National Consultant: Technical assistance in development and writing of a joint UN Proposal aimed at advancing the equality and inclusion of persons with disabilities

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Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

The United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Multi-Partner Trust Fund (UNPRPD MPTF) is a unique collaboration that brings together UN entities, governments, organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs), and broader civil society to advance the rights of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and disability inclusive Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The UN Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (PRPD) is dedicated to the implementation of the CRPD. The PRPD recognizes a rights-based approach to disability, as detailed in the CRPD and its associated guidance. The CRPD continues to drive discourse on disability inclusive development, and despite progress in countries that are monitoring and reporting on their progress in implementing the CRPD, countries struggle to transform the CRPD into concrete policies, systems, programs and services that uphold the rights of persons with disabilities. Furthermore, with the implementation of the SDGs underway, it is urgent that governments and their implementation partners deliver on their SDG commitments through CRPD-compliant interventions.

Disability inclusion in North Macedonia has gained traction with the CRPD ratification and its Optional Protocol in 2011. The progress with deinstitutionalization, made possible with the UNPRPD support, revealed the complexity, gaps and opportunities for scaling up CRPD implementation and disability inclusive development. The Government remains committed to equality and inclusion, including persons with disabilities. Capitalizing on the progress made, it aims to accelerate and deepen systemic reforms and give effect to the preconditions necessary for disability inclusion into policies, programs and services that are aligned with international norms and standards.

The UN Country Team successfully applied for the fourth call for proposals of the UNPRPD Multi-Partner Trust Fund, to jointly develop a country-level programme with the objectives to:

1. advance CRPD implementation at the country level by focusing on the essential preconditions for disability inclusion across sectors, translating these into concrete policies, programs, and / or services which lead to systemic changes through a cohesive, inter-sectoral approach.
2. improve and increase the implementation of disability inclusive SDGs at the country level by providing fundamental support to the UN’s collective response to the SDGs to address national priorities and gaps concerning persons with disabilities in national planning.

Within the inception phase activities, following the UNPRPD Joint Program Induction Training on Cross-cutting Approaches and Preconditions for Disability Inclusive Development, and completion of a multi-sector and multi-stakeholder situational analysis, an UNPRPD Project Proposal will be developed, with full participation of all partners, in order to outline the proposed program objectives, activities, outputs, and outcomes, establish an agreement on targets, roles, and timelines.

Scope of work:

In the frame of the joint UN activities conducted by the UN Country Team, UNICEF is seeking to engage national consultant to support the process of development and writing of a joint UN Proposal aimed at advancing the equality and inclusion of persons with disabilities through systemic reform. The proposal should outline the proposed program objectives, activities, outputs, and outcomes, as well as the structure and nature of the multi-stakeholder partnership that will drive the implementation of the program. In should be based on the learning from the Induction Workshop and Situational Analysis, which will be delivered/conducted prior to development of the proposal. In addition, the proposal should include a full program budget and monitoring and evaluation framework. The proposal should be developed in participatory manner, including all potential program partners, such as participating UN organizations, government stakeholders, OPDs, and civil society, and additional stakeholders.

The objectives of the proposal should cover two specific areas:

1) advancing CRPD implementation in the country level by focusing on the essential preconditions for disability inclusion across sectors, translating these into concrete policies, programs, and/or services which lead to systemic changes through a cohesive, inter-sectoral approach, and

2) improving and increasing the implementation of disability inclusive SDGs at the country level by providing fundamental support to the UN’s collective response to the SDGs – including UNCTs, governments, OPDs, and civil society – to address national priorities and gaps concerning persons with disabilities in their national planning to advance the SDGs.

Deliverables/Outputs

1. Organize consultations with government, OPDs, other institutions and organisations on scope and structure of the proposal:

- Plan and organize consultations

- Define the scope and structure of the proposal based on the feedback

- Present and discuss the proposed scope and structure of the proposal with UN team

- Finalize the inputs from consultations

2. Development of proposal

- Develop initial structure, objectives and framework of the proposal

- Conduct desk review and gather information and data for a comprehensive proposal

- Finalize the proposal along with a results framework

3. Monitoring and evaluation planning

- Develop initial framework for monitoring and evaluation

- Conduct analysis and gather information from relevant stakeholders

- Finalize the monitoring and evaluation framework

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

• Advanced university degree in the social sciences, health, education and economy, or related field
• At least five (5) years of relevant professional experience on human rights related issues, particularly writing programmes, reports and development of monitoring frameworks
• Experience with conducting rights-based and equity-focused programming on the situation of persons with disabilities
• An understanding of pre-conditions for inclusion: equality and non-discrimination, gender, accessibility, participation of persons with disabilities, CRPD-compliant budgeting & financial management, and accountability and governance
• Strong analytical skills with experience in quantitative and qualitative data analysis
• Effective communication, interpersonal skills and sensitivity to diverse cultural contexts and situations
• Planning, organizational and monitoring skills
• Previous experience with the UN will be considered an asset
• Excellent verbal and writing skills in English

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are...

[insert competencies]

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Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

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.