Accessibility Associate

UNDP supports strategic capacity development initiatives to promote inclusive growth and sustainable human development. Together with national, regional and local authorities, civil societies, private sector, UNDP strives to support Ukraine in its efforts to eliminate poverty, develop people’s capacity, achieve equitable results, sustain the environment, and advance democratic governance. UNDP is in line with 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to achieve national strategic capacity development.

After more than three years of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation (RF), the War is entering a new phase, marked by intensified mass attacks with drones and missiles on people and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. Such massive and indiscriminate strikes on residential houses, health facilities, schools, and the energy sector across Ukraine inflict increasingly severe hardships on civilians, making Ukraine even more dependent on external support and undermining ongoing and future recovery efforts. The country is now facing an entirely new set of challenges requiring urgent and adaptive recovery measures.

Building on Japan’s extensive expertise and the strong Japan-UNDP partnership in advancing recovery and the HDP nexus in complex crisis contexts such as Ukraine, the provision of urgent, integrated, and multi-sectoral support is critical to address the cumulative damage from the protracted war and the imminent challenges resulting from intensified mass attacks on civilians in 2025.

This project aims to catalyse urgent recovery and strengthen resilience in response to the surge in deaths, destruction, and displacement by recent intensified mass attacks and cumulative suffering caused by the war in Ukraine. It seeks to promote Human Security by implementing immediate and coordinated responses to the interconnected and multidimensional threats that the country is currently facing, while strategically leveraging Japan’s experience, technologies, and expertise to address challenges in recovery in Ukraine.

The complex and compounded crises in Ukraine call for a holistic, multi-sectoral approach that transcends sectoral boundaries and prioritizes the needs of the most affected populations, requiring tailored and integrated forms of support with three strategic focuses on:

- Essential Basic Services and a Safe Living Environment;
- Socio-Economic Resilience; and
- Transparent and Accountable Recovery Process.

The project intends to demonstrate a proof of concept for the 'Co-Creation' cooperation approach by strategically leveraging Japan’s knowledge, technologies, and expertise to address urgent recovery needs in Ukraine and creating an enabling environment where the private sector, either domestic or international, including Japanese, can engage and take part in bringing and accelerating Ukraine’s build-back-better recovery, particularly through public-private partnerships (PPPs) recovery.

One of the key prerequisites for an inclusive and sustainable build-back-better recovery process is ensuring that persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups can equally access reconstructed infrastructure, public services, information, and community spaces. Therefore, increasing attention is being paid in Ukraine to accessibility and barrier-free approaches within rehabilitation and recovery interventions, including repair and rehabilitation of public facilities, shelters, service delivery points, community infrastructure, and public information products. This requires strengthened awareness, practical application of universal design principles, and more inclusive approaches in recovery planning and implementation processes.

Under the supervision of the Project Coordinator, the Accessibility Associate will perform the following tasks:

Accessibility and Inclusion Advisory Support

• Provide subject matter technical advice on inclusion, accessibility, and universal design, and conduct accessibility audits based on accessibility-related building norms and universal design principles to ensure high-quality standards for UNDP and partners’ reconstruction and repair works, development of information products, and other related deliverables.
• Support implementation of accessibility and disability inclusion initiatives across UNDP- supported recovery and reconstruction activities in line with the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy (UNDIS), CRPD principles, national accessibility requirements, and inclusive recovery approaches.
• Support project teams and partners in integrating accessibility considerations into community-based activities, public service delivery, communication materials, beneficiary engagement, and project implementation processes.
• Assist in identifying accessibility barriers affecting persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups in accessing infrastructure, services, information, communication materials, and participation opportunities.
• Provide practical recommendations on accessible design elements and inclusive solutions, including circulation, entrances, ramps, signage, lighting, sanitation facilities, and emergency access considerations, in coordination with technical teams and partners where relevant.

Accessibility Assessments and Technical Reviews

• Conduct basic on-site and remote accessibility assessments of public facilities, service delivery points, community spaces, shelters, workplaces, and public environments, and provide practical recommendations to improve accessibility, usability, and inclusiveness.
• Review communication, training, and project materials — including presentations, reports, digital tools, guides, videos, websites, online content, and printed public information materials—to support accessibility, inclusiveness, and usability of developed products.
• Support preparation and development of accessibility-related checklists, templates, guidance notes, practical recommendations, and other supporting tools for project teams and partners.

Capacity Building and Knowledge Management

• Facilitate, design, prepare, and deliver trainings, workshops, consultations, and awareness- raising activities on accessibility standards, disability inclusion, universal design, and barrier- free approaches for implementing partners, local authorities, community representatives, and other stakeholders.
• Develop and update accessibility-related knowledge products, training materials, presentations, case studies, briefing notes, supporting documentation, and awareness materials for project implementation and partner engagement.
• Contribute to collection, analysis, documentation, and dissemination of information related to accessibility, disability inclusion, good practices, lessons learned, beneficiary feedback, and inclusive recovery initiatives.
• Contribute to promotion of inclusive and barrier-free approaches within UNDP-supported interventions and partner engagement activities.

Coordination and Stakeholder Engagement

• Support coordination and communication with Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs), civil society organizations, local authorities, communities, technical specialists, and other stakeholders involved in accessibility and inclusion initiatives.
• Participate in field missions, site visits, consultations, coordination meetings, stakeholder discussions, workshops, and knowledge-sharing activities related to accessibility and inclusive recovery.

Perform other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisor.