Home Based Roster Strategic Foresight Consultant

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

As part of the BDT implementation strategy, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance for Digital Development offers a new approach to bridge the Digital Innovation Divide and empower ITU-D membership to overcome challenges on their path through digital transformation, unlock their digital potential, build local capabilities in innovation and entrepreneurship, and accelerate their ecosystems’ impact on cross-cutting sectors for an inclusive and sustainable society. The Alliance will enable transformational projects fostering digital innovation and entrepreneurship for national, regional and global impact.
The Alliance will fast-track key strategic objectives to accelerate countries’ journey towards an innovation-driven digital economy, including one on strategic foresight. The ITU has created a comprehensive foresight playbook designed to align with the work of the Alliance. This playbook serves as a step-by-step guide for conducting effective foresight research. It utilizes a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, as well as research and co-creation, all grounded in human-centric and ecosystem-centric approaches.
This vacancy seeks to establish an ITU roster of foresight consultants with relevant experience in strategic foresight who can utilize the ITU foresight methodology to conduct foresight research for the Membership.

TERMS OF REFERENCE

The consultant will:

• Conduct in-depth research and analysis to support the end-to-end delivery of strategic foresight projects. This involves leveraging ITU foresight methodologies and engaging relevant ecosystems stakeholders to generate robust insights.
• Use defined foresight techniques and effectively apply them in research, stakeholder engagement, and co-creation activities, including use of virtual board Miro in the process.
• Engage and collaborate with ITU stakeholders and partners to facilitate knowledge exchange, gather insights, and align foresight studies with project objective and national priorities.
• Plan, organize, and facilitate national and inter-regional foresight workshops both virtual and in-person to support the identified foresight topics and foster multi-stakeholder collaboration.
• Lead the end-to-end research, writing, and reporting process, ensuring alignment with the ITU-provided frameworks and formats.
• Engage regularly with ITU team members to gather feedback on progress made to ensure the foresight report is high-quality, relevant, and aligned with national goals and ecosystem needs.
• Support the content development and facilitation of co-creation workshops designed to enhance stakeholder engagement, develop the foresight studies, and further improve ITU’s playbook on strategic foresight.

CONCRETE DELIVERABLES

• Monthly reports detailing progress on ToR, and key milestones achieved.
• A comprehensive Strategic Foresight report.
• A summary deck for each report, providing key findings and actionable recommendations.
• Specific deliverables will be defined according to the Terms of Reference to be established for each specific requirement and may vary depending on the context and priorities of the project and programme.

COMPETENCIES

• Complexity Science: Ability to apply relevant ecosystem stakeholders” opinions, conduct interviews, and use participatory methods to understand the connections between actors and trends, as well as mapping interdependencies and future states within complex systems.
• Framing and Scanning: Ability to use structured methodologies such as STEEPLE, Delphi, horizon scanning and fringe scanning to identify weak signals, emerging trends, and megatrends.
• Mapping: Ability to map drivers, axis of uncertainty, and their implications.
• Visioning: Ability to develop both inductive and deductive scenarios, utilizing wind tunneling, and effectively communicate these scenarios and their implications through methods such as future wheels, storytelling and other methods.
• Transforming: Ability to create roadmaps and plans using techniques such as scenario immersion, backcasting, and technology planning.
• Virtual board: Ability to use a virtual board such as Miro to co-create and co-design with stakeholders.
• Proven ability to develop and implement projects to achieve measurable outcomes in digital ecosystems.
• Strong research skills to gather, synthesis, and interpret data from various sources, with familiarity with a range of foresight methodologies and tools.
• Familiarity with the ITU methodology on Strategic Foresight will be an advantage.

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED

Education:

University degree in economics, political or social science, telecommunications, business development, human resources etc. or a related field or education from a reputed college of advanced education with a diploma equivalent to a university degree in the field relevant to the Special Service Agreement (SSA). An advanced degree will be an advantage.

Experience:

At least five (5) years of experience of leading or contributing to foresight projects, research studies or related initiatives.

Languages:

Knowledge of English at advanced level.

REMUNERATION INFORMATION

Between USD 230 and USD 430 per working day to be defined according to the work experience of the consultant.