Consultancy: Consultant – Parenting Support for Children with Developmental Delays and Disabilities, Early Childhood Development Section, PG, NYHQ/Home based, Req. # 544085

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

Consultancy Title: Parenting support for Children with Developmental Delays and Disabilities

Section/Division/Duty Station: Early Childhood Development/Programme Group/NYHQ/Home based

Duration (tentative dates): 1 September 2021 – 31 January 2022 (50 days)

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 is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries.

Purpose of Activity/Assignment

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. Parents, families, and other primary caregivers are the main providers of nurturing and responsive care laying the foundation for children’s health and wellbeing across their life course, thus policies, programmes and services must be in place to enable them and their communities to meet all the needs of young children. Due to an increasing demand for support for parents and caregivers with children with developmental delays and disabilities, this consultancy will provide technical support and key resources to ensure culturally responsive parenting support for this target group.

This consultancy will be responsible for conducting a desk review of existing policies, programmes, practices, and research evidence to identify where specific considerations for children with developmental delays and disabilities can be incorporated into sectors that serve children (0-18 years of age) and their families. Based on this review and stakeholder consultations, recommendations from the reference group, and the guidance of UNICEF, the consultant will produce (1) a literature review, (2) mapping of existing programmes featuring 5-8 country examples, and (3) technical guidance note to build capacity for parenting support for children with developmental delays and disabilities and their families. The audience of the technical note will be practitioners and policymakers, with responsibility to provide care for children with developmental delays and disabilities and their families and promote the inter-sectorality of this issue linking universal and targeted programs. The technical guidance note will target children with developmental delays and disabilities (0-18 years), with a focus on the early years of development and include key definitions related to developmental delays and disabilities.

Scope of Work:

1. Literature review highlighting the latest evidence on why parenting support is relevant for children with developmental delays and disabilities and their families across the life course in alignment with the UNICEF Parenting Strategy.  
2. Conduct of stakeholder consultations. Invite key participants, co-facilitate virtual consultation sessions, including development of questions to guide the session and consolidate feedback from sessions in meeting reports. 
3. Mapping of existing parenting programmes that support families and children with disabilities featuring parenting support for children with developmental delays and disabilities and their families through country case studies (5-8) highlighting the specific lessons learned across the life course and steps that countries have taken to strengthen support for young children with developmental delays and disabilities and with families.  
4. Technical guidance note with key recommendations and considerations for parenting/caregiver support including cultural and gender considerations for families of children with disabilities, with emphasis on culturally responsive actions including the importance of routine child growth and development screenings aligned with the UNICEF Parenting strategy that countries can carry out in training frontline workers to implement inclusive sustainable and scalable parenting programmes to support children with developmental delays and disabilities and their families.  
5. Participate in the presentation of finalized technical guidance note through webinars and support dissemination to country offices.

Deliverables/Outputs/Timeline

• Inception plan outlining proposed methodology – 16 September 2021
• Background research and a literature review -7 October 2021
• Stakeholder consultations – 22 October 2021
• Mapping of existing parenting programmes that support families with children with disabilities featuring 5-8 case studies – 29 October 2021
• Draft of technical guidance note for review by reference group and other key stakeholders – 30 November 2021
• Final technical guidance note incorporating input from reference group and other key stakeholders – 23 December 2021
• Presentation of finalized technical guidance note – 31 January 2022

Minimum Qualifications required:

Master’s degree

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

To deliver the full project, the individual(s) should demonstrate the following skills and qualifications:  

• Advanced degree in relevant field, preferably early childhood development, psychology and/or public health with a focus on working with young children with developmental delays and disabilities. 
• Minimum 8 years of working experience in inclusive early childhood development, maternal and child health systems.  
• Thorough knowledge and understanding of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the human-rights based approach to inclusive ECD. 
• Thorough knowledge and understanding of Parenting support needs of children with disabilities and their families. 
• Connections and professional networks in the ECD and disability fields. 
• Experience with planning and conducting consultative processes with different stakeholders across countries/regions, including with persons with disabilities. 
• Experience conducting desk reviews and stakeholder interviews and synthesizing findings. 
• Excellent written English language skills, additional language skills are an asset. 
• Strong analytical and conceptual thinking, demonstrable with examples of prior work. 
• Prior experience working with UNICEF preferred. 

Requirements:

-Completed profile in UNICEF’s e-Recruitment system and provide Personal History Form (P11) Upload copy of academic credentials

-Financial proposal that may include:

• your daily/monthly rate (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference 
• Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.
• Indicate your availability

-At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.

-Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

U.S. Visa information:

With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.  

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

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. View our competency framework here.

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.