OVERVIEW

Parent Sector : Social and Human Sciences Sector (SHS)

Duty Station: Multiple Duty Stations

Job Family: Social and Human Sciences

Type of contract : Non Staff

Recruitment open to : External candidates

Application Deadline (Midnight Paris Time) : 16/01/2024

UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism

The contract is structured by deliverables; the consultant is expected to be under contract for the duration of the project (total of 18 months)

This call is open to both companies and individuals

BACKGROUND

Fast-changing conditions and critical challenges of today – amongst which global pandemics, climate change, digital transformations, and the interplay of these trends – require large-scale and future-oriented reforms. Public administrations are under pressure to design and implement such reforms, while simultaneously addressing internal needs and building capacities to prepare themselves for the future. In this context, efforts to recalibrate the engagement of the public administrations with private consulting services and to develop internal/in-house consulting capacities for the design and implementation of reforms are being initiated across countries.

Seven Member States (i.e., Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, and Latvia) have requested support in addressing the afore-mentioned needs.

Submitted and funded through the EU’s Technical Support Instrument, the ensuing multi-country project will be implemented over a period of 18 months by UNESCO with the aim of achieving the following outcomes:

1. Approved action plan to establish in-house consulting focusing on a selected service portfolio adapted to each participating Member State;
2. Capacity built for the implementation of the action plan in the participating Member States; and
3. Increased awareness on the importance of in-house consulting and creation of an EU network of experts.

To this end, UNESCO is organizing on-site teams to support, in conjunction with the central project coordination team at UNESCO Headquarters, country-specific delivery in each of the 7 participating countries.

SCOPE OF WORK

A total of 7 senior consultants, 1 per country, will be contracted to support Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, and Latvia (hereafter referred to as the country of assignment). Under the overall guidance of the UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences (ADG/SHS), the Director for Social Policies and the Chief Executive Officer, and the supervision of the Senior Project Officer, the senior consultants will complete the following set of tasks in their respective country of assignment:

Long Description

Task 1: Preparation of national inception report, which will entail:

• Carrying out of a national fact-finding mission, within which the national kick-off meeting is to be organized, to gather detailed information and launch the work with the beneficiary authorities and potential stakeholders in their respective country of assignment; and
• Development of a preliminary issue tree, timeline and updated project documentation for the county of assignment.

Task 2: Preparation of as-is situation report mapping current in-house consulting capacities in the country of assignment, which will entail:

• Conducting of desk research and collection of data pertinent to the report;
• Running of questionnaires to collect input from relevant parties and stakeholders; and
• Delivery of report, providing needs assessment, analysis of maturity levels in relation to in-house consulting and stakeholder analysis.

Task 3: Preparation of a to-be report in the country of assignment, providing a gap analysis in relation to Task 2, and putting forward a concrete course of action to closing the gap, which will entail:

• Organisation of consultation dialogues with beneficiary authorities, targeted stakeholders and relevant experts to inform report contents;
• Drafting of report, including the vision and goals for the in-house consultancy, a suitable service portfolio/themes, minimum requirements (e.g., organisational structure, skills and competencies for the staff, IT and knowledge management solutions), good practices and 3 scenarios for the development of an in-house consultancy in the country of assignment; and
• Presentation of the report and the proposed scenarios to the beneficiary authorities in the country of assignment and supporting the ensuing discussions within the public administrations.

Task 4: Preparation of a roadmap/action plan in the country of assignment for the implementation of the target model chosen from the scenarios of the to-be report (Task 3), which will entail:

• Organisation of consultation dialogues to gather additional insights; and
• Development of the roadmap/action plan, including implementation details depending on maturity levels of the country of assignment, service portfolio/themes for the in-house consultancy, required skills for personnel and key measures to undertake in the country of assignment.

