Consultancy – Including stakeholder voices in disability research – workshops facilitator – GORaF – 2 months – Remote/Work from home

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, answer

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does. The leave-no-one-behind principle of the SDGs and UNICEF’s equity agenda translates this commitment into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination.

There are an estimated 240 million children with disabilities worldwide. Like all children, they have ambitions and dreams for their futures, and need equity in education to develop their skills and realize their full potential. Yet, children with disabilities are often overlooked, limiting their access to education and their ability to participate in social, economic and political life. Worldwide, these children are among the most likely to be out of school. They face persistent barriers to education stemming from discrimination, stigma and the routine failure of decision makers to incorporate disability in their agenda.

UNICEF Innocenti is UNICEF’s dedicated office for research, foresight and evidence on child rights, well-being and development, and thus holds an important role in the organization’s capacity to generate, communicate and use evidence for the advancement of the rights and wellbeing of children with disabilities worldwide. Acknowledging this responsibility, UNICEF Innocenti has taken on the establishment and development of a Global Research Agenda and Platform for Children with Disabilities to be a catalyst for change, a community of practice, a hub to focus and coordinate a global network of academic institutions, researchers, policymakers, donors and practitioners; to include lived experience, and to amplify the voice of children and youth with disabilities.

UNICEF now seeks to close the research agenda development by concluding an ongoing Disability Research Prioritisation Exercise (DPRE). The DPRE began by sharing an overview of the available research evidence and then solicited feedback from stakeholders (donors, OPDs, iNGOs, youth, researchers, and UN Entities) using a two-phase survey to capture priority research question using a modified DELPHI methodology. The conclusion of the DPRE is a series of workshops planned to engage representative children and youth, OPDs, donors, and researchers in validation exercises to be sure that we understand and capture the convergence and divergence in views of the final priority research list.

Children and youth with disabilities are their own best advocates and seen as essential to the scaling up and sustainability of inclusion. They must be listened to and heard. We need to learn, through research and data, more about their ambitions and vision for a better world and how they would like to contribute to improve their environments and opportunities – in this case, to put them front and centre in the articulation of the Global Research Agenda for Children with Disabilities. Children and youth are highlighted here because, although the contract will include workshops with donors, OPDs and research, it is of paramount importance to us to engage an experienced consultant who has a track record in designing, delivering, and engaging impactful and accessible workshops with children and youth.

To this end, the disability inclusion team at Innocenti is looking for a consultant that can lead the co-design, organisation, delivery and outcome-reporting of four validation workshops on the topic of “The Global Research Agenda for Children with Disabilities” for four key stakeholder groups: 1) children and youth with disabilities, 2) Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs), 3) donors and foundations, and 4) research specialists.

How can you make a difference? 

Objectives of the consultancy

1. Workshop delivery – to design, organise and facilitate a series of four validation workshops designed to review the results of a research prioritization exercise conducted by UNICEF Innocenti.
2. Reporting – to structure a report that contains the feedback gathered during the four workshops, that compares similarities and differences between stakeholder groups, and summarizes key messaging, advocacy and recommendations to inform UNICEF Innocenti’s over-arching Global Research Agenda for Children with Disabilities.
5. Meaningful engagement – listen to children and youth and capture ideas and strategies to optimise long-standing, meaningful engagement with them on the Global Research Agenda work going forward.

Major areas of work and responsibility

1. To review reports from a Disability Research Prioritisation Exercise (DRPE) recently conducted by the disability inclusion research team at UNICEF Innocenti. The DRPE reports will be used by the consultant to develop material to facilitate the workshops, including one with children and youth, but also OPDs, donors and foundations, and research specialists. The DRPE reports contain the results from surveys that elicit how different stakeholders have prioritised research questions they deem critical to generate evidence to inform disability-inclusive policy and practice for children with disabilities. The workshops will seek to validate the prioritised list and gather narratives to support the validation – we also anticipate hearing voices that disagree as well as agree with the DRPE findings and we wish to capture all narratives during the workshops. It is important that stakeholders from LMICs are represented and with gender balance. (Deliverable = materials, methods and content to facilitate and deliver the workshops)
2. A core pillar of the work will be in preparing the engagement with children and youth, inc. identifying participants, IRB clearance, and delivery of a clear methodology in co-operation with youth engagement colleagues at UNICEF Innocenti. This will include developing a safeguarding procedure that meets UNICEF’s Procedure on ethical standards in evidence generation (2021) and is appropriate for the workshop modality proposed by the consultant, including considering risk minimization and response with particular attention to sensitive topics such as experiences or fears of stigmatisation and bullying, and violence, neglect and exclusion. The safeguarding procedure needs to consider avenues to mitigate impact as well as present channels for support for those who require it or appear in distress (Deliverable = workshop protocol, participant list, and methodology for engaging children and youth).
3. The consultant, in co-operation with Unicef Innocenti, will organize and facilitate the workshops following the approach(es) presented in the to-be-developed protocol and methodology (Deliverable = four workshops are conducted with minutes and other outputs/transcripts recorded).
4. The consultant will present the findings of the workshops to an internal UNICEF team and possible Advisory Group members (Deliverable = four workshops are conducted with minutes and other outputs/transcripts recorded and presented to the UNICEF team).
5. The consultant will develop a report from the workshops that includes chapters/sections from each of the four stakeholder workshops with detailed workshop output, and a fifth that compares similarities and differences between stakeholder groups, and summarizes key messaging, advocacy and recommendations to inform UNICEF Innocenti’s over-arching Global Research Agenda for Children with Disabilities. The report should include lessons learned and recommendations for any necessary changes to the workshop methodology (Deliverable = Final workshop report)
6. The consultant will also propose a strategy for long-term engagement of children and youth with disabilities with the disability inclusion work of UNICEF Innocenti and its work in sustaining the Global Research Agenda work going forward. The report will also include engagement strategies for OPDs, donors, and the research community (Deliverable = engagement strategy)

