Individual Consultant for Child Disability Assessment and Referral Reform, 100 working days, Remote with occasional travel to selected locations

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, champion.

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? 

Overall purpose of the assignment is to facilitate the reform of the child disability assessment and referral to be in line with the provisions of Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Convention on the Rights of the Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (WHO), moving away from medical assessment to rights-based approach, focusing on assessment of functions and required community-based services for a child and a family as a whole. More specifically, the consultant will provide technical expertise for the reform of child disability assessment and referral to multisector stakeholders in selected Cantons of FBiH and Republika Srpska.

Under the overall supervision of Social Policy Specialist, the consultant will provide technical expertise and support to the multisectoral working groups and/or other multisectoral forums at the Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska levels, as well as at selected Cantons (HNZ, USK, ZDK) and other relevant government and non-government institutions and organisations to pursue child disability assessment and referral reform, in accordance with developed Guidelines and agreed modality of implementation as per Road Maps adopted in 2020.

Specific deliverables include:

1. Capacity building of Coordination/Assessment Team and Coordinators in ZDC (2023 – 2024)

2. Capacity building of Working Group, Coordination/Assessment Team and Coordinators in USC (2023 – 2024)

3. Provide supervision to Coordination/Assessment Team in ZDC (2024)

4. Provide supervision to Coordination/Assessment Team in USC (2024)

5. Provide technical assistance to Republika Srpska Working Group on ICF (2023-2024)

6. Contribute to FBiH level policy and legislation reform (2023 – 2024)

7. Conduct evaluation of Individual Plans of Support in HNC (2023 – 2024)

8. Participate and contribute to consultations on the design of registry of children/data base (2024)

9. Participate and present at the advocacy events at country-wide level (2024)

10. Participate in and contribute to quarterly workshops of cantonal Coordination/Assessment Teams (2024)

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

• Advanced university degree in social sciences
• Minimum 7 years of progressively responsible professional work experience in social policy and related field.
• Expertise and in-depth knowledge of international standards and global policies related to disability (UN Convention on theRights of a Child, UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, WHO International Classification of Functioning,Disability and Health, etc.);
• Fluency in English (oral and written); knowledge of local language is a strong asset.

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.