Disability Rights Officer

Summary of Key Functions:

The role involves providing programmatic support and internal coordination to ensure effective implementation of disability inclusion initiatives. This includes facilitating recruitment, training, and project activities; offering technical guidance on gender-sensitive disability inclusion; developing Terms of Reference for technical studies, overseeing assessments and evaluations; and fostering partnerships with relevant stakeholders. Additionally, the role involves establishing coordination mechanisms, monitoring project progress, managing budgets, and ensuring timely reporting. Internally, the role supports UN-wide disability inclusion initiatives, coordinates inter-agency efforts, integrates disability considerations into core UN processes, and collaborates with civil society and governmental entities to advance disability rights.

• Facilitate the recruitment of personnel, training, and project activities initiation, including drafting terms of reference and work specifications, and overseeing activities of the implementation partner, team members and consultants, as may be recruited under the project to ensure timely delivery. Coordinate with national team and other state teams under the project to track project delivery, share lessons and experiences.
   
• Provide guidance and advice on gender-sensitive disability inclusion, and overall technical guidance throughout the research design, survey implementation, and data analysis. This includes coordinating technical input from partner agencies and organizations of persons with disabilities to ensure comprehensive guidance.
   
• Supervise baseline assessments, mid-term evaluations, and regular reviews to ensure desired outcomes are attained, and provide prompt reporting to the delegated authority.
   
• Foster partnerships and collaborations with relevant line ministries/departments, academic and research institutions engaged in disability research and rights and ensure engagement with organizations of persons with disabilities at all stages of the research.
   
• Establish multi-stakeholder coordination mechanisms, including the technical advisory committee, comprising representatives from relevant central ministries, state ministries and departments, UN agencies, NGOs, and academic/research institutions, to facilitate dialogue and coordination for the research.
   
• Plan project activities and monitor progress against the project results framework and approved annual workplan. Conduct quarterly review meetings with partners and field visits to monitor project implementation progress and undertake corrective actions as necessary. Prepare quarterly project progress reports and conduct project review meetings, providing requisite information and inputs for accurate and timely reporting to the technical advisory committee, donors, and other key stakeholders.
  Monitor and manage financial budgets in accordance with internal control frameworks and/or UN regulations.
   
• Ensure timely preparation and submission of all donor partner and other reporting requirements (both narrative and financial), maintaining high-quality standards.

Internal Coordination:

• Support the UN Country Team's commitment to and implementation of UN-wide disability inclusion initiatives, including the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy (UNDIS), ensuring completion of appropriate reporting processes.
• Coordinate the inter-agency coordination mechanism on disability inclusion, facilitating information and best practices sharing, identifying key opportunities, challenges, and barriers, including knowledge-sharing opportunities.
   
• Collaborate closely with the Operations Management Team (OMT) to ensure the integration of disability inclusion into the OMT workplan aligned with BOS 2.0.
   
• Coordinate the involvement of civil society representatives/organizations of persons with disabilities in discussions on planning, implementation, and assessment of activities within the inter-agency mechanism.
   
• Facilitate the integration of disability considerations into core UN processes (both programmatic and operational areas), including strategic planning, workplan development, programme management, resource mobilization, global and regional platforms, communications, and staff capacity development.
   
• Support the development and implementation of joint programmes on disability rights and inclusion.
   
• Liaise with governmental and non-governmental entities to inform policymaking aimed at advancing the rights of persons with disabilities.

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling 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

Functional Competencies:

Knowledge Management and Learning

• Promotes knowledge management in the UN and a learning environment in the office through leadership and personal example 
• Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more Practice Areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills

Management and Leadership

• Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback 
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude 
• Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills 
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities

• Ability to engage with a wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen working relations, trust and mutual understanding
   
• Ability to capture and sustain attention, interest and agreement of high-level, influential policy and decision makers and secure their buy-in of high-level vision and objectives

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English and knowledge of Hindi is essential.