Jobs and Careers

JOB DESCRIPTION : 

This consultancy will support the Government’s effort by undertaking an in-depth assessment of the current provision model for case management services being offered at the ISPCs and a set of recommendations on how to revamp the service provision in face of the recent reform in the organization and delivery of these services for citizens and the proposed Unified Information System that will be developed to enhance the tasks of social workers. The activity will be undertaken in close collaboration with the MLSA and the National Institute for Labor and Social Research experts. The consultancy will undertake an assessment of the current case management model, documenting the service delivery in the ISPCs, assessing the integrated provision of those services, and providing recommendations on how to revamp those services in light of the recent reforms of the social sector and international best practice.
The assessment will undertake a deeper analysis on how case management services are being provided at the local level and will develop a set of recommendations to enhance the intervention model. The main guiding principles to develop the assessment include the following:
a) Analyze how services are actually being provided at the ISPCs centers according to several principles of quality standards in the provision of services. These overarching principles include: availability; accessibility; affordability; people-centered; comprehensiveness; continuity; and outcome oriented;
b) Assess each step of the delivery chain in the provision of case management interventions, as outlined in the WB Sourcebook on the Foundations of Social Protection Delivery Systems;
- Benefits and services analyzed include those currently being provided in the ISPCs centers, but the report should highlight any other potential benefit or service that should be considered as an integral intervention to be offered;
- Incorporate the views from key actors in the provision of these services, including at least those of social workers and beneficiaries. The centers to be included in the assessment should be centers financed through SPAPII and ideally not included in the UNICEF report;
- Consider the COVID-19 containment measures imposed by the GoA (i.e. increased digital communication, social distancing, etc.) and to the extent possible, spatial and gender disparities in the access to social services will also be analyzed;
- The recommendations sections will include a proposal for an improved model of case management in the centers using tools like the unified information system (UIS), covering the main aspects to consider for improving the integrated provision.

RESPONSIBILITIES : 

The Local Consultant will contribute to the overall assessment of the current provision model for case management services being offered at the ISPCs with a focus on conducting the desktop review of the legislation and operational guidelines, coordinating the qualitative data collection process and providing written inputs for the final report. The Local Consultant is expected to work closely with the WB team and an international consultant. More specifically, the Local Consultant is expected to:
- Identify and undertake a pertinent desktop review of the primary and secondary legislation regulating the provision of social services at the ISPC centers, as well as operational guidelines and summarizing key aspects;
- Identify, collect and review other documentation relevant to the provision of services in the ISPC centers, summarizing key aspects; the WB team will share existing knowledge produced by international organization including the WB, UNICEF, USAID;
- Review the basic methodology and principles of the business processes assessment currently being carried out by the Ministry;
- Support the design of data collection tools for structured interviews with selected respondents, online surveys and focus group discussions if could be implemented in the current context;
- Carry out bilateral interviews to collect information. Ideally these interviews will happen in person, but the consultants will work in conjunction with the team to decide on the most adequate modality given the current context restrictions derived from the COVID-19 crisis and security concerns given the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict;
- Prepare a written report summarizing the findings of the interviews and other data collection tools;
- Contribute to PPT presentations highlighting main findings and recommendations, and jointly present to the Ministry with the WB team;
- Prepare written inputs for the final report, as requested by the International Consultant and the Bank’s team;
- Translate any relevant output from Armenian language to English language, as requested by the International Consultant and the Bank’s team;
- Participate in team meetings with the WB Armenia extended team.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS : 

- Master's degree or equivalent in Economics, Statistics, Social Work, Sociology or a related field;
- Proven experience in areas of social protection and integrated provision of social services;
- Proven experience on data collection processes for the social sector;
- Proven knowledge of the social services sector and current reforms in Armenia;
- Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and Armenian languages;
- Some international experience working on social sectors is desirable.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES : 

Qualified candidates are welcome to send their CV and motivation letter in English language to Arpine Azaryan at: aazaryan@worldbank.org indicating the position title (STC - Consultant for Assessment of the Integrated Provision of Social Services in the ISPCs in Armenia) in the subject line of the email.

Please clearly mention in your application letter that you learned of this job opportunity through Career Center and mention the URL of its website - www.careercenter.am, Thanks.

REMUNERATION/ SALARY : 

The selected candidate will be paid a daily remuneration which is determined by the official World Bank pay scale. Payment will be made upon submission of time sheets, accompanied by outputs testifying to progress made by the Consultant.

ABOUT : 

In the last decade, the Armenian government has been moving beyond the delivery of cash benefits to prioritizing the provision of integrated social services that respond to the increasing multi-faceted needs of vulnerable families. Important steps have already been taken in that direction, professionalizing social workers and particularly case management tasks, establishing coordination protocols for an integrated provision of services as well as creating the institutional and legal preconditions to move towards a more integrated delivery of services. Recent amendments to the Law on Social Assistance, with details on the establishment of a new Office for the Coordination of Integrated Social Services, were passed in Parliament and are gradually being implemented with the participation of key stakeholders.
The World Bank has been a close partner in supporting the efficient delivery and integration of social protection benefits through the Social Protection Administration Project (SPAP) II credit, a trust fund grant project implemented by the Armenia Association of Social Workers “Promoting Social Inclusion and Self-Reliant Livelihood Activities in Armenia Project” and Advisory Service and Analytics (ASA) providing technical assistance on reforms in social case management, integrated data systems, and the establishment of one-stop-shops for the delivery of social and disability benefits, employment services, and pensions. The SPAP II project is financing several activities that will contribute to this process of integration. On one front, 35 Integrated Social Protection Centers (ISPCs) are being constructed in areas where access to social services was weak - 10 of those are already operational. The project is also financing the development of the Integrated/Unified Social Information system (UIS) as a tool to facilitate the integrated delivery of social services.
In terms of ASA, previous technical assistance (P155916) through the Rapid Social Response and Scaling Up Nutrition trust funds supported the integration of the social service model by strengthening the capacity and role of social workers in managing cases by (i) piloting, evaluating and finetuning the implementation of a multisectoral training and operational procedures for social workers and health professionals in selected regions to coordinate actions to detect cases of child malnutrition in vulnerable households; (ii) conducting diagnostic analysis of the capacity and characteristics of early childhood development (ECD) service providers and families’ constraints to access ECD services; and (iii) promoting inter-ministerial collaboration between the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MLSA) and the Ministry of Health (MoH). Bringing these efforts together, the government requested the Bank’s support to operationalize the model for the integrated provision of social services, providing recommendations on how it can be envisaged to improve the experience of beneficiaries, including through a Japanese Social Development Fund Recipient Executed Trust Fund (P165314).