1. Background of the technical assistance mission
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. In order 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 including online courses.
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. These documents of the Committee are utilized by States, children, CSOs, UN Agencies, academia, the media and many other stakeholders. It is therefore important that the website is well designed and functional, as well as easy to utilize and access documents. The Committee’s website has very limited features and it is not easy to access information. Moreover, the website is not optimized for mobile and its search engine does not function well. The Website also does not have any e-learning platform which the Committee can utilize for its online courses.
The African Governance Architecture Support Project which is funded by the European Union and administered by Expertise France is currently supporting the Committee and one of the aims of the project is to increase the visibility of the Committee. One of the ways to increase the visibility of the Committee is to enhance the feature of the website of the Committee. Therefore, the Committee in collaboration with Expertise France would like to recruit a consultant to develop a new design for its website, to create a data portal for the State Party reporting procedure of the Committee which will be an extension of the main website and to develop e-learning platform.
2. Objectives of the technical assistance mission
The main objectives of the technical assistance mission to revamp the website and add a data portal extension which aggregates the caselaw database and the reporting database is to increase the visibility of the Committee. In addition, the consultancy is intended to achieve the following specific objectives:
- Examine the gaps that exist in the current website of the Committee in terms of features, accessibility of documents, and ease of use among other factors;
- Develop website features which is attractive and easy to use;
- Provide alternative ways of storing and presenting documents such as State Party reports, publications etc
- Present ratification and reporting data as interactive maps
- Create a design to increase the accessibility of documents by users;
- Optimize the search engine to ensure the best organized outcome for results by users;
- Ensure that the website is optimized for mobile use;
- Ensure that the website is optimized for searches and social web;
- Create a design that can increase the quality of information provided for each country as it relates to the works of the Committee;
- Develop an E-learning/ self-learning platform for Child Rights Courses Training;
- Ensure that the domain name and the website are protected from cyber-attacks;
- Train the webmaster on how to handle the website; and
- Provide a user manual of the website.
3. Participants and institutions involved
The development of a new website design and the creation of an extended data portal will be done in close consultation with the Secretariat of the Committee. The Consultant may be requested to gather experience from other treaty bodies for better output. **
4. Expected results and deliverables of the technical assistance mission
The main deliverables of the consultancy work are:
- Inception report– The Consultant should submit an inception report which demonstrates a clear understanding of the assignment and provides for gaps in the existing website and clear methodology to be used.
- Designing the website– Taking into consideration the needs of the Secretariat of the Committee, the Consultant will design the website and enhance feature in the agreed manner.
- Data portal– The Consultant will also develop a data portal on the State Party reporting procedure which will be an extension to the main website.
- Final website– After receiving comments from the Secretariat and the Members of the Committee, the Consultant will further upgrade the first feature and submit a final web feature.
- Use manual- The Consultant should provide a manual on how to update and manage the website.
The Consultant is further expected to avail himself or herself to present the web design to the Members of the ACERWC in one of the Sessions of the Committee.
5. Profile of the short-term expert
The Consultant who will be recruited for this task must have the following qualifications and experience;
- University degree in web development or related fields;
- At least 8 years of experience in website development and programming;
- Demonstrable knowledge of programming applications;
- Proficiency in JavaScript, HTML, CSS, My SQL;
- Demonstrable knowledge of programming language and technical terminology;
- Previous work experience in international or regional organizations preferably inter-governmental organizations; and
- Flexibility to adjust to the needs of the Committee and ability to work as a team player.
6. Dates and location of the technical assistance mission
The Consultancy is both a home-based and Maseru, Lesotho based task. The Consultant will do some of the basic work on a home-based basis and will finalize the remaining work from Maseru, Lesotho where the Secretariat of the Committee is based. The task should be completed in 20 working days. The distribution and utilization of the 20 working days and the location for each working place will be determined through an agreement between the Consultant, the ACERWC and Expertise France.
How to apply
Ref : 2021/COADMSATACOHAPR/6926
Please submit your CV and cover letter via this link: https://expertise-france.gestmax.fr/apply/7010/1