Disability Specialist (P-4), FT, Programme Group Leadership Team - Disability, Brussels, Belgium

Contract

This is a P-4 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 7 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 171,387 USD and 220,969 USD.

Please keep in mind that the salary displayed here is an estimation by UN Talent based on the location and the type of contract. It may vary depending on the organization. The recruiter should be able to inform you about the exact salary range. In case the job description contains another salary information, please refer to this one.

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.

UNICEF’s 2021 global data report reveals that an estimated one in every 10 children in the world – 240 million children – have a disability. The rights of children with disabilities have always been a critical part of UNICEF’s work. Currently, more than 140 UNICEF country offices are implementing programmes for children with disabilities in education; child protection; water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH); health and nutrition, social policy and cross-sectoral areas.

In February 2023, UNICEF launched its first Disability Inclusion Policy And strategy (DIPAS) for the period 2022-2030.

The location of the post in UNICEF Brussels is in consideration of both the proximity to European Donors and to UNICEF regional and country offices. At least 25% of the post will support engagement with European donors, particularly the EU and more than 50% will engage with the field to support the DIPAS implementation.

For every child, a change……

Under the guidance of the global lead on Disability Rights and Development, and working in close collaboration with regional disability and sectoral disability specialists the programme specialist will:

• Coordinate programme related technical assistance and capacity support to regional and country offices for greater inclusion of children with disabilities and DIPAS implementation.
• Strengthen partnerships and advocacy in particular with European Union and other partners to mobilize support for greater inclusion of children with disabilities
• Enhance inter-divisional collaboration for effective DIPAS implementation.

How can you make a difference?

Coordinate programme related technical assistance and capacity building support to regional and country offices to translate general guidance into concrete actions on disability inclusion and DIPAS implementation (60%)

• Envision programme related technical assistance and support required by RO, CO for effective implementation of DIPAS and develop options for making such assistance/ support available to the field;
• Coordinate the development of global guidance and technical resources as appropriate for the programmatic implementation of DIPAS in close collaboration with sectoral specialists and focal points
• Facilitate development of guidance on cross-sectoral strategic priority areas and its translation into action for more efficient and effective outcomes for children with disabilities, with support from disability team
• Provide oversight of guidance development, technical assistance and partnership in areas where sectors do not have embedded disability inclusion capacity and expertise
• In close coordination with DAPM and RO disability specialists and focal points, coordinate technical support to inclusive CPDs and ROMP in line with DIPAS
• Coordinate and provide technical support on disability inclusion, including DIPAS implementation to ROs that do not have yet full time disability specialists.
• Develop and manage a helpdesk mechanism in close coordination with sectoral/regional specialists and focal points making the most of internal and external resources
• Envision and put in place a quality assurance system of technical support and resource development
• Maintain available and effective capacity on disability inclusion through roster of consultants (individual and institutional) specialized in disability inclusion, and LTAs that are available for use by HQ, RO and CO levels
• Coordinate with organisations having LTAs (managed by other teams) and consultants on roster to ensure growing availability of capacities to respond to technical request of UNICEF COs, including via joint training.
• Support analysis of global monitoring data for trends on disability programming, to inform capacity development related to programme design and delivery.

Strengthen Partnerships and advocacy with European partners (25%)

• Under the guidance of the Deputy Director Programmes in UNICEF Brussels office, develop strategic partnerships with European Union Institutions to advance inclusion of children with disabilities both in development and humanitarian contexts in both the EUs external and internal action.
• Engage with relevant EU Parliament Committees and the Council Presidency to influence EU policies, legislation and budgets to enhance disability inclusion notably for children with disabilities and their families.
• Promote new partnerships and resource mobilization, including innovative financing modalities which crowd in private sector funding, with EU counterparts for disability inclusion, engaging closely with UNICEF Headquarters and Regional Office colleagues, to identify the needs and opportunities.
• Advise and support Country Offices on engagement with EU delegations on disability and inclusion of DIPAS implementation in proposals to the EU.
• Enhance resource mobilization and advocacy on disability inclusion and DIPAS implementation, with particular focus on Europe based bilateral, multilateral, private donors and National Committees.
• Advise and support the Deputy Director of Programmes, UNICEF Brussels Office, to mainstream disability inclusion into partnership discussions, including in concept notes, briefing notes, proposals and agreements.
• In close collaboration with sectoral and regional disability specialists, participate in and coordinate UNICEF’s technical contribution and involvement in intergovernmental processes and strengthen engagement with partners from the disability community and other strategic organisations working on disability (IDA, IDDC and their respective members). Tap into these partners’ expertise in shaping UNICEF’s advocacy and programming around disability
• Represent the global lead, as required, in inter-agency partnerships and advocacy

Enhance Inter-Divisional engagement for DIPAS implementation (15%)

• Collaborate with DAPM, Office of Research and foresight, evaluation office, sectoral and regional disability specialists and focal points to identify major gaps in evidence of DIPAS implementation and to identify most appropriate ways to fill these information gaps.
• Contribute to inter-divisional coordination of DIPAS implementation
• Coordinate closely with Culture and Diversity disability specialist leading on inclusive organisation and operations for comprehensive and coherent capacity development and technical assistance.
• Provide advice and guidance to relevant Divisional Disability focal points to ensure that the key commitments of the DIPAS are being implemented.

Managerial responsibility across the abovementioned areas

• Supervise member(s) of the disability team and act as OIC for Global Lead on Disability as required
• Support the induction and orientation to the regional role, of new regional disability inclusion specialists
• Mentoring of interns, UN Volunteers and others, as relevant
• Manage individual consultants.

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

• Advanced University degree in the area of disability studies, international development, human rights, social sciences, or another relevant technical field is required.
• A minimum of 8 (eight) years of professional experience of working on issues of childhood disability, at least four years of which should be in the context of low and middle income countries is required.
• Significant work experience at global, regional and national level in support to disability inclusion is an asset.
• Significant experience in technical support for inclusive programming across sectors (remote/in-country) is desirable
• Proven experience in managing and implementing complex, cross-cutting / cross-sectoral programmes in international context, is an asset.
• Experience in building networks, professional relationships, and ownership among diverse stakeholders in a cross-cutting way, internally and externally is desirable.
• Clearly demonstrated ability to conceptualize development issues.
• Fluency in English (written and verbal) is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, Russian, French or Spanish) is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability (CRITA), and sustainability

Please click Here to view UNICEF's core values and Here to view our competency framework.

UNICEF competencies required for this post are.

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (3)
• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)
• Works Collaboratively with others (2)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (2)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (2)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

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 including everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

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 is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

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.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.

Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid).

Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government before taking up an assignment with UNICEF.

UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

“UNICEF only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/”

For more information on remuneration and benefits, please visit UNICEF’s Entitlements’ page. If you would like to find estimates for entitlements, you may use the online Salary Estimate Calculator

• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
• Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.