Sightsavers is looking for an experienced Disability Inclusion Adviser to be seconded into FCDO’s Climate and Environment Directorate (CED) and its Adaptation, Nature and Resilience Dept (ANR).
Job Title:Disability Inclusion Technical Adviser – Climate & Environment Directorate
Job Location:UK - The post will be based in an FCDO office in the UK (London or East Kilbride). Flexible working patterns, locations and working arrangements within the UK may be considered with an expectation of 40-60% of the pro-rata time in the office.
Contract: 12-month contract secondment position from Sightsavers to FCDO (with potential to extend subject to budget)
Salary:c. £55,000 dependent upon experience
Sightsavers is looking for an experienced Disability Inclusion Adviser to be seconded into FCDO’s Climate and Environment Directorate (CED) and its Adaptation, Nature and Resilience Dept (ANR).
Background:
Sightsavers’ programming in disability and broader social inclusion is growing, including with a number of Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) funded programmes. Realising the importance of disability inclusive development, in February 2022, FCDO published a new Disability Inclusion and Rights Strategy, continuing a twin-track approach of mainstreaming as well as specific and focused action for people with disabilities. This includes climate and environment as an emerging area of policy focus. FCDO committed to step up embedding disability considerations in its International Climate Finance (ICF) portfolio, invest in more robust research and evidence and work in partnership with key allies to accelerate global action. The strategy sets out how FCDO will implement its commitments, including by improving awareness of disability inclusion, adapting culture and practices, engaging meaningfully with Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs), influencing others, adapting programmes and collecting disaggregated data.
As a result of our collaboration with FCDO, we seek an experienced Disability Inclusion Adviser to be seconded into FCDO’s Climate and Environment Directorate (CED) and its Adaptation, Nature and Resilience Dept (ANR).The work of the postholder will be administrated and overseen by Sightsavers, but their time and inputs related to FCDO will be overseen by the Nature & Adaptation Strategy & Delivery Team Leader in CED.
About the role
The post will be part of the Nature & Adaptation Strategy & Delivery team within the ANR Department but is expected to work in a cross-cutting way across the whole Department and Directorate where appropriate. In line with the strategic commitment on disability inclusion, the primary purpose of this post is to support the Climate and Environment Directorate (CED) and the Adaptation, Nature and Resilience (ANR) Department, to enhance their strategies, programming, policy development and influencing to better support people with disabilities.
The secondee will be responsible for a specific set of objectives and deliverables, agreed in partnership with CED and ANR Dept and Sightsavers. They will provide high quality advice and technical support to ANR and potentially wider CED teams. This will include building awareness and capacity on disability inclusion with existing and new partners. The successful applicant will work with friendly and dynamic teams, across FCDO and with cross-government stakeholders. We also work with country governments on their plans, concerns and priorities, and with a range of NGO and civil society stakeholders. An initial deliverable will be a light-touch portfolio review of CED’s ANR strategies, policies, programming and the ICF will be required to scope out what support is needed.
Subsequent deliverables may include:
- Reviewing and strengthening CED and HMG wide Strategies, policies and programming and prioritising areas for action
- Reviewing and recommending how to further embed disability considerations into ICF programmesthrough providing guidance, support, expertise and challenge
- Improve ANR Department’s policies and programmes and reporting
- Building CED Capacity and capability
This is an involved role. Please read the full job description for further detail.
About you
This is an exciting time to join the CED. We have an important job to do, with lots of exciting opportunities to shape and deliver the UK’s international climate and energy ambitions. To succeed in this role, you will need:
- Practical experience in a relevant field (social work/social inclusion; disability studies, public health, international development etc.)
- Knowledge of current issues and best practice in climate, environment and development
- Experience of making inclusion a reality in highly resource constrained situations and remote settings
- Experience in developing and adapting programme guidance tools and other resource materials and providing training and capacity building
- Experience in collating, synthesising and disseminating best practice guidance, research and programme learning
- Good knowledge of the key international networks and organisations working on social inclusion and disability
- Experience influencing policy and passion for collaborative policy making
As an equal opportunity employer, we actively encourage applications from all sections of the community. Sightsavers is a Disability Confident Leader and qualified people living with a disability are particularly encouraged to apply.
Closing date: Tuesday 31 May 2022
How to apply
Next steps
To apply for this exciting new opportunity, please complete an application via our recruitment portal. We are particularly interested in learning of your motivations for applying. Please note that there will be an expectation that you can spend 40-60% of the working week in one of the FCDO’s offices.
Remote interviews will take place on Monday 13 June 2022 and the interview will include a presentation to be prepared in advance. If shortlisted for interview, you will be notified by Wednesday 1 June. You will be asked to present for a maximum of five minutes during the interview on the following:
What key lessons from disability mainstreaming in the development sector can be applied to positively impact on climate action internationally and how would you apply those in this role?