Disability Inclusion Specialist

Mission and objectivesUNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfil their potential, from early childhood through adolescence. At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling. UNICEF is a place where careers are built we offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package. Visit UNICEF website (https://www.unicef.org/) to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

ContextThe UN Secretary-General has made non-discrimination a key part of his agenda and wider UN reform, and the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy-UNDIS (https://www.un.org/en/content/disabilitystrategy/) has put workplace disability inclusion at the forefront. Centered on efforts to realize the rights of all children, UNICEF's 2022-2025 Strategic Plan complements and contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 Agenda (https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda) by committing to improve the life of disadvantaged children and adolescents today and enhance prospects for their well-being tomorrow. Multiple references to disability inclusion and intersectionality are made throughout the SP and disability is mainstreamed across all Goal Areas. In 2023, the UNICEF Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy-DIPAS (https://www.unicef.org/unicef-disability-inclusion-policy-and-strategy-dipas-2022-2030), which includes both programmatic and operational/management targets and priorities. All this demonstrates UNICEF's renewed commitment to promote inclusion and accessibility throughout the organization, across all functional areas. While UNICEF has made considerable progress to strengthen disability inclusion both in programming and operations, the commitments in the new Strategic Plan and DIPAS require an intentional and sustainable effort to further advance disability inclusion as part of our collective work. This UNV assignment is part of UNICEF’s strategy to become a more disability inclusive workplace and an employer of choice for people with disabilities.

Task DescriptionThe UN Volunteer will support the coordination and technical support for the implementation of the operational and management commitments of the UNICEF Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy-DIPAS (https://www.unicef.org/unicef-disability-inclusion-policy-and-strategy-dipas-2022-2030). Under the supervision of the Disability Inclusion Project Manager, and in collaboration with the wider Culture and Diversity team and the Disability team in Programme Group, the UN Volunteer will need to work with numerous stakeholders in that have responsibility for operationalizing the institutional aspirations of the DIPAS. This will require supporting the provision of regular disability inclusion technical advice to HQ, regional and country offices, and contributing to an intersectional approach to non-discrimination lead by the Culture and Diversity team, Division of People and Culture. Coordination and Integration of Disability Inclusive Workplace Commitments Across UNICEF’s: Policy and Strategy Implementation and Reporting • Support the implementation and reporting of the management and operational commitments of the Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy (DIPAS) 2022-2030, using an intersectional approach. • Support the Disability Section in Programme Group (PG) with efforts to meet UNDIS requirements linked to indicators 7 (reasonable accommodation), 13 (employment), and 14 (capacity building), as needed, and other activities to increase mainstreaming of disability inclusive workplace approaches into UNICEF’s work. • Support and contribute to annual UNDIS reporting across divisions, especially indicators that the Culture and Diversity Team are responsible for, i.e., indicator 7 (reasonable accommodation) and 13 (employment). • Coordinate intersectional work on remedial actions stemming from the annual UNICEF UNDIS Report, the bi-annual Global Staff Survey (GSS), the annual Pulse Survey, the Core Standard Indicators (CSIs), and the Recommendations from the Internal Task Team on Anti-Racism and Discrimination. Accessibility and Inclusion • Support the development and dissemination of guidelines on accessibility and inclusion, such as the Managers Guide to Nurturing Neurodivergence in an Inclusive Workplace. • Support the design and coordination of the Global Accessibility Helpdesks and global accessibility capacity building webinars. • Support UNICEF’s Information, Communication and Technology Division (ICTD) actions to remediate accessibility issues in UNICEF’s online platforms. • Support UNICEF’s Supply Division (SD) actions to make procurement procedures and supply purchases more disability inclusive. • Support UNICEF’s Division of Financial and Administrative Management (DFAM) actions on implementing accessibility initiatives in UNICEF premises globally. • Provide ongoing technical advice to headquarters, regional, and country office-level activities on accessibility of premises, security considerations, and overall disability inclusion elements in operations. • Support the coordination of capacity building activities on disability inclusion for all personnel in headquarters, regional, and country offices. • Support the continual updating, design and development of the Culture and Diversity Team’s SharePoint pages on Disability Inclusion. Employment • Support the development of tailored resources on recruitment, onboarding, and workplace disability inclusion for headquarters, regional, and country offices. • Support UNICEF to increasingly hire employees with disabilities. • Provide onboarding support for offices hiring employees with disabilities. • Support the continuous updating of the Inclusive Employment Guide and roll it out in HQ, regional, and country offices. • Support talent outreach team and People and Culture practitioners in headquarters, regional, and country offices with targeted or mainstreamed initiatives for creating hiring pipelines for employees with disabilities, including the UN Volunteers with disabilities programme. Reasonable Accommodation • Support the management of reasonable accommodation (RA) requests (via Service Gateway), queries (via the RA email inbox), and facilitation of the RA Committee. • Support implementation of the reasonable accommodation evaluation management response recommendations for action and the updating of the EISI (evaluation management) platform to capture progress. • Support the continuous updating of the Reasonable Accommodation Guide and roll it out in HQ, regional, and country offices. • Support the design and coordination of capacity building activities on reasonable for all personnel in headquarters, regional, and country offices. Employee Engagement and Wellbeing • Support regular liaison with Employee Resource Groups and implement actions to increase the wellbeing and engagement of employees with disabilities and employees with dependents with disabilities with senior leadership. • Support the development of tools to measure the engagement of employees with disabilities more accurately in global staff surveys and so on. Non-discrimination and Intersectional Approaches • Actively support and contribute to the Culture and Diversity Team’s whole of diversity approach with an intersectional focus on disability inclusion. • Provide input to other activities carried out by the Culture and Diversity Team, particularly on policy, performance management, learning, recruitment, wellbeing, and mental health. • Keep abreast, research, benchmark, and implement best and cutting-edge practices in disability inclusive workplace management and contribute to the development of innovative global policies and initiatives.

