Jobs at UNOPS

Background Information – ATscale, the Global Partnership for Assistive Technology

ATscale, the Global Partnership for Assistive Technology, is a cross-sectoral partnership with the goal of reaching 500 million additional people with assistive technology by 2030 to support them in participating in education, work, and everyday life.

Today, over 2.5 billion people need at least one form of AT, such as wheelchairs, eyeglasses, or hearing aids, but in low-income countries, 90% do not have access to the AT they require. The number of people who need AT is expected to grow to more than 3.4 billion people by 2050.

Access to appropriate AT enables people with loss of function, disabilities, non-communicable diseases, and the ageing population to participate in education, work, family, and community life. Lack of access to AT has significant consequences for individuals, their families, and the wider society. Without AT, individuals may experience isolation and exclusion from education, the labour market, and civic life. Lack of access to appropriate AT causes poorer health outcomes including premature death, deteriorating mental health, and increased risk of chronic health conditions and secondary complications, all of which lead to a higher burden on health systems. Increasing accessibility and affordability of AT unlocks unrealised economic potential and provides socioeconomic benefit for individuals, families, and countries by increasing productivity and participation in the workforce.

The ATscale Secretariat is hosted by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and is based in Geneva, Switzerland. For more information, please visit https://atscalepartnership.org/

Role of the Programme Support officer

ATscale aims to attract users of Assistive Technology (AT users) as part of the Secretariat team.

For the purposes of this job description, “AT user” refers to someone who currently requires the use of assistive technology - assistive products and/or associated services - to be able to operate in a professional working environment. Assistive devices include but are not limited to wheelchairs, prosthesis, hearing aids, augmentative and alternative communication devices, etc.

The Programme Support officer is part of the ATscale Secretariat Operations Team and will support the Programme Support Specialist in ensuring effective provision of support service for the Secretariat across all aspects of operations (Grants, Finance, Procurement, Human Resources and Administration) to ensure achievement of results, whilst driving compliance with corporate strategies, UNOPS rules, regulations, policies, and standards of accountability, ethics and integrity.

The Programme Support officer reports to the Programme Support Specialist and provides a range of implementation support services to ensure rapid and compliant delivery of all aspects of the operations.

He/she works in close collaboration with teams across ATscale as well as interfacing with the Support Services function of the UNOPS Geneva Office, UNOPS Headquarters (HQ) and other key stakeholders for successful service delivery.