Individual Consultant – Analyst, Education Outcome Fund (EOF), Remote (3 months)

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 learning crisis.  By 2030, nearly half of the world’s young people will be failing to learn.  This ticking time-bomb for global development will undermine the achievement of all of the Sustainable Development Goals, and demands urgent global action.

In response, the Education Commission (chaired by Gordon Brown, former UK Prime Minster and UN Special Envoy for Global Education) and the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (chaired by Sir Ronald Cohen) have come together to create the Education Outcomes Fund (EOF), an initiative to improve the education of 10 million children and young people. EOF will support governments over the next decade to improve outcomes in education and youth employment by paying for results delivered by innovative NGOs and social entrepreneurs. EOF will use several innovative finance instruments including development impact bonds (DIBs) to achieve this mission.

The fund will support improvements in the quality of basic education, and seek to ensure that no child is left behind, with a special focus on underserved populations including the hardest to reach rural populations, girls, children with disabilities, and refugees.  It will measure (and pay 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 will help close the persistent gap between the skills needed by employers, and those attained by today’s youth. 

For all the above, EOF will pay almost entirely 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.  Rather than fragmented spending on inputs and activities, it aligns the whole system around a common, agreed set of outcomes.  Rather than stifling NGOs with restricted funding, EOF empowers and supports them to innovate, adapt, and find context-specific solutions.  And rather than being funded on the basis of emotional appeals about their impact, providers and investors will be rewarded based on independently verified results.  This radical transparency will ensure that EOF, government policy makers and the broader donor community can systematically shift funds towards scaling programs that demonstrate the best results and value for money.

We believe this is the early stages of a much larger movement.  As the development sector continues to shift away from traditional, activity-based funding towards results-based approaches, there is growing interest in outcomes funds and impact bonds, that go beyond outputs (the focus of most results-based aid to date) to reward outcomes. Shifting risk to the private sector, crowding in private capital and harnessing the capacity and capability of non-state actors has huge potential to achieve better outcomes and better value for money. 

We hope you will join us on this exciting journey to launch the first large scale outcomes funds for development, in support of achieving inclusive and quality education for all. 

How can you make a difference?

We are looking for a high-performing Analyst to work within our program team, who is:

• Passionate about making a difference;
• Intellectually curious;
• Comfortable working with data;
• Self-motivated, adaptable, and confident to work independently;
• A team player who can build solid working relationships with a variety of internal and external partners.

As an analyst, you will work on various types of projects, supported by more senior members of staff.

DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNMENT (TASKS, SMART DELIVERABLES, DEADLINES):

Tasks	End Products/ Deliverables	Duration/ Deadline
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 present your research to guide decisions.	Research briefs presenting options for the program team to make a decision on whether a particular context is suitable for results-based financing. Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations and Word reports presenting insights of data analysis and research conducted for internal and external audiences. Draft report sections summarizing findings	Ongoing
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 TVET 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 briefs presenting options for the program team to inform choices related to the design of results-based financing programs. Draft financial models in Excel. Draft report sections summarizing findings	Ongoing
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.	Research briefs on current development in results-based financing and the education sector globally, for internal and external audiences. Research briefs on strategies and policies of stakeholders for the EOF team to make strategic decisions on donor and stakeholder engagement.  Draft report sections summarizing findings	Ongoing

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

• A minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in  economics, political science, finance, education or a related field
• A strong academic record, evidenced by final degree classification, GPA, or any other relevant measures
• 1 – 3 years work experience from any of the following fields (or related):
  • Strategy consulting
  • Think tanks / research institutes
  • Investment or development banking
  • Charity or public sectors
  • International development
• Experience working in Africa / the Middle East is preferred (but not required)
• Fluency in English is required
• Proficiency in French, Arabic or other languages in Africa or the MENA region is preferred

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The functional competencies required for this post are…

Data & analytical skills: you are comfortable working with data and can conduct analysis independently. You can work with basic financial models and can take the initiative to create financial and operational models that address underlying problems.

Research & presentation skills: you have strong research and analytical skills, and can independently research topics that you may not be familiar with. You are comfortable reading economic papers relating to education or international development. You can formulate consistent and insightful presentations of your findings and can present your research effectively to a non-specialist audience.

Intellectual curiosity and a passion for education, global development and innovative finance.

Ability to work independently: you are a self-starter able to take initiative and ownership while seeking input when appropriate. You thrive in a nimble start-up environment, where everyone can and should take initiative beyond a narrow scope of work and respond to shifting priorities with agility.

• Proficiency in all Microsoft Office Tools. Experience with Stata, R or another statistical analysis software would be an advantage.

View our competency framework at

http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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:

PAYMENT SCHEDULE:

PROPOSED PAYMENT SCHEDULE

Select proposed methodology Monthly

• Monthly payments:  Lump sum payment will be made monthly, inclusive of all professional fees, daily allowances, living allowances, and other administrative costs. 
• Gross annual salary circa £30000 for analysts based in London. The salary offered will be adjusted depending on the place of residence of the selected candidate.
• Consultancy will be extended for successful candidate.

Applicants are invited to:

Include a cover letter of interest and CV.   

Should “mission travel” be required, UNICEF will manage and pay for travel via Travel Authorization.  However, this will be subject to the following prerequisites:  Medical Clearance, Security Clearance through the Travel Request Information Process (TRIP) system, the Basic and Advanced Security in the Field Trainings, Travel Visa, and liability waiver. Trip prerequisites will be met at the expense of the consultant.

Travel cost shall be calculated based on economy class travel, regardless of the length of travel.  Costs for accommodation, meals and incidentals shall not exceed applicable daily subsistence allowance (DSA) rates, as promulgated by the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC at http://icsc.un.org).  The consultant must travel on UNICEF approved airlines.

UNICEF is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

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.