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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, hope

UNICEF Ukraine

How can you make a difference? 

Background:

Over the last few years, inclusion of children with disabilities has become one of the main policy priorities in Ukraine. Ukrainian government implements a number of national reforms to ensure protection of rights of all children, especially the most deprived who are often the children with disabilities. The National Better Care Reform for ensuring the right of every child for family environment, is specifically emphasises on disability inclusive programs and services for all children, including those with disabilities and developmental delays. In collaboration with UNICEF and other essential partners, the Government of Ukraine launched "Better Care", supported by the National Strategy for the Right of Every Child to Grow up in a Family Environment (henceforth called the “National Strategy”), and associated National Action Plan 2024 – 2028. UNICEF was selected as a strategic partner for the Better Care Reform implementation. The assignment will contribute to technical support, building the capacity and promoting a strong disability lens in modelling the promising practices on disability inclusive programs and services within Better Care Reform in Ukraine with equally important support to governmental and non-governmental counterparts at national and subnational levels.

For Child Protection to achieve its deliverables in its Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC) on disability inclusion and child-focused mine action in line with the Child Protection Core Commitments for Children and along the early recovery nexus, a technical specialist (consultant) with national experience is required. This expertise currently does not exist within the Country Office or Field Offices, but is needed to support on critical workstreams, including as part of the disability responsive humanitarian program, as well as the Better Care agenda. The consultant is expected to develop the capacity and provide technical guidance to UNICEF staff and relevant national and implementing partners in aspects related to disability inclusion, disability-sensitive programming, and participation of children with disabilities throughout the programming processes. This will also include support towards sub-national level support for сhild protection programs and partners operating in field office areas.

Purpose of assignment:

The consultant will support the Country Office in the following areas of work and tasks in line with Better Care and Child Protection Humanitarian response:  

1. Provide technical guidance and operational support to the Child Protection section and relevant field offices:

1. Provide technical guidance on disability inclusion and disability sensitive programming to relevant partners and programmes.
2. Provide technical review and inputs related to disability inclusion of programmes across Country Office and Field Offices.
3. Develop the capacity of relevant staff across the Country Office and Field Offices on approaches to disability inclusion and disability sensitive programming, in accordance with international standards.

2. Provide technical support to both Humanitarian and Better Care teams, partners, and Government counterparts to achieve the following components:

1. Better Care: Provide technical support to UNICEF, government and implementing partners of the Ukraine Child Protection with regard to:
   1. Reviewing and adjusting mapping of available inclusive services and identifying the gaps in the overall system of service provision.
   2. Designing of inclusive social services which include case-management with focus on children with disabilities; early intervention; positive parenting; supported independent living; integration and reintegration of care leavers; respite day care; support children with disabilities in alternative care system.
   3. Strengthening advocacy potential of parents of children with disabilities in promotion of children's rights.
   4. Promotion of inclusive services for children with disabilities through information messages and work with communities leaders.
   5. Creating and strengthening participation, engagement and employability opportunities for young people with disabilities.
   6. Building the implementing partners’ disability inclusion focal point group.

2. Humanitarian/HAC: Provide technical support to UNICEF, Government and implementing partners of the Ukraine Child Protection humanitarian response with regard to:
   1. Disability inclusion and sensitivity in humanitarian case management and MHPSS.
   2. Focused care and support for parents/caregivers of children with disability,  for example through positive and disability sensitive parenting support.
   3. Provision of regular, structured, and accessible psychosocial support activities for children with disabilities.
   4. Peer-to-peer support groups for children and adolescents, youth clubs, and group cultural and leisure activities.
   5. Community engagement and awareness raising amongst children, caregivers, families and communities, for example stigma reduction campaigns for children and adolescents with disabilities and the promotion of positive attitudes to address stigma and discrimination.
   6. Dedicated community-based interventions promoting and facilitating disability, social and economic inclusion of affected children and families.
   7. Support to community-led processes to address risks and response to explosive ordnance risks as well as support to meaningful participation of children, adolescents and marginalised groups in their communities in such processes.

3. Strengthen knowledge management and reporting:

1. Continue to maintain the available knowledge management database related to disability inclusion and disability-sensitive Child Protection programming for UNICEF Ukraine Office.
2. Contribute to reporting and data collection, analysis and visualization related to above workstreams.
3. Provide technical assistance for case studies and human-interest stories, as well as ‘lessons learned’ on disability related programming.

4. Provide support with other disability inclusion strengthening activities, in consultation with the Supervisor and staff engaged in the implementation from different sectors.

5. Recommend mechanisms for tracking and monitoring the educational participation and progress of children with disabilities within the case management system, ensuring their learning needs are addressed alongside social and protection services.

Work assignment overview:

Travel plan within Ukraine:

Number of travel days: 50 days (15 trips)

The trip plan will be developed jointly with UNICEF when a consultant is on board.

Please provide an all-inclusive financial proposal including travels to carry out the deliverables listed above.

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

Education: Master's degree or higher in one of the following fields is required: social work, psychology or another relevant field.

Professional experience:

• A minimum of five years of professional experience in social development with focus on children and families.
• Experience working in disability programming is highly advantageous.
• Relevant experience in programme development in disability within a UN  agency or international aid organization is considered as an asset.
• Experience in humanitarian contexts is considered as an added advantage.

Languages: 

• English: Intermediate [B1];
• Ukrainian: Advanced [C1].

Skills and competencies:

• Good analytical skills
• Good communication skills
• Support to programme/project development and planning
• Networking and partnership building
• Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building
• Impact of Results

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. 

Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed 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.

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.