Consultant: Updating the Synthesis Report on the Inclusion of Disability in UNICEF Evaluations (2026-2023) – Team Leader Consultant - Req.#575384

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. 

For every child, hope. 

Vacancy Announcement: Consultant

Consultancy Title: Updating the Synthesis Report on the Inclusion of Disability in UNICEF Evaluations (2026-2023) – Team Leader Consultant

Section/Division/Duty Station: Evaluation Office, New York HQ

Duration: 1 October 2024 to 28 February 2025

Home/ Office Based: NYHQ 

About UNICEF

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. 

BACKGROUND

Purpose of Activity/Assignment: 

Background

The adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2006, now ratified by 164 State Parties1, marked a paradigm shift in how disability is perceived and addressed globally. The CRPD emphasizes the rights of persons with disabilities to full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. This landmark treaty has significantly influenced policy-making, and program implementation across various sectors, including child rights and welfare, catalyzing global efforts to promote disability inclusion.

UNICEF, at the forefront of this movement, has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to disability inclusion, developing tools and guidance to support disability-inclusive programming since the early stages. The organization's influential 2013 State of the World's Children report, "Children with Disabilities: From Exclusion to Inclusion2," brought global attention to the challenges faced by children with disabilities and called for their full inclusion in society. The report significantly impacted Member States, implementing partners, and donors, leading to substantial growth in UNICEF's disability-inclusive programming portfolio.

UNICEF's commitment to disability rights has evolved further in its 2022-2025 Strategic Plan3, which adopts a more transformative and intersectional approach to addressing inequality and discrimination. This shift aims to tackle the underlying drivers of exclusion by transforming structures and norms. Recognizing that children with disabilities remain among the most marginalized and invisible members of society, UNICEF is now integrating disability rights across all its operations, including support for families, parents, and caregivers of children with disabilities in both development and humanitarian contexts. The Strategic Plan sets ambitious targets for disability inclusion and mandates the integration of disability considerations across all UNICEF programs and operations.

In 2019, the United Nations launched the Disability Inclusion Strategy (UNDIS), a comprehensive framework designed to guide the UN system in strengthening its approach to disability inclusion. As part of the UN family, UNICEF has aligned its efforts with UNDIS, working to ensure that the rights of persons with disabilities are fully realized across all its programmatic and operational areas. UNDIS Indicator 10, which focuses on evaluation, is particularly relevant to this synthesis. Evaluation plays a crucial role in assessing the level of disability inclusion within the scope of the United Nations activities. Enhancing disability inclusion in evaluations will enable the UN system to enhance organizational accountability and knowledge, contributing to the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including the fundamental commitment to ensuring that no one is left behind.

In response to the UNDIS requirements, UNICEF conducted an initial synthesis to identify gaps in disability inclusion within its evaluation practices. This synthesis served as a crucial step in understanding the organization's baseline and areas for improvement. Prior to developing its guidance, UNICEF undertook a meta-synthesis of the inclusion of disability in evaluations from 2016 to 2021, aiming to create awareness and inform the organization on the progress made towards achieving the standards set by U