UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfilling their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, a better future

UNICEF works to ensure the rights of all children in the East Asia and Pacific Region.  This means the rights of every child living in this country, irrespective of their nationality, gender, religion or ethnicity, to:

• survival – to basic healthcare, peace and security;
• development – to a good education, a loving home and adequate nutrition;
• protection – from abuse, neglect, trafficking, child labour and other forms of exploitation; and
• participation – to express opinions, be listened to and take part in making any decisions that affect them

How can you make a difference?

The Social Policy team of the UNICEF Thailand Country Office is seeking an individual consultant to coordinate the phase II of the pilot implementation of the integrated services model for children with disabilities at sub-national level and devise the strategy for its scale up at national level.

Background

The 13^th National Economic and Social Development Plan (2023 – 2027)

Milestone 9 of the National Economic and Social Development Plan aims to facilitate upward social mobility, reduce income and wealth disparities, and eliminate childhood poverty. To translate the 9^th milestone into practice, the Poverty Eradication and Lifelong Development Center (PELD) has developed a guiding approach to integration model to deliver services to vulnerable groups is mentioned as a key element.

Country Programme (2022 – 2026)

The overall goal of the UNICEF country programme 2022 – 2026 is to contribute to national efforts to enable all children and adolescents in Thailand, especially the most disadvantaged, to have their rights progressively fulfilled and develop to their full potential in an inclusive and protective society respectful of their voice. As such, the country programme contributes to the Government’s vision enshrined in the 13^th National Economic and Social Development Plan (NESDP) and the United Nations Partnership Framework (UNPAF).

Social Protection is a key area of this country programme and it aims to provide a more equity-focused approach to ensure that children, especially the most disadvantaged, benefit from enhanced evidence-based, shock-responsive, integrated, and inclusive social protection and poverty reduction policies and programmes.

Situations of children with disabilities in Thailand and the needs for integrated services

In Thailand, there are an estimated 157,000 children with disabilities[1], most of whom come from low-income households. However, only a small number receive government support for their disabilities. The reason for this is because the eligibility criteria for disability benefits are strict and there is no effective system for referring people to these benefits.[2] The Disability Grant only covers 20% of expenses for adults with disabilities and 25% for children.[3]

In education, children with disabilities are being excluded from essential educational opportunities. According to the National Disability Survey (2022), around 28.9% of children with disabilities were out of school due to a number of factors.[4] One of the main reasons is the inaccessible education environment which makes it difficult for these children to attend school. The lack of accessibility to educational institutions affects the children’s ability to gain knowledge and skills that are essential for their future. Additionally, many families struggle to afford transportation and other education-related expenses, making it even more difficult for children with disabilities to attend school. These financial constraints further exclude them from accessing essential educational opportunities and hinder their overall development.[5]

In 2025, UNICEF in partnership with the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (DEP/MSDHS) and the Office of National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), has developed the model of integrated services for children with disabilities. The rationales used in developing the model were to address the challenges on accessibility, to improve long-term impact of children with disabilities through the early intervention, and to improve the existing services coordination. The objectives of the model are to fulfil the gaps in accessibility, develop the effective referral system and scale up the model to be implemented at national level. Currently, the model is being piloted in two sub-districts in Chiangmai province, however, the pilot scope is limited only to children with severe disabilities. To strengthen the model’s robustness and scalability, UNICEF, NESDC and DEP plan to expand the pilot to additional locations and all types and degrees of disabilities. This broader coverage will allow for more diverse case studies, and more reliable validation of the model’s effectiveness and feasibility.

In order to improve the model and scale it up at national level, UNICEF, in partnership with the DEP and NESDC, is seeking a qualified individual to coordinate and expand the pilot of integrated services model for children with disabilities at sub-national level, and support strategizing and advocating for its scale up at the national level.

 
Work Assignment and Deliverables:

Assignment 1: Review and assess the model of integrated services for children with disabilities, and the pilot implementation.

