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, every right!

UNICEF has been operating in Zimbabwe since 1982. We are a team of passionate professionals committed to the protection and fulfillment of children’s rights. 

Supporting the Government’s vision of a prosperous  and  empowered upper-middle-income society, the country programme is aimed at contributing to sustainable socioeconomic development that provides all children, including adolescents, with opportunities to fulfil their potential, lead a healthy life, access quality learning and protection and meaningfully participate in society.

For more information about UNICEF Zimbabwe please click here

You can also access and explore all new UNICEF vacancies and create job alerts via the UNICEF Zimbabwe website link below:

https://www.unicef.org/zimbabwe/work-us

How can you make a difference? 

UNICEF Zimbabwe is seeking to hire an innovative individual on consultancy basis for Harmonization of the Disability Assessment Tools

BACKGROUND

Zimbabwe ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2013 and has made strides in advancing the rights of persons with disabilities. In its newly launched 2021 National Disability Policy, which also reveals the existing political commitment on disability rights, the Government of Zimbabwe adopts the World Health Organization global disability prevalence rate of 15% of the world population for planning and reporting purposes, which equates to around 2,25 million persons with disabilities.

Objective

To establish a multi-sectoral CRPD compliant common disability identification, assessment, determination, and referral framework, endorsed by MoPSLSW, MoHCC, and MoPSE. The assessment should be developed based on a review of the current assessment practice in Zimbabwe and the relevant country context as well as through consultations with key stakeholders and persons with disabilities themselves. The consultant should also provide training and guidance on introducing these tools into practice and linking them to the determination of eligibility for services.

With consultation with the government, the processes and workflow of the framework should ensure to make a distinction between the disability assessment, disability determination a clear definition of the benefits of disability card and the eventual package of services received. This work should also feed into the complementary work that other UN agencies are undertaking for UNPRPD.

Scope of the assignment and Methodology

Informed by the Oxford Policy Management study, the assignment will include the desk review of the existing local tools and global best practices based on evidence of what works in a low-resource contexts, stakeholder engagement (MoPSLSW, MoHCC, MoPSE, OPDs and other key stakeholders), piloting of the draft harmonized tool in two districts, validation of final product by all parties who were part of the exercise, presentation of the final product to the Government of Zimbabwe.

Desk Review of the process and Tools

Review the current assessment process and tools as well as the country context, including the perceptions of key stakeholders, reflecting on the principles of UNCRPD and the ICF classifications and referring to good practice from similar contexts. The review should be informed by the life cycle and human rights lenses, checking how applicable the tools are to all persons with disabilities within their diversity, with particular attention to its applicability to children. The review should also focus on several criteria: ease of access all over the country for all persons with disabilities across the life cycle; length of the process from start to approval; denial and appeal; information gathered and used for determination; case management.

Stakeholder Engagement and Consultation

The Consultant will take the lead to produce and implement a workplan together with technical working group for the project, and conduct a series of engagement meeting with national stakeholders for consultation and inputs on each existing disability assessment tool and areas to be added to the harmonized assessment tool, especially with officials from the respective ministries and persons with disabilities. During the stakeholder engagement, the consultant will also review existing service delivery capacities of health care, social work/welfare, CSO partners, and other outreach mechanisms that could be used for disability assessment at local level. Mapping Service package which the disability assessment will (and should) give access to those deemed to have disabilities, i.e. which services and benefits require an additional disability assessment. The consultant is expected to devise methods which will be used to engage all participants in the assignment and show how the process will be conducted.

Development of the Harmonized Tool

Draft a report outlining a proposal for revised assessment including: i) determining the appropriate model of functioning and procedures with institutional arrangements; ii) develop an easy to use assessment form and detailed a proposed manual of operations for the assessment, indicating roles and responsibilities about application, data collection, data analysis, grievances, and recertification; and iii) propose options for digitalization including an database information system, this should allow for decentralization and supervision and better use of data for case management and policy planning; iv) propose an overall approach to implementation.

Piloting (pre-testing) of the Harmonized Tool

The Consultant will consolidate the inputs from stakeholders and develop a draft tool which will then be piloted in two district guided by MoPSLSW and UNICEF. The Consultant will identify areas which require further attention in the tool and how applicable and usable is the tool being harmonized. The Consultant will then use the experience from the pilot to further align the Harmonized Tool which will be used in the internal stakeholder validation exercise.

Key Stakeholders Review and Validation of Final Product

After consolidation of feedback the pre-testing exercise, the consultant will need to facilitate a validation workshop on the proposed harmonized tool with key stakeholders of the disability sector including MoPSLSW, MoHCC, MoPSE, National Technical Committee for Disability Inclusion, OPDs, UNICEF and other agencies, build the capacity of national stakeholders on the draft tools, manual and other resources.

