Disability Inclusive Localization Consultant – Ref#577970

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

For every child, hope.

Consultancy Title: Disability Inclusive Localization Consultant

Section/Division/Duty Station: Children with Disability, Programme Group, UNICEF NYHQ

Duration: 2 January 2025 to 31 December 2027

Home/ Office Based: NYHQ / Remote

About UNICEF 

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world’s leading children’s rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children’s survival, protection and development. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries.

BACKGROUND

Purpose of Activity/ Assignment:

This assignment will contribute to initiatives to strengthen disability-inclusive localization, with a particular focus on emergency preparedness. This assignment will build on work carried out by UNICEF in 2023 and 2024 to strengthen participation and leadership of local and national organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) in humanitarian action, expanding this work to engagement with a broader range of local and national actors for a more comprehensive approach to disability inclusive localization. With preparedness as a key entry point for strengthening disability inclusive localization, this assignment will also support UNICEF efforts to improve disability inclusion in preparedness processes.

The Disability Section doesn’t have funds to cover all planned activities. Some deliverables are planned to be completed if additional resources become available. 

Scope of Work:

This assignment is focused on the implementation of a Disability Reference Group (DRG) project titled “Delivering on commitments to disability inclusive humanitarian action” with a particular focus on accountability to the donor (USAID/BHA) and supporting partnership arrangements for project implementation. In addition, this assignment will be focused on engaging with UNICEF headquarters divisions, regional offices and country offices to strengthen disability inclusion in UNICEF preparedness and localization policies and procedures.

This assignment will have 4 interconnected objectives:

• Strengthen UNICEF’s capacity at Headquarters (HQ), Regional Office (RO) and Country Office (CO) to engage effectively with national and local organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) in humanitarian action, with a focus on preparedness.
• Informed by activities in countries and regions, including through the DRG project, strengthen UNICEF engagement in global policy dialogue on localization with regards to disability inclusion.
• Strengthen capacity of local actors to engage in disability inclusive humanitarian action, with a focus on emergency preparedness.
• Improve disability inclusion in preparedness processes, as a key entry point for disability inclusive and localized humanitarian action

Across these 4 objectives, the assignment will involve development of technical resources, documentation of good practice and learning, and provision of technical inputs to UNICEF and system wide policy, guidance and training on localization and preparedness. The assignment will also provide direct project management support to the BHA project including: keeping track of the project implementation plan and flagging any delays or other issues; preparation of project reports and other donor requirements, based on inputs from UNICEF and partners involved in project implementation; provision of support to the effective functioning of across various outcomes of the project, including coordination across Operational Groups set up for project implementation, compiling agendas, preparing background materials, documenting agreements and action points; and provision of close support to partnership arrangements between UNICEF and partners, including working with relevant administrative focal points to ensure that all requirements are met.

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

Organize technical sessions with UNICEF ROs and COs to review and refine UNICEF guidance and checklist on disability inclusive preparedness 

• UNICEF guidance and checklist on disability inclusive preparedness revised based on inputs from consultation (28 March 2025)

Develop training material on disability-inclusive preparedness, with components for UNICEF staff and partners, and components to be used by local and national partners in capacity sharing initiatives

• Comprehensive training package with user guides for diverse stakeholders (UNICEF staff, local partners, OPDs) (1 June 2025)

Conduct capacity-building sessions on disability-inclusive preparedness 

• Delivery of 6 online or in-person training sessions regionally, with post-training evaluations (1 September 2025)

Document good practices in disability-inclusive localization and preparedness. 

