Consultancy, Local Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Specialist, Suva, Fiji, 12 months

UNICEF Pacific is in search of a dedicated and proactive local Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Specialist who can provide professional, technical and operational support in the implementation of Giga in Fiji.

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, education.

We operate in the Pacific, specifically in the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. These 14 Pacific islands countries are home to 2.3 million people, including 1.2 million children and youth. They inhabit more than 660 islands and atolls that stretch across 17.2 million square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean. This area is comparable to the combined size of the United States of America and Canada. Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu are classified as Fragile States according to World Bank/OECD criteria.

All 14 Pacific Island countries and territories have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, only a third are on track with reporting obligations. You can explore the different areas of our work at the link provided here: www.unicef.org/pacificislands .

Background of Assignment: 

Giga is a UNICEF-ITU global initiative to connect every school to the Internet and every young person to information, opportunity, and choice.

1.3 billion children of school-going age do not have access to fixed Internet connection at home, and only around half of the world’s schools are online. This digital exclusion particularly affects the poorest communities , girls and those with disabilities; causing learners to miss out on digital resources and services, the option to learn remotely (e.g. during pandemics or instability), and the opportunity to develop digital skills. UNICEF and ITU have therefore joined forces to create Giga, an initiative to connect every school in the world to the Internet and address this new form of inequality. Giga enables universal school connectivity and provides support in three broad areas: (1) High level engagement and governance around school connectivity; (2) Technical assistance to map schools’ location and connectivity status; and connectivity infrastructure; (3) Procurement and market access interventions.

How can you make a difference? 

Under the overall guidance of Education Officer and technical guidance of the UNICEF Global Giga project officer, the ICT Specialist Consultant will provide professional, technical and operational support in the implementation of Giga in Fiji. The Consultant will play an integral role in contextualizing and integrating Giga in Fiji. S/he will assist the Education Officer and the MOE focal point in coordinating and facilitating the maping effort, and for strengthening MoE capacity to lead and support Giga related activities, identifying and engaging with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and key line ministries, and maximizing potential for Giga scale-up and roll-out. The role will be based in Suva, Fiji with local travel when necessary.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Act as primary focal point for coordination among relevant stakeholders.

1. Act as liaison between relevant government focal points in Fiji; Government Information Technology Center (ITC), UNICEF, the Giga HQ team, ISPs and key sector ministries.
2. Provide technical guidance in the development and quality assurance during planning and deployment of Giga activities; participate in establishing and maintaining standards, documentation and support mechanisms.
3. Support the Giga Technical Committee to ensure that progress is made on their respective Giga work plans.
4. Support the budgeting of key initiatives and the preparation of relevant, linked communication and materials.
5. Facilitate coordination meetings with relevant stakeholders to ensure alignment to local requirements and policies.

2. Establish relationships with counterparts in relevant institutions and the private sector.

1. Develop partnerships and networks with key line ministries (education, ITC, Communication), local solution providers, innovators, NGOs, cultural and religious organisations, the private sector, local media and academia to advance Giga.
2. Support the establishment of data sharing agreements with MoE and ISPs and manage these relationships to ensure smooth and continued data sharing.
3. Support the generation of partner-oriented communication materials, including clear concept notes and budgets.
4. Ensure their support to the project and facilitate timely communications.

3. Execute and manage Giga activities in Fiji.

1. Work with relevant government divisions to collect, clean, classify the required data for Giga mapping, connect and finance modelling work.
2. Support the deployment of software tools for real-time monitoring of internet connectivity in schools.
3. Work with the Giga team to adapt the developed tools to the needs of Fiji, and coordinate and mediate between all key stakeholders to achieve the results.
4. Support the implementation of the Giga Accelerate prototypes for testing connectivity and business models.
5. Ensure that there is coordination with any planned ITC-led activities around infrastructure analysis and regulatory assessments.

4.Knowledge Management activities including progress reporting, project communications, risk management and lessons learned.

1. Identify, capture, synthesize and share lessons learned from Giga deployment for integration into broader knowledge development planning and management efforts including from other countries via the global and regional networks.
2. Ensure documentation and clear monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for Giga activities in Fiji including baseline data collection, on-going monitoring, as well as first phase data collection and analysis.
3. Complete final report including mapping results and recommendations.

Supervision will be provided by the Education Officer from the Pacific Multi-Country Office in Suva.

Please refer to the detailed Terms of Reference (ToR) ( TOR – Education Local Giga Consultant, Fiji.pdf) for further information on the deliverables and the timelines.

GUIDANCE FOR APPLICANTS:

Please submit a brief technical proposal with a separate financial offer along with your application. The financial proposal should be a lump sum amount for all the deliverables and should show a break down for the following:

• Monthly / Daily fees– based on the deliverables in the Terms of Reference above.
• Travel and Daily Subsistence Allowance for 6 days of field visits to 6 clusters, 3 in Suva and 3 in Nausori Education Districts.
• Miscellaneous- to cover visa, health insurance (including medical evacuation for international consultants), communications, and other costs.

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

Education:  

• Bachelors Degree in Information Technology, Information System or a relevant field.

Experience, Skills and Language:  

• A minimum of five (5) years professional experience in ICT technologies.
• Experience with ICT hardware or software tools, mobile phones and web-based technologies, particularly designing or deploying tools appropriate to low-bandwidth environments, or in the phases of adoption and user requirements (user testing, user interaction, etc.)
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and interpersonal skills with the ability to build strong relationships with diverse stakeholders.
• Familiarity working with quantitative and qualitative statistics and government data is desired: census, EMIS, location data, etc.
• Familiarity working with big data is desired: telcos, Twitter, satellite imagery.
• Experience working with or managing relationships with government ministries, development partners and ISPs.
• Experience in supporting and coordinating social development analysis and programming activities across organizations and with other international partner organizations.
• Experience with developing budgets, contracts and procurement, etc.
• Ability to communicate data insights and to translate into programmatic impact.
• Demonstrated ability to work with people of various professional, academic and cultural backgrounds.
• Desired experience with early-stage technical products.
• Development or government experience; familiarity with the UN system and UNICEF.

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

To view our competency framework, please visit  here.

Remarks:  

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/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. 

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 and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors 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. 

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