Disability Assessment

A disability assessment is an examination of a person’s impairments and functional limitations, the environmental barriers and facilitators they face, and how these all combine to influence the person’s ability to fully participate in society. It is important to distinguish between the assessment and determination with the latter being the official decision on whether a person has disability or not. The assessment can comprise different components which can be done separately or jointly.

UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) compliant disability assessment: The assessment should be CRPD-compliant and respect the following principles:

• Respecting the dignity of the person including the ease and respectfulness of the process
• Full accessibility (assessable location for assessment, information, meetings, etc.)
• Focus on support required for functioning and participation rather than impairment
• Age appropriate (difference between children and adults)
• Having been designed with the participation of representative DPOs
• Country-wide coverage including a proactive outreach strategy and particular attention to those most
• disadvantaged (rural, remote, etc.)
• Respecting the diversity of disability
• Respect for privacy (of data)
• Gender-sensitive

Disability assessment process reflecting the components of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF): Elements of the ICF model (impairment, activities, environmental factors, personal factors) should be considered  in the assessment, as well as support required, including to feed into the design of the national Disability Database. A disability assessment process which is only looking at the impairment/health condition and which is done only by doctors would not be aligned with the CRPD and the ICF

Child sensitive disability assessment

The consultant is required to ensure that the process and tools develop are child sensitive as assessment of childhood disability require age specific approach. Particul;ar attention will be paid to stakeholder consensus on how to proceed both for assessment and determination in early childhood.  

Elements of the disability assessment/determination process should include the following:

• CRPD compliant and in line with ICF framework
• Predictable outcome, including clear information on which questions influence the disability
• determination (yes/no or levels)
• (Preliminary) identification of support needs and, when relevant, further referral to additional
• assessments (for instance, for assistive devices and personal assistance)
• Appeals process
• Information on available support services, benefits, etc.
• Decision on need (or not) for periodic reassessment
• Collection and analysis of administrative data for policy and programme design

Ideally, areas to be covered in a disability assessment process are:

• Impairment/ health condition
• Functional limitations without assistive devices, support
• Support required to carry out Activities of daily life
• Environmental barriers and facilitators
• Social participation

The way those elements will be covered will depend on the capacity of personnel identified by stakeholders as the most relevant and available to carry out assessment locally.

Major tasks and deliverables: 

Tasks/Milestone:	Deliverables/Outputs:	Timeline, % invoice
Including documents review, proposed methodology, tools development and expected timeline	Inception report	10 days, 15%
With consultation with stakeholders,   1)Syntheis of stakeholders consensus on scope of benefits covered by the disability card, criteria for disabilty determination, the set up and process of assessment and determination 2) outline a proposal for a proposed standardized assessment framework 2) detail a proposed manual of operations for the assessment, indicating roles and responsibilities about application, data collection, data analysis, grievances, and recertification.	Draft report of the criteria for disabilty determination, the set up and process of assessment and determination,  and the draft Harmonized Tool	35 days, 25%
Including a pre-testing of the draft standardized tool in two district and amendments of the tool upon testing result and feedback	Final report of the Harmonized Disability Assessment Tool	35 days, 40%
The consultant should facilitate a validation workshop on the new assessment for key stakeholders and work closely with the national stakeholders involved in Disability Assessment to ensure that they understand the proposed assessment, tools and manual.	Validation and adoption of the Harmonized Tool and capacity building	10 days, 20%

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

Education: Advanced university degree in public health, or other relevant social sciences.

Experience: Extensive experience in the area of disability, especially establishing and evaluating disability assessment and data management systems related social protection programmes, and their tools (such as Disability Cards, etc.)

Excellent facilitation and analysis skills.

Knowledge of the Zimbabwe culture vis-à-vis disabilities is an asset.

Languages:

English and any local language

More details may be found in the attached ToR  National consultant to assist harmonization of the Disability Assessment Tools.pdf

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

If interested and available to undertake the individual consultancy, please submit your application online and attach the required documents including the technical proposal and an all-inclusive financial proposal incorporating an approximate number of travel days for field (local) travel. 

Technical proposal: The Technical Proposal should articulate an understanding of the TOR and include the proposed Tasks/Milestones, Deliverables/Outputs, Timeline and level of effort by deliverable. The similar table provided in the TOR is indicative. Applicants may use the indicative table as a guide or deviate as per the proposed approach. The proposal should also cost-effectively propose the local travel proposed by the applicant to undertake the assignment.

Financial proposal: The Financial Proposal should include the costs (providing a daily rate as justification) for each task, including consultant fee, proposed travel costs and perdiem, communications costs and any other proposed cost.

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.