights areas.

The description of the task

The consultant will:

Support HelpAge Moldova project team to develop their understanding of community-built environment factors relevant to the provision of effective protection services for older people at risk of violence and abuse. The consultant will work both independently, and in joint meetings with the HelpAge Moldova teams for workshops and consultation meetings for the following tasks:

• Introduce HelpAge Moldova project team staff to core concepts around community inclusion, in particular issues around public spaces, transportation and access to services, that are relevant to the protection of older people at risk of violence and abuse
• Research and share relevant materials, information and best practices from the region and globally around inclusive built environments for the protection of older people at risk of violence and abuse
• Recommend globally established assessment and needs analysis tools and measurements that can be used in communities in Moldova to understand the relationship between risk of violence and abuse
• Workshop with the project team to consider recommendations and the potential benefits of initiatives related to the inclusion of the built environment in project communities (streets, public spaces, public services, transportation) towards the achievement of project objectives and the effective protection of older people at risk of violence and abuse

The work language is English and all trainings, meetings and materials are required to be produced in English. HelpAge will ensure interpretation/translation from English to Romanian and to Russian for participants that will require translations.

Timeframe

The duration of service provision is estimated @10-15 days during the period of November-December 2022.

Qualifications and expertise

For the tasks required under this consultancy, the following qualifications are required :

• Higher education in social sciences, anthropology, ageing, human rights, demography or related fields;
• At least 7 years of experience in area that involve research and or educational activities in the outlined thematic areas with at least 2 years of proven consultancy provision.
• Excellent and analytical skills, ability to extracts learning and findings from research papers, policy documents, reports;
• Good facilitation skills and ability to use online tools and hybrid mode for consultancy;
• Good understanding of community level activities with participation of older people, activities designed to mobilize older people and participation in decision-making;
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work in a multi-national and multi-ethnic team.
• Excellent knowledge of English. Knowledge of Romanian and Russian will consider an asset
• Proficient computer and Internet user.
• Has good reputation and applies general ethical norms as per the area of work, in line with human rights principles, aligning to equal treatment to all human beings, irrespective of their nationality, spoken language, sex, age, social status, political views etc.

How to apply

Interested candidates will send the following only in only in electronic format:

• CV, with updated information, up to 6 pages
• A letter of intent, where the candidate will indicate the experience of work relevant to the described tasks.      
• A suggested plan of work with deliverables indicated
• A price quotation indicated in Euro, net amount, indicating the total amount.
• References are not required at this stage.

The pack of documents will be applied as one file, in an archived folder and sent to officehelpage@gmail.com, by 23 November 2022, 17:00. The title of the email will be indicated as “Application for HelpAge consultancy”. The selection process is expected to last 5-20 working days, upon deadline expiry. Incomplete applications or applications sent after the deadline will be subject to rejection. Only preselected candidates can be contacted for an additional online or face-to-face interview. HelpAge will inform only successful candidates upon their selection.