- Contract Type: Consultancy (Individual Contractor)
- Lead Agency: International Rescue Committee (IRC)
- In collaboration with: Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action (the Alliance); Unaccompanied and Separated Children Task Force (UASC TF)
- Level of Effort: 40 working days
- Period: May 2026 – September 2026 (approximately 4–5 months)
- Location: Home-based, global scope with virtual engagement
- Background
The Alternative Care in Emergencies (ACE) Toolkit (2013), originally developed by the predecessor of the UASC TF: the Interagency Working Group on Unaccompanied and Separated Children (IAWG-UASC), has served for more than a decade as a foundational inter-agency resource guiding practitioners in planning, implementing, and monitoring emergency alternative care responses. Recent global developments - including protracted crises, mass displacement, increased mixed migration flows, scaling community-based protection systems, evolving data protection standards, digital case management, and strengthened global guidance on preventing family separation - have created an urgent need for a comprehensive update of the toolkit. In 2025, the UASC Task Force commissioned the Alternative Care Survey to gather practitioner and agency insights regarding gaps, relevance, and user needs related to the ACE Toolkit. Building on these inputs, IRC seeks a consultant to lead the technical revision of the ACE Toolkit.
Purpose of the Consultancy
To lead the revision of the Alternative Care in Emergencies Toolkit, ensuring that it:
- Reflects current evidence, and best practices
- Responds to findings from the ACE Survey 2025
- Aligns with inter-agency guidance (e.g. CPMS, Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, child safeguarding standards, community-based child protection frameworks)
- Integrates practitioner needs and contextual realities across diverse humanitarian settings
- Remains accessible, operational, modular, and adaptable for field practitioners and government stakeholders
- Streamline existing annexes towards potential consolidation and reduction.
- Scope of Work