Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)A (least hardship)
Family Type (not applicable for home-based)
Family
Staff Member / Affiliate TypeCONS Local
Target Start Date2023-11-01
Job Posting End DateOctober 24, 2023
Terms of ReferenceTitle of project: Revalidation of diplomas of refugees: informative guidebook
Purpose of project: In the context of the expansion of the presence of refugees and migrants throughout the Brazilian territory, the revalidation or recognition of diplomas and other academic titles of refugee and migrant population has become paramount to facilitate integration. Law 9.474/97, article 44, for instance, gives refugees the right to have a facilitated revalidation process. Therefore, after further consideration from members of Sérgio Vieira de Mello Academic Chair (SVMAC) and previous reports from the universities that are part of this project, revalidation of diplomas and recognition of other academic titles has become one of the main issues that need to be addressed. In 2022, UNHCR launched its first Term of Reference (TOR) for Individual Contract with the scope of drafting a report on the main normative instruments and challenges to revalidation of diplomas, as well as the participation in a national event with stakeholders. The product of this consultancy, the report “Revalidação de diplomas de pessoas refugiadas: desafios e oportunidades” was launched on 22 June 2023, in a joint event between UNHCR and the National Committee for Refugees (CONARE). The present TOR aims to complement the referred report by proposing two new products: an informative guidebook detailing how to revalidate a diploma and other academic titles of refugees and vulnerable migrants and capacity building trainings for stakeholders aiming to conduct the revalidation of diplomas for this population.
Duration and dates of the assignment:
From: 01 November 2023 To: 31 December 2023
Work 100% (fulltime) during above-mentioned period: Yes 0 No 1 (if no specify):
The consultant does not need to dedicate exclusively to the consultancy, as long as the products are delivered following the agreed timeframe, specified on Item 6.
Working Hours: ( ) Applicable (x) Not Applicable
Total amount of days/weeks/months to be worked: up to 03 months
Location(s) : Remote work, with in-person meetings (Sao Paulo) missions as needed.
Assignment and/or Mission travel applicable Yes 0 No 1
If yes, specify destination(s) and period(s):
Suggested fee and currency:
Total budgetary amount allocated for individual contract:
BRL 20.000,00. This value was calculated based on the complexity of the work and availability of budget.
Payment schedule:
1ST payment on the last week of November 2023, corresponding to BRL 10.000,00 (ten thousand reais), after the satisfactory delivery of Deliverables 1 and 2.
2nd payment on the last week of December 2023, corresponding to BRL 10.000,00 (ten thousand reais), after the satisfactory delivery of the Final Report (upon completion of Deliverables 3 and 4).
General Background of Project or Assignment:
In 2003, UNHCR initiated an academic dissemination and training program in Latin America to strengthen the learning of university professors and students in the fields of International Refugee Law, International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law. The project initiative was named “Sérgio Vieira de Mello Academic Chair” in honour of Sérgio Vieira de Mello, a Brazilian who died in Iraq in 2003 in an attack to the UN headquarters in that country, after spending a large part of his professional career in the United Nations working with refugees as a UNHCR employee.
Over the past 20 years, the Sérgio Vieira de Mello Academic Chair has proven to be a key actor in ensuring that refugees and asylum seekers have access to rights and services in Brazil, being motivated by the strengthening of the inclusive approach, protective education and applied research to consolidate the reception of refugees in the university environment and host communities. The Chair's engagement is thus multifaceted and aligned with the society-wide approach that underlies the Global Compact on Refugees. The SVMAC is currently composed of 40 higher education institutions distributed across 13 Federative Units in the country and the Federal District and its initiatives generally fall under one of the following four pillars:
Teaching, Including Access to Higher Education - The Sérgio Vieira de Mello Academic Chair promotes the dissemination of issues related to forced displacement of people, primarily promoting the teaching of International Refugee Law, International Humanitarian Law, and International Human Rights Law. This axis is the basis for the creation of the Chair, and it is through teaching that academic training and the strengthening of the knowledge of teachers and students in the aforementioned disciplines take place. Furthermore, the Chair also promotes through this axis the access of refugees and asylum seekers to higher education, supporting this population not only with specific admission notices and university permanence programs, but also offering support with the revalidation of diplomas.
