Technical Advisor to conduct an exploratory study on psychosocial support to adolescents in Maharashtra

Asmae is a French, non-religious, non political organization, created in 1980 by Sister Emmanuelle. Our main mission is the development of underprivileged children. Our philosophy is to work closely and in partnership with local organizations.

Asmae works in partnership with civil society organizations in 9 countries to improve the situation of underprivileged children. We help our partners establish and strengthen projects and organizations that can enhance children's access to a quality education, promote children's rights, and protect vulnerable children from violence and abuses. Asmae helps them to choose and to build their own way towards autonomy, in their own environment. Asmae always considers the economical, cultural, social and familial contexts in its programs, trying to find sustainable solutions to the problems.

Asmae has been working in India since 1996. Since 2006, Asmae is represented by 2 coordinators who are in charge of the monitoring and development of programs in two geographical areas: Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. They work with 14 local partners.

BACKGROUND Adolescence is a period of transition from childhood to adulthood. It is characterized by rapid physical, biological and hormonal changes resulting in psychosocial, behavioural and sexual maturation between the age of 10-19 years in an individual In India while “adolescence” is a comparatively new term, the word youth is better known and has been used at the levels of policy formulation and programming. The family plays a major role in the life of an Indian. Despite the fast pace of social change, it continues to have a direct bearing on adolescents’ development, since most young people stay in family until adulthood or even later in the case of joint family set-up. On reaching puberty the family imposes new code of conduct for boys and girls. Several studies have indicated that parents rarely provide the desired support to growing adolescents regarding biological and physiological changes as also the meaning attached to these. Sexuality stands out as an important aspect which is inadequately understood; taboos to access information and lack of counselling services make youngsters turn to peers and other sources of information. We need to be aware that distorted information has consequences related to exploitation, abuse, mental health problems and risk of HIV/AIDS. Providing awareness services and strengthening capabilities of institutions like family, community and school to act as sources of correct information are thus important and need to be given attention.

ASMAE’S CURRENT INTERVENTION It is with this purpose that Asmae is currently working in the field of psychosocial support to adolescents with four of its local partners (2 in Maharashtra and 2 in Tamil Nadu) and would like to widen its scope of intervention in Maharashtra. Therefore, Asmae feels the need to specify its understanding of the context of adolescence as well as to widen its knowledge on various adolescent targeted projects and networks existing in Maharashtra.

JOB PURPOSE with all respect for Asmae values and means of intervention

The technical advisor will be responsible for designing the methodology of the study, data collection, processing the data and writing the final report. OBJECTIVES OF THE MISSION: OVERALL OBJECTIVE: Conduct a study on the general framework of psycho-social support to adolescents in Maharashtra and existing projects, approaches responding to the needs of the adolescent.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:

• Develop an in-depth understanding of life circumstances, concerns and priorities of adolescents and gaps in the existing services and interventions. • Make a list of the existing interventions (different types of projects/networks/approaches) focusing on adolescents in the state of Maharashtra. • Analyse these interventions in terms of their strengths and weaknesses and their relevance towards specific needs. • Prioritise the interventions with reference to Asmae’s strategy in India, mandate of the organization and impact and efficiency of the projects. • Identify potential NGOs in accordance with Asmae’s criteria of partnership and intervention. • Propose mid and long term goals to be achieved through these partnerships (advocacy, networking, creating spaces for adolescents).

PROPOSED METHODOLOGY

Desk review: Updating the existing documentation on Adolescence (within Asmae and other) Web searches, reading, referencing, meeting experts in this field to identify NGOs/projects Compilation and short listing of eligible NGOs Analysis of these NGOs using specific tools Prioritisation of projects/NGOs to visit

Field visits: Visit the shortlisted NGOs to assess the geographical accessibility, physical and human resources as well as the implementation of the projects.

Interviews/ Meetings: Interviews, discussions with NGO leaders as well as the staff and other stakeholders to assess their perspectives about impacts and efficiency of their projects.

Reporting: Detailed reporting about the process of the study with clear findings and conclusions to guide and facilitate Asmae’s Partnerships with NGOs working on psycho-social support to adolescents.

EXPECTED OUTPUT

A report on the status of adolescents in Maharashtra with a focus on psycho-social support including useful approaches, documentation, institutions and individuals of interest.

TIME LINE

Final report expected in six months from commencement of the study.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Experience:  Required: - At least 3 years experience in the field of children/adolescents development in India - Proven experience in researching and analysing a specific field as well as drafting reports

Education /Knowledge:  Desirable: - Master degree in social work, social sciences or any other relevant field

Skills:  Required: - Excellent analytical skills - Excellent oral and written English - Excellent communication and interpersonal skills - Computer literate and excellent command of MS Office - Excellent oral and written Marathi

 Desirable: - Experience in conducting small/medium research projects

Attitudes:  Required: - Pragmatism. - Organized, rigorous and autonomous

TERMS OF CONTRACT:

The Technical Advisor will work under the supervision of the Asmae Maharashtra Coordinator and the Area Manager for Asia based in Asmae’s head office in Paris. The Tamil Nadu Coordinator may be consulted. The position requires travelling within Maharashtra.

Type of contract: Asmae would prefer to hire a freelance consultant.

Duration and remuneration will be discussed with the successful applicant. However, the study is expected to be conducted in six months.

HOW TO APPLY?

The application should include the following:

• A detailed Curriculum Vitae outlining the candidate’s academic and professional background relevant to the proposed study, a cover letter and three reference contacts.

-Candidates should send their application via email to the following email addresses: recrutement@asmae.fr with the following reference: RW-AS-IN11