National Consultancy: Situation analysis for people with disabilities in Malawi (Open to Malawian Nationals Only)

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, education… 

The population of Malawi is nearly 17.6 million people (NSO, 2018); however, it is projected that by 2030, the overall population will reach 30 million people. Malawi has made remarkable progress to improve the well-being of different population groups. For instance, there has been a decline in the under-five mortality rate from 232 per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 55 per 1,000 live births in 2016; mother-to-child transmission of HIV was reduced by 84 per cent between 2000 and 2016; and the incidence of stunting growth fell from 47 per cent in 2010 to 37 per cent in 2016. While the country continues to register such progress, poverty remains widespread, with over 70 per cent of the population living on less than $1.90 per day. According to 2018 Population and Housing Census (PHC) results, only 10 per cent of households have electricity and about 63 per cent of children suffer from multi-dimensional poverty, hence Malawi ranks 170 out of 188 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI). Among persons with disabilities, most of their social and economic indicators are even lower. This could be attributed to their continued exclusion from accessing basic social services and their limited participation in socio-economic activities. 

Across the world, persons with disabilities face barriers of different forms in accessing essential services such as health, education, employment, and transport. These barriers include discriminatory or inadequate policies, procedures, and standards, negative attitudes, and inaccessible infrastructure, and information and communication technologies. As a result, they do not participate in making decisions that directly affect their lives. This status quo has forced persons with disabilities have worse health and socioeconomic outcomes than people without disabilities, including poorer health, lower education achievements, less economic and social participation, and higher rates of poverty.

How can you make a difference? 

The overall objective of the consultancy is to conduct a comprehensive situation analysis of persons with disabilities in Malawi within an understanding of international trends and literature. The analysis will have a specific focus on their access to social services, social protection, and economic opportunities, and on any barriers affecting their ability to be fully included in their communities. The report will also include analysis and recommendations to inform further programming and policy development. 

Specific Objectives Consultancy

1. Generate the most up-to-date estimates of the prevalence and types of disability in Malawi, including disaggregated data from the national, regional, to district levels and analysis of inequalities by demographic and socio-economic characteristics between persons with disabilities and those without disabilities.
2. Generate evidence on the access of people with disabilities to social services such as education, health, and social welfare; on the participation and inclusion of people with disabilities in their local community; on the protective environment of people with disabilities at home, at school and in their communities – including a focus on the attitude of service providers and communities towards people with disabilities.
3. Undertake a comprehensive analysis of the existing programmes/initiatives in Malawi that targets people with disabilities, including existing procedures for identification of disability and referral to health facilities, as well as the availability at the health service level of protocols for prevention, treatment, and follow-up of identified cases and government and community-based rehabilitation services.
4. Provide an in-depth analysis of the barriers affecting the full social inclusion of people with disabilities, focusing on the enabling environment, the supply and demand sides of access to services, and qualitative issues. Also, evaluate the impact of the National Disability Mainstreaming Strategy and Implementation plan (NDMS&IP) on national policies and programme.

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

Academic qualification:

• A Master’s degree in social science, Statistics, Demography, International Development, or Economics or related field.

Work experience:

• At least ten (10) years as lead research/surveys experience in human rights and development and humanitarian settings is required.
• Experience in facilitating the development of a situation analysis or similar report on people with disabilities is preferred.
• Experience carrying out Focused Group Discussion with Organization of Persons with disabilities and persons and children with disabilities is preferred.

Technical skills, knowledge, and strength areas:

• Familiarity with Washington Group methodologies of collecting data on disability is required.
• Familiarity with statistical analysis relevant to the scope of work is required.
• Skills and experience in using statistical analysis software packages, including STATA, SPSS, ArcGIS, SAS or excel is required.
• Working experience with the UN and experience in developing countries is an asset.
• Extensive technical knowledge, skills and expertise in disability research/surveys, evaluation design, concepts, and approaches are required.
• Strong analytical skills to support both qualitative and quantitative research is required.
• Keen attention to detail, especially related to documenting data and associated processes; and
• Active listening, proactive learning, and time management skills is required.

Languages:  

• Excellent oral and written communication and report writing skills in English is required.

Please refer to the attached full Terms of Reference Terms of Reference_SItan People with Disabilities.pdf for more details on the consultancy and requirements.

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. 

HOW TO APPLY…

Interested Individual Consultant should provide the following:

1. Curriculum Vitae
2. Academic certificates
3. Brief technical proposal (no longer than five pages) demonstrating the Individual Consultant’s understanding of the assignment and approach/methodology to the assignment
4. Financial proposal including a breakdown of their all-inclusive fees (including professional fees, stationery, communication, and other miscellaneous costs). ANNEX I – Financial Proposal.xlsx Complete the attached form.
5. References details from three most recent supervisors.

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.