1. Purpose of consultancy:

UNFPA Ukraine is implementing the EMBRACE project (Enhancing National and Regional Mechanisms to Build Responsive, Accountable & Cost-Effective System of GBV Response and Prevention) in coordination with the Ministry of Social Policy and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and with the financial support of the Government of the UK.

The project focuses on enhancing the mechanisms of accountability of duty bears at national and local levels to build an effective response to gender-based violence and provide needed support to GBV survivors.

Due to the armed invasion of the Russian Federation to Ukraine, which started on 24 February 2022, the risks of women and girls becoming subject to sexual violence and conflict-related sexual violence across Ukraine have increased significantly. Men and boys can also face sexual violence and abuse.

There is no complete data regarding the number of survivors since the data collection is much challenged by active hostilities and limited access to Ukraine’s oblasts under the temporary military control of the Russian Federation. According to the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, there are 90 documented conflict-related sexual violence incidents that took place from in 2022. We witness the requests of survivors from the areas where the Government of Ukraine regained control to police, health care facilities and human rights organisations provide evidence of the surge of cases of sexual violence.

To ensure needed support to women and girls, men and boys, who survived sexual violence, in May 2022 UNFPA has launched the Aurora online platform to increase access of the sexual violence survivors to psychotherapeutic, legal and health care services, including specialised psychotherapeutic care to cope with the traumatic experiences. Up to date, over 382 requests have been received, and necessary assistance has been provided to those in need (175 clients, from whom 97 have already finished counselling, completed their psychotherapy programmes). The number of applications is expected to increase in the nearest time, in particular, taking into account launch of a separate platform website, avrora-help.org.ua, UNFPA’s awareness-raising efforts to promote the platform and launched nationwide information campaign on prevention and response to the conflict-related sexual violence.

2. Scope of work:

(Description of services, activities, or outputs)

The aim of consultancy is to organise and facilitate the supervision to psychotherapists, involved by UNFPA, in particular in the psychotherapeutic work at the Aurora online platform, as follows (approximately):

• Group supervision session up to two hours once a month for up to 5 people in a group.
• Individual supervision session for each psychotherapist lasting up to 1.5 hours once a month (provided that in the respective month this psychotherapist had delivered consultations to survivors of sexual violence).

The aim is to support the consultants to reflect on the cases, choose effective approaches to help in difficult ones, prevent their burnouts, and be conducive for their professional growth and emotional balance at work.

Supervision sessions provider should be guided by the knowledge that work of the psychotherapists includes provision of individual online psychotherapeutic consultations to sexual violence survivors to help them overcome the traumatic experience and the development of individual rehabilitation plans for survivors, where the provision of the consultancy services is based on a case management approach that is survivor-centred focusing on the needs and interests of survivors.

The consultancy envisages provision of supportive supervisions, which include but not limited to providing a safe environment in which psychotherapists can speak openly about the challenges and difficulties they face in their work and seeking to help them; identify the source of their difficulties and examine ways to overcome these challenges in every individual case; provide feedback, empathic and emotional support and taking time to reflect, which may be one the most distinctive aspect of professional supervision in social services; evaluate needs in the supervisions and further psychological support for psychotherapists.

The psychotherapeutic approach of supervisory work will be used for the personal improvement of psychotherapists of a specific psychotherapeutic school, which is why the supervisor will need to conduct a preparatory work to make sure supervision sessions are informed and evidence-based. Also, s/he will work out what level of supervision capacity is required based on the number of practitioners and their clients, their level of experience, the intensity or complexity of the supervisee’s responsibilities and caseload. All services should be provided in line with professional ethics, including guaranteeing confidentiality where applicable, avoiding traumatization of psychotherapists, and fostering a supportive and safe environment.

While providing services to psychotherapists, the Consultant should undergo supervision session by him/her own.

3. Duration and working schedule:

Starting date: July 15, 2023 (tentatively)

Duration: till March 31, 2024

4. Place where services are to be delivered:

Ukraine, remotely.

