Internship (Programme), Education Outcomes Fund (EOF), Hosted Fund, REMOTE, 6 months, REQ#573129

We are looking for the interns to become a core part of our Program Team, supporting the team to work closely with governments, donors, and service providers/impact investors to design and implement programs as needed. The interns will provide crucial support to the EOF in this phase of rapid growth, and we need highly motivated and capable individuals who share our passion for the mission.

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.  

There are few greater challenges faced by the global community than the twin crises of learning poverty and youth unemployment. In response, the Education Commission (chaired by Gordon Brown, former UK Prime Minister and UN Special Envoy for Global Education) and the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (chaired by Sir Ronald Cohen) came together to create EOF. We aim to improve the education and employment outcomes of 10 million children and youth by supporting governments to utilize a range of innovative finance instruments at scale, including outcomes funds and other results-based financing (RBF) instruments.

EOF supports improvements in the quality of education and skills programs, with a special focus on underserved populations, including the hardest to reach, rural populations, girls, children with disabilities, and refugees. It measures (and pays for) what matters – both core skills like literacy and numeracy, but also critical 21st Century skills such as socio-emotional skills, ICT skills, and other broader fundamentals of a quality education. It helps close the persistent gap between the skills needed by employers and those attained by today’s youth by paying for employment and retention outcomes.

For all the above, EOF pays primarily on the basis of the results achieved, ensuring that taxpayer-funded domestic resources, aid, and philanthropic funds are only used to pay for what works. This is a game-changing way to finance results in education. It is more than just a fund – it is a powerful new set of partnerships and way of working.

Together with our supporters, we believe this is the early stages of a much larger movement. Our approach is at the cutting edge of development finance, shifting risk to the private sector, crowding in private capital, and harnessing the capacity and capability of non-state actors, with huge potential to achieve better outcomes for children and youth around the world.

How can you make a difference? 

The interns will become a core part of our Program Team, supporting the team to work closely with governments, donors, and service providers/impact investors to design and implement programs as needed. The interns will provide crucial support to the EOF in this phase of rapid growth, and we need highly motivated and capable individuals who share our passion for the mission.

DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNMENT (TASKS):

Country Scoping:
• Conducting research on the education systems and challenges across several countries, with the aim of identifying well-suited contexts for results-based financing.
• Carrying out detailed data analysis to understand complex educational shortcomings and conduct market research to advise donors on how they can best generate a social return.
• Assessing the suitability of results-based financing instruments in different contexts and education sectors and presenting your research to guide decisions.

Program design:
• Research the provider and investor markets and engage with market participants to fine-tune program design.
• Preparation for workshops to engage government officials with program design.
• Participating in the design of new results-based financing programs in the Basic Education, Early Childhood or skills for employment sectors.
• Conducting research to guide programmatic decisions.
• Working with financial models of innovative finance structures.
• Providing inputs to inform EOF’s approach to pricing outcomes.

Research:
• Carrying out research projects looking at current developments in results-based financing and the education sector globally, including looking at the cost-effectiveness of existing education programs, or looking at new metrics for comparing learning across different contexts.
• Preparing briefs on strategies and policies of international donor agencies and other relevant stakeholders.

DUTY STATION
The majority of EOF’s team are London-based, and candidates may need to be available during a significant portion of UK working hours (to be determined on a case-by-case basis). Remote and hybrid working options will be considered. Please note that EOF cannot currently sponsor interns to work in the UK.

 

To be considered for this internship, applicants must meet the following requirements.

Essential:

• Enrolled in a degree programme in an undergraduate or graduate school, or a recent graduate (within the last 2 years).
• Excellent academic performance as demonstrated by recent university or institution records.
• At least 18 years old.
• Fluency in English is required.
• No immediate relatives (e.g., father, mother, brother, sister) working in any UNICEF office; and have no other relatives in the line of authority that the intern will report to.

Desirable:

• A degree in a relevant subject, such as economics, political science, finance, education, or a related field, would be preferred.
• Experience or an interest in international development, the global education sector, and international aid is desirable. Additional consideration will be given for any relevant experience.
• Proficiency in French, Spanish or Arabic is desirable.

General information

• We have a global mandate and a global team, with staff based across most continents. However, most of our team are London-based, and candidates may need to be available during a significant portion of UK working hours (to be determined on a case-by-case basis). Remote and hybrid working options will be considered. Please note that EOF cannot currently sponsor interns to work in the UK.
• A stipend will be provided for the duration of the internship, which will be determined based on the location of the successful candidate according to current UNICEF rules and regulations.
• The internship is expected to start in September or October 2024 and run for six months. Please note that candidates who cannot commit to a six-month internship, working full-time, cannot be considered for the internship.
• Internships in EOF’s program team often result in interns working for EOF in the longer-term in one of our analyst roles (subject to the performance of the intern and vacancies available). Please note that candidates who are not interested in the possibility of staying with EOF in the longer-term cannot be considered for the internship.

Application process:

• Please apply through UNICEF’s career portal by Sunday 14 July 2024.
• The subsequent assessment process for shortlisted candidates will involve a written test and two rounds of interviews.

Unfortunately, due to the potentially large number of applications, we will only be able to contact applicants who are invited to the next stage of the process and will not be able to provide feedback to candidates that are not shortlisted.

Monthly stipend:

Interns will receive a stipend based on their location. USD 1,700 per month in New York, Geneva, and Copenhagen; or 70% of the monthly salary of the GS level 3 step 1 in all other duty stations.

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…
(1) Builds and maintains partnerships (2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (3)Drive to achieve results for impact (4)Innovates and embraces change (5) Manages ambiguity and complexity (6)Thinks and acts strategically (7)Works collaboratively with others.

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework 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.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

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 is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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. 

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 selected candidates 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 contracts.