Programme Specialist (Children with Disabilities) at UNICEF

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The position is based in the UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO), with the aim of supporting the COs scale up the delivery of inclusive 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  all sections and well-coordinated.  

The purpose of the position is to ensure disability inclusion is mainstreamed as an integral part of UNICEF’s programming and operations across all sectors at both regional and country level in the region. The position is accountable for implementing UNICEF’s Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy (DIPAS) 2022-2030 through a regional action plan.

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 roll out and implementation  of the UNICEF Disabiliy Inclusion Policy and Strategy (DIPAS). 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.

Main responsabilities  :

• UNICEF DIPAS roll out and implementation: manage and lead the implementation of DIPAS in ESAR by developing regional strategy and action plan 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. 

According to ESAR ROMP (Regional Office Management Plan), all programming and operations efforts of the RO will ensure disability inclusion as an explicit organizational commitment and a key normative agenda, acknowledging need to enhance coordination of cross-cutting interventions to address deprivations for children with disabilities. The C4C in its turn ensures that inclusion of children with disabilities is mainstreamed across ESARO’s Regional Flagships and Focus Areas.

The incumbent will enhance the reach of more children in the region left out due to their disabilities and will contribute to the achievement of the leave no one behind agenda. This will also be a concrete step towards realizing the commitments of UNICEF ESARO in implementing DIPAS.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have

• An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: education, psychology, sociology or another relevant technical field.
• A minimum of eight years of relevant professional experience in programme planning, management and working on issues of childhood disability..
• 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.
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
• Familiarity/ background with emergency is considered as an asset.
• Experience working in a developing country is considered as 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.