Terms of Reference (ToR) Needs Assessment for Children’s Programs in the Refugees and Host Communities in Garissa, Turkana and Nairobi Counties. Full Time NEW

1.Background and Context

Kenya hosts one of the largest populations of refugees in Africa, with over 800,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers, many of whom reside in the camps of Kakuma and Dadaab as well as Nairobi informal settlement, according to the department of refugee services. The humanitarian situation is driven by ongoing conflicts, political instability, and climate-related disasters in neighboring countries, forcing thousands to seek refuge in Kenya. Among this population, children represent a significant proportion, facing unique vulnerabilities, including limited access to education, healthcare, and protection services. Unaccompanied and separated children are particularly at risk of exploitation, abuse, and neglect, often struggling to access basic rights and support systems. Urban refugee children face additional challenges such as poverty, discrimination, and barriers to integrating into local education systems. Resource limitations and overcrowding in camps exacerbate difficulties in delivering consistent and quality services. Addressing these gaps is essential to improving the well-being and prospects of refugee children in Kenya.

ChildFund is a child-focused global nonprofit that connects children in vulnerable communities with the people, resources and institutions they need to grow up healthy, educated, skilled and safe. As part of our humanitarian response between 2008 and 2023 ChildFund reached 500,000 migrants, refugees, and internally displaced people directly, 151,119 of which were children. ChildFund aims to continue our efforts to protect children in crisis and use our considerable experience to scale up our work. ChildFund has worked in Kenya since the 1960s, gaining extensive experience addressing humanitarian challenges. ChildFund operates in 28 counties in Kenya through 13 local implementing partner organizations, reaching over 3.1 million children, their families, and communities annually.

The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) is a non-governmental organization dedicated to protecting the rights and well-being of refugees, immigrants, and displaced persons worldwide. Established in 1911, USCRI provides humanitarian assistance, social services, legal advocacy, and policy recommendations to support vulnerable populations. In Kenya, USCRI Kenya has a strong operational presence, working closely with government agencies, UNHCR, and other humanitarian partners to improve the conditions of refugee children. The organization focuses on child protection, education, and psychosocial support, particularly for unaccompanied and separated children. USCRI Kenya also advocates for refugee rights, supports capacity-building initiatives, and facilitates access to essential services in both urban areas and refugee camps. Through its targeted programs, USCRI aims to strengthen long-term solutions and policy frameworks that enhance refugee inclusion and self-reliance. In Kenya, USCRI collaborates with government agencies, and other partners to improve conditions for refugee children, with a strong focus on child protection, education, and psychosocial support. Through initiatives like the Keep Girls Dreaming project, USCRI has addressed critical needs such as menstrual hygiene management in refugee camps, ensuring that girls remain in school and have access to essential health resources.

In recognition of the challenges faced by migrants, refugees, and internally displaced persons, USCRI Kenya and ChildFund Kenya have established a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on initiatives aimed at improving the lives of vulnerable children. This partnership seeks to leverage the strengths of both organizations to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment, which will inform targeted interventions and strategic programming for children, particularly unaccompanied and separated children, in urban areas and refugee camps.

The assessment is a joint initiative of ChildFund and USCRI and intends to highlight the needs of vulnerable groups, including unaccompanied and separated children, alongside other refugee children aged 10-14 years this due to their increased vulnerability during the transition from childhood to adolescence, heightened risks of exploitation, disrupted education, and limited access to essential services such as healthcare and psychosocial support The focus areas will include child protection, health, education and food security ensuring the design of effective targeted interventions for these children and their communities.

2. Objectives

Primary Objective: To assess the current needs, challenges, and opportunities in supporting vulnerable refugee children/, with particular attention to unaccompanied and separated children and children aged 10-14 years

Specific Objectives:
1.Map and prioritize the needs of children on the move, unaccompanied and separated children, and other refugee children within urban and refugee camp settings.
2.Map the existing sector specific partners and development actors working with the refugee children in Kenya.
3.Identify gaps and needs in existing delivery services in child protection, health, including sexual reproductive health and nutrition, psychosocial and mental health, food security and education.
4.Collect views and feedback from children, caregivers, and stakeholders, including government and CSOs working with children on the move on programs that are contextually relevant, effective, impactful and sustainable.
5.Explore strategies for effective support and advocacy for unaccompanied and separated children.

3. Scope of Work

The assessment will focus on:

•Geographic Scope: Nairobi county, as well as Kakuma and Dadaab refugee camps in Turkana and Garissa counties, respectively.
•Target Population: children on the move, unaccompanied and separated children, as well as refugee children aged 10-14 years.

