Disability Inclusion Advisor - Ghana Federation of the Disability

Ghana Federation of the Disability Organisations (GFD) is a national umbrella of organisations of persons with disabilities in Ghana.

GFD has a vision of an inclusive society for all persons with disabilities in Ghana. The Federation works to influence national legislations, policies and programs for disability inclusion as well as empowerment of organisations of persons with disabilities for advocacy and their sustainability. Currently, GFD has twelve (12) member organisations. It has branches in all 16 administrative regions and in 250 districts in Ghana.

Job Description

The Federation in partnership with Light for the World International with funding from Mastercard Foundation will implement an 8-year program dubbed We Can Work, a regional signature disability programme that uses a system and mindset change approach to impact the
lives of young women and men with disabilities and enables them to access dignified and fulfilling work.

The program works with consortium partners such as Light for the World International, African Disability Forum (ADF), Crosswise Worldwide (CWW) and other umbrella Organizations of Persons with Disabilities and Entrepreneurship Hubs in Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria to impact the lives of at least 1,000,000 youth with disabilities.

With our partners, we will effect change at the level of individuals (including households and communities), organizations and institutions. Young persons with disabilities will act as change agents and provide disability inclusion advisory services and confidently advocate for disability-inclusive policies and practices among key system actors.

Throughout the eight-year partnership intervention, the key outcomes of our work with young women and men with disabilities in the lead will be:

• Young women and men with disabilities drive positive change around disability inclusion
• Young women and men with disabilities have formed start-ups and agribusiness, are growing their micro enterprises or access waged jobs due to direct interventions.
• Young Africa Works program and other system actions intentionally and meaningfully reach out to young women and men with disabilities and ensure that they equally benefit from programs and services.
• Young women and men with disabilities enact agency by contributing to national and regional advocacy processes to implement youth and disability inclusive policies.

GFD seeks the services of experienced and self-driven persons to lead this innovative and ambitious project hence the vacancy for the following position: Disability Inclusion Advisor

Role profile

Reporting to the Programmes Manager of GFD, the Disability Inclusion Advisor will promote and facilitate disability inclusive practices amongst civil society, public and private actors. S(he) will play a key role in nurturing partnerships with these actors and provide hands on technical support in the form of training and coaching.

Whereas the Disability Inclusion Advisor will be responsible to train and advise different stakeholders on disability inclusion, (s)he will largely work through a pool of Disability Inclusion Facilitators. The Advisor will strategize together with Facilitators and support them to effectively tailor their interventions to the particular needs ofthe organisations.

The Disability Inclusion Advisor is a powerful ambassador for disability inclusion, a natural networker, an inspirational communicator, as well as a role model andchangemaker.

Key Responsibilities

1. Networking

GFD in networks of NGOs and/or government bodies, as required; to initiate and build relationships with both mainstream and disability organisations, in order to promote disability inclusion and to initiate partnerships with organisations interested in disability mainstreaming

2. Advising and training

To coordinate learning sessions and working groups; to bring organisations together in learning platforms; to develop and deliver trainings and workshops on the inclusion of persons with disabilities in development programming, workplaces and policies; To provide coaching and advise on the same.

3. Consolidate and further expand the Pool of Disability Inclusion Facilitators

In close collaboration with the Programme team of GFD, and the rest of the We Can Work team, provide training and support to a growing pool of Disability Inclusion Facilitators; To support them with preparation, implementation and reporting on their training and other professional activities;

Ensure continuous quality and consistency of all the activities of the pool of Disability Inclusion Facilitators by monitoring, facilitation of continuous learning and refresher trainings. Training material and tool development: To lead and provide input to co-creation processes, building on principles of human-centred design; to provide content to training manuals and tools;

Proactively identify the need for additional training materials and tools, and support the development of those.

Knowledge and information management

To gather and disseminate relevant information regarding disability mainstreaming; To document lessons learned, case studies and stories of change.

Required Skills or Experience

• University Degree or Higher in field relating to development work, or program management
• At least 3-5 years of experience on disability inclusion, preferably working in Non-Governmental Organizations, or Organisations of Persons with Disabilities
• Familiar with Adult learning/ participatory training methodologies
• High level of exposure to barriers that persons with disabilities face and practical solutions to overcome those barriers, either through life experience or through previous work experience
• Experienced trainer and facilitator with experience in designing and conducting skills-building workshops and other capacity development approaches with a variety of stakeholders.
• Excellent people skills with the ability to develop others and to impart knowledge and experience in an accessible and clear manner.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Commitment to local capacity building and past experience of engaging and working with local stakeholders in project design and implementation.
• Demonstrated expertise in implementation of Livelihoods and Disability inclusion is desired.
• Show great initiative and be able to work well in a team and independently.
• Ability to produce timely and deliver high-quality results