Consultant – Coordination of High Value Regional Partnerships for Long term Engagements

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. 

 

PART 1
Title of Assignment	Support coordination of 2-3 high value regional partnerships to help steward them for longer term engagement
Hiring Section	Public Private Partnerships (PPP), ESAR
Location	Remote with travel to CO’s for support in donor missions when needed
Duration	11 months

One such partnership that PPP team has secured is with Latter-Day Saints Charities (LDSC) which supports programmes in over 13 countries and in 2024 is expected to be of over $10 million in value. The partner usually confirms their contribution year on year and supports funding for programme sections and PPP to help us steward the relationship and coordinate better.

To ensure we can renew the partnership on time and maintain this level of contribution, the ESARO PPP Team is looking for an expert to support keeping  an oversight on timelines of implementation, ensure coordination with country offices and regional team on partner visibility, support informal updates to the partner and ensure better quality of reporting and alignment of reports to the proposals.

This consultancy will also support strengthening of new proposals to the donor through the course of the year. 

The recently secured partnership with LDSC is their first largest commitment from an area office. The donor is decentralizing the processes and wants a stronger oversight on the partnership. Both for us and the partner this is a new way of working. The consultant will help standardize some of these with the country offices and support the Partnerships Specialist through in effectively managing the partnership. We have built budgets for support with partnership management and for support to country offices in the proposals.

 

Scope of Work

Goal and objective: Under the supervision of the Partnerships Specialist in the PPP section in ESARO, the consultant will manage an oversight on proposals, grant implementation, donor visibility and reports for LDSC and potentially one more donor to:

1. Ensure a smooth coordination with Country offices implementing the partnership
2. Ensure a coordination with programme team in RO
3. Coordinate with UNICEF USA on concept notes, proposals and reports

RO & CO staff have the tools and skills necessary to engage both public & private sector actors to secure high-impact financial & non-financial partnerships to further regional priorities.

Most of private sector incomes for RO and CO’s in the region are through NatComs and global donors. We are seeing a trend in some donors localizing their engagement with UNICEF. LDSC is one such donor where we work with 2 area offices and have multiple grants. We have recently secured a $6 million commitment for 2024-2025 with a potential to extend for 2 more years. Stressing on the need for us to have a strong donor stewardship. The consultant will work closely with partnerships specialist and the 13 country offices being supported in 2024 to help create processes and build coordination tools to help us manage the donor well.

Activities and Tasks: Support Country Offices and programme teams on the implementation of the grant, basis the donor proposal and communication guidelines,  ensuring all countries count with relevant and updated information for a successful implementation

• Align on timelines of implementation with Country Offices in line with delivery proposed by COs in the proposal
• Support Country Offices on their implementation of donor communication plans and creating updates for the donor
• Support Country Offices on coordinating meetings and field visits with the donor
• Maintain oversight on grant expenditure and programme progress. Flag any delays and issues with partnership management
• Ensure timely and quality reports from CO’s to UNICEF USA

 Work relationships:

Engagement with	Kind of engagement	Notes
Partnerships Specialist	Direct Reporting	Through Weekly meetings, monthly plans and reports as outlined
Programme focal points in RO- for regional / multi-country grants	Coordination and gathering information
Country office grant focal points	Aligning on monitoring plans, Coordination and gathering information
Communication Colleagues	On designing comms plan and following up for its implementation

 

Outputs/Deliverables:

 

Del. #	Output	Deliverable	Timeline	Duration / Number of days	Schedule of Payment
1	Creating an update template on all existing grants and the new grants with timelines, results, budgets and visibility for partner	Template Created and agreed	15th September	10	5%
2	Basis the proposals and communication guidelines for the donor and in consultation with country offices – prepare guidance for country offices and support them in implementing it	Guidance shared, aligned with global team and country offices	15th October	10	5%
3	Coordination with country offices (including field visits) and updates on templates, reports on status and challenges, compilation of communications support and support on proposals and reports	Monthly Report	30th Sep’24	7	3%
			30th Oct’24	18	8%
			30th Nov’24	18	8%
			30th Dec’24	18	8%
			31st Jan’ 25	18	8%
			28th Feb’25	18	8%
			30th Mar’25	18	8%
			30th Apr’25	18	8%
			30th May’25	18	8%
			30th June’25	18	8%
4	Final Report with summary of challenges and key recommendations to PPP for donor management	Final Report	30th Jul’25	20	15%

Payment Schedule

As indicated within outputs

Please note that the final remuneration will be negotiated by HR.

 

Administrative issues

• The consultant will work remotely
• It will be ideal for the consultant to be available between 10 am to 5 pm.
• The consultant is expected to be remote (or Nairobi) based with potential travel to up to 2 countries in ESAR region supported by the donor/s depending on COVID-19 travel restrictions for which the UNICEF office would cover subsistence allowances and travel costs. If the consultant is required to quarantine while traveling, UNICEF will pay for the quarantine if not organized by the host country.
• Schedule for progress meetings throughout the contract duration (if required).

Conditions

• Office space/equipment will not be provided.
• All travel (in case of any) will be by most economical fare and reimbursement will be as per UNICEF policy.
• As per UNICEF DFAM policy, payment made against approved deliverables. No advance payment is allowed unless in exceptional circumstances against bank guarantee, subject to a maximum of 30 per cent of the total contract value in cases where advances purchases, for example for supplies or travel, may be necessary.
• 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.
• Individuals engaged under a consultancy 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 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.
• 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.
• Consultants are responsible for determining and meeting their tax or duty liabilities in accordance with local or other applicable laws. UNICEF does not issue statements of earnings to consultants.
• UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants 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.

 

Risks

All reasonable and risks associated with the consultancy assignment should be identified, and a relevant risk response and possible mitigation action defined.

 

How to apply

Qualified candidates are requested to submit a cover letter, CV or P11 form and their technical proposals to the online recruitment portal (Talent Management System) or email provided.

Interested candidates to indicate their ability, availability, and rate (daily/monthly) expressed in US$ for international consultants or KES for national consultants to undertake the terms of reference. The fees should be inclusive of other costs incurred such as travel/return ticket, VISA and subsistence allowances for international consultants who will be based in Nairobi.

Applications submitted without a fee/ rate will not be considered.

For every child, reimagine the future.

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

• Desired competencies, technical background and experience

  • Education: Masters degree in development or any related field
  • At least five years of relevant experience in grant oversight, managing proposals and reports for private donors
  • Must exhibit the UNICEF Core Values of:
    • Care
    • Respect
    • Integrity
    • Trust
    • Accountability
    • Sustainability
  • Competencies: the competencies that the consultant should have for the assignment include:
    • Build and Maintain Partnerships.
    • Drive to Achieve results.
    • Innovates and Embraces Change.
    • Manages Ambiguity and Complexity
    • Thinks and Acts Strategically
    • Works Collaboratively with Others
  • Language: Proficient in English.

  For every Child, you demonstrate… 

  

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 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.