Disability Inclusion Specialist

Egypt has been an observer state to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) since 1974 and became a full-fledged member in 1991 at which time IOM established its mission in Cairo with the purpose of assisting foreign nationals who had been forcefully displaced by the Gulf War to voluntarily repatriate or resettle in third countries. Since entering into Agreement with the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt (GoE) soon thereafter, IOM Egypt has since established productive working relations with migration-related ministries, as well as UN partners and civil society.

Over the last 25 years, IOM has continuously enlarged its engagement in new fields of concern encompassing a wide range of activities in many programmatic areas such as: labour migration and human development; counter-trafficking; technical cooperation on migration management; migration health; emergency and post-crisis migration management; and resettlement.

This assignment is part of a UNV-funded initiative designed to bring fresh, diverse talent into UN programmes from countries that are currently unrepresented among UN Volunteers. It offers a unique opportunity to help ensure that global volunteering truly reflects the world we serve, while giving participating UN Volunteers meaningful, hands on experience with leading UN partners. As such, the initiative targets candidates from the following nationalities: Andorra, Croatia, Estonia, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, Slovenia.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is committed to advancing equality, diversity and inclusion as a cross‑cutting priority of its Strategic Plan 2024-2028. In 2025, IOM launched its Disability Inclusion Strategy (2025–2028), which aims to systematically embed disability inclusion across policies, programmes, operations and workplace practices, in alignment with the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy (UNDIS) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Disability inclusion is recognized as both a strategic priority and an operational imperative, essential to ensuring that persons with disabilities fully enjoy their rights on an equal basis with others and that IOM delivers effectively on its mandate.
In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, IOM has been advancing disability inclusion through programmatic and institutional initiatives across humanitarian response, migration management, climate action, health, protection, and community stabilization. IOM Country Offices have integrated disability‑inclusive approaches into service delivery, data and evaluation systems, and participation mechanisms; strengthened consultations with Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs); and improved physical, digital and communication accessibility in offices and programmes. At regional level, IOM RO MENA supports IOM Country Offices through capacity‑building, technical guidance, regional learning, and knowledge sharing, including on disability inclusion in displacement, emergencies, climate‑related contexts, and labour and regular pathways.

Against this backdrop, the UNV Specialist on Disability Inclusion will support IOM RO MENA in advancing the implementation of IOM’s Disability Inclusion Strategy across the region, strengthening coherence between global commitments and operational practice, and reinforcing IOM’s contribution to regional and inter‑agency disability inclusion agendas, including alignment with the Second Arab Decade for Persons with Disabilities. The assignment will contribute to strengthening inclusive programming, workplace practices, partnerships, and evidence‑based learning to ensure disability inclusion is embedded in IOM’s work in a sustainable and rights‑based manner.

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of the Regional Gender and Disability Inclusion Focal Point or his/her designated mandated representative(s), the UNV Specialist – Disability Inclusion (Programming, Partnerships and Learning) will:

i) Advancing inter-agency collaboration and partnerships
• Support IOM RO MENA’s engagement in regional inter agency coordination mechanisms on disability inclusion, including UN working groups and technical platforms linked to the League of Arab States’ Second Arab Decade for Persons with Disabilities.
• Contribute to strengthening structured engagement with Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) at regional and country levels, including supporting mapping, information sharing and dissemination of OPD lists to IOM Country Offices to promote meaningful participation.
• Assist in consolidating IOM inputs to joint inter agency products, such as regional mappings, matrices, technical notes, or reports (e.g. contributions to regional UN reporting on disability inclusion).
• Support documentation of inter-agency meetings, decisions and agreed follow up actions, helping ensure continuity, clarity of roles and reduction of duplication across agencies.
• Facilitate internal coordination with IOM Country Offices to identify opportunities for joint initiatives, pilots or engagements with UN partners and regional organizations, particularly in humanitarian, displacement, crisis, and data related contexts.

ii) Supporting disability inclusion across IOM’s programme areas
• Provide technical and coordination support to strengthen the mainstreaming of disability inclusion across IOM programming, with particular attention to under integrated thematic areas.
• Support integration of disability inclusion considerations into programme design, implementation and review processes, including encouraging the involvement of persons with disabilities as partners and stakeholders.
• Assist IOM Country Offices in sharing good practices and lessons learned on disability inclusion across sectors (e.g. humanitarian response, protection, health, livelihoods), through regional learning exchanges, summaries or webinars.
• Support consolidation of disability inclusive programming approaches, including accessible service delivery, tailored assistance, participation mechanisms, and accountability to affected populations.
• Contribute to light tracking of disability inclusion integration across programmes to help identify gaps, trends and priority areas for technical follow up at regional level.

iii) Promoting disability inclusion in IOM’s workplace
• Support RO MENA in advancing disability inclusive workplace practices across IOM Country Offices, in line with IOM’s Disability Inclusion Strategy and UNDIS requirements.
• Assist in organizing and documenting regional awareness raising and capacity building initiatives for managers and staff, including trainings on disability inclusion, inclusive communication, unconscious bias and reasonable accommodation.
• Support HR’s efforts to strengthen inclusive recruitment and employment practices.
• Contribute to documentation and sharing of good practices on workplace accessibility and inclusion.

iv) Integrating disability inclusion into cross cutting areas
• Support collaboration with Data and M&E units to strengthen disability disaggregated data, evidence generation and inclusive monitoring practices.
• Contribute to strengthening disability inclusion in evaluations, learning and accountability systems by supporting integration of disability inclusive questions and analysis.
• Work with gender and protection colleagues to reinforce intersectional approaches, addressing the overlapping dimensions of disability, gender, migration, displacement and vulnerability.
• Support the development of internal learning products or briefs that highlight cross cutting linkages between disability inclusion, humanitarian response, displacement, and climate related risks.

The assignment will prioritize catalytic, coordination and learning oriented contributions, focusing on achievable outputs within the assignment period.