Consultancy, Startup Ecosystem Consultant (DPG Alliance), 4 months with the possibility of extension , Remote

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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. DPGs are defined as open source sofware, open data, open AI models, open standards and open content. 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.

As one of the four co-champions, UNICEF is leading the Alliance’s engagement on select strategic areas.

The Digital Public Goods Alliance aims to facilitate the discovery, development, use of, and investments in DPGs of high relevance for attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As part of the Alliance’s work on ensuring country leadership over Digital Public Goods (DPGs), the Alliance has identified Ghana as a Pathfinder Country to pilot initiatives that aim at a) meeting demand for DPGs; b) supporting supply/creation/strengthening of DPGs; c) supporting the strengthening of the related policy environment and d) supporting the strengthening of the entrepreneurship ecosystem for DPGs.

How can you make a difference?

We are seeking a consultant to support developing testing and packaging a guide for accelerators supporting Digital Public Goods. This work will help curate lessons learned across the ten countries to inform a global approach to engaging startup ecosystems in creating and contributing to DPGs.

Main responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

1. Develop a detailed guide for accelerator program managers with content and tools that can easily be integrated into acceleration programs for tailored support to DPGs

• Review existing startup mentorship and technical assistance content and material particularly those developed by the UNICEF Venture Fund and DPG focused acceleration programs
• Develop a detailed outline of the accelerator guide defining the key tools and resources of each section
• Draft a first version of the DPG Accelerator Guide for internal review and integrate feedback and input from internal audiences
• Document and input relevant experiments across the 10 DPG Pathfinding pilots into the draft guide
• Develop a clear documentation for the DPG Accelerator Guide on GitHub
• Facilitate the announcement of the DPG Accelerator Guide by coordinating with the communications team of OOI and the DPGA secretariat
• Provide community management support to the GitHub repositories of the DPG Accelerator Guide and Operational Toolkit
• Facilitate and manage contributions to each guide

2. Provide technical guidance to DPG Pathfinding pilots on strategies to engage the startup ecosystem in the DPG work

• Participate in technical planning discussions with the UNICEF Country Offices and their Government counterparts and input to leveraging existing opportunities to engage and strengthen local communities
• Support designing events and communication materials to engage startup communities to leverage, contribute to and create DPGs

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

    QUALIFICATIONS AND EDUCATION

• Advanced degree in a relevant field (Entrepreneurship, macroeconomics, business or public policy or related areas).

*A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.

• Min 5 years of relevant work experience
• Experience in creating toolkits and designing and delivering support programs, ideally within or for startup accelerators
• Experience in open source technology related partnerships and engagements, project management and entrepreneurship ecosystems

   SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED FOR THE ASSIGNMENT

• Demonstrated strong writing and presentation skills
• Demonstrated experience managing incubation or acceleration programs, including in emerging and developing markets
• Proven interest in open source technology and emerging startup ecosystems
• Familiarity with emerging technology areas such as artificial intelligence, blockchain and  digital connectivity
• Solid understanding of the role technology plays in the development and humanitarian sectors
• Adept at managing communities and facilitating technical collaborations
• Demonstrated ability to plan and implement projects in coordination with multiple stakeholders
• Project management skills including task prioritization, workflow coordination, and results-driven strategies

    ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE

• Understanding of UNICEF Innovation operating environment and priority partners
• Ability to work with a diverse team in a rapidly-changing work environment and adapt to unforeseen changes
• Experience working in the social impact space

LANGUAGES

Fluency in English is 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 UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

• Communication – level 2
• Applying Technical Expertise – level 3
• Analyzing – level 3

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

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

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.