Terms of Reference
Disability Inclusion Guidelines for Sexual Reproductive Health and GBV Programming- UNFPA South Sudan.
1. Background
UNFPA South Sudan is committed to upholding the human rights and dignity of all individuals, including persons with disabilities. South Sudan faces significant challenges, including widespread poverty, conflict, and limited access to essential services, which disproportionately affect persons with disabilities. They often experience multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and exclusion, hindering their access to vital Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) services and increasing their vulnerability to Gender-based Violence (GBV).
Despite existing commitments such as the UNFPA Disability Inclusion Strategy (2022-2025), there remains a critical need for practical, context-specific guidance for UNFPA South Sudan staff and implementing partners. This guideline will ensure that all SRH and GBV programming is disability-inclusive, accessible, and responsive to the unique needs and rights of persons with disabilities in South Sudan. It will serve as a foundational document for designing, implementing, monitoring, and reporting on programs, ensuring that no one is left behind.
2. Goal and Objectives
Goal: To strengthen UNFPA South Sudan’s capacity to effectively integrate disability inclusion into all aspects of its Sexual Reproductive Health and Gender-Based Violence programming, ensuring that programmes are accessible, acceptable, equitable, and responsive to the needs and rights of persons with disabilities.
Objectives:
- To develop a comprehensive and user-friendly guideline, including practical tools and templates, for disability inclusion in UNFPA South Sudan’s programming, with particular emphasis on SRH and GBV.
- To enhance the capacity of UNFPA South Sudan and its partners to identify and address barriers faced by persons with disabilities in accessing SRH/GBV services.
- To promote the meaningful participation of persons with disabilities and their representative organizations in all stages of programming.
3. Objectives of the Consultancy
The main objective of this consultancy is to develop a disability Inclusion guideline for developing, implementing, monitoring, and reporting UNFPA South Sudan Programming with a set of accompanying practical tools.
This guideline will serve as a practical tool for UNFPA South Sudan staff and implementing partners.
4. Expected Outputs
The expected outputs of this consultancy are:
- A comprehensive and user-friendly guideline, including practical tools and templates, for disability inclusion in UNFPA South Sudan’s programming, with particular emphasis on SRH and GBV. This includes an annex of practical tools and templates.
- A concise executive summary of the guideline.
- A presentation summarizing the key elements and recommendations of the guideline including a brief orientation based on the developed tools and templates.
5. Deliverables
The selected firm or organization will be responsible for delivering the following:
- Inception Report: A detailed work plan, methodology, and timeline of deliverables for the consultancy (within 3 days of contract signing).
- Draft Disability Inclusion Guideline: First comprehensive draft submitted for review and feedback by UNFPA South Sudan (by Day 20).
- Revised Draft Disability Inclusion Guideline: Incorporating feedback from UNFPA South Sudan and key stakeholders (by Day 22).
- Samples of Behaviour Change Communication Materials to shift attitudes and practices that create barriers for people with disabilities. The samples created should be inclusive and relevant for individuals with various types of disabilities, including physical, sensory (hearing and visual), and intellectual. UNFPA may generate more materials from the sample artworks. (Day 27)
- Final Validated Disability Inclusion Guidelines: Final version incorporating all revisions, including an executive summary and a brief training module outline (by Day 28).
- Convene a one-day advocacy workshop for a minimum of 10 non-governmental organizations (NGOs)-including UNFPA-, with a focus on enhancing their understanding and practical application of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). (Day 30)
The working days are not necessarily consecutive, but the work should be completed within the period of December 31, 2025.
6. Description of Assignment
Under the direct supervision of the UNFPA South Sudan Programme Specialist (Gender and Social Norms) or designated focal point, the selected firm or organization will deploy a qualified team to undertake the following tasks:
- Desk Review: Conduct a thorough review of relevant international frameworks (e.g., CRPD, IASC Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action), UNFPA Disability Inclusion Strategy (2022-2025), existing UNFPA South Sudan SRH and GBV programming documents, national policies and legislation related to disability in South Sudan, and best practices from similar contexts.
- Stakeholder Consultations: Conduct virtual and/or in-person consultations with key stakeholders, including UNFPA South Sudan staff, implementing partners, representatives of organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs), relevant government ministries, and UN agencies. These consultations will aim to gather insights, identify gaps, and ensure the guideline is contextually relevant and practical.
- Guideline Development: Develop a comprehensive guideline that includes, but is not limited to, the following sections:
- Introduction: Rationale, purpose, scope, and guiding principles.
- Key Concepts and Terminology: Definitions of disability, types of impairments, models of disability, and inclusive language.
- Disability Rights and Legal Frameworks: Overview of international and national South Sudan) legal instruments.
- Disability Inclusion Programming:
▪ Addressing specific SRH and gender needs of persons with different types of disabilities (e.g., intellectual, sensory, physical).
