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For every child, HOPE
Consultancy Title: Complaints and Feedback Management Consultant (World Bank Projects)
Section/Division/Duty Station: Programme Effectiveness Team/The Risk Management in Programming and Safeguarding (RMPS) unit/DAPM, New York NYHQ
Duration: 30 March 2025 - 30 September 2025
Home/Office based: NYHQ/Remote
How can you make a difference?
BACKGROUND
Purpose of Activity/Assignment:
The Risk Management in Programming and Safeguarding (RMPS) unit – placed in the Programme Effectiveness Team (PET) within Division of Data, Analytics, Planning and Monitoring (DAPM) – was created in 2024 to contribute to the adoption of an integrated approach to risk management and safeguarding. The RMPS is structured around 3 pillars: i) Environmental and Social Standards (ESS) and Safeguarding; ii) Complaints and Feedback Management; iii) Partnership Risk Management/HACT. In line with DAPM/PET’s mandate, the RMPS contributes to drive decision making and organizational learning, improve effectiveness and achievement of results of UNICEF and its partners to realize the rights and improve the life of every child. Furthermore, the RMPS works with the Risk Chief Officer to strengthen UNICEF’s enterprise risk management approach by fostering better coordination between different risk areas, integrated in programmatic, operational and strategic planning and decision-making. The Complaints and Feedback Management pillar plays a key role in strengthening UNICEF’s accountability by ensuring that affected populations and programme stakeholders have accessible, transparent, and risk-based channels to report concerns, provide feedback, and have their complaints appropriately addressed. This approach follows a proportionate and risk-based model, ensuring that complaints and feedback—particularly those related to safeguarding, environmental and social risks, and programme quality—are managed effectively and in a timely manner. By embedding complaints and feedback processes within programme implementation and strengthening local capacities, UNICEF enhances its Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) while ensuring that feedback informs programme monitoring, risk management, and continuous improvement. Building on this approach, UNICEF is also working to ensure that Country Offices (COs) receiving indirect and direct funding from the World Bank establish and maintain a proportionate and effective Complaints and Feedback Management approach. This approach must align with World Bank Grievance Mechanism requirements and UNICEF’s broader commitments to accountability, risk management, ESS and safeguarding. Strengthening COs’ capacity to design, implement, and monitor this approach in line with these standards is critical. This consultancy will provide direct technical support to the relevant COs, while also supporting Regional Office’s (RO) Risk Management focal points to enhance their capacity in quality assurance, reviewing country-level submissions, and guiding COs in strengthening their Complaints and Feedback Management. This will contribute to better alignment between CO, RO, and HQ efforts in risk management, safeguarding, and programme quality, while ensuring compliance with donor requirements, including those of the World Bank
Scope of Work:
The consultant will support ROs and UNICEF COs receiving indirect and funding from the World Bank to design or adjust their CFM, ensuring they are proportionate, accessible, and risk-based, and aligned with World Bank requirements and UNICEF’s approach highlighted in upcoming CFM procedure. Specifically, the consultant will: • Respond to technical queries from ROs and COs and conduct quality assurance reviews of proposed CFM approaches, including technical assistance to country offices in the preparation and review of CFM documents for proposals, agreements and reports. • Customize CFM tools (e.g. log sheets, monitoring frameworks, analysis & visualization dashboards, etc.) • Deliver training to UNICEF staff, partners, and vendors on CFM categories, processes, roles, and responsibilities and finalize training materials. • Where feasible, support the groundwork for future rollout of UNICARE, including participating in any pilots and helping ensure current CFMs are compatible with UNICARE. • Document key efficient practices from the supported COs to inform future guidance, especially on how to fast track roll-out of complaints and feedback management approach. • Contribute to the development of the global tools and templates being designed for feedback management.
Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:
Work Assignment Overview/Deliverables and Outputs/Delivery deadline:
1.Support COs in designing or refining their CFM approach to align with WB and UNICEF requirements
- Standard Approach for COs to meet WB requirements developed
01 May 2025
2. Delivery of trainings session for COs, partners and vendors and finalization of training materials
- Set of training materials developed for at least 1 webinar delivered on standard CFM approach to meet WB requirements to all concerned COs.
01 June 2025
3. Respond to technical queries and provide quality assurance support to COs, including review of documents and tools
- A report detailing the quality assurance support provided to CO
01 July 2025
4. Document efficient practices from the supported COs and contribute to the development of global tools and templates
- A guidance on CFM fast tracking and efficient practices in COs developed to feed into global templates and guidance
01 August 2025
5. Support UNICARE groundwork and pilot rollout in selected countries
- 3 short readiness assessment reports for each country piloting UNICARE (at least 3 countries), including key gaps and recommendations available
30 September 2025
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Education: Masters degree or equivalent in international relations, humanitarian affairs, development economics, management, risk management, information management or a related field
Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required *:
- At least 5-7 years of experience operationalizing feedback and complaints mechanism, including for in projects funded by the World Bank or other multilateral financial institutions.
- Knowledge of risk management, monitoring, AAP, Safeguarding and ESS practices and standards.
- Excellent capacity building, analytical and report-writing skills. Human Resources United Nations Children’s Fund
- Excellent capacity of adapting and streamlining existing/proposed systems.
- Strong communication and stakeholder engagement abilities.
- Ability to work both collaboratively and independently and to meet tight deadlines.
- Ability to communicate orally and in writing in English. Other UN official languages would be an additional asset.
- Experience of working with UN agencies and knowledge of UNICEF mission and mandate is desirable.
Requirements:
Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system and
- Upload copy of academic credentials
- Financial proposal that will include/ reflect :
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- 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 values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).
To view our competency framework, please visit here.
UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.
According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF.
UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.
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.
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.