5. Delivery dates and how work will be delivered (e.g. electronic, hard copy etc.):

Brief progress reports to be delivered electronically on a regular basis via email: chuyeva@unfpa.org accompanied by the developed/reviewed documents. The reporting periods should be agreed upon with the consultant additionally, either bi-weekly or monthly. Final brief report on the assignment completion to be delivered electronically by the end of the assignment before 31 March 2024 accompanied with the final analysis and its recommendations.

6. Monitoring and progress control, including reporting requirements, periodicity format and deadline:

Daily work monitoring to be done by Ms. Tetiana Taturevych, the Aurora Platform Coordinator, with participation of Ms. Olga Chuyeva, UNFPA CRSV Response Specialist, GBV Prevention and Response Programme.

7. Supervisory arrangements:

This consultancy will be directly supervised by UNFPA CRSV Response Specialist Ms. Olga Chuyeva, chuyeva@unfpa.org.

8. Expected travel:

No

9. Required expertise, qualifications and competencies, including language requirements:

Education:

• Minimum Master's degree in psychology, medical science, pedagogy, social sciences.
• Valid certificate in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Therapy, MRTE, EMDR or other approaches recognized as ones to be applied to treat trauma, including a valid certificate providing clearance to deliver supervision sessions/consultations in the said field.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of proven experience in the provision of psychotherapeutic trauma-oriented consultations for survivors of GBV, including survivors of sexual violence.
• Experience in provision of supervision sessions (both group and individual) for the psychotherapists and psychologists in GBV and SV-related cases, facilitation of the supervision groups for specialists.
• Experience in employing a wide range of models and approaches to providing supervision based on supervisees’ actual needs and intervention opportunities.
• Experience in delivering supervision sessions solo or, when required, in conjunction with another supervisor will be an advantage.
• Experience of working in civil society or humanitarian sector to provide relief for or assistance to conflict survivors in Ukraine, including support to sexual violence survivors, will be an advantage.

Other skills and knowledge:

• Knowledge of Ukrainian and international legal frameworks related to the provision of support to survivors of GBV, including sexual violence.
• Knowledge and a strong commitment to the professional ethical standards.
• Knowledge of EMDR Protocols for acute stress, including stress experienced by psychotherapists at work.
• Ability to distinguish between the roles of manager and supervisor.
• Commitment to continued professional development, for self and supervisees.
• Membership in national and/or international professional associations.

Language: fluency (oral and written) in Ukrainian and Russian, working knowledge of English (ability to read and work with documents and written business communication).

10. Inputs / services to be provided by UNFPA or implementing partner (e.g. support services, office space, equipment), if applicable:

Additional services could be provided upon UNFPA request and authorisation.

UNFPA will provide organisational support to the Consultant in communications with the implementing partners, and national and local stakeholders.

UNFPA will provide the Сonsultant with a set of documents related to the scope of analysis and results of the previous research on the topic.

11. Application process

The Сonsultant will be identified via an open-call competitive selection process.

To be considered for the role, one needs to submit to ukraine.office@unfpa.org by 12 June 2023 an application comprised of the following documents:

• Professional CV and Motivation letter.
• Cost estimation for the services (as per attached template).

Only complete applications received by the deadline will be evaluated.

In the subject line of the letter, please specify: Application for National Consultant to deliver supervision to psychotherapists

12. Other relevant information or special conditions, if any:

The consultancy fee will be paid on a monthly basis upon submission of the Consultant’s report.

Any remarks, proposals, complaints, or claims to the consultant regarding services being provided in line with these terms of reference should be submitted to the consultant in writing within 10 days of submission of consultancy deliverables or reports by the consultant.

The scope of work to be performed by the consultant under these terms of reference, as well as other conditions of the consultancy, could be modified, if required, through a written agreement between the consultant and UNFPA.

Intellectual property:

All information pertaining to this activity (documentary, pictures, digital, cyber, project documents, etc.) belonging to UNFPA, which the consultant may come into contact with in the performance of his/her duties under the assignment shall remain the property of UNFPA, which shall have exclusive rights over their use. Except for purposes of this assignment, the information shall not be disclosed to the public nor used in whatever manner without written permission of UNFPA in line with the national and international Copyright Laws applicable.