TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE WEBSITE AND UNDERTAKING COMMUNICATION ACTIVITIES FOR THE ACERWC

Background:

The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child is a treaty body established to monitor the implementation of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. To monitor the implementation of the Charter the Committee is tasked with various mandates and functions. The Committee considers State Party reports on the implementation of the Charter and provides concluding observations and recommendations to State Parties based on their reports. The Committee also has the mandate to consider communications on alleged violations of the provisions of the Charter. Moreover, the Committee has the mandate to undertake country visits to investigate a matter or to follow up on its recommendations and decisions. The Committee is also entrusted with the power to interpret the provisions of the Charter and it develops General Comments in that regard. Furthermore, the Committee has established special mechanism in the form of special rapporteurs and working groups, it issues urgent letter of appeals, organizes the continental celebration of the Day of the African Child. The Committee also produces reports, studies and similar documents. The Committee in order to deliver its mandates convenes two ordinary sessions annually and may hold an extra-ordinary session. In addition, it conducts various inter-session activities.

While the Committee undertakes enormous activities for the protection and promotion of children’s rights, these works and activities need to be visible to Member States, Children, and other actors such as CSOs, NHRIs and academia. Enhanced visibility of the work of the Committee increases the impact of its activities. The main platform where the Committee publicizes its activities including its sessions and other events as well as its documents is through its website. The documents of the Committee which are produced following the execution of its various mandates are publicly available in the website. It is, therefore, imperative to have an updated and interactive website to increase the visibility of the Committee and its activities. Moreover, the Committee uses various social media platforms such as Facebook, twitter, and YouTube to popularize its work.

To effectively utilize these platforms, the Committee understands the importance of continuous update as well as the creation of reader friendly contents for all the platforms. Therefore, the Committee would like to recruit a consultant to maintain the website and undertake communication activities for the functions of the Committee.

Objectives:

The main objectives of the Consultancy include:

• enhancing visibility of the Committee among various actors and children;
• ensuring that the website of the Committee and its various social media platforms are updated
• increasing the publicity of the activities of the Committee such as its Sessions, Country Visits, Workshops, Events, and Documents produced
• ensuring that the activities and documents of the Committee are presented in a reader/viewer friendly manner
• diversifying the tools used to popularize activities through creative contents and platforms

Scope of the Consultancy:

The communication materials and contents should reach to various stakeholders, which include Children, policymakers, Governments, CSOs, researchers, and partner organizations who are working on children’s rights. The task should give insight about the work of the Committee in promoting children’s rights and welfare in Africa and reach children and other stakeholders and hence prepared in a manner fit for everyone.

Reporting and deliverables:

The Consultant is expected to undertake the Project by collaborating with the Committee to identify priority areas of focus considering the pending activities of the Committee in 2023. The task will be supervised under the leadership of the Secretariat of the Committee.

The following are the main deliverables:

• Creating video and digital materials for the social media platforms of the Committee
• Updated website with up-to-date features and documents
• Servicing Meetings and Events of the Committee
• Formatting and publishing pending documents of the Committee

Qualifications and experience:

The Consultant who will be recruited for this task must have the following qualifications and experience:

• University degree in Computer Science, Media, Communication and related fields;
• At least 5 years of experience working directly on children related media outlets, Broadcast agencies, Audio-visual companies;
• Demonstrated professional experience on matters related to child protection, reporting on child rights issues, and research and writing experience on related issues;
• Demonstrated good knowledge of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the work of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
• Work experience in the AU, or other international organizations, especially in treaty body mechanisms;
• Ability to work independently and achieve quality results with limited supervision.

The Consultancy is based home based with possible travels when needed by the Committee, for a duration of 20 payable working days from Decemberr 2023 to January 2024.

Consultancy fee:

The Consultant will be paid a fixed fee of USD 6,000 (Six Thousand USD) for the assignment. The payment will be effected in accordance with the various deliverables as indicated above, and is inclusive of all costs and profits as well as tax obligations that may be imposed on the Consultant.

 Reporting Lines

The Consultant will work under the direct supervision and guidance of the Executive Secretary of the Committee