ThaiNGO

1. Organizational Context

            The Freedom Story works to prevent child trafficking and exploitation through culturally relevant programs for vulnerable children and shares their stories to empower creative, compassionate people to act. We run three primary programs; Sustainable Livelihoods Program, Human Rights Program and Education Program. The Freedom Story is the largest prevention based anti-trafficking program in Northern Thailand.

 Our holistic approach prevents child trafficking by combatting the three primary risk factors: poverty, lack of education, and social isolation. We have found that providing educational scholarships, creating a more sustainable household income, and raising awareness about trafficking and their rights play a pivotal role in reversing the trend of these risk factors by opening opportunities and ultimately empowering at-risk children and youth to escape exploitation and pursue greater dreams and goals.

1. Background

The Freedom Story recently secured funding for a Basic Study on Strengthen Capacity of the Community for Protecting Women and Children during COVID-19 Pandemic in Thailand  in collaboration with Japan International Agency (JICA) Thailand. The overall objective of the proposed action is to be implemented in two provinces in Thailand (Chiang Rai and Nan) for 6 months to increase the participation of CSOs in preventing, addressing and mitigating risks and vulnerabilities of women and children in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand.

The specific objectives of the study are to collect basic information on the societal and economic impact on women and children due to COVID-19 at the community level while also leveraging existing research.

2. Purpose and scope of this consultancy

The Freedom Story is responsible for research within this project. The Freedom Story will undertake this research within two distinct phases: phase one of the project involves a comprehensive exploration of existing secondary data on the impact of COVID-19 on women and children in the Southeast Asian and Thai context. Phase two will involve direct primary data collection to fill in gaps in the data that were identified in the first phase.

A consultant is being sought to:

1. Gather primary data and review relevant secondary data reports, research, and publications related to the impacts of COVID-19 on vulnerable groups.
2. Collaborate to design, contextualize, and translate research methodologies with the Strategy Director as part of the research team.
3. Identify and source government, CSO, and private sector information on the societal and economic impacts of COVID-19 on women and children.
4. Collect information from women and children on the physical, sexual, financial, or psychological abuses and burdens of household care which may be magnified through COVID-19.
5. Organize, input, and manage data collected.
6. Support research components in the analysis of the data collected.
7. Collaborate on producing the final report based on the primary research.
8. Provide support to the Strategy Director and other staff as required.
9. Deliverables                                                                                                    Last Date Due

            Data collection tools developed and secondary data collected and              14 February

            Presented to Strategy Director

           Data collected and entered from client-facing staff                                       28  February

           via surveys and interviews    

          Data collected and entered from key informant interviews                           13 March

          With women and children

         Data collected and entered from survey data on COVID-19                         27 March

         Impact on women and children

        All other data entry and storage as per agreement                                        ongoing          

        First draft of the report                                                                                    3 April

        Final draft of the report                                                                                   20 April

4. Core competencies
   • Deep understanding of Northern Thai context, activities and actors
   • Fluency in English, Thai (Burmese or Hill Tribe languages a bonus)
   • Significant experience in primary data collection and management
   • Specialist expertise in working with vulnerable populations including children, such as trauma-informed care
   • Understanding of ethics of working with vulnerable populations
   • Excellent time management and multi-tasking skills
   • Ability to work autonomously
   • Strong interpersonal and negotiation skills
   • Accountability
5. Qualifications and experience           
   • Qualifications relevant to anti-trafficking, community development, social work or child protection
   • At least five years professional experience working in child protection, research and international development projects.
   • Social work license/child protection license desirable but not required.
6. Timeframe

It is expected that this consultancy will be taken on full time for the period of February-April 2021. Detailed planning and work plans will be established at the induction of the consultancy.

7. Management and Reporting Arrangements

The collection of data will be the responsibility of the consultant. Throughout the project the consultant will report to the Director of Strategy. The Freedom Story will provide support to mobilize support from various stakeholders. Technical guidance will be given by the Director of Strategy.

8. Additional Information
   • Consultant is expected to be home-based using own computer and equipment and facilities.
   • Consultancy payments will be based on a daily fee and actual working days carried out for the assignment.
   • All discussions and documents relating to this RFP will be treated as confidential.
   • It is envisaged that the consultant will travel twice for a period of xx days. Costs should be covered in the consultants proposed budgets.
   • The Consultant is expected to to act at all times in a manner consistent with the values of The Freedom Story and in compliance with the organization’s policies and procedures including Child Safeguarding Policy and the Code of Conduct.
9. Expression of Interest:
   • Interested candidates are requested to send their CV, cover letter and an example of previous research projects, in English, including a total budget inclusive of travel expenses.
   • Submission of expression of interest by email to supranee@thefreedomstory.org  (Tel.080-670-8375) please mention in the subject line: COVID-19 Research- Thailand
10. Deadline for submission: February 10

**สามารถแนบ จดหมายสมัครงาน ประวัติส่วนตัว วุฒิการศึกษา และเอกสารอื่นๆมาที่ Email: supranee@thefreedomstory.org หรือสามารถโทรสอบถามรายละเอียดเพิ่มเติมได้ที่เบอร์ 080-670-8375 (ฝ่ายบุคคล)**

Closing Date               :      19 April 2026 (11:59 PM, Bangkok Time)