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. 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:

Education is a critical component of emergency response. During emergencies, all children need continuous access to quality education opportunities, provided through safe and protective learning environments, for them to stay safe and learn effectively as well as to access child protection and humanitarian interventions/services delivered through schools. However, for children with disabilities access is often inequitable due to compounded barriers such as stigma and discrimination, inaccessible services, and invisibility in data. Exclusion from education can also result in exclusion from other services and opportunities for socialization with peers, resulting in isolation and increased risk of abuse and violence. For girls with disabilities, these barriers and their impacts can be compounded.

To support optimal development for children with disabilities and fulfil their right to education in emergencies, it is essential that those on the frontline responding to various humanitarian crises have the required knowledge and technical expertise to appropriately plan for and implement quality inclusive education in emergencies interventions, considering the various stages including preparedness, response, and recovery/reconstruction.

To contribute to building this capacity, UNICEF and the Global Education Cluster are seeking a disability-inclusive education in emergencies consultant to carry out two streams of work: (1) to facilitate and organize knowledge sharing and capacity development events and, (2) to develop tools to improve frontline workers’ access to existing technical resources on disability inclusive education in emergencies. While several guidance and tools exist either at country level or globally, there is a need to design a road map/decision tool to help stakeholders to identify the right resource, or set of resources, at the right time.

Scope of Work:

Under the supervision of the Education Specialist (Inclusive Education) and with guidance from the core working group, the consultant will identify concrete operational challenges faced by practitioners to implement disability inclusive education in emergencies and:

1. Organize and facilitate a webinar featuring relevant experts and practices from countries in response to one or more of the identified operational challenges and based on developed case studies of inclusive education in emergencies programmes.

2. Organize and facilitate an interactive knowledge sharing event such as an online deep dive, virtual Q&A, virtual roundtable, etc. to facilitate sharing of experiences and knowledge across countries.

3. Develop one or more roadmaps/decision tools in response to challenges to facilitate rapid access to appropriate resources and support mechanisms for stakeholders. Identified operational challenges include but are not limited to:

• Selection of assistive products and devices for inclusive education in emergencies

• Inclusive and accessible digital learning content and media

• Accessibility of learning spaces

• Cross-sectoral planning and service delivery

• Identification of barriers to inclusive education and reasonable accommodations

• Identification of children with disabilities/data collection in emergencies

• MHPSS support for children with disabilities

• Addressing stigma and discrimination

• Teacher/facilitator capacity building on inclusive education, including classroom management.

The consultant will also develop a dissemination plan and organize, facilitate, and participate in dissemination events. All work will be carried out in consultation with partners, relevant sectors, and relevant regional/country office UNICEF personnel.

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

Deliverable 1:

Inception report – draft 1

By April 3rd, 2024

Deliverable 2:

Key challenges documented in project report

By April 17th, 2024

Deliverable 3:

Inception report – final

By April 22nd, 2024

Deliverable 4:

List of key resources and relevant sections/chapters categorized by operational challenge and availability in other languages.

By May 6th, 2024

Deliverable 5:

Decision tool(s) presenting key operational challenges related to disability inclusive education in emergencies, with protocol on how to utilize the tool(s), copy edited, proofread and ready for publication.

By June 3rd, 2024

Deliverable 6:

Dissemination webinar

By June 20th, 2024

Deliverable 7:

Webinar on inclusive education in emergencies.

By May 3rd, 2024

Deliverable 8:

Knowledge sharing event on inclusive education in emergencies.

By June 30th, 2024

Qualifications

Education:

• Masters in Advanced degree in relevant field, preferably education, international development, human development or social sciences, economics

Work experience:

• Minimum of 5-8 years professional experience in the field of disability-inclusive education and/or education in emergencies.
• Experience working with different stakeholders including humanitarian actors, organizations or persons with disabilities, and UN agencies.

Competencies/Knowledge:

• Knowledge of global developments and strategies in the area of education in emergencies.
• Excellent written English language skills.
• Excellent writing skills and ability to synthesize complex information and issues.
• Strong analytical and conceptual thinking.
• Ability to organize and plan complex work following the established timeframes.
• Ability to coordinate and work effectively with others and facilitate partner engagement.

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.