UNDP Jobs - 75167- National Consultant to Support the Development of

National Consultant to Support the Development of the National Action Plan on Persons with Disabilities for Liberia

Location :

Monrova, LIBERIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

16-Nov-2017

Application Deadline :

23-Oct-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

35 Working days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

35 Working days

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

Liberia ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2012, but its progress towards its implementation has been very limited. Persons with disabilities are among the most vulnerable groups within the Liberian society. While the official statistics severely under-estimate the prevalence of disability, the approximation given in the World Report on Disability (WHO & World Bank, 2011) of 15% to 20% of adult population living with disabilities is likely to be the best estimate, although in post-conflict countries the prevalence may be even higher. Available data from a UNICEF study from 1997 shows that 16% of the population have a disability.

The most important national development plan, Agenda for Transformation 2013-2017, notes that: “Disability is a special concern to Liberia as a post-conflict country. The civil war caused not only deaths, but also led to impairments such as loss of limbs, loss of sight and trauma”. Persons with disabilities are being stigmatized by the wider population, and their rights are being violated in various ways. Discrimination is a structural problem, caused by stereotypes, negative and hostile attitudes. Persons with disabilities are denied their civil, cultural, economic, political, and social rights, which include the right to access the general school system, be employed, live independently in the community, move freely, vote, participate in sports and cultural activities, enjoy social protection, access justice, choose medical treatment, and enter freely into legal commitments such as buying and selling property.

The National Human Rights Action Plan for five (5) years (2013-2018) acknowledges that persons with disabilities are facing “discrimination, segregation from society, economic marginalization and lack of participation in social, political and economic decision-making processes. This substantial group has often been left out of development.” Similarly, the Agenda for Transformation 2013 - 2017 acknowledges that “their views are not reflected in national policies and there is a lack of adequate data on them.”

In the Universal Periodic Review Process of 2015, Liberia accepted recommendation 100.72 “Implement provisions in the National Human Rights Action Plan for the protection of vulnerable individuals, including children, persons with disabilities, persons with albinism, LGBT persons, and persons diagnosed with HIV/AIDS”, and recommendation 100.186 “Strengthen the national bodies responsible for ensuring the protection of persons with disability against all forms of violations that they may be subjected to and promote their full integration into society”. In addition to these, the Government has also accepted to strengthen support and protection measures to vulnerable persons, and to submit overdue reports to the relevant United Nations treaty bodies. One of these is the report to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which was due in 2014.

The disability community in Liberia is vibrant. National DPOs have been established, and the National Union of the Disabled (NUOD) even has recently opened chapters in all of the 15 counties. NUOD has also recently become a full member of the African Disability Forum. Nevertheless, the DPOs remain weak in terms of technical capacity, membership base, and they are largely excluded from decision-making and consultations. Persons with intellectual or psycho-social disabilities are not adequately represented within the DPO movement. There is a great need to build the DPOs’ capacity, amplify the voices of persons with disabilities, and to ensure that the key duty-bearers have the sufficient data, expertise and political will to respond to their demands in meaningful and appropriate ways.

UNDP in recent time has supported initiatives of NUOD on a very low scale as a means of raising the banner for persons living with disabilities. A recent mission to Liberia to assist UNDP in the development of a programme framework for persons living with disabilities strongly recommended targeted support to the development of a National Plan of Action that will elaborate the Convention on the Rights of Persons living with Disability (CRPD). To fulfill this commitment, UNDP through its programme on gender, HIV and AIDS and Persons Living with Disability is inviting interested international consultant to apply for carrying out this assignment.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the guidance of the International Consultant, and the direct supervision of the Governance and Public Institutions (GPI) Team Leader, a.i., the National Consultant, will perform, to the required standard of quality and within the specified constraints of time and cost, the following tasks:

Gather information about the Liberia legal, policy and institutional framework related to disability issues;
Play the role of a research assistant for the international consultant by researching, and collecting data on issues of disabilities in Liberia and provide same to the International Consultant for the development of the NAP;
Arrange appointments and meetings with key stakeholders on behalf of the international consultant;
Assist the international consultant: in studying the in-force and upcoming national strategies and associated action plans covering social inclusion, social protection, employment and skills, education, health, housing and other social areas as well as available monitoring reports to analyse and assess, as appropriate, their implementation or envisaged results with regard to persons with disabilities; and in identifying challenges and lessons learned;
Assist the International Consultant in supporting the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection on Social Inclusion to develop the draft Action Plan on Persons with Disabilities in Liberia. The Plan should outline a way towards the progressive realization of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Liberia. Particular consideration should be given to other elements that may exacerbate problems related to disability, such as gender, age, ethnic background, economic status, etc. The action plan should include vision, goals, objectives, measures, targets, achievement indicators, responsible institutions for implementation and monitoring, timeframe, and cost implications;
Assist the international consultant in ensuring coherence of the new draft action plan with the disability-related parts of existing strategies and action plans. Assess and comment on the consistency and feasibility of disability-related actions planned in existing policy or action documents and make recommendations aiming at updating them. Identify the measures that can be considered as already effectively incorporated in the in-force strategies, i.e. in terms of content, timeframe and funding, and integrate them in the new Action Plan. Provide technical inputs related to integration of measures from the new action plan on persons with disabilities into the line-Ministries sectoral action plans and budgets;
Provide support in estimating as accurately as possible the costs necessary for the implementation of the newly designed action plan, including breakdowns per year. Efforts should be made with a view to ensure not only appropriate costing of actions, but also an appropriate share of their benefits to various categories of populations with disabilities. Referring to the above estimates, suggest which could be for each measure or group of measures the most appropriate funding resources, for instance, state budget, private sector, donors, international cooperation, etc. This shall help the Government to make the appropriate yearly budget forecasts for disability issues;
Support the international consultant in conducting consultation meetings for government and non-government relevant stakeholders including line-ministries, local government institutions, civil society organizations, business, etc. on the draft action plan. The consultation meetings shall aim at enabling the participants to discuss the draft action plan, its priority measures, cost estimations, funding resources, and implementation & monitoring & evaluation & reporting framework;
Assist the international consultant in submitting an advanced version of the action plan, and, for the main actions, write in an explanatory note their purpose, scope and interconnection of measures;
Support the international consultant in revising the advanced draft action plan, based on comments received from partners on first draft, with budget provisions as well as the narrative/ explanatory note in order to finalize them.

Deliverables:

Information and data on Liberia’s legal, policy and institutional framework related to disability issues are collected and shared with international consultant for development of the National Plan of Action on persons with disabilities;
Itinerary for visits to Liberia by the international consultant is developed and shared with UNDP Liberia CO for approval;
Appropriate meetings and appointments are arranged with key stakeholders on behalf of the international consultant;
Costs necessary for the implementation of the newly designed action plan, including breakdowns per year accurately estimated;
Consultation meetings for government and non-government relevant stakeholders including line-ministries, local government institutions, civil society organizations, business, etc. are conducted on the draft action plan;
Advanced version of the action plan is developed and submitted to stakeholders for review and inputs, and where applicable, the national consultant incorporate all comments and submit same to international consultant for finalization; and
Provide support to the international consultant in revising the advanced draft action plan, based on comments received from partners on first draft, with budget provisions as well as the narrative/ explanatory note in order to finalize them.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies:

Demonstrates professional competence and is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results;
Excellent understanding of human rights and disability rights, of the CRPD in particular;
Excellent understanding of social economy, public finance, planning and prognosis;
Analytical thinking and strategic planning skills, ability to facilitate, consult and negotiate with a broad range of government and non-government partners;
Excellent research, writing and presentation skills;
Creativity skills;
Strong inter-personal and communication skills;
Ability to work and adapt to a dynamic working environment.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

BSc degree in public policies, social sciences, economics or closely related field of studies, but Master’s degree in any of the above disciplines is an added advantage.

Experience:

Minimum 3 – 5 years of professional experience in social policy/public policy advisory functions;
Experience in research and strategic studies related to socio-economic affairs, preferably with relevance to disabilities and social inclusion;
Substantial experience in strategy formulation and in drafting documents based on extensive consultations;
Experience in providing expertise to governments on promoting human/disability rights;
Relevant experience with UN Agencies or other international organizations would be appreciated;
Relevant experience working in Liberia would be highly appreciated.

Language skills:

Excellent writing, editing, and oral communication skills in English.