Supervision

7. The consultant will work under the direct supervision of UNICEF’s Disability Research Manager, based at UNICEF Innocenti. Further engagement will come in the form of communication with other members of the team, including the Disability Knowledge Management Specialist and with support from a junior consultant working in the team – other potential team members from UNICEF who bring child and youth engagement experience will be identified separately. Additional relevant UNICEF staff from headquarter and regional/country offices may be consulted throughout the process.

Methodologies and Tools

8. Methodologies to be used: the exact methods to be used have yet to be developed as part of the initial deliverables of the consultancy, but we envisage that remote (Zoom/Teams/other) workshops will be favoured and will seek advice from the consultant on pros and cons. The workshops must follow ethical principles and procedures outlined in UNICEF’s Procedure on Ethical Standards in Evidence Generation (2021) including consideration of risks to, and benefits for, participants; set up of adequate mitigation strategies; adequate plans for safe data management to secure confidentiality, anonymity, and privacy; and informed consent. All meetings must seek equitable engagement and use appropriate Reasonable Accommodations to be provided by UNICEF under the advice of the consultant.
9. Software to be used for data analysis: no specialist equipment or software is anticipated or provided. The successful consultant will use their own software and tools to conduct the work, including to record and transcribe the focus group discussions: any technical support required for this for the development and delivery of the FGDs needs to be detailed in the plan and methodology.
10. Subscriptions that will be required: none

Conditions of Consultancy

11. UNICEF Innocenti does not issue computer equipment to consultants. The consultant will be responsible for providing the necessary computer equipment for the consultancy themselves and should include the cost implications of this responsibility in their bid for the consultancy. The cost of software and subscriptions that may be necessary to complete the consultancy (e.g., Microsoft Word) also needs to be factored into the bid for the consultancy.

12. UNICEF Innocenti will assist consultants with arrangements for visas, work permits, vaccinations, etc.

13. UNICEF does not regard Individuals engaged under a consultancy contract as “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures. Consultants are therefore not entitled to benefits such as leave, pension 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.

14. 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. Prospective consultants are encouraged to ensure that they fully understand (a) the requirements of each deliverable and (b) the workload associated with reaching a deliverable.

15. UNICEF Innocenti recognises that, due to the locations of some of its research, events may occur that either delay deliverables or prevent them from being completed. These events need to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine the impact on the payment schedule of the contract. It is UNICEF Innocenti’s objective to be fair to consultants in situations where deliverables are delayed or no longer attainable through no wrongdoing of the consultant.

16. 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.

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in in the social sciences, public policy, a disability-related subject, research methods, impact evaluation or another technical field relevant to this consultancy (PhD/doctorate or equivalent preferred).
• At least 8 years of professional experience in social science research methods, knowledge and experience of conducting research on disability themes
• Access to and experience of engaging in child and/or youth networks.
• 8 plus years’ experience of engaging and soliciting structured feedback from children and youth with disabilities. Good attention to detail and demonstrated ability to organize own work, and work of others according to deadlines.
• Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment with staff with differing experience and skills and with staff in different geographic locations.
• A strong ability to manage, negotiate and collaborate with external and internal experts.
• A flexible mindset and ‘can-do’ attitude in an evolving programme context.
• Demonstrated ability to set high standards for quality of work and consistently achieve project goals.
• Solid writing, analytical, problem-solving, writing and presentation skills, particularly in the context of international work settings.
• Fluency in English is required.  
• Candidates with disabilities are encouraged to apply for this position.

Desirable qualifications:

• Demonstrated ability to communicate complex issues to a lay audience.
• Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is an asset.
• Prior experience of working with the United Nations and good knowledge of UNICEF’s internal organization is an advantage but not essential.

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.