Consultant home-based, Disability Inclusive Education, WCAR, Regional Office, Dakar-Senegal

Contract

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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, Education

In order to provide technical support to these Country Office initiatives and in line with the global momentum to strengthen advocacy, data and evidence, capacity-building and programming for children with disabilities, the Regional Office for Western and Central Africa (WCARO) will recruit a consultant on disability inclusive education to undertake strategic activities that will help drive the agenda around disability inclusion in education in 9 countries in WCAR, including for those affected by humanitarian emergencies, and strengthen cross-sectoral approaches to advance the disability-inclusion agenda in the region.;

How can you make a difference?

The strategic areas of work of this position to achieve this objective are:

1. Develop a technical guidance note on the operationalization of the global UNICEF disability inclusion policy and strategy (DIPAS) in WCAR to strengthen disability inclusive education programming and its cross-sectoral approach in the region.
2. Adapt available training modules and train Disability focal points of 9 UNICEF country offices on disability inclusive education.
3. Support 9 countries to develop country action plans and/or to implement work plans for strengthening disability inclusive education to align with the education sector plans and to reinforce existing education data management systems based on secondary data analyses completed in 2022.
4. Identify and write-up case studies on disability-inclusive education from selected countries (e.g., Ghana) and develop regional toolkits for knowledge management, advocacy and resource mobilization.

Scope of work with key activities

The consultant will conduct below key activities:

1. Develop a technical guidance note on the operationalization of the global UNICEF disability inclusion policy and strategy in WCAR to strengthen disability inclusive education programming in the region and its cross-sectoral approach.

Support the contextualization of the global UNICEF Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy (DIPAS) 2022-2030 by translating the global strategy into contextualized technical guidance note on how to operationalize the policy and strategy in WCAR. Provide expert advice to the Regional Office (RO) and support Country Offices (COs) to improve disability inclusive education programming in the region by strengthening the mainstreaming of disability inclusion into education programmes, communications, and in the formulation of all UNICEF strategic documents (e.g. CPDs, HAC). Also support disability-inclusive education programming in emergencies and protracted crises and the integration of disability inclusion into cross-sectoral programming within the RO and COs.

2. Adapt available training modules and train Disability focal points of 9 UNICEF country offices and at least 5 Government staff (1 planner, 2 disability experts, 1 budget staff, 1 M&E staff) per country on disability inclusive education.

To increase knowledge and understanding on disability inclusive education planning and programming at the regional and country levels, and in collaboration with HQ and other regions, collect, adapt and contextualize available training modules for programme staff and train disability focal points from at least 9 countries that have completed the secondary data analysis of the MICs6 survey data. Topics may include how to reinforce existing education management information systems.

3. Support 9 countries to develop country action plans and/or to implement work plans for strengthening disability inclusive education in education sector plans and to reinforce existing education data management systems based on secondary data analyses completed in 2022.

In 2021/2022, nine countries in WCAR completed secondary data analysis that has provided data and evidence needed to support governments to revisit and strengthen their disability inclusive policies and strategies. The consultant will support these countries to: a) develop country action plans to be progressively integrated into education sector plans, b) implement existing work plans for mainstreaming disability inclusive education, and/or c) mainstream disability inclusion in the planning process (including CPD), by providing technical assistance to guide them in the process. These action plans will be presented at country and regional levels for national and regional endorsements.

4. Identify and write-up case studies on disability-inclusive education from selected countries (e.g., Ghana) and develop a regional multi-country funding proposal and/or regional toolkits, based on secondary data analyses completed in 2022, for knowledge management, advocacy and resource mobilization.

Support Country Offices to generate knowledge products (case studies, etc.) on CO education programming on children with disabilities. In collaboration with Communication and Partnership teams, develop a regional multi-country funding proposal and/or regional materials/toolkits on disability inclusive education using evidence from key findings from the secondary data analysis on disability and other relevant source.

Deliverable and schedules

Deliverable

By when

% payment

Inception Report with workplan

15 days from signing of contract

30%

Technical guidance note

End of month 2.5

20%

Training modules and training of 54 UNICEF and Government staff completed

End of month 6

20%

9 country action plans with a regional funding proposal and/or toolkit developed and endorsed

End of month 9

20%

5 knowledge products written up, submitted and approved

End of month 11

10%

Timing

The consultancy will start on 1 December 2022 and end on 31 October 2023.

Reporting Requirements

The consultant will report to The Regional Education Advisor.

The consultant will work closely with relevant WCARO and HQ staff, CO Education staff, in coordination and communication with WCARO Communication/Advocacy staff.

The consultancy will be home-based with a travel to Dakar as well as possible travels to the 9 Country Offices upon their request.

Payment will be made as per delivery schedule above upon satisfactory completion of planned deliverables.

Administrative Issues

The consultancy is a 11-month full-time contract, home-based with some travels, with possible extension based on the availability of funding and performance. The consultant will need to provide his/her own laptop.

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

Education:

Advanced university degree (minimum masters) in studies related to disability issues. Candidates with qualifications in social policy, international development or other related fields will also be considered if they also have extensive experience working on disability issues and expertise in this field.

Work Experience:

• A minimum of seven years of professional experience working on issues related to persons or children with disabilities in the context of low-and middle-income countries.
• Strong technical experience of national regional and/or global level work on disability issues, including programme planning and implementing and guiding monitoring and evaluation efforts.
• Experience supporting disability inclusion in emergency context is an asset.
• Experience working in the West and Central Africa region is an asset.
• Experience working with UN Agencies and/or other international development organizations and of UN programming and planning processes is an asset.

Competencies:

• Strong and positive interpersonal communication skills and ability to work effectively with others
• Strong and effective coordination skills across multiple partners at different levels
• Competence in using Microsoft programmes (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) as well as SharePoint
• Competence using other key online tools such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom and in organizing activities on these platforms
• Ability to work independency and responsibly

Language Proficiency:

• Fluency in English and French; working knowledge of Spanish and/or Portuguese a plus.

UNICEF is an inclusive organization and we do provide reasonable accommodation for candidates who may need them during the recruitment process, please let us know if you have a need for any such considerations during your recruitment.

For every Child, you demonstrate :

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

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:

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.

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.