Tenders are invited for Consultant Child Rights & Stakeholder Engagement Closing Date: 8 Oct 2025 Type: Consultancy Terms of Reference for a scoping study with data collection to explore potential partners and the occurrence of child labour and other forms of child exploitation in or around manganese and copper mines in Zambia General Information Terre des Hommes Netherlands (TdH NL) is a child rights organisation and an international NGO. Our vision is that children can flourish in a world free from all forms of child exploitation. Our mission is to protect children by preventing and stopping child exploitation, and by empowering children to make their voices count. In executing our mission we seek to address the root causes of exploitation by creating scalable, evidence-based solutions and influencing systemic change rather than providing one-off remedies. Our work towards systemic change is driven by five core principles: Children at the centre, Safety and well-being, Intersectionality, Power Awareness and Sustainability. The organisation works together with children and their families, communities, governments, institutional mechanisms, civil society organisations, and the private sector. Background One TdH NLs thematic programmes is the Child Labour Programme. This programme focusses on children involved in child labour in mining and quarrying, belonging to the worst forms of child labour according to ILO Convention no. 182. In the past decade, TdH NL has run a programme against child labour in mica mining in India, and added child labour in mica mining in Madagascar in 2022. Due to TdH NLs proven track record and effective approach to combat child labour, which is based on our core model tackling the root causes of child labour, the organisation is planning to expand its programme to other minerals in other countries. With the current energy transition, there are growing demands for minerals paired with growing concerns about the impact on children. For instance, there are worries about the involvement of children in the extraction of minerals in mining. More widely, children could be impacted by increasing mining activities, such as an increase in sexual exploitation around mining sites. In 2024, TdH NL conducted desk research into the prevalence of child labour in critical strategic minerals in countries in Africa and Asia. Due to the absence of research evidence, we applied a methodology to look into the probability of the occurrence of child labour based on several factors like poverty, existing child labour in other commodities in the same region where the minerals are mined, etc. It turned out, amongst others, the there is a probability of child labour in manganese in Zambia. Zambia also has copper mines. The desk research didnt show any existence of child labour there, however it cannot be completely ruled out before scoping the issue with local and national organisations. 4. Objective of the scoping study The objective of this scoping study is to explore the occurrence of child labour in the manganese and copper mines and mapping out the key stakeholders involved in the ecosystem of ASMs in the country, including organisations and governmental institutions working with the sector. The research aims to: Gain insight into if children are involved in child labour in mining of manganese and copper and in which locations, the scope of child labour (whenever possible a preliminary estimation of the number of children involved), what is their age and gender; Identify the nature of work that children have to perform, if applicable, specify these work for age groups; Describe the mining activity (e.g. artisanal-small scale mining, large scale, seasonal mining etc), the economic situation of the families and the involvement of parents in mining activities as well as the perceived impact of the mining activities on the communities; Mapping out relevant stakeholders in the ASMs sector in the country and identifying organisations and government institutions working in the sector that could be interesting partners for future programming; Collect the most relevant information about the policy and political landscape pertaining to the mining sector, with especial attention to minimum age in mining and hazardous work, and any recent policy direction regarding (critical) minerals in the country; Provide insights on the supply chain and the industry sectors using these minerals, i.e to whom the manganese and copper mined by these families and their children is sold, the role of possible middlemen and for which prices are the minerals sold Whenever possible, identify the next steps in the supply chain within Zambia and beyond, i.e the main importing countries (in Europe). 5. Expected deliverables The main expected outcome is reliable and insightful data on the occurrence of child labour in manganese and copper mining, and on the associated ecosystem of actors and policies, by means of stakeholder mapping, and qualitative interviews. This first exploratory approach is expected to yield findings that will inform future hotspots for field research and programming. The consultant is expected to deliver a final report of about max. 30 pages, including references with the following: A context analysis, including relevant policies and current political debates around the extraction of minerals and social sustainability issues with focus on minimum age in hazardous work, child protection and response to cases of child labour; Based on the findings, advise on the regions and mining sites/hotspots where in depth field research should take place next. List of the stakeholders and potential partner organisations to approach, including their expertise and contact persons; Technical advice and recommendations to guide programming options; Description of the qualitative methods used with stakeholders (such as focus group discussions, based on advice of expert), interviews with parents and caregivers and interviews with stakeholders (between 8-10 participants in total) based on guidelines and questionnaires shared with and commented by TdH NL. In addition, the final product of this consultancy entails providing all raw data and verbatim transcripts in original language of capture and with a translated version in English, as well as filled out note taking templates; The proposed research could take the following steps: October 2025: Preparatory phase and Stakeholder mapping: where collectively will be decided on focus mining sites/regions and research tools (e.g. interview guides, stakeholder mapping framework) will be developed. Furthermore, conducting a desk research to identify local, national and international organisations working on child labour, government and private sector stakeholders in the selected regions of Zambia, resulting in a stakeholder map categorised by which mineral (manganese/copper), geographic scope and other relevant factors. November 2025: Stakeholder engagement: Conducting 8-10 qualitative interviews (virtually and/or in-person) with selected stakeholders on different levels (community level, local level, national level, academia, experts) to explore the presence of child labour in manganese and copper mining. In the case of governmental and private sector stakeholders, also exploring if they are aware of child labour, if they have taken any measures to prevent, mitigate or cease this and if so, which ones. December 2025: Data analysis and reporting: synthesising findings from stakeholder mapping and interviews to highlight presence, key findings, trends, gaps and areas for further investigation. Based on the preliminary stakeholder mapping due in October, a 2-person fact finding mission from the CL team is expected to join the consultants during interviews to key stakeholders in November. The aim of this mission is to get to know the most important stakeholders and to get a better understanding of the situation on the ground, guided by the consultant. The consultant may decide to collaborate with other researchers on this assignment. All people working on this assignment should be detailed in the proposed work plan and their CVs should be added. Important to note: the assignment is primarily focused on data collection. The research methodology will largely be co-designed by Terre des Hommes Netherlands to ensure alignment with the scoping studies in other countries. The successful consultant will be engaged to 1) strengthen and adjust the methodology, 2) finding, selecting and preparing research participants, 3) carrying out the data collection activities, and 4) providing raw data and note taking templates to TdH NL. The successful applicant will also be engaged for validation activities with research participants. 6. Budget The available budget for this scoping study is 12,500 euros, incl. VAT and research and travel costs. 7. Profile and application process This is a temporary consultancy assignment based in Zambia. Desired consultants will have: Extensive experience in conducting participatory research and qualitative research methodologies, including focus group discussions and (small group) interviews; Strong understanding of (the worst forms of) child labour and its root causes; Preference for candidates from Zambia to ensure cultural and contextual understanding, speaking local languages to facilitate communication with the target groups; Ability to communicate in English and translate reports into English; Experience with co-designing research methodology is preferred; Available to start from 15 October or ASAP with a foreseen end date of December 15, 2025. Who can apply Any individual or agency - ideally based in Zambia - fitting the profile mentioned can apply. Agencies need to have no conflict of interest and a due diligence check will be part of the selection procedure. Important to no Tender Link : https://reliefweb.int/job/4178469/consultant-child-rights-stakeholder-engagement