Thematic areas
a.Child Protection: Addressing vulnerabilities of children on the move, unaccompanied and separated children, such as child labor, trafficking, GBV and abuse.
b.Health: Physical and mental health services and access to sexual reproductive health services and products, as well as education to promote dignity and reduce absenteeism in schools.
c.Education: Access to quality education, school retention, and learning resources for children.
d.Food Security – Access to nutritious food for children and basic livelihoods for their caregivers to access services.

4. Methodology

The assessment will adopt a mixed-methods approach:

•Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) with child protection officers at county and sub-county levels, healthcare providers, refugee-led organizations, teachers, and community leaders.
•Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with unaccompanied and separated children, caregivers, and service providers.
•Household Surveys targeting children and their families and caregivers to capture broader trends.
•Desk Review of existing data and reports from ChildFund, USCRI Kenya, and other stakeholders.

5.Deliverables

a)Inception Report: Detailing the methodology, tools, and a detailed work plan.
b)Draft Assessment Report: Outlining the findings of the assessment, including an analysis of the need of unaccompanied children and recommendations.
c)Needs Assessment Report: Comprehensive findings, including analysis of unaccompanied and separated children’s needs that incorporates comments from the client.
d)Presentation of Findings: Key insights and recommendations for program design and implementation.

6.Timeline
The needs assessment will be conducted within March and April 2025 with the following activities:
o Planning phase, including development of assessment tools, methodology, and securing necessary clearances.
o Desk review of existing data and reports.
o Field data collection in urban areas (Nairobi and Nakuru).
o Key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and surveys with stakeholders, including unaccompanied and separated children.
o Field visits to refugee camps, specifically Dadaab and Kakuma.
o Conduct interviews, focus group discussions, and data collection activities with unaccompanied and separated children, caregivers, and service providers in the camps.
o Data consolidation and initial analysis.
o Final data analysis and report drafting.
o Validation workshop with stakeholders to review findings and recommendations.
o Submission and dissemination of the final report.

7.Required Skills and Qualifications
The consultant or team must meet the following criteria:
• The lead consultant must have an advanced degree in any of the following, or related disciplines: Development Studies, Community Development, Disaster Risk Reduction, social science and should have demonstrated experience working with children and refugees.
• Atleast 10 years proven experience conducting needs assessments or evaluations in humanitarian settings, particularly in refugee contexts.
• Strong expertise in child protection, education, MHPSS, and gender programming.
• Experience with participatory research methods, particularly child-friendly approaches.
• Data collection and analysis skills, including quantitative and qualitative methodologies.
• Familiarity with Kenya’s refugee context and understanding of local languages is an advantage.
• Strong report writing skills in [English/Swahili].
• Adherence to ethical standards in research, especially when working with children.

8. Evaluation Criteria

Consultant Experience: The consultancy firm should have at least 10 years’ experience in conducting needs assessments or evaluations in humanitarian settings, particularly in refugee contexts- 20%
Technical Performance of the platform: Demonstrated strong expertise in child protection, education, MHPSS, and gender programming.Experience with participatory research methods, particularly child-friendly approaches.Familiarity with Kenya’s refugee context and refugee partners and programming ecosystem. Demonstrated innovation in working with and addressing the needs of the children in the move- 50%
Detailed implementation Schedule: Realistic Timelines with clear milestones on how steps will be sequenced, corresponding targets for each step, and when each step will be achieved. (The Gantt Chart will be enough), Flexibility to start with projects that have urgent needs for digitization – 30%

9. Consultancy Work Payment Schedule

Submission and approval of inception report within two weeks of signing the contract- 20%
Submission of the Draft Assessment report after dissemination workshop-50%
Validation of the final Report by the Management after approval- 30%

NB:
•The Consultant’s compensation shall be paid NET, within 30 days from receipt of a proper invoice unless otherwise specified.
•The payment shall be subjected to 5% withholding tax as required by the Law at the time of payment.

10. Application Process
Interested candidates or organizations are invited to submit the following:

I. Technical Proposal: Detailing the proposed methodology, approach, and work plan.
II. Financial Proposal : Detailed budget, including consultant fees, travel, and other costs.
III. CVs/Profiles : For key team members, highlight relevant experience.
IV. Sample of Previous Work : Examples of similar assessments conducted.
V. References : Contact details for at least two previous clients.

The applicant should also submit the documents mentioned below along with the proposal.

a. Firm Certificate of Registration (if applicable)
b. PIN/VAT Certificate and Tax Clearance Certificate
c. Company /Organization Profile (if applicable)
d. Company CR12 form (if applicable)

Note – the whole application should not exceed 10 pages

Tagged as: ChildFund International, Kenya