Consultancy: Portfolio Coordinator (Sustainable WASH Innovation hub), Office of Innovation, Copenhagen, Denmark (Blended: Remote + onsite)

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, innovate…

UNICEF has a 70-year history of innovating for children. We believe that new approaches, partnerships and technologies that support realizing children’s rights are critical to improving their lives. The Office of Innovation (OoI) is a creative, interactive, and agile team in UNICEF. We sit at a unique intersection, where an organization that works on huge global issues meets the startup thinking, the technology, and the partners that turn this energy into scalable solutions.

The vision of the UNICEF Sustainable WASH Innovation Hub (WASH Hub) is to be a global home for building, accelerating and scaling transformational climate resilient solutions for a WASH secure future of universal and equitable access to services, addressing the full ambition of the SDG6.

WASH Hub will source, pilot and scale transformational and frontier climate resilient innovations that respond to key programmatic challenges that, if solved, will unlock faster progress for a water secure future for children and young people.

One of the key global challenges that the Hub will address through exploration and scale of innovative solutions will be tackling foreseen climate change impacts on WASH services and delivery access. The Hub will also support research and innovation on the links between climate change and water, sanitation and hygiene.

The hub will bring together a passionate community of strategic partners including children and young people, academia, private entrepreneurs, public policy makers, social development and humanitarian actors, and our global UNICEF WASH / CEED and innovation colleagues in 150+ countries. Collectively we will co-create, advocate, enable, convene, and motivate for innovative sustainable solutions to long-standing barriers and emerging opportunities for a WASH secure and climate resilient future for every child.

The WASH Hub will be part of a distributed network working in close partnership with child impacted local ecosystems in countries across the world, while simultaneously engaging some of the most impactful global innovation ecosystems.

The WASH hub operates a portfolio approach to WASH innovation, which requires regular review of projects against the OoI 5-Dimensional (5-D) framework. The portfolio review is an annual process for the WASH hub team to assess progress of solutions using the 5-D assessment framework, and review the overall portfolio health and balance, to decide if solutions remain in a portfolio or exit. (Exiting solutions may have a future host within UNICEF, a promising external business model, or clear reasons why ongoing investment isn’t advised). This process engages stakeholders from inside and outside of UNICEF.

Each year the WASH hub aims to identify the solutions that best address the problem statements and offer the greatest likelihood to scale across multiple countries and continents to have an impact for Women and Children. The Portfolio Coordinator will support this process through the coordination of key activities throughout the contract.

Duration: 11.5 months

Duty Station: Blended with at least 3 months in Copenhagen, Denmark over the contract duration.

How can you make a difference? 

1. Develop a database of potential eligible WASH solutions – Database of potential eligible solutions; Information on number of projects reviewed, those that meet minimum criteria and overall ranked list with thresholds justifying long list selection; Prepare the 5D model for application of annual review.
2. Manage submissions to the portfolio – long list should be provided of solutions screened against the 5D model; Support the review by technical experts of the long list for final ranking; Collect and compile expert guidance; Update the 5D approach based on learnings from the process.
3. Coordinate the portfolio review process and document learnings – Maintain database of solutions and the respective decisions about their inclusion in the portfolio; Develop and update 2-pager briefs of solutions to be included in the portfolio with support from communications team; Develop brief on solutions not included in the portfolio with support from communications team for sharing.
4. Support discussion on shortlisted solutions and potential investments – Monitor reporting timelines and collect data from companies accordingly; Input data into portfolio management and documentation systems such as INVENT; Track messages and alerts on systems and bring to attention of relevant teams as needed; Support the Communications Team to update external website based on latest data from portfolio projects; Draft updates and investment summaries for internal and external stakeholders as needed
5. Monitoring and support to the portfolio – Collect on an ongoing basis data to track performance metrics from portfolio projects and keep various data and monitoring tools up to date; Review of company budgets and workplans during contracting and monitoring for consistency; Support logistical organization of cohort workshops and other similar events.

 Your main responsibilities will be:

1. Provide research and coordination support for the WASH hub portfolio review.
2. Screen submissions to the portfolio against the selection criteria (the 5D model) as applied in the WASH hub.
3. Coordination of the review process, including preparation of review materials, additional research, organization of various stages of the process and compiling feedback
4. Facilitate discussions on shortlisted projects and potential investment areas/countries/organizations for the WASH hub.
5. Portfolio monitoring and support of the portfolio administratively and operationally

Please find attached the full ToR with related information  ToR portfolio coordinator.pdf

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

• The applicant must hold an advanced degree in WASH, entrepreneurship, business administration or other relevant field, or related equivalent practical experience.  Minimum 5 years relevant work experience required.

*A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.

• A minimum of 2 years of relevant professional experience in innovation or supporting investments in a portfolio approach
• Demonstrated experience in collecting and managing data and information collected from various sources
• Experience in developing communications, outreach and representation campaigns/efforts is an asset
• Understanding of WASH approaches and systems is an asset
• Strong verbal and written communication skills required
• Understanding of different contexts and experience working in developing countries
• Knowledge of international development, technology for development and key challenges affecting children in developing countries desired
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

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

Travel:

• The consultant is expected to travel to Copenhagen, for periods up to 63 nights over the duration of the contract.
• The consultant is responsible for arranging their own travel, including visa and travel insurance.

Payment details and further considerations

• Payment of professional fees will be based on the submission of agreed 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.

How to apply:

• Interest applicant is required to submit a financial proposal with all-inclusive fee.  lease find attached the financial proposal template Consultancy Financial Offer template.docx
• Financial proposal must include travel costs (economy class) and daily subsistence allowance, if travel is required as per TOR and any other estimated costs: visa, travel/health insurance.
• Applications without a financial proposal will not be considered.

To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

• 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.

Remarks:  

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

Contact: For any queries, please contact: swe-ooi-recruitments@unicef.org