▪ Inclusive information and education aligning with UNFPA South Sudan thematic areas (SRH, Gender, Youth, and population and data).
▪ Community outreach and engagement.
▪ Accessible GBV response services for PWD (e.g., safe spaces, psychosocial support, legal aid).
▪ Strengthening reporting mechanisms and referral pathways, with a disability inclusion lens.
▪ Prevention strategies tailored for persons with disabilities.
▪ Addressing specific vulnerabilities to GBV.
o Mainstreaming Disability Inclusion across the Program Cycle:
▪ Assessment: Tools and methodologies for disability-inclusive needs assessments and data collection (e.g., Washington Group Questions).
▪ Design and Planning: Integrating disability inclusion into project design, logframes, and budgets, with a template for a disability-inclusive budget.
▪ Implementation: Practical steps for ensuring accessibility, reasonable accommodation, and meaningful participation, including a checklist for accessibility and reasonable accommodation.
▪ Monitoring and Evaluation: Developing disability-inclusive indicators, data disaggregation by disability, and accessible M&E processes, with a sample M&E framework.
▪ Reporting: Guidance on reporting on disability inclusion achievements and challenges, including a reporting template.
o Partnerships and Coordination: Collaborating with OPDs, government, and other humanitarian/development actors.
- Capacity Building: Recommendations for training and awareness-raising.
- Accountability: Mechanisms for ensuring adherence to the guideline.
- Annexes: Practical tools, checklists, resource directory, glossary.
- Validation and Finalization: Incorporate feedback from UNFPA South Sudan and key stakeholders to finalize the guideline.
- Orientation of Developed Tools: A brief orientation highlighting the key aspects of the guideline and tools for internal briefing
- Convene a one-day advocacy workshop for a minimum of 10 non-governmental organizations (NGOs)-including UNFPA-, with a focus on enhancing their understanding and practical application of CRPD.
7. Duration of Assignment
The total duration of the assignment will be 30 working days.
8. Timeframe (expected start and end date)
● Expected Start Date: Ideally by November 3, 2025
● Expected End Date: By December 31, 2025
9. Qualification and/or Specialized Knowledge/Experience of the Firm/Organization and Proposed Team
The bidding firm/organization must demonstrate institutional capacity and propose a team with the following qualifications and experience:
9.1. Firm/Organization’s Qualifications and Experience:
- Legally registered consultancy firm or organization with a proven track record of at least 5 years in providing technical assistance, developing guidelines, policies, or programming in the areas of disability inclusion, public health, gender equality, humanitarian action, or related fields.
- Demonstrated experience in working with UN agencies, international non-governmental organizations, or government bodies, particularly in humanitarian or development contexts.
- Proven capacity to manage projects of similar scope and complexity, including strong project management, financial management, and reporting systems.
- Established expertise in stakeholder engagement, participatory approaches, and delivering high-quality written outputs.
9.2. Proposed Team Qualifications and Experience: The firm/organization must propose a team with at least one Lead Consultant and a supporting team member who collectively possess the following:
- Lead Consultant (Team Leader):
- A university degree in Public Health, Social Sciences, Human Rights, International Development, Gender Studies, or a related field.
- Minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience in developing guidelines, policies, or programming in the areas of disability inclusion, SRH, GBV, and/or humanitarian action.
- Demonstrated expertise in disability inclusion, with a strong understanding of the social model of disability, CRPD, and inclusive programming principles.
- Previous experience working with UN agencies, is highly desirable.
- Extensive experience working in fragile or humanitarian contexts, ideally in South Sudan or the East African region.
- Proven experience in leading stakeholder consultations, facilitating participatory processes, and managing project teams.
- Excellent analytical, research, and report writing skills.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
- A university degree in Public Health, Social Sciences, Human Rights, International Development, Gender Studies, or a related field.
- Supporting Team Member (as appropriate):
- Relevant academic qualifications in areas such as public health, social work, gender studies, or disability studies. o Minimum of 2 years of relevant experience in SRH, GBV, disability inclusion, data collection, and/or research in humanitarian or development settings.
- Experience in designing accessible communication materials. o Knowledge of the South Sudanese context and local languages (e.g., Arabic) is a significant asset.
- Relevant academic qualifications in areas such as public health, social work, gender studies, or disability studies. o Minimum of 2 years of relevant experience in SRH, GBV, disability inclusion, data collection, and/or research in humanitarian or development settings.
- Collective Skills:
- Excellent analytical, research, and writing skills. o Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage effectively with diverse stakeholders, including organizations of persons with disabilities.
- Proficiency in English (written and spoken) is required. Knowledge of Arabic or local South Sudanese languages is an asset for the team.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
- Excellent analytical, research, and writing skills. o Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage effectively with diverse stakeholders, including organizations of persons with disabilities.
How to apply
“Please send your proposal in response to the RFP by email to southsudan.procurement@unfpa.org no later than 17th October 2025 South Sudan Time by 04:30 p.m. local Time.“