Consultancy (Part-time, Home-based): Special briefing paper on identifying and addressing technology company business activities’ adverse impacts on children’s rights, Child Rights and Business, PFP

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Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

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For every child, hope

The Children’s Rights and Business (CRB) Unit within the Private Fundraising and Partnerships (PFP) Division is responsible for developing guidance for companies, governments, and civil society to address business impacts on children’s rights.

Aligned with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and the Children’s Rights and Business Principles, UNICEF recognizes that technology companies create both positive and negative impacts on children’s rights through their activities. Therefore, UNICEF works with all stakeholders – companies, government and civil society – to create an enabling environment where business can respect and support children’s rights online and offline.

In recent years, UNICEF has developed research, tools, and guidance on children’s rights in a digital environment with a variety of partners, focusing on the responsibilities of technology companies in respecting and supporting children’s rights in the digital environment.

CONTEXT

UNICEF and UN Human Rights are working together to explore the child rights considerations relevant to the technology sector as part of the B-Tech project.

Led by UN Human Rights, the B-Tech project aims to provide an authoritative and broadly accepted roadmap for applying the UNGPs to the development and use of digital technologies. Through an inclusive process of consultation and research involving key actors (public and private), and building on existing initiatives, good practice and expertise, the roadmap will comprise practical guidance and public policy recommendations to realize a rights-based approach to the development, application and governance of digital technologies.

Meeting the responsibility towards children’s rights requires dedicated efforts by business actors to identify and address impacts. UNICEF is contributing child rights expertise to the B-Tech project by highlighting the specific needs of, as well as challenges faced by, children as a unique group of end-users, and how these relate to the industry’s responsibility to respect and the state’s duty to protect children’s rights. 

Despite accounting for a significant proportion of internet users worldwide, children have traditionally not been fully recognized by internet governance bodies (or been acknowledged in the context of online safety, with less focus on children’s rights to provision and participation). This situation has evolved rapidly in recent years – culminating in the adoption of General Comment 25 on children’s rights in relation to the digital environment by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in February 2021, affirming that children’s rights apply online as they do offline.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic further highlighted the importance of ensuring that technology companies respect and support children’s rights in digital environments. Physical distancing measures rendered online platforms and communities essential to supporting children’s rights to education, play, and more. However, while digital technologies provide significant opportunities for children, these same tools also bring exposure to online risks and harms.

This sets the stage for a deeper examination of how technology companies’ responsibilities towards children’s rights apply with regard to online impacts within the framework of the UNGPs.

How can you make a difference?

UNICEF is seeking an expert consultant to develop a special briefing paper on identifying and addressing the adverse impacts of technology company business activities on children’s rights.

This paper will be published jointly with UN Human Rights as part of the B-Tech Briefing series. It will seek to highlight the key considerations relevant to understanding the implications of the UNGPs for technology companies’ responsibility to respect (and States’ duty to protect) children’s rights. It will analyze and clearly articulate the child rights dimensions associated with the themes already covered by the B-Tech foundational paper series and surface any additional considerations. Its intended audience is policymakers and industry.

MAIN TASKS & DELIVERABLES

The consultant will be responsible for writing the Special Briefing paper in close collaboration with the project team; incorporating feedback from experts following a broad consultation on a draft; supporting launch and dissemination activities; and producing a strategy memo for UNICEF and UN Human Rights on next steps:

1. Conceptualizing, drafting, and finalizing briefing paper in close collaboration with the project team (approximately 40 working days)
   • Conduct a desk-based review of published grey and academic literature related to child rights and business in the technology sector.
   • Conduct a minimum of 10 key expert interviews
   • Create a detailed paper outline for alignment with the UNICEF and UN Human Rights teams.
   • Write a draft paper (up to 15,000 words).
   • Coordinate a consultation process to gather feedback on the draft from a broad set of stakeholders and experts (including but not limited to interviewees).
   • Produce a final text of the paper incorporating comments and feedback received.
2. Support the launch and dissemination of the paper (approximately 5 working days)
   • Produce a launch and dissemination strategy to maximize the paper’s reach among relevant audiences (policymakers and industry).
   • Support the launch of the paper as needed.
3. Strategy memo for UNICEF and UN Human Rights on next steps (approximately 5 working days)
   • Produce of a brief strategy memo capturing recommendations and opportunities for UNICEF and UN Human Rights/the B-Tech project to advance this agenda, building on the findings of the paper.

ESTIMATED DURATION OF THE CONTRACT AND PROPOSAL

Part-time work arrangement – 50 working days within 4-5 months contract duration.

REPORTING TO 

Corporate Alliances Specialist, the Children’s Rights and Business (CRB) Unit.

WORKPLACE

Home-based.

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

Education:

A master’s degree in Business Administration, Corporate Social Responsibility or related field is required.  Alternatively, a first level university degree in a relevant field combined with additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.

Experience:

Minimum 8 years of work experience with one of the following is required: business and human rights, children’s rights in the digital environment, or child rights and business.

Experience of working in an international environment on topics related to technology companies and human rights or children’s rights impacts will be highly valued.

A strong research background is required.

Language:

Fluency in English is required. Applicants must have a proven record of excellent writing and analytical skills in English.

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.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

Remarks: Please indicate your ability, availability and gross daily (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference above (including travel and daily subsistence allowance, if applicable). Applications submitted without a daily rate will not be considered. Also, please mention the earliest date you can start.

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. 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.

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.