Programme Specialist (Children with Disabilities) at UNICEF

Job no: 535834
Contract type: Temporary Appointment
Level: P-4
Categories: Education, P-4, Programme Management

For every child, passion 

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

How can you make a difference?

The position is placed in the UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO), with the aim of supporting the COs scale up the delivery of equitable results for children and women in both humanitarian and non-humanitarian contexts. The position is supervised by the Regional Advisor, Education, who provides the position with broad strategic guidance, and uses his/her position’s role in the programme coordination within the ESARO to ensure the disability agenda is embedded in multiple concerned sections and well-coordinated.  

The position will provide technical support to UNICEF’s work on promoting the rights of children with disabilities in the Eastern and Southern Africa region, within the UNICEF-Norway Partnership Framework for Disability, upholding the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as the key mandate.    

Under the broad strategic guidance of the Deputy Regional Director of the ESARO, and immediate supervision by Regional Advisor, Education, the Programme Specialist on Children with Disabilities will support the regional customization and implementation  of the UNICEF-Norway Partnership Framework. The Specialist will provide technical guidance and assistance on disability inclusive programming across the region, strengthening the inclusion of children with disabilities in country programme planning and programming. The position also collaborates closely with the HQ to contribute to UNICEF’s global discourse on mainstreaming disability in policies, practice and programming. In addition, the specialist will be responsible for developing and monitoring key partnerships with the aim to drive the advocacy agenda around children with disabilities through strengthening relationships, synergies and coordination with external partner organizations.

The Specialist will be expected to perform the following functions :

• UNICEF-Norway Partnership Framework Coordination:  Manage the UNICEF-Norway Partnership Framework at the regional and country office levels.  
• Technical guidance on inclusive programming :  Provide expert advice in ESARO to improve the disability inclusive programming in the region, integrating the rights of children with disabilities into programme and policy advocacy and formulation in all UNICEF Strategic Plan’s outcome areas, including in emergency contexts.
• Cross sectoral partnerships in support of children with disabilities :  Liaise with disability related CSOs, donors, UN agencies and other strategic partner organizations to enhance coordination on inclusive programming at the country, sub-regional and regional level.
• Disability data and research on the situation of children with disabilities in UNICEF supported programming :  Work closely with ESARO data specialists in Programme Planning and Monitoring Section, HQ Data and Analytics section, and HQ Disability Section to strengthen the understanding, generation and utilization of data and analysis around children with disabilities.
• Capacity building :  Identify and/or develop training opportunities to support increased knowledge and understanding on inclusive programming with an emphasis on children with disabilities at the regional and country level. 

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Social Sciences with a specific focus on children and disability
  *A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.
• A minimum of 8 years of relevant professional experience in working on issues of childhood disability with at least five years of which should be in the context of low and middle income countries. Strong technical experience of national, regional and global level work on disability issues, of programme planning and implementation, and of guiding monitoring and evaluation efforts in a development agency context is required.
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

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 core competencies required for this post are...

• Builds and maintains partnerships
• Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
• Drive to achieve results for impact
• Innovates and embraces change
• Manages ambiguity and complexity
• Thinks and acts strategically
• Works collaboratively with others

View our competency framework at

http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

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:

This is re-advertisement in order to expand the candidate pool. Previous applicants need not re-apply as their original application will be duly considered.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.