The assignment aims to enable the consultant to thoroughly review and analyze the integrated services model for children with disabilities, identify areas for improvement, and develop actionable recommendations. Based on this analysis, the consultant will prepare a detailed plan for the expansion of the pilot and national scale-up. More specifically, this assignment will:

• Review the existing model, including its rationale, theory of change, workflow, and SOPs.
• Assess implementation in the current pilot locations.
• Provide recommendations for improvement.
• Develop a pilot implementation plan, including proposed potential additional locations and timeline, and strategy for recruiting more pilot sites.
• Develop a provisional strategy for the national scale up of the model including on how local administrative organizations can be incentivized to adopt and implement the model (this strategy may be further developed during the course of the assignment)

Expected deliverable 1:

• Inception report including:
  • The review of the model of integrated services for children with disabilities with actionable recommendations.
  • Pilot implementation plan and a scale-up strategy A provisional strategy for the national scale up of the model including on how local administrative organizations can be incentivized to adopt and implement the model
  • Workplan and timeline
  • Presentation to the Steering Committee

Delivery schedule: March-April 2026

Assignment 2: Coordination of current and additional pilot locations

This assignment focuses on ensuring the continuation of ongoing pilot sites in Chiang Mai province, and expanding to additional locations to pilot the integrated service model for children with disabilities. This assignment will include:

• Ensuring the ongoing implementation pilot sites in Donkaew and Rimtai sub-districts, Chiangmai province.
• Identifying relevant stakeholders and engage with them to expand to additional pilot locations.
• Introducing the model to the additional pilot locations,
• Organizing training sessions for front-line staff prior to implementation on new sites
• Coordinating with and providing guidance to key partners in all selected locations on implementation of the model
• Coordinate with the Monitoring & Evaluation consultant for the monitoring of the implementation process of the model and addressing emerging challenges.
• Delivering regular progress updates to UNICEF, NESDC and DEP.

Expected deliverable 2:

• Consultation meetings with stakeholders
• Presentation on selected additional pilot locations
• Presentation and training materials for front-line staff training
• Regular progress update with UNICEF, NESDC and DEP
• Report on implementation, bottlenecks and solutions

Delivery schedule: April – September 2026

Assignment 3: Advocacy for the scale up of the integrated services model for children with disabilities

This assignment aims to advocate for the scale-up of the integrated services model for children with disabilities. To achieve this, the consultant will conduct key informant interviews and/or focus group discussions to gather insights and evidence that will inform the scale-up plan. The consultant will also organize consultation meetings with key stakeholders to collaboratively develop the scale-up strategy. In addition, the consultant will plan and facilitate advocacy meetings with identified stakeholders to build consensus and secure commitment for national scale-up.

Expected deliverable 3:

• Briefing paper of the detailed scale-up plan and advocacy strategy, including financing options, as relevant.
• Provide technical advice and preparation/facilitation for advocacy with identified stakeholders

Delivery schedule: October – December 2026

Assignment 4: Coordination with monitoring and evaluation consultant

This assignment aims to coordinate with the M&E consultant on the implementation of the M&E framework, data collection, and model adjustment

Expected deliverable 4:

• Adjusted model of integrated services for children with disabilities

Delivery schedule: December 2026

Duration of Contract:   1 March – 31 December 2026

 
Duty Travel: Official travels to the selected pilot locations (2-3 districts in one province).

 
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Qualifications or specialized knowledge/ experience required

• Advanced university degree in Economics, Social Policy, Social Science, and other relevant fields.
• A minimum of 8 years of relevant professional or research work experience in the area of disability, social protection, social services and decentralization.
• Familiarity in working with government sectors with good track records.
• Familiarity in advocacy with government sectors
• Demonstrated experience in programme management
• Excellent planning & organizing skill, working with people and drive for results
• Fluent in Thai and English (verbal and written)

Only candidates who meet the above-mentioned minimum qualifications will be considered for the evaluation of technical proposal.

Technical Proposal

Candidates are requested to submit a technical proposal of 1,000-2,000 words, detailing their approach for undertaking this assignment. Candidates will be evaluated based on the below qualifications and their technical proposal:

 
Interested candidates are requested to submit CV, cover letter, full contact information of minimum 3 references, availability, technical proposal and financial proposal in THB by 10 February 2026

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check. 

Remarks:  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants. Consultants are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.