UN Women: National Consultant-Disability Inclusion Officer, Dhaka Bangladesh

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.  Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, the UN Women leads and coordinate United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.  

UN Women in Bangladesh supports the government to implement commitments to international normative standards on gender equality and women’s human rights. In line with the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for 2022-2027, the corresponding UN Women Bangladesh Strategic Note (2022-2027) defines UN Women’s strategic engagement in Bangladesh, which was launched in 2021. The country strategy focuses on strengthening the national structures and mechanisms for gender mainstreaming in policies, plans and budgets; supporting efforts to prevent and eliminate violence against women; promoting women’s access to decent and safe work; promoting policies and government investment in women’s empowerment and resilience building in the context of climate change, humanitarian crisis as well as other threats to peace and security. UN Women works with a range of stakeholders in Bangladesh including the government, civil society and women’s organizations, youth, UN agencies and donors, to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.  

UN Women's "Leave No One Behind" (LNOB) focus addresses intersecting inequalities, particularly for marginalized women and girls (like those with disabilities, from low-income groups, or facing conflict), by promoting inclusive data, fighting stigma, integrating gender into broader UN frameworks, and developing tools like audit frameworks to ensure everyone benefits from development, tackling root causes of exclusion like poverty and discrimination. Furthermore, the LNOB Analysis conducted by UN Women in 2021 identified 18 LNOB groups of which 8 groups will be prioritized by UN Women BCO. These include women with disabilities, women in the informal sector, female migrant workers, female tea garden workers, GBV survivors, female-headed households, women, and adolescents living in disaster-vulnerable areas, Rohingya refugee women and youth. However, advocacy on other issues relevant to LGBTIQ+, indigenous women and others will continue alongside.

Against this background, UN Women is seeking the services of a highly qualified national consultant to support the Bangladesh Country Office (BCO) on planning, implementation, engagement with relevant stakeholders, and evidence generation through learning initiatives to achieve the objectives of BCO. The national consultant should bring in the intersectional lens in its programming and implementation with a focus on LNOB issues. 

Objective: 

The overall objective of the assignment is to support the programme teams on planning, implementation, engagement with relevant stakeholders, and evidence generation through learning initiatives that are directly implemented by UN Women, as per the agreed project document and work plan. 

Scope of work, deliverables, timeline and payment schedule: 

Under the direct supervision of the Partnership and Coordination Analyst, and working in close collaboration across thematic units (Ending Violence Against Women, Inclusive Governance, Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Unit, as well as the Sub Office in Cox’s Bazar), the national consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

The assignment is home-based; however, the consultant will be required to attend the office in person on a need basis, and to attend meetings throughout the contract period For this work, the duty station is considered Dhaka. No Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) will be paid at the duty station. If unforeseen travel outside the duty station is required for this assignment, such travel expenses shall be borne by UN Women, and the individual consultant shall receive a per-diem not to exceed the United Nations daily subsistence allowance (DSA) rate in such other location(s) and actual travel cost.

Supervision and Performance Evaluation: 

The consultant will be reporting to the Partnership and Coordination Analyst of UN Women BCO and closely collaborate with thematic unit focal and Partnership and Coordination Analyst throughout the contract period.

• Respect for Diversity 
• Integrity 
• Professionalism 

• Awareness and Sensitivity regarding Gender Issues 
• Accountability 
• Creative Problem Solving 
• Effective Communication 
• Inclusive Collaboration 
• Stakeholder Engagement 
• Leading by Example 

• Technical experience on mainstreaming gender equality and disability inclusion from a feminist lens
• Technical expertise on prevention and response programming on GBV and WEE issues. 
• Excellent analytical skills in policy, data and research 
• Experience of working with OPDs, CSOs on disability inclusion and rights, and LNOB issues. 
• Experience of working in research, communication and reporting. 
• Coordination and negotiation skills
• Commitment to continuous improvement 

1. Required Qualifications

Education and Certification:

Master’s degree in Gender Studies, International Development, social science or equivalent.

Experience:

• At least 10 years in a relevant role on programming and implementation in the field of gender equality and disability inclusion. 
• At least 07 years of experience of managing platform / network on user-centric design, scalability, and accessibility. 
• At least 05 years of experience in developing digital training content and materials with a focus on GBV prevention and disability inclusion. 
• At least 05 years of professional work experience with stakeholders from diverse sectors (e.g., NGOs, international organisations, government, private sector, development partners).
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and Communication platform (Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet etc) is required.
• Previous experience working with the United Nations will be an asset.

Languages:

• Fluency in English and Bangla is required.

Evaluation Criteria

The total number of points allocated for the technical qualification component is 100. The technical qualification of the consultant is evaluated based on the following technical qualification evaluation criteria:

Payment:

Payment will be processed at the end of each month for the number of days worked based on submission of progress report, timesheet, satisfactory quality of deliverables (milestones) during the month produced. 

1. Submission Package includes:
   • Application letter (maximum 1 page) explaining your interest in this consultancy by mentioning their strengths in work experience and competencies. 
   • Updated Personal History Form (P11) which can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc
   • Sample of work done previously on disability inclusion (such as published reports, presentations, publications, or other relevant materials) which are available online.

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, colour, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All recruitment/procurement is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity, and organizational need. 

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.