• Case study compendium with 3-5 examples and actionable recommendations for stakeholders (1 December 2025)

Keep track of the DRG project implementation plan and flag any delays or other issues to DRG co-chairs 

• 6 read-outs (max 1 page) to the DRG co-chairs on progress against agreed workplan and any upcoming milestones, deliverables etc (1 December 2025)

Prepare project reports and other donor requirements for the DRG project 

• 4 progress reports + 2 biannual reports (1 February 2025, 1 May 2025, 1 July 2025, 1 September 2025, 1 October 2025, 1 November 2025)

Provide support to the effective functioning of 3 outcome area of the DRG project

• At least 6 meetings agendas and notes (1 December 2025)

Integrate disability inclusion into UNICEF and interagency localization frameworks. 

• 5 Disability-inclusive action plans on localization developed collaboratively with at least 5 UNICEF COs (1 March 2026)

Strengthen local OPD capacity for inclusive preparedness strategies. 

• Small grants provided to 5 local OPDs, under the BHA funded project, with documented outcomes and recommendations (1 June 2026)

Enhance the accessibility of UNICEF Etools and monitoring systems. 

• A set of accessibility updates for Etools, with an implementation framework for continued improvements (1 September 2026)

Develop a sustainability framework for disability-inclusive localization. 

• Endorsed roadmap for sustaining disability-inclusive localization efforts beyond the consultancy period (1 December 2026)

Keep track of the DRG project implementation plan and flag any delays or other issues to DRG co-chairs 

• 6 read-outs (max 1 page) to the DRG co-chairs on progress against agreed workplan and any upcoming milestones, deliverables etc (1 December 2026)

Prepare project reports and other donor requirements for the DRG project 

• 4 progress report + 2 biannual report (1 February 2026, 1 May 2026, 1 July 2026, 1 September 2026, 1 October 2026, 1 November 2026)

Provide support to the effective functioning of 3 outcome area of the DRG project

• At least 6 meetings agendas and notes (1 December 2026)

Scale and replicate successful disability-inclusive localization models. 

• 5 Implementation plans for scaling successful models in at least 5 additional countries, with associated resource guides (1 June 2027)

Establish community-based monitoring systems for disability-inclusive localization.

• Framework and toolkit for community-based monitoring developed and piloted in 3 countries (1 September 2027)

Document global progress and lessons learned from disability-inclusive localization and preparedness efforts 

• Comprehensive progress report with updated recommendations for global and local stakeholders (1 December 2027)

Keep track of the DRG project implementation plan and flag any delays or other issues to DRG co-chairs 

• 6 read-outs (max 1 page) to the DRG co-chairs on progress against agreed workplan and any upcoming milestones, deliverables etc (1 December 2027)

Prepare project reports and other donor requirements for the DRG project 

• 4 progress report + 2 biannual report (1 February 2027, 1 May 2027,1 July 2027, 1 September 2027, 1 October 2027, 1 November 2027)

Provide support to the effective functioning of 3 outcome area of the DRG project

• At least 6 meetings agendas and notes (1 December 2027)

Provide close support to partnership arrangements for the DRG project 

• Closure of 2 partnership agreements (1 December 2027)

Qualifications

Education: 

Advanced university degree (Masters) in the area of Education, pedagogy/andragogy, social work, social sciences, public affairs, human rights/humanitarian law, or other relevant disciplines.

Work experience:

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required *: 

• A minimum of seven (7) years of progressively professional experience in supporting project management and implementation in international organizations
• Understanding of and commitment to the rights of persons with disabilities is a requirement
• Strong organization and writing skills are essential
• Experience engaging with national and local organizations, especially with organizations of persons with disabilities, in humanitarian action is a strong asset
• Experience with multi-partner projects is highly desirable
• Familiarity with humanitarian action systems and processes is an asset
• Fluency in English (written and verbal) is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is an asset.

Requirements:

Completed profile in UNICEF’s e-Recruitment system and

• Upload copy of academic credentials
• Financial proposal that will include/ reflect :
• the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference.
• travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR.
• Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.
• Indicate your availability
• Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.
• At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.
• Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

U.S. Visa information:

With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4. 

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. View our competency framework at: Here

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check. 

Remarks: 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants. Consultants are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts. 

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