Programme Specialist - Assistive Technology (P-4), # 00112702, Child with Disability Section, PD - New York HQ (Temporary Appointment)

You will focus on strengthening UNICEF’s engagement with the Global Partnership for Assistive Technology closely with Supply Division to strengthen UNICEF’s capacity and also work on assistive products and inclusive procurement and provide support to regional and country offices to promote and to develop programmes with government counterparts that include physical and communicational accessibility and the provision of assistive technology.

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.

Children with disabilities are one of the most excluded groups among children and experience disproportionate risk during humanitarian situations. UNICEF has made significant progress in this area and in 2018 59 UNICEF Country Offices reported work on inclusion of children with disabilities in humanitarian action.

To build capacity of UNICEF offices, in 2017, UNICEF released a series of guidance on Including Children and Adolescents with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action. UNICEF also engages actively in a range of inter-agency processes related to disability inclusive humanitarian action. This includes co-chairing the IASC Task Team on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action and the UN Interagency Support Group to the CRPD (IASG) Working Group on article 11. Further, UNICEF is currently coordinating with 7 UN agencies, efforts to improve disability inclusion in Humanitarian Response Plans (HRPs), under the framework of the UK Department for International Development (DFID) - UN Single Business Case.

For every a healthy life…..

You will work very closely with Supply Division to strengthen UNICEF’s capacity and work on assistive products and inclusive procurement and provide support to regional and country offices to promote and to develop programmes with government counterparts that include physical and communicational accessibility and the provision of Assistive Technology (AT). 

In partnership with Supply Division, you will also focus on strengthening UNICEF’s engagement with the Global Partnership for Assistive Technology (ATScale), the Global AT Initiative (AT2030) and the Global Report on Assistive Technology (GREAT) – a partnership of UNICEF and WHO, among others.

How can you make a difference?

UNICEF engagement with global partnerships & Initiatives on accessibility and Assistive Technology

• Serve as Focal Point of the PD Disability Section on the areas of Assistive Technology and Accessibility, working closely with Supply Division, Innovations, ICTD, DFAM and other parts of the organization, to advance accessibility and the provision of Assistive Technology (AT) to children with disabilities, in development and humanitarian contexts.
• Provide strategic policy advice and co-lead with Supply Division on UNICEF’s engagement with global partnerships and initiatives on assistive technology, including the ATscale partnership of which UNICEF is a forming partner, AT2030 and others.  
• Coordinate, jointly with Supply Division and Office of Research Innocenti, UNICEF’s engagement and technical inputs to the development of the Global Report on Assistive Technology, expected joint release by UNICEF and WHO in 2021, ensuring children with disabilities are consulted and visible throughout.
• Support research, knowledge management and development of guidance and resources on accessibility and assistive technology, in coordination with Supply Division, Office of Research Innocenti, Division of Data, Analytics, Planning and Monitoring (DAPM), EMOPS, Programme Division Sections and other relevant Divisions/Sections.
• Support Supply Division in the establishment of efficient and transparent procurement and supply management systems at global and country level for assistive products.

Technical support to regional and country offices

• Work with selected countries to undergo research on local eco systems for the sustainable provision and maintenance of assistive products, including through scoping exercises to identify system capacity and gaps in the area
• Work closely with country offices to address challenges around demand creation for assistive technology and provide support to develop interventions to raise awareness among both service providers and users about the range of available products and their benefits. 
• Work with country offices and governments to identify and improve necessary ecosystems for the provision and maintenance of assistive products in health, education, child protection, social policy among other areas, both in development and humanitarian.   Develop community level/front line workers’ awareness and guidance on how to identify children and adults with disabilities who can benefit from AT and connect them with the appropriate systems for assessment and provision.
• Work closely with HQs, ROs and COs to identify opportunities to promote and build the capacity of systems such as Health, Education, Child Protection and Social Protection to provide services such as screening, assessment, AT provision, training and rehabilitation, maintenance among others, to increase the opportunities and quality of programmes related to the provision of assistive devices for children with disabilities. 
• Provide technical assistance and create capacity-building opportunities for regional and country offices, working closely with Supply Division and relevant HQ Divisions, to engage with national counterparts in the development of national assistive technology policies and programmes, including in emergency settings, for procurement, financing, service delivery and inclusive barrier-free environments.

Innovation in Assistive Technology

• Work closely with the Office of Global Innovation NY and Innovation Unit in Supply Division Copenhagen to identify new and innovative technologies and products to improve access for children with disabilities for inclusive and quality participation in society.

Data, Research and Good Practices

• Work closely with the Data, Analytic, Planning and Monitoring (DAPM) Division in NY to gather data on use of assistive technology applying the Child Functioning Module in MICS.
• Work closely with the Office of Research in Innocenti, Supply Division in Copenhagen and relevant regional and country offices to identify research needs and document lessons learned and sharing of good practices.

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) social science, public health, international development, rehabilitation science/engineering, business/public administration, IT Computer Science and/or a field relevant to accessibility and assistive technology is required.
• A minimum of eight (8) years of progressively professional experience at the national and/or international levels in assistive technology and accessibility (including in the digital environment), in academia, government, international organization, private sector and/or the AT Industry is required.
• Experience with disability assessment in health, education and social protection is desired.
• Experience in engaging and contributing to global and local partnerships and initiatives and in working in UNICEF programme countries in development and humanitarian contexts is a an asset;
• Experience with donor relations and resource mobilization and in implementing and scaling-up accessibility initiatives in large international organizations is an asset.
• Experience in establishing guidelines and procedures to support accessibility is an asset.
• Experience in communications for development and social change is an asset.
• Understanding of issues relating to children’s rights, especially the rights of children with disabilities, from the perspective of the social/human rights model of disability;
• Familiarity with international normative frameworks and recent developments relating to innovation and assistive technology and inclusion of persons with disabilities in development and humanitarian contexts;
• Understanding and experience with AT related services such as sitting and positioning, mobility and orientation among others.
• Relevant research and/or publications in relation to inclusion of persons with disabilities, accessibility and assistive technology is an asset.
• Fluency in English (written and verbal) is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Care, Respective, Integrity, Trust and Accountability.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

For more information on remuneration and benefits, please visit UNICEF’s Entitlements’ page.  If you would like to find estimates for entitlements, you may use the online Salary Estimate Calculator

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, race, sexual orientation, nationality, culture, appearance, socio-economic status, ability, age, religious, and ethnic backgrounds, to apply to become a part of the organization

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, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.