National Consultant on Strengthening Mental Health and Well-Being of Children and Adolescents

Scope of Work
The consultant’s work will contribute to the preparation, adaptation and piloting of adolescents mental health interventions in 3 regions to help the central and local authorities to streamline the existing system. The overall programme is expected to strengthen the capacities of approximately 50,500 specialists across the education and health sectors, reaching an estimated 140,000 adolescents aged 10–17. In addition, up to 10,000 adolescents with mental health concerns or risk of suicidal behavior are expected to be identified, referred and supported through
evidence-based care pathways. The consultant will support the adaptation, regional implementation and evidence generation required for establishing a proven, sustainable and cost-effective national model for mental health promotion and suicide prevention.

Key tasks will include:
1. Regional adolescents mental health program baseline and end-line assessments

• Based on materials developed by international consultant, to prepare a package for ethical review of the program baseline and endline assessments.
• Proofread the assessment tools in Kazakh and Russian languages.
• Support communication with national and local authorities and data collection team for purposes of the assessments.
• Coordinate, support and take steps for quality assurance of data collection and data entry for analysis
• Provide technical advice to local authorities and specialists regarding organizing process on identification and referral.
• Co-Develop the report on baseline and endline assessments with key finding, recommendations and lessons learned.
• Proofread final reports in Kazakh and Russian languages and support publication of the report.
• Arrange and provide capacity building and technical assistance in organising supervision for difficult/urgent cases, referral process and in case of need providing online counselling.
• Undertake necessary travel to the oblast centres, districts and villages for planning and monitoring the assessment.

2. Implementation of evidence-based MHPSS interventions

• Support international expert in adaptation, contextualisation (including proofreading of tools in Kazakh and Russian languages) and testing of school- and community-based psychosocial interventions informed by internationally recognised guidance and programmes, including: o Social Emotional Learning (SEL);
• Guide and support PSC and school specialists in planning and delivering group and individual sessions, including supervision, documentation and adherence to evidencebased approaches, particularly in rural and underserved settings.
• Organise and co-facilitate regional workshops, mentoring sessions and coaching for PSC and school psychologists on early identification, safety planning, crisis response and postcrisis support for adolescents, as well as on the use of psychoeducational resources such as the Maya Comics series to promote mental health literacy and help-seeking behaviours among adolescents and caregivers.
• Validate with national partners the developed by the international consultant field monitoring framework and track the progress on a monthly basis.
• Maintain regular communication with UNICEF, the international expert and the Orken Institute to ensure that field-level implementation is consistent with agreed methodologies and that emerging challenges are addressed in a timely manner.
• Consolidate good practices, implementation challenges and lessons learned in selected regions to inform programme refinements and future scale-up.
• Periodic travel to the regions for supporting and monitoring the initiated interventions.
• Support the dialogue and technical work on integration of the adapted tools into the national system

3. Development and adaptation of validated psychodiagnostic tools

• Support the review, contextual adaptation and piloting of psychometric screening and assessment tools developed by the international expert, including the evidence-based package for grades 5–11
• Proofread the psychometric screening and assessment tools in Kazakh and Russian languages.
• Facilitate consultations with education and health specialists to discuss practical administration, sequencing and use of the tools, ensuring complementarity with SEL initiatives and school-based prevention programmes, and supporting rollout of the expert-developed Guide for school psychologists on mental health screening.
• Collect pilot feedback and assist with development of methodological notes and communication guidance for parents and adolescents, ensuring that tools are feasible for use in schools and PSC settings.

4. Capacity building, supervision and regional coordination

• Support in establishing and running of the central level expert group for coordinating the MHPSS interventions for children.
• Support in establishing regional program coordination hubs in 3 selected regions.
• Support in developing, implementing and tracking progress of the implementing partners’ and regional work plans in coordination with local partners.
• Arrange review and endorsement of ToT packages through coordination with ministries /expert group prior to the TOTs.
• Plan, organize, and co-deliver capacity-building activities for master trainers (at least four thematic ToTs), PSC specialists, school psychologists and health professionals in three pilot regions, ensuring alignment with international and national standards, traumainformed principles and the technical content of training packages in Kazakh and Russian languages developed by the international expert, and ensuring coherence with above mentioned mental health program guidelines and existing sector protocols.
• Support to field-level rollout of ToT content and documentation of reliability and utilisation by CPS and school psychologists.
• Coordinate regularly with UNICEF, the Orken Institute, the international expert and regional focal points to ensure synchronised and quality delivery of capacity building across selected regions.
• Provide continuous supervision, mentoring and peer-learning support to trained specialists.
• Organise intervision meetings and contribute to strengthening regional professional networks.
• Monitor training delivery in the regions by master trainers and initiate any corrective steps to ensure quality training outcomes.
• Ensure timely training and awareness material distribution among schools, health sector providers and engaged communities.
• Support visibility and social behaviour change (SBC) components of the MHPSS programme by contributing to awareness-raising events, preparing user-friendly materials and leveraging SEL, Maya Comics and other psychoeducational tools to enhance mental health literacy and reduce stigma.
• Document regional implementation experiences and prepare short analytical summaries (progress, gaps, lessons learned) for UNICEF and national partners.

5. Support for evidence generation, evaluation and data processes

• Support in coordination between UNICEF, the international evaluation company and national partners (MOE, MOH, MLSPP, Orken Institute, National Mental Health Centre, National Public Health Centre, PSC and regional departments) involved in evaluating the system of MHPSS for children and adolescents in Kazakhstan.
• Support in planning and arranging field missions (drafting agenda, coordinating meetings, documenting follow-up actions)
• Prepare and coordinate official communications to secure access to administrative data, documentation and respondents.
• Support organisation of interviews, focus group discussions, validation workshops and other evaluation activities with key stakeholders across education, health and social protection sectors.
• Assist in compiling desk review materials for informing evaluation design (policies, data, reports, studies and other).
• Review draft tools, findings and reports prepared by the international evaluation company, ensuring contextual accuracy and correct terminology.
• Consolidate feedback from government and regional stakeholders, and support facilitation of national validation sessions and dissemination of evaluation results.
• Support in proofreading the evaluation methodology and report in Kazakh and Russian languages.

and other tasks, for more detailed information please see the link above