Consultancy: Team Member: To undertake the scoping for the Evaluation of UNICEF work on Disability Inclusion, Evaluation Office, NYHQ, USA (60 days)- Remote

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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, evaluate:

The Evaluation Office (EO), at UNICEF HQ in New York provides global leadership and oversight for the evaluation function. The office is responsible for developing an agenda and work plan to evaluate UNICEF's programmes and processes. We conduct and/or manage independent corporate evaluations and evaluation syntheses, provide technical assistance and quality assurance for evaluations commissioned at the decentralised level (country and regional offices, as well as other divisions in HQ offices), and develop evaluation methods. EO has committed to undertake a cross-sectoral evaluation of the UNICEF work on Disability Inclusion. A rapid review of the inclusion of children with disability themes in evaluations revealed that most of them did not sufficiently cover issues or were limited in scope to respective thematic areas. This approach is likely to have missed out important lessons on what factors interact to bring about the success or lack of success of interventions aimed at including children with disabilities.

How can you make a difference?

The purpose of this consultancy is to undertake a scoping exercise of the UNICEF work on disability inclusion, that will include a disability readiness assessment both which will serve as a baseline that will inform the design of the evaluation. The scoping and readiness assessments report will also partly inform the development of the Disability Inclusion Strategy and Action Plan, which is currently underway.

Following the 2018 United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy, this strategy should aim at guiding work on (i) programmatic sectors/areas, (ii) institutional systems and processes, (iii) inter-agency coordination mechanisms on disability inclusions are to be discussed. UNICEF portfolio on children with disabilities includes the following approaches:

• Protecting the rights of children with disabilities has been an integral part of UNICEF programming since the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) – the first international treaty to explicitly recognize the rights of children with disabilities. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is the foundational guiding instrument behind UNICEF's work in this area with its roots in human rights, non-discrimination, and equity. While the CRC provides a good basis for the rights of children with disabilities, it is the CRPD that comprehensively and explicitly considers every aspect of the lives of children with disabilities beyond social participation, and is formulated on the basis of the current model of disability – the social model.
• UNICEF supports governments in more than 140 countries to further the rights of children with disabilities, through policy, cross-sectoral programming, strengthening data, and advocacy and awareness campaigns. UNICEF upholds the rights of children with disabilities, from promoting their best possible care to supporting their education and participation.
• UNICEF is supporting governments to strengthen the knowledge base and national data collection systems around disability, providing technical assistance to countries through the Child Functioning Module (CFM) launched in 2016 with the Washington Group on Disability Statistics. The use of the module in national surveys is a key milestone and an essential part of the contribution UNICEF has made to countries in the monitoring of the SDGs for children with disabilities. Since 2021, 37 survey reports have been released with data on children collected through the CFM.
• UNICEF is working with partners to support policy development and procurement strategies to scale up provision of assistive devices worldwide. Integrating supplies into regular programmes through market-shaping and procurement mechanisms, UNICEF has rapidly scaled up the provision of assistive devices and accessible products in emergency kits, reaching over 152,000 children with disabilities globally in 2020.
• Support outreach services to families with young children to identify and respond to any disabilities at an early age, giving children a chance to reach their potential and keeping families together.
• Support to make schools inclusive and child-focused, recognizing that the obstacles to learning and participation are not the 'fault' of a child's impairment, but rather the capacity of schools to remove those obstacles.
• Changing attitudes towards children with disabilities is a core UNICEF obligation. UNICEF has long term recognition for leading the work on Social Behaviour Change for inclusion of Children with Disabilities or C4D, applying C4D approaches. UNICEF strives to build a stigma-free world where disability inclusion is embedded in each pillar: a. supply working with service providers to ensure availability, accessibility, affordability of services b. demand, by empowering children, youth with disabilities and their families to seek inclusive services, c. enabling environment, where laws and legislations are becoming inclusive of all.
• In humanitarian contexts, UNICEF works to ensure that children and adolescents with disabilities have equal access to assistance and opportunities to participate in the response.

Objectives:

The scoping report will also help identify key stakeholders, including primary and secondary users, methodology and evaluation design, and understand better their stake with the view of the increasing use of the evaluation and ownership. The readiness assessment will provide an overview of the status of UNICEF disability integration vis-à-vis five dimensions of analyses, positioning, approach, technical capacities, partnerships, and resources. These will guide the team recruited for the second phase (execution of the corporate evaluation).

The objectives of the scoping and readiness assessment exercises are:

• To identify key issues in the existing literature on UNICEF portfolio on children with disabilities, focusing on the UNICEF areas of work outlined above.
• To identify innovative strategies, elements and aspects of UNICEF's work in this area; and take stock of promising models and practices that could inform a potential analytical framework.
• To adequately assess the evaluation information needs of the different UNICEF stakeholders,
• To assess the evidence gaps with respect of UNICEF portfolio on children with disabilities. will assess the extent to which the scope, ownership, structure, ambition, and clear accountabilities at all levels of UNICEF disability work and institutional integration are backed by organizational resources (capacities, partnerships, financial).
• To identify perceptions, information and resource gaps, as well as existing challenges that the organization face, with an analytical focus at the country office level, in integrating disabilities into UNICEF programmatic work and institutional operations, systems, and processes.
• To recognize the barriers and challenges that may complicate the evaluation process.
• To identify countries in which the evaluation could potentially take place.
• To define the Draft Terms of References for the evaluation of UNICEF work in contribution to the reduction of child poverty.

