International Disability Alliance Is Hiring: 4 Key Positions Open Until March 2026

Deadline: 16 March 2026

For professionals working at the intersection of disability rights, global advocacy, and international development, there are few organisations with the reach and influence of the International Disability Alliance (IDA). Founded in 1999 and legally incorporated in 2013, IDA is an umbrella body of 14 global and regional organisations of persons with disabilities. It represents an estimated one billion people worldwide living with disabilities and serves as the most authoritative voice of the disability movement at the United Nations.

Right now, IDA has four significant open positions, all with application deadlines of 16 March 2026. For African advocates, researchers, and development professionals with the right background, these represent rare career opportunities at the heart of the global disability rights movement.

About the International Disability Alliance

IDA’s core mission is to advance the human rights of persons with disabilities using the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and other human rights instruments as its foundation. The organisation advocates at the United Nations for a more inclusive global environment, supports OPDs worldwide to participate in UN and international human rights processes, and champions the integration of disability inclusion into the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

IDA’s membership includes organisations with strong African presence, including the African Disability Forum, the World Federation of the Deaf, the World Blind Union, and Disabled Peoples’ International; all of which are deeply invested in disability rights across Africa’s 54 nations.

The Four Open Positions

1. Alliance Strengthening Senior Officer

This senior role is at the heart of IDA’s strategy to build a more cohesive global disability movement. The Alliance Strengthening Senior Officer will advance collaboration and collective leadership across IDA’s global and regional membership. The position involves supporting joint advocacy, fostering cross-social movement collaboration with feminist organisations, youth-led movements, Indigenous Peoples’ organisations, older persons’ rights groups, and other rights-based movements in line with IDA’s Impact Strategy 2025–2030.

This is a role for someone who understands both the disability rights ecosystem and the broader human rights landscape, and who has experience in coalition building and international advocacy coordination.

2. Senior Manager — Inclusion Accelerator Hub

The Inclusion Accelerator Hub is one of IDA’s flagship programmatic units. The Senior Manager for this Hub will provide strategic leadership, operational oversight, and technical direction for IDA’s work on movement strengthening, OPD ecosystem support, innovation acceleration, and capability development. The position ensures that scalable, OPD-led innovations can contribute to genuine systems transformation through grants, peer-learning networks, mentorship mechanisms, and ecosystem strengthening initiatives.

This role is ideal for a senior professional with experience in programme management, disability inclusion, and organisational capacity building particularly someone with exposure to OPD development in Africa or Asia.

3. Movement Strengthening Officer

The Movement Strengthening Officer supports implementation of IDA’s Impact Strategy 2025–2030 by strengthening the institutional capacity, governance, and leadership of OPDs and national disability ecosystems. The role supports delivery of ecosystem strengthening, peer-learning, mentorship, and institutional development initiatives under the Inclusion Accelerator Hub. This position is suited to an early-to-mid career professional with hands-on experience working with or within organisations of persons with disabilities at national or regional level.

4. Contracting Officer

The Contracting Officer supports IDA’s strategic and operational capacity through high-quality coordination of procurement and contracting processes. The role supports the full lifecycle of contracts for consultants and sub-grantees, plays a key role in audit preparation, manages procurement of goods and services, and supports internal coordination for membership and IT systems. This position is critical for ensuring procedural compliance, institutional accountability, and efficient support to project and financial operations.

Additionally: COSP19 Consultant

Separately, IDA is seeking a consultant to support planning and delivery of the Civil Society Forum and civil society engagement at the 19th session of the Conference of States Parties to the CRPD (COSP19). The consultancy runs from March to June 2026 (up to 500 hours) and involves coordination with civil society stakeholders, UN counterparts, speaker and programme management, and on-site support during COSP week. This opportunity closes on 10 March 2026.

Why These Roles Matter for African Professionals

IDA’s work is global, but Africa is central to the disability rights movement’s next chapter. With the African Disability Protocol now in force and 54 countries navigating the challenge of implementation, professionals who understand the African context — its languages, its OPD landscape, its political realities bring enormous value to an organisation like IDA.

African professionals who join IDA gain access to the highest levels of UN engagement, including the Human Rights Council, COSP, and the SDG review processes. They also build networks across the global disability movement that are invaluable for those who return to national or regional work.

How to Apply

All four permanent positions close on 16 March 2026. Application packages, including detailed terms of reference and required qualifications for each role, are available for download from IDA’s official opportunities page at internationaldisabilityalliance.org/content/opportunities.

📌 Tip: Visit the IDA website directly to download the application packages. Each role has specific qualification requirements, review them carefully before applying and tailor your application to the Impact Strategy 2025–2030 framework.

These are not just jobs. They are opportunities to shape the global disability rights agenda from the inside. If your experience aligns with any of these roles, this may be the opportunity you have been preparing for.