Competencies and values• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness • Works Collaboratively with others • Builds and Maintains Partnerships • Innovates and Embraces Change • Thinks and Acts Strategically • Drive to achieve impactful results • Manages ambiguity and complexity

Living conditions and remarksThis assignment is reserved for persons with disabilities. The UN Volunteer will be based in Istanbul, and responsible for arranging her/his own housing and other living essentials. The full entitlements at the duty station: https://app.unv.org/calculator. The Summary of UNV Entitlement (UNV National Expert Category): Paid in Local Currency • Volunteer Living Allowance-VLA (per month): approximately USD 1,904 • Entry lump sum (one-time payment): USD 400 • Exit allowance (per month): USD 113 (when successful completion of the assignment) • Medical, dental, life and disability insurance: Cigna Private Insurance As per the UN’s diplomatic mission status, it is not included in the National Security Institution’s (SGK) system but can only be initiated on a private basis by UN Volunteers. • Annual leave: 2.5 days accrued per calendar month • Free access to different learning platforms and UN & UNV network Notes: 1) The allowances are in no way to be understood as compensation, reward or salary in exchange for volunteer work. 2) It's important to note that UNV assignments are volunteer assignments, not employment. The purpose of the allowances and entitlements paid to UN Volunteers is to enable UN Volunteers to sustain a secure standard of living at the duty stations in line with United Nations standards without incurring personal costs. The allowances are in no way to be understood as compensation, reward, or salary in exchange for the UN Volunteer’s service. Contingent on specific eligibility criteria, location of the volunteer assignment, and contractual type and category, the payment of allowances will begin from the date of Commencement of Service For more information on entitlements please read the Condition of Service (https://explore.unv.org/cos). Remarks: In addition to duty station specific vaccine requirements, appointments 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 appointment. It does not apply to UN Volunteers 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 contracts. UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for UN Volunteers 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 recruitment process and afterwards in your assignment.