Persons with disabilities (PWDs) continue to experience widespread discrimination, abuse, stigma and exclusion that ranges from social, economic and cultural and political exclusion especially among women and young persons . The lack of supportive facilities for physical movement and sensory applications, the restricted access to services, as well as the limited opportunities for gainful employment and quality of life are also critical challenges faced by persons with disability. While there is not an exact estimate of the number of people living with disabilities in Nigeria, the world bank  reported that about 14.6% (29 million persons) of the 2018 population estimate of 198 million persons were living with disability in Nigeria. WHO  also estimates that around 15% of the world’s population live with disabilities and posits an increase in the figure due to population growth, conflicts, war, medical advances and ageing. In Nigeria, the National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) classified disability into six functional domains of seeing, hearing, communication, cognition, walking and selfcare. The 2018 NDHS  revealed that about 7% of household members above the age of five, 9% of those 60 or older experience some level of difficulty in at least one functional domain. Overall, 9% of women and 10% of men have some difficulty in at least one domain. In terms of legislature, Nigeria has signed into law the ‘Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018 on 17 January 2019. For the mainstreaming of disability inclusion within the UN system, the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy provides the foundation for sustainable and transformative progress on disability inclusion through all pillars of the work of the United Nations.

Through the strategy, the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) is committed to supporting the most vulnerable groups in society, with the overarching purpose of Leaving No One Behind (LNOB), to reaffirm that the full and complete realization of the human rights of all persons with disabilities is an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of all human rights and fundamental freedom . However, persons with disability continue to face challenges with accessing UN premises, offices and meeting spaces for events and functions. To this end, this consultancy will assess the extent to which the UN premises are inclusive and accessible to persons with disability, as well review how disability inclusion is being mainstreamed across the UNCT. This is to help the UNCT to gain a better understanding of the current situation and where changes are required. Based on the findings of both assessments, this consultancy seeks to develop a localised, strategic and operational disability inclusion action plan that would inform how the UNCT would work towards the inclusion and accommodation of persons with disabilities. It would also support and advise the creation of short- and long-term recommendations and guidance for the UNCT to ensure persons with disabilities are fully included across all departments and programmes, with a focus on accessibility and reasonable accommodation. Thus, it would include the review of agencies’ internal disability inclusion strategic plans/strategies to develop a concrete, system-wide operationalization plan with activities timeline and budget in consultation with the OMT, PMT and UNCT.

Supervisory Arrangements

The consultancy will be based in Abuja under the supervision of the Disability Inclusion Technical Working Group of the UNCT and the RCO. The consultant will also work closely with UN OPDs and partners of the UN agencies to carry out the assignment. The consultant is expected to work in Abuja and not required to travel.

Purpose of Consultancy

• To conduct an accessibility assessment of UN House Building in consultation with OPDs and national commission of persons with disabilities.
• To review how disability inclusion is being mainstreamed across the UNCT Nigeria.
• To develop a UNCT Nigeria Strategic Action Plan for implementing the recommendations from the accessibility assessment and mainstreaming disability inclusion in the UNCT.

Scope of Work:

• Review agencies’ policies and documents on disability inclusion as well as the provisions for disability inclusion in the Business Operation Strategy (BOS) for the common premises, procurement and HR processes. The review of the common premises will be limited to the UN House Abuja, but the recommendations would be developed to allow mainstreaming in other UN premises across Nigeria.   
• Conduct a physical accessibility survey/assessment in consultation with OPDs and national commission of persons with disabilities.
• Review how disability inclusion is being mainstreamed across the UNCT using a survey that would be based on the IMS questionnaire on disability inclusion and the UNDIS indicators.
• Assess current inclusion of PWDs in HR services and procurement processes in consultation with PWDs and OPDs.
• Review the different assessments with PWDs and OPDs, determine the costs and modifications needed, and propose an implementation plan.
• Create guidelines for reasonable access and accommodation of PWDs to build a more inclusive culture for staff with disabilities, as well as those with dependents with disabilities.
• Create and establish guidelines for inclusive procurement practices to support persons with disabilities, businesses owned by persons with disabilities and businesses with disability inclusion practices.
• Synthesize the results of both assessments to develop a UNCT Action Plan for implementing the recommendations from the physical accessibility survey and mainstreaming disability inclusion in the UNCT.
• Develop a localised UNCT Disability Inclusion Scorecard for annual assessments and subsequent updates.