Research - This axis of the Sérgio Vieira de Mello Academic Chair is focused on research, encouraging the dissemination of themes related to the protection of refugees and their local integration in Brazil. The Chair promotes the theme of international protection through curricular and extracurricular activities, including public conferences, academic seminars, and academic publications. SVMAC has been able to generate quantitative and qualitative data and provide a greater understanding of the sociocultural dynamics that impact local integration, in the formulation of public policies aimed at this population, providing greater visibility on the topic of refugee protection for the academic community, civil society, the private sector and host community.
Outreach and Community Services - University outreach is understood as the interdisciplinary process that promotes sharing, with the external public, the knowledge acquired through teaching and research developed at the university. It can be defined by the articulation of scientific knowledge, acquired in the academic environment, with the needs of the community in which the university is inserted, interacting and transforming social reality . This process has a direct impact on the lives of refugees, and through it the Sérgio Vieira de Mello Academic Chair ensures a network of support and assistance and promotes greater local integration and peaceful coexistence with host communities. Among the university extension projects developed by the SVMAC for the benefit of the refugee population, those relating to health services in general, and mental health and psychosocial support, teaching the Portuguese language, legal assistance and labor integration stand out.
Advocacy and Formulation of Public Policies - Universities also advocate strengthening the response of governments and the influence of authorities, non-governmental partners and society at large in adopting practices that guarantee the protection of refugees at the municipal, state and/or national levels. Experience shows the potential to discuss not only the admission and revalidation of diplomas for refugees, but also various issues such as housing and working conditions, are paramount in current institutional activities.
Following the reports of the initiative, in 2022 UNHCR Brazil in partnership with the universities part of Sérgio Vieira de Mello Academic Chair decided to create four Working Groups based on the diagnostics made in 2021 at the Annual Seminars. The objective of the WG was to advance the work already done individually by the universities in key areas, such as: Public Policies, Access to Rights, Linguistic Support and Cultural Mediation, and Revalidation and Recognition of Diplomas and Academic Titles and Integration of Refugees in Education.
SVMAC has been engaged in establishing revalidation procedures that are sensitive to the specific situation of the refugee population. This also means taking into consideration issues linked to language barriers or the absence of documents proving their academic qualifications. Diploma revalidation allows refugees to find better employment opportunities and achieve self-sufficiency. In addition, by being able to pursue their life projects and educational/professional aspirations, refugees can actively contribute to the development of their host communities. Research by the World Bank in partnership with UNHCR has shown that the incidence of professional downgrading at work is higher for Venezuelans with high school and college degrees (96 percent and 91 percent, respectively) than for Brazilians with high school and college degrees (89 percent and 62 percent, respectively), and one of the main causes is the difficulty in revalidating diplomas.
In order to help further the activities of the Working Group on Revalidation and Recognition of Diplomas and Academic Titles, it was assessed the necessity to better understand the current legal and practical issues regarding the subject and how to further the discussion. In this sense, in 2022, UNHCR launched its first Term of Reference (TOR) for Individual Contract with the scope of drafting a report on the main normative instruments and challenges to revalidation of diplomas, as well as the participation in a national event with stakeholders. The product of this consultancy, the report “Revalidação de diplomas de pessoas refugiadas: desafios e oportunidades” was launched on 22 June 2023, in a joint event between UNHCR and the National Committee for Refugees (CONARE) and with the participation of the Ministry of Education and other stakeholders.
The present TOR aims to complement the referred report by proposing two new products. The first, an informative guidebook detailing how to revalidate a diploma and other academic titles of refugees and vulnerable migrants. This informative material should be aligned with the current normative on the theme, such as the Ordinance n. 1151, of 19 June 2023, from the Ministry of Education, as well as the procedures in place in SVMAC universities. The second, to draft a methodology and conduct up to 05 capacity building trainings (both online and in person if required) for stakeholders aiming to conduct the revalidation of diplomas of refugees and vulnerable migrants, including universities, UNHCR staff and civil society partners, refugee-led organizations, private companies, among others.
