Consultancy – Special Initiatives Consultant Req.#569233

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 fulfill 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, LOVE

Vacancy Announcement: Consultant

Consultancy Title: Consultant – Special Initiatives

Station: Programme Group Leadership Team (PGLT Core) – Programme Group – NYHQ

Duration: 1 February 2024 – 31 December 2024

Home/ office Based: REMOTE

About UNICEF

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world’s leading children’s rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children’s survival, protection and development. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries.

BACKGROUND

Purpose of Activity/ Assignment:

The purpose of this assignment is to support the institutionalization of the coordination and management arrangements for the organizational priorities on Community Health and Nutrition agenda and the Sustainability and Climate Action Plan, as well as support an expanded multi-stakeholder partnership platform for the Adolescent Girl agenda.  The assignment will also support to undertake a partnerships modality review exercise.

Background: In response to the challenges facing children globally and our organizational collaborative advantages, Programme Group has defined a small set of focused priorities require coordinated action across programme teams and the wider organization.  Three of these priorities are (i) Community Health and Nutrition; (ii) Sustainability and Climate Action; and (iii) Adolescent Girls. In addition, as one of priorities, PG identified a need to carry out a review of UNICEF’s partnerships engagement modalities with global programme partnerships in order to better define UNICEF’s return for investment in these engagements.

Community Health and Nutrition:  For decades, community health workers (CHW[1]), the majority of whom are women, have been dedicated to reaching children and their families with life-saving health, nutrition, and social services, including in some of the most remote and challenging operating environments.  They exemplify the equity arm of primary health care by providing health and nutrition services in a culturally appropriate manner, extending service reach to the most vulnerable children and families, and addressing inequalities in health and nutrition. They serve as important sources of trusted knowledge in their communities and as advocates for local priorities and needs.

Recognising the critical part that community based health and nutrition service delivery through Community Health Workers (CHWs) play in primary health care, and the need to support the community platforms and the linked workers, UNICEF and partners launched the Community Health Delivery Partnership (CHDP). Focusing its efforts on priority countries with high burden of child and maternal mortality, this coalition will aim to:

1. Galvanise increased investment in community health and nutrition systems including the CHWs in some 25 high burden countries serving approximately 66 million children and their families.
2. Equip and professionalise roughly 1 million CHWs with the skills, tools (including technology) and protections they need for effective primary health and nutrition care.

Adolescent Girls

UNICEF is rolling out an ambitious programmatic and advocacy agenda for and with adolescent girls, aligned to UNICEF’s 2022 Adolescent Girl Strategy. The agenda includes advancing investments in 3 main areas: i) quality programming across sectors to achieve gains in adolescent girls’ wellbeing and agency; ii) public, private and philanthropic partnerships towards the global goal of harnessing $1 billion USD for adolescent girls; iii) vibrant research and learning agenda about what works for adolescent girls.

Sustainability and Climate Action:   The planetary crisis of climate change, environmental pollution and biodiversity loss is the defining challenge of our generation. This global emergency threatens decades of development and humanitarian gains.  In response, UNICEF launched a Sustainability and Climate Change Action Plan (SCAP) that is designed to galvanize and accelerate efforts to fill global gaps to protect the most vulnerable children. The plan has three objectives:

1. Protect the lives, health and well-being of children and the resilience of their communities by adapting essential social services to a changing climate, more frequent disasters and a degrading environment.
2. Empower every child through their life course with the developmental opportunities, education and skills to be a champion for the environment.
3. Reduce UNICEF’s emissions and environmental footprint, support its global network of partners to do the same, and advocate for the fulfilment of ambitious international sustainability and climate change agreements.

The consultant will work across teams in Programme Group (PG) and more broadly in UNICEF to advance these initiatives as an advocacy, partnership and programmatic priority. Key tasks are specified below.

Scope of Work:

1. Support the management and coordination arrangements for Community Health Delivery Partnership (CHDP) within PG and the wider organization. Serve as a member of the core strategy group for the Sustainability and Climate Change Action Plan (SCAP) and CHDP, established within PGLT.
2. Prepare for regular updates to the Executive Director and senior management and support ED’s key advocacy engagements on CHDP.
3. Support targeted funding opportunities (including IFIs, private sector partners, amongst others) with PG Health, PPD, and PFP for CHDP.
4. Support the formulation of workplan around the UNGA pledging event across teams and support monitoring the implementation of the workplan.
5. Together with Gender and PG management teams, provide regular briefings to senior management about the adolescent girl agenda, including to identify and agree on opportunities for strategic engagement with stakeholders.
6. Develop briefing note and advocacy/ partnership action plan for 2024 Q1/2, in collaboration with PG, DGCA, the US Natcom and other partners to launch 5 Key Policy Asks for Adolescent Girls and related assets.
7. Develop partnership briefing notes as needed for high level engagement with select partners as follow up to the Commission on the Status of Women and International Women’s Day.
8. Based on an updated mapping of potential partners, nurture 2-3 quality partnerships to co-collaborate on the adolescent girl agenda, with a focus on global investments for girls (ideally US-based).
9. Review and analysis of UNICEF’s partnerships engagement modalities with global programme partnerships

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

Deliverable 1: At least 12 meetings are facilitated including meeting minutes and agenda.           

By 30 March 2024, by 30 June 2024, by 30 Sept 2024 and by 30 Dec 2024.

Deliverable 2:

-At least 20 updates are prepared and shared including updates on UNGA pledging event.

-At least 4 advocacy engagements for ED supported (including Talking Points)    

By 30 Dec 2024

Deliverable 3: At least 4 funding opportunities are targeted.           

By 30 November 2024

Deliverable 4: A finalized workplan on UNGA pledging event       

By 31 March 2024

Deliverable 5: At least 4 briefings to senior management supported.          

By 30 March 2024, by 30 June 2024, by 30 Sept 2024 and by 30 Dec 2024

Deliverable 6: Advocacy and partnership action plan for 2024 developed with clear deliverables    

By 31 March 2024

Deliverable 7: At least 3 partnership briefing notes developed, meetings secured and follow up notes articulated. By 31 March 2024

Deliverable 8 : Partners mapping updated. Briefing notes developed and meetings secured for 2-3 quality partnerships

By 30 June 2024

Deliverable 9: Desk review of existing documents of UNICEF’s engagement with global programme partnerships (including hosted partnerships) conducted; key stakeholder interviewed; and analysis paper (15-20 page) produced.

By 30 April 2024

Qualifications

Education:

• Masters degree in Public Health, Nutrition, International Affairs, Law, other relevant discipline in the social sciences.

Work experience:

• Minimum 12 years of experience working in public health, nutrition, international development, child rights

Competencies/Knowledge:

• Excellent communication skills (written and oral)
• Partnership management experience
• Project management at a senior level
• Coordination and leadership of high-level special initiatives, including developing roadmaps.

Requirements: 

Completed profile in UNICEF’s e-Recruitment system and

• Upload copy of academic credentials
• Financial proposal that will include/ reflect:
  • the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference.
  • travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR
  • Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.
  • Indicate your availability
• Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF
• At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage
• Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

U.S. Visa information:

With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4

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

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. View our competency framework at Here

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors 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:  Individuals engaged under a consultancy 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.