Tasks:

• Develop an inception report with the proposed methodology on how to go about the assignment. Among other topics, the methodology could include stakeholder analysis and mapping, risk analysis, evidence gaps, others.
• Gather, classify and annotate relevant documents (sector publications, grey literature, data, evaluation evidence and latest developments in disabilities, including on UNICEF's mandate, roles, procedures, capacities, partnerships and actions in this area), and distil issues that are of relevance to the planned evaluation.
• Organise and conduct remote interviews with key informants within UNICEF and a few from outside (with the support of the EO).
• Undertake an online survey of UNICEF and partners at all levels that have been involved in programming for children with disabilities
• Develop draft terms of reference for the corporate evaluation, including the scope and overall approach of the evaluation. This should include the purpose, objectives, thematic coverage, time and geographical frame, evaluation questions, criteria, analytical framework and design, methods, benchmarks for evaluative judgment and how a human rights and gender perspective will be incorporated in the evaluation design.
• Prepare a scoping and readiness assessment report on the most relevant issues for the evaluation team to consider minding the users and stakeholder's preferences during phase 1 scoping of the evaluation .
• Facilitate a discussion/workshop on the proposed draft terms of reference with key stakeholders.
• Adjust the terms of reference for the evaluation, as necessary, and finalize in preparation of phase 2.

Approach and Methodology:

• A brief context analysis: In the framework of the CRC, CRPD UNDIS, a summary of the main economic, social and political processes that influence the work of UNICEF in the inclusion of children with disabilities at global, regional and country levels. This may include the key determinants and barriers, relevant partnerships, actual or potential.
• A review of existing evaluation studies and UNICEF-led research to identify the evidence gaps and potential approaches and methods to inform the final TORS and Corporate evaluate UNICEF portfolio on children with disabilities.
• A guidance that would include a risk analysis in the final TOR for the evaluation that may affect the conduct of the proposed evaluation and mitigation strategies.
• Identification or scan of available data to inform an evaluation design, including readiness (fit for use) of any available data (secondary) for the proposed global evaluation.
• An online Survey of COs/ROs to inform any of the above or gather any further information, as deemed appropriate (to be carried out with EO support).

Deliverables:

• Short inception report, describing Interpretation of the terms of reference, the approach to the assignment, a brief summary of selected literature on scientific knowledge and programming solutions that maximize the likelihood of achieving development outcomes for children with disabilities and updated work plan (5-7 pages).
• PowerPoint presentation to be delivered during a workshop on the Inception Report and the experience of piloting the approach
• Scoping and readiness assessment report, including evaluation options report and Draft Terms of reference for the evaluation describing the reviewed documentation, the inputs from the key informants interviewed, the various options for the evaluation scope and approach, the choices made, and their rationale (e.g., why some aspects have been included or excluded from the evaluation scope and methodological approach). No longer than 60 pages, excluding annexes.
• PowerPoint presentation to be delivered during a workshop on the findings of the scoping and readiness assessment exercises and evaluation options and terms of reference for the evaluation.
• Final Draft of Evaluation Terms of reference

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have...

• Advanced university degree (Master or equivalent) in evaluation, international development, social sciences or disability inclusion related studies.
• At least 7 years of relevant professional work experience in international development related to monitoring and evaluation.
• Current knowledge in children with disabilities issues and prior experience with the UNICEF approach to programming for children with disabilities.
• Skills in reviewing and analyzing a high number of documents rapidly and in conducting interviews.
• Mixed-methods evaluation skills and flexibility in using non-traditional and innovative methods.
• Facilitation skills, particularly the design of stakeholder consultations exercises.
• Strong written and oral communication skills and ability to collaborate with various people/teams. Computer literacy in Word, Excel and PowerPoint .
• Solid organizational skills: the ability to work rapidly without compromising on rigour and quality.
• Fluency in English is a must, and knowledge of additional UN languages would be considered an asset.

Duty Station & Travels:

The team will be home-based, with travel possibilities to NYHQ and up to four countries if this will be required, though not anticipated due to COVID-19 safety concerns and restrictions.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

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.

How to apply:

The deadline for applications is midnight 7 November 2021 (New York time).

Individuals are requested to send their proposal by email to evalofficeapplications@unicef.org. Applications must include technical and financial proposals:

Applications must include:

• 5-10 pages proposal on their understanding of Unicef work on children with disabilities and proposed team.
  • Daily consultancy rate(s) (in USD)
• P-11 form(filled in for each team member), which can be downloaded from http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/P11.doc
• CV, which should include up-to-date contact details of at least three reference persons.
• Short cover letter with the following information:
  • Description of the applicant's interest and relevant qualification/work experience for this assignment.

Remarks:

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

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract 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 and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors 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.