Occupational Safety and Health Considerations
To view occupational safety and health considerations for specific duty stations, please visit this link: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel
Specific Occupational Safety and Health Considerations to this assignment (if applicable):N/A
Overall Purpose and Scope of Assignment:
Under the supervision of the Protection unit, in a joint work with the Durable Solutions unit, and the Head of UNHCR São Paulo Field Office, the individual consultant will be responsible for the following deliverables:
Deliverable 1
– Recommendation of methodology for the informative guidebook
- In coordination with UNHCR, recommend methodology for the informative Guidebook detailing how to revalidate a diploma and other academic titles of refugees and vulnerable migrants.
Deliverable 2
– Draft and submission of informative guidebook detailing how to revalidate a diploma and other academic titles of refugees and vulnerable migrants
- Based on the report “Revalidação de diplomas de pessoas refugiadas: desafios e oportunidades” and on the conduction of further research on additional information on federal and state normative, such as the new Ordinance n. 1.151, of 19 June 2023, from the Ministry of Education, and other legal instruments from universities on the subject;
-Conduct interviews with relevant actors at the governmental, civil society and university levels to aggregate additional information on the revalidation of diplomas process.
Deliverable 3
– Recommendation of methodology and proposed calendar for capacity building trainings on how to revalidate diplomas of refugees and vulnerable migrants
-Based on the drafted guidebook, recommend methodology to be applied in the training delivered for both UNHCR staff and external stakeholders detailing how to revalidate a diploma and other academic titles of refugees and vulnerable migrants.
-In coordination with UNHCR, as part of the methodology, propose tentative calendar of trainings and suggested list of stakeholders to attend capacity building trainings, including universities, UNHCR staff and civil society partners, refugee-led organizations, private companies, among others.
Deliverable 4
– Provision of capacity building trainings on how to revalidate a diploma and other academic titles of refugees and vulnerable migrants
-Based on the findings and informative material drafted, provide five sessions of a step-by-step capacity building training for stakeholders (as referred in the deliverable 3) aiming to conduct the revalidation of diplomas of refugees and vulnerable migrants. The training will be conducted online or in person (the latter is applicable in the case of the Municipality of Sao Paulo).
-Provision of report of capacity building training and list of attendants to UNHCR review.
Required level, qualifications and work experience:
Level of responsibilities required (mark as appropriate) for individual contractors and fellows:
0 Entry Level Support 0 Mid-Level Support 0 Senior Level Support 0 Local Professional Level 0 Junior Level Professional 0 Senior Level Professional
OR 1 The assignment is for an Individual Consultant
Qualification and experience required (degree required, years of work experience, field of expertise, language required):
-Graduation in relevant areas of study, such as Public Administration, Law, International Relations, Political Theory, among others. Postgraduate studies in related fields are desirable.
-Minimum of 3 years of experience in research, analysis or development of local public policies.
-Knowledge of policies related to the protection and local integration of refugees in Brazil.
-Proficiency in Portuguese, including excellence in grammar and writing. Practical knowledge of English will be considered as an asset.
PROFILE
- Excellent interpersonal skills.
- Excellent planning and prioritization skills.
- Excellent analytical and drafting skills.
- Excellent reporting skills.
- Experience as Individual Consultant for UN Agencies will be considered an asset.
- Specific work experience with refugee and migrant population, will be also considered as an asset.
Monitoring and Progress Controls (report requirements, periodicity, format, deadlines):
a. The final product (e.g. survey completed, data collected, research documents produced specify):
Final version, as approved by UNHCR, of the Diploma Revalidation Guidebook and provision of report of capacity building trainings
b. Work on the basis of time employed: Yes 0 No 1
c. If it is to result in a written product specify:
a. Number of pages: To be defined. Estimation: 30 pages.
b. Language(s): Portuguese.
c. Number of copies: 1.
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Skills
Education
Certifications
Work Experience
Other informationThis position doesn't require a functional clearance