Consultancy – Secretariat Co-Lead (Digital Public Goods Alliance), Office of Innovation, remote, 11.5 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, innovate

UNICEF has a 70-year history of innovating for children. We believe that new approaches, partnerships and technologies that support realizing children’s rights are critical to improving their lives.

The Office of Innovation is a creative, interactive, and agile team in UNICEF. We sit at a unique intersection, where an organization that works on huge global issues meets the startup thinking, the technology, and the partners that turn this energy into scalable solutions.
 
UNICEF’s Office of Innovation creates opportunities for the world’s children by focusing on where new markets can meet their vital needs. We do this by:

• Connecting youth communities (or more broadly — anyone disconnected or under-served) to decision-makers, and to each other, to deliver informed, relevant and sustained programmes that build better, stronger futures for children.
• Provoking change for children through an entrepreneurial approach — in a traditionally risk-averse field — to harness rapidly moving innovations and apply them to serve the needs of all children.
• Creating new models of partnership that leverage core business values across the public, private and academic sectors in order to deliver fast, and lasting results for children.

The Office of Innovation currently co-hosts the Secretariat for the Digital Public Goods Alliance, established in follow-up to the High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation. In its report, the Panel recommends as 1B “that a broad, multi-stakeholder alliance, involving the UN, create a platform for sharing digital public goods, engaging talent and pooling data sets, in a manner that respects privacy, in areas related to attaining the SDGs”. Norway, Sierra Leone, UNICEF and iSPIRT, the four initial champions are working to implement this recommendation.

The Secretariat provides overall coordination for the Alliance’s work, focusing among other things on the vetting process for DPGs, facilitation of communities of practice, communications and external engagement.

How can you make a difference?

You will co-lead the Alliance’s Secretariat in close collaboration with the second co-lead hosted by the Government of Norway. Co-Leads provide overall coordination of the Alliance’s activities and among various members to ensure an aligned approach to implementing the Alliance’s strategy. As part of the Secretariat team you will, among others, oversee and coordinate the vetting process, lead and facilitate communities of practice.

Your main responsibilities will be:

• Provide overall coordination as co-lead of the DPG Alliance Secretariat, in line with DPG Alliance strategy
• Coordinate and lead the vetting process, ensuring the scaling of DPGs nominees, assessment and publication under CoP areas
• Coordinate partnerships engagement with technical open source focus
• Develop and execute the Alliance strategy related to Communities of Practice
• Oversee and track Secretariat resource needs and spending

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in business administration, public administration, communication, design or other relevant field.
  *A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 10 years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.
• A minimum of eight years of relevant professional experience in project management, stakeholder/network/community management and engagement or communication
• Demonstrated experience with communication tools and channels for distributed projects
• Experience in virtual community management and participation
• Experience in working with and coordinating diverse groups of stakeholders at senior levels and across sectors
• Experience in partnership development and management
• Some knowledge of open licensing desired
• Some knowledge of technology for development or experience working in a relevant work or volunteer experience related to open source initiatives will be considered an advantage
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

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…

• Relating and Networking (3)
• Planning and Organising (2)
• Entrepreneurial Thinking (2)

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.

Payment details and further considerations

• Monthly payment, based on monthly tasks and progress reports, approved upon monthly review with supervisor.
• Consultant is responsible for his/her own health and travel insurance
• Consultant is eligible for standard DSA for all work-related travel

Remarks:

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.