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Vacancy Announcement: Consultant

 Consultancy Title: Capacity Building and Learning Consultant

Section/Division/Duty Station: CEED, Programme Division, NYHQ

Duration: 15 October 2024 to 15 December  2025

Home/ Office Based: NYHQ / Remote

 About UNICEF – DO NOT EDIT

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries.

BACKGROUND

Purpose of Activity/ Assignment:

Climate change and environmental degradation are major threats to children, with over a billion already facing extreme risks from hazards like heatwaves, floods, and cyclones. These impacts jeopardize decades of progress in child survival and development. To protect children, countries must build climate-resilient, low-carbon social services—such as WASH, healthcare, education, and child protection—that can withstand future climate hazards.

 Scope of Work:

Under the supervision of the CEED Programme Specialist, the consultant is expected to perform the tasks for the CEED team, supporting the SCAP while working closely with other team members and UNICEF divisions

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

Objective 1: Enhance facilitation and stakeholder engagement.

Deliverable 1: A report (max 10 pages with slides) on capacity-building needs and alignment (based on stakeholder consultation via email, calls, and meetings), detailing insights from relevant UNICEF sectors and divisions – By 1 Nov 2024

Deliverable 2: Coordination of 12 meetings, with clear agendas and minutes, ensuring representation from key stakeholders to drive forward the capacity-building agenda – By 15 December 2025

Deliverable 3: A report (max 10 pages with slides) identifying internal events, meetings, and opportunities at HQ, regional, and country levels that can be leveraged for capacity-building efforts. – By 1 November 2024

Objective 2: Develop a comprehensive capacity-building roadmap

Deliverable 4: A report (max 15 pages with slides) outlining clear learning objectives and skill requirements to support SCAP goals, with an indicative structure/outline of required capacity building content, and related “learning pathways” segmented by role, division, and level of responsibility – By 1 December 2024

Deliverable 5: A report (max 10 pages with slides) identifying key intervention points in programme development where capacity-building activities will have the most impact – By 15 December 2024

Deliverable 6: Develop a comprehensive roadmap (maximum 30 pages with slides) for rolling out SCAP capacity-building initiatives, detailing milestones, timelines, roles and responsibilities, and execution strategies, including a partnership strategy (see Deliverable 12). – By 15 January 2025

Objective 3: Facilitate training delivery

Deliverable 7: A report (max 10 pages with slides) identifying existing external capacity-building modules from universities, UN agencies, and other organizations that can be integrated into UNICEF’s efforts – By 15 November 2024

Deliverable 8: A report (max 5 pages with slides) detailing the internal tools and resources available within UNICEF for capacity-building, with recommendations for maximizing their use for strengthening UNICEF’s capacity in sustainability and climate action – By 15 December 2024

Deliverable 9: Facilitate 12 virtual training sessions, each focused on different CEED-related themes and tailored for different UNICEF offices (HQ, regional, and country) – By 15 December 2025

Deliverable 10: Develop 4 training material packages (reports, infographics, slides) covering specific topics such as climate finance or UNICEF’s thematic areas, - 1st package: 15 January 2025, 2nd package: 15 March 2025, 3rd package 15 May 2025, 4th package: 15 July 2025

Deliverable 11: A report (max 10 pages with slides) with recommendations on institutionalizing capacity-building processes within UNICEF through mechanisms such as onboarding and performance evaluations (PER) – 31 January 2025

Objective 4: Support the management of partnerships and vendor

Deliverable 12: A report (max 10 pages with slides) identifying potential external partners and vendors that can support the roll-out of the capacity building roadmap – 15 November 2024

Deliverable 13: Support to drafting of 4 terms of reference (TORs) for formalizing collaborations with partners, with each TOR tailored to a specific area of work (e.g., climate action or DRR) - 1st TOR: 31 October 2024, 2nd TOR: 15 January 2025, 3rd TOR: 15 March 2025, 4th TOR: 30 June 2025

Deliverable 14: Participate in at least 52 meetings with vendors and partners and preparing 12 monthly progress reports (up to 5 pages each) to ensure that all activities on engaging with vendors and partners involved in strengthening UNICEF's capacities in sustainability and climate action align with UNICEF's objectives and quality standards – By 15 December 2025

Objective 5: Document best practices and facilitate knowledge sharing

Deliverable 15: A comprehensive best practices report (max 30 pages with slides), highlighting successful sustainability and climate action practices and stories across various UNICEF programme areas (e.g., social protection, health, WASH, nutrition) – 15 February 2025

Deliverable 16: Develop and disseminate 4 knowledge products (max 5 pages with slides), such as case studies or briefs, to showcase capacity-building results and promote organizational learning - 1st product: 30 January 2025, 2nd package: 30 April 2025, 3rd package: 30 July 2025, 4th package: 30 November 2025

Objective 6: Monitor and report on capacity-building efforts

Deliverable 17: Develop an M&E framework (framework document) to track and assess the effectiveness of capacity-building initiatives across UNICEF, ensuring alignment with SCAP goals. – By 15 December 2024

Deliverable 18: Provide 12 progress reports (max 4 pages each) detailing the achievements, challenges, and recommendations for capacity building efforts – 15 December 2024

Deliverable 19: A lessons learned report (max 15 pages with slides) analyzing key insights and findings from the capacity-building initiatives, with recommendations for future improvements. – By 15 December 2025

Qualifications

Education:

Advanced university degree in education, environmental sciences, international development, public administration, or a related field.

Work experience:

• Minimum of 8 years of experience in capacity building, learning and development, or similar roles, particularly in climate, energy, DRR, or environmental protection contexts

• Extensive experience working with international organizations, preferably UNICEF or other UN agencies, to coordinate large-scale training programmes, develop tailored learning resources, and implement and facilitate capacity[1]building initiatives.

 • Proven track record of engaging with diverse stakeholders, including drafting Terms of Reference (TORs), managing partnerships, and overseeing external vendors to ensure high-quality deliverables.

 • Demonstrated ability to build and maintain strategic partnerships with governments, NGOs, and the private sector to support capacity-building initiatives.

 • Strong project management and coordination skills, with a demonstrated ability to manage multiple stakeholders, oversee various workstreams, and ensure timely delivery of key milestones in complex, cross-functional projects.

Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate complex topics into clear, accessible content for diverse audiences.

 • Proven experience in creating and managing knowledge management platforms, including needs assessments, digital content creation, and the management of online platforms.

 • Familiarity with monitoring and evaluation (M&E) frameworks, with demonstrated experience in tracking the effectiveness of capacity-building programmes and generating high-quality reports to support organizational learning and decision-making

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required *:

Requirements:

Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system and

- Upload copy of academic credentials

- Financial proposal that will include/ reflect :

• • the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference.
  • travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR.
  • Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.
  • Indicate your availability

- Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.

- At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.

- Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

U.S. Visa information:

With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. View our competency framework at: Here

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

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:  

Individuals engaged under a consultancy 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. Consultants 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. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.