Deliverables

• Implementation strategy/ work plan and draft literature review
• An inception report that clearly articulates how the consultancy shall be executed, including the methodologies and tools to be employed
• Presentation of preliminary findings for accessibility survey, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, site visits as well as the review of supportive conventions, UN policies and other relevant documents
• Report on the capacity building training for TWG and UNCT members on the localised scorecards and disability inclusion tools using a ‘train the trainers’ model
• A comprehensive report that includes findings and guidelines for reasonable access and accommodation of PWDs, a system wide UNCT strategic and operational plan for disability inclusion, with recommendations to inform subsequent assessments and improvements.
• Final Report with Recommendations.

Expected Outputs

• An inception report that clearly articulates how the consultancy shall be executed, including the methodologies and tools to be employed.
• Presentation of preliminary findings for accessibility survey, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, site visits as well as the review of supportive conventions, UN policies and other relevant documents.
• Capacity building - to train selected disability inclusion TWG and UNCT members on the localised scorecards and disability inclusion tools using a ‘train the trainers’ model.
• A comprehensive report that includes findings and guidelines for reasonable access and accommodation of PWDs, a system wide UNCT strategic and operational plan for reasonable accommodation and disability inclusion, with recommendations to inform subsequent assessments and improvements.

Core competencies:

• Communication and Interpersonal Skills
• Organization and Planning
• Facilitation and Engagement
• Collaboration and Teamwork
• Inclusiveness, Respect for Diversity and Persons with Disabilities
• Integrity and Professionalism

A qualified national consultant will be recruited to complete the entire assignment, including preparation of the reports and conducting the capacity development training. Interested applicants are required to have:

• An advanced university degree, preferably a PhD in Social Science or equivalent with 7 years of relevant work experience with PWD or a master’s degree in Social Science, Special Education, or related field with at least 10 years work experience with persons with disability. Knowledge of human rights disability law in Nigeria is desirable.

• Excellent research and analytical skills with both oral and written communication skills.

• Familiarity with the UN Disability Inclusion strategy (UNDIS) as well as disability acts in Nigeria and Africa is an added advantage.

• Ability to work in a systematic, methodical and orderly way and the ability to meet schedules/deadlines.

• Proven ability to be creative; to adapt traditional methods, concepts, models etc. to new applications and devise new approaches to make improvements or solve problems.

• Ability to conduct and lead capacity-building trainings in person and online.

• Ability to demonstrate sensitivity and adaptability to cultural diversity.

• Knowledge of conducting accessibility assessment of disability infrastructure

• Interested Consultants are required to submit a proposal that includes a brief description of their intended research approach for technical evaluation as well as a financial proposal (separately). The consultancy will be result-based, and payments will be made upon satisfactory completion of each deliverable. 

Evaluation Criteria

• Relevant academic qualifications (relevant degree, refer to list in TOR): 15 marks

• Experience in programme/project development and results-based management with demonstratable experience in disability inclusion programming and mainstreaming, including developing tools and resources for the inclusion of persons with disabilities: 20 marks

• Relevant experience with conducting accessibility assessments with demonstratable knowledge of international accessibility legislation, regulations and standards, including national accessibility standards: 20 marks

• Demonstrated experience with working with persons with disability, developing policies, scorecards, analysis and mainstreaming disability inclusion in a range of development and humanitarian settings: 20 marks

• Demonstrated written and oral communication skills with demonstratable outputs in English; knowledge of another UN official language is desirable: 15 marks

• Other considerations: Gender, Disability (persons with disability have added advantage): 10 marks

Knowledge of the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy, the UN Convention of Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Nigeria’s Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act as well as other national and international frameworks/documents on disability inclusion, including in humanitarian settings would be an added advantage.

Selection would be in two stages: technical evaluation (70%) and financial evaluation (30%). 

After reviewing the received applications, the top three shortlisted candidates will be invited for interview. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% of the maximum obtainable points for the technical criteria (70 points) shall be considered for the financial evaluation.