Task 5: Building capacity for in-house consulting in the public administration of the country of assignment, which will entail:

• Development, in collaboration with the project coordination team at UNESCO Headquarters, of training materials covering change management and selected service portfolio/themes;
• Organisation, in collaboration with the project coordination team in HQ, of a training for beneficiary authorities in the country of assignment on change management and measures to ensure reform implementation;
• Organisation, in collaboration with the project coordination team at UNESCO Headquarters, of a capacity-building training for core teams and relevant experts, focusing on two service portfolio themes;
• Provision of ongoing technical support to the core teams in beneficiary authorities for the implementation of their roadmap/action plan; and
• Drafting of a report summarizing the support provided and required to implement the roadmap/action plan.

Task 6: Development of a change management plan addressing possible concerns of all stakeholders in the country of assignment, which will entail:

• Review and revision of strategies initially identified in the as-is report, with elaboration of change management plans based on project findings and stakeholder analysis.

Task 7: Preparation of an implementation report of the change management plan, which will entail:

• Identification of activities to be conducted by UNESCO to support the implementation of the previously developed change management plan.

Task 8: Contribution to two horizontal workshops to support cross-project learning, which will entail:

• Project coordination team at UNESCO Headquarters, in consultation with beneficiary authorities, in the development of materials for the workshops;
• Participation in two workshops to form the basis for horizontal support in in-house consulting across countries of assignment; and

Contribution, in close cooperation with project coordination team at UNESCO Headquarters, to the establishment of an EU network of experts to share knowledge across Member States

Task 9: Project coordination team in the development of one global blueprint for report, which will entail:

• Identification of minimum requirements for the future establishment or expansion of in-house consulting capacities, regardless of service portfolio or EU Member State; and
• Provision of input to the blueprint.

Task 10: Regular liaison with the project coordination team at UNESCO Headquarters for optimal reporting on and coordination of the project work in the country of assignment, which will entail:

• Coordination within the country of assignment, including the National Coordination Group established by the beneficiary authorities to guide the work of the project; and
• Participation in and contribution to the regular calls, exchanges and reporting with the donor and the country of assignment.

DELIVERABLES

The following are to be delivered in/for each country of assignment:

COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial)

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REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Skills

• Excellent research, writing and analytical skills.
• Solid advocacy, communication and presentation skills adapted to technical and general purposes.
• Familiarity with EU-funded project, including multi-country technical support, considered an advantage.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including interacting with various actors and working effectively and respectfully in a complex environment on sensitive issues.
• Understanding and adherence to the UN principles.

Language

• Excellent writing skills in English. Fluency in the language of the preferred country of assignment is an asset.

TERMS OF CONTRACT

A total of 7 senior consultants, 1 per country, will be contracted to support Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, and Latvia. Each application shall clearly indicate the preferred country of assignment or set of counties, should they wish to apply for more than one.

This call is open to both companies and individuals. Companies are expected to provide a permanent point of contact in charge of working and reporting on the described tasks for the whole duration of the assignment. The collaborator is expected to give full availability for the required exchanges and work with the project stakeholders.

Duration of Contract: contract is structured by deliverbales; the consultant is expected to be under contract for the duration of the project (total of 18 months)

APPLICATION PROCESS

Interested candidates should submit their applications by 16 January 2024 to most@unesco.org with copy to i.sevciuc@unesco.org and c.hathaway@unesco.org.

For individuals, the application should clearly indicate the preferred country(ies) of assignment and should consist of:

1. Personal CV.
2. A cover letter/statement indicating how their qualifications and experiences make them suitable for the assignment, specifying the participating Member State of expertise.
3. A written technical and financial proposal comprising: 1) the proposed approach for the undertaken of the assignment in line with the terms of reference; and 2) the amount to be charged for the assignment, which should be quoted in EUR.

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For companies, should clearly indicate the preferred country(ies) of assignment and should consist of:

1. Companies profile and portfolio indicating qualifications and track record in relation to the proposed assignment.
2. A written technical and financial proposal comprising: 1) the proposed approach for the undertaken of the assignment in line with the terms of reference; and 2) the amount to be charged for the assignment, which should be quoted in EUR.

UNESCO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process.