Senior Disability Expert

Senior Expert on Disability Inclusion

Vietnam Gender and Inclusive Development Analysis

USAID Learns Contract

Hanoi, Vietnam

Apply here

https://phg.tbe.taleo.net/phg02/ats/careers/v2/viewRequisition?org=SOCIIMPA2&cws=39&rid=4938

Note: This post is open only to local candidates.

About Social Impact

Social Impact (SI) is a global development management consulting firm. We provide monitoring, evaluation, strategic planning, and capacity-building services to advance development effectiveness. We work across all development sectors including democracy and governance, health and education, the environment, and economic growth. Since 1997 we have worked in over 100 countries for clients such as US government agencies, bilateral donors, multilateral development banks, foundations, and nonprofits.

Project Objective

SI is implementing the USAID/Vietnam Learns Contract (USAID Learns). The scope of the five-year project is to support USAID/Vietnam staff and partners to implement more efficient, effective, and transparent programs by improving: (1) USAID and Implementing Partner (IP) capacity to achieve expected results; (2) USAID’s understanding and tracking of project performance; and (3) collaborating, learning, and adapting (CLA).

Background

USAID/Vietnam is commencing the process of developing a new Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) for 2025 to 2030, which the Mission will use to direct and monitor its portfolio throughout this period. The Mission is currently at the outset of the development process, and intends to complete mandatory analyses to ensure they are well integrated into the new CDCS. As part of these efforts, USAID/Vietnam must deliver a gender analysis exploring issues affecting women, girls, men, boys, and gender diverse individuals. In addition, while it is not explicitly required, recent additional guidance recommends conducting a wider inclusive development analysis, examining other threats to inclusion to marginalized and/or underrepresented groups.

Purpose and Use of the Assessment

Learns will deliver a focused gender and inclusive development analysis to inform the 2025-2030 CDCS process, and will facilitate sessions with the Technical Offices, particularly Office Directors, A/CORs, and others with an interest in the topic, to understand the findings and identify opportunities to apply them both before and during CDCS development. This analysis will identify, understand, and explain gaps among women, girls, men, boys, and gender-diverse individuals across the Mission’s Goal and Development Objectives as an initial entry point into the analysis. The analysis will then explore these dynamics as they affect other marginalized populations and intersecting identities, which will be identified in consultation with the Mission at the outset of the task.

The analysis will make reference to the USAID ADS Chapter 205 domains of (1) laws, policies, regulations, and institutional practices, (2) cultural norms and beliefs, (3) gender roles, responsibilities, and time use, (4) access to and control over assets and resources, and (5) patterns of power and decision-making; and the Additional Help for ADS 201 domain of (6) personal safety and security. The analysis will also make reference to USAID’s current regulations on disabilities inclusion, including the draft disability policy that the Agency is currently preparing.

Research Questions

To reach the defined purpose, the analysis should be able to answer the following questions:

1. Context: what are the key gender and other inclusive development issues in the ADS 205 domains across each of the Development Objectives, focusing specifically on gender and disability inclusion along with other identities?
2. Opportunities: how can USAID/Vietnam Technical Offices maximize gender equality and inclusive development in the next CDCS through new and existing programming? What bright spots could be built upon? What approaches could USAID/Vietnam adopt to achieve deeper gender and inclusive development integration across its portfolio?
3. Risks: what possible threats or other challenges might emerge or persist throughout the next CDCS?

Position Description

USAID Learns seeks a Senior Expert on Disability Inclusion, who will be tasked with analyzing inclusion issues facing people with disabilities. The expert will be responsible for leading desk based and qualitative research focusing particularly on disability inclusion. The expert will work closely with a Senior Expert who will focus on broader gender and inclusive development issues. These two consultants will report to USAID Learns, who will engage a Team Leader and a Research Coordinator to support the analysis, as well as a remote international Senior Expert to support and quality assure the final deliverables. USAID Learns will provide additional support in terms of project management, quality assurance, event facilitation, and interpretation/translation if necessary. 

Methodology

The analysis will take gender dynamics as its initial entry point into inclusion issues, and will also incorporate a strong focus on disability inclusion. The team will build on this by considering a set of inclusive development issues to be agreed in partnership with the Mission. The analysis is not intended to be a comprehensive picture of gender and social inclusion issues in Vietnam; as such, this consultation will ensure the task explores a range of inclusion issues in Vietnam, while aligning as closely as possible to USAID/Vietnam needs and expectations.

Once underway, the analysis will be conducted primarily through desk review of government policies, academic publications, global data sets, and programming reports capturing existing quantitative and qualitative data on key gender and inclusive development gaps and dynamics under each domain. The analysis will also draw upon recently completed USAID/Vietnam gender and other analyses to complete the desk review. Where interviews are needed to supplement the findings of the desk review and ensure the recommendations are best positioned to shape CDCS development, the Learns team will reach out to Vietnamese and international gender and inclusive development and disability specialists who can offer useful insights, including within the Agency.

Deliverables and Timelines

The assignment is set to commence in July 2024 and be completed by November 2024. An indicative timeline is set out in the table below.

Timelines: July 2024 – November 2024

Level of effort (LOE): up to 15 days

Responsibilities

• Work with the Team Leader to design the analysis according to USAID guidelines
• Lead the desk review, data collection, and data analysis on disability inclusion issues, working closely with the other Senior Expert
• Support preparation and delivery of presentations on key findings, and recommendations to USAID and related stakeholders together with the assessment team
• Contribute to the draft report with support from the team members; respond to comments on the draft report and finalize the report, taking into consideration comments and feedback from USAID Learns, USAID and workshop participants.
• Work collaboratively with other team members throughout design, implementation, analysis, and report writing to complement each other's areas of expertise

Qualifications 

• At least 10 years of experience on disability inclusion issues in Vietnam. Experience with other inclusion issues preferred.
• Significant experience in delivering useful insights on disability inclusion to inform donor programming
• Significant experience in qualitative and secondary research, including conducting interviews, facilitating workshops, and performing desk reviews
• Strong qualitative analysis skills
• Ability to work independently to meet deadlines and adhere to high-quality standards
• Strong leadership & communication skills
• Strong research writing skills
• Experience working with USAID and knowledge of USAID rules, regulations and procedures is strongly preferred
• Professional proficiency in writing, reading, and speaking both English and Vietnamese.
• The candidate must be Vietnamese and reside in Vietnam.  

The closing date for application: July 10, 2024. Selection and interviews will be performed constantly and interested candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

To apply, please merge your CV and a cover letter into one pdf file and submit it through the online portal.

To learn more about Social Impact, please visit our website:http://www.socialimpact.com

SI is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.

Only selected candidates will be contacted for an interview. Please, no phone calls, no visits.