Current vacancies

About UNICEF

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 fordeveloping 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.

Consultancy Title: Learning and Leadership Development Consultant – Evaluation of UNICEF’s Manager Support Programme

Duty Station: Evaluation Office (EO), Institutional Effectiveness Portfolio

Duration: 1 November 2025 – 30 April 2026

Home/ Office Based: home-based, with possible travel if required

BACKGROUND

Purpose of Activity/ Assignment:

The Manager Support Programme (MSP) is UNICEF’s key initiative to strengthen people management, inclusive leadership, and supportive supervisory practice across the organization. Launched in 2024, it provides all UNICEF supervisors with access to structured learning, coaching, peer exchange, and practical resources to foster values-based and purpose-driven leadership. As the first cycle of the MSP concludes at the end of 2025, UNICEF requires credible and independent evidence on the programme’s relevance, effectiveness, and contribution to organizational culture.

To this end, the UNICEF Evaluation Office will carry out an independent evaluation of the MSP between November 2025 and April 2026. The evaluation will assess the programme’s achievements to date, examine the organizational conditions that shape its uptake and application, and generate forward-looking recommendations for its next phase. Findings will inform both the future design of the MSP and UNICEF’s broader leadership and people management strategies.

The evaluation will be managed by the Evaluation Office using a blended management approach, combining two internal staff members with two external consultants. The external consultants will bring complementary expertise, with one serving as Senior Evaluation Specialist and the other as Learning and Leadership Development Specialist. Together with the Evaluation Office staff, they will form the evaluation team.

This ToR relates specifically to the Learning and Leadership Development Consultant role. The consultant will bring expertise in adult learning, leadership development, and organizational culture, and will focus on how managers engage with and apply the MSP in practice. They will support data collection and analysis with a particular emphasis on behaviour change, learning transfer, and organizational dynamics, and will help ensure that findings and recommendations are grounded in practical understanding of leadership development in complex organizations.

Full details of the evaluation are provided in the Terms of Reference for the Evaluation of the Manager Support Programme (see here) 

Scope of Work:

• Support design and refinement of evaluation methodology, with emphasis on adult learning and leadership development dimensions.
• Contribute to data collection through interviews, focus groups, surveys, and case studies, with a focus on managers’ experiences of learning transfer and behaviour change.
• Lead analysis of how MSP components (i.e., e-learning, coaching, peer learning, etc.) influence management practice, team dynamics, and organizational culture.
• Support participatory approaches for data collection and workshops (sensemaking and co-creation).
• Contribute to drafting and finalizing key deliverables (inception summary, evaluation report, presentations, communication products).
• Ensure compliance with UNEG and UNICEF quality and ethical standards

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

Work Assignment Overview/Deliverables and Outputs/Delivery deadline

Phase 1 – Inception: Contribute to Contribute to inception phase: refine evaluation design with a focus on adult learning, leadership development, and organizational cultureCrefinement of  evaluation design with a focus on adult learning, leadership development, and organizational culture

-  Inputs to draft and final inception summary (learning/leadership lens, tools, methods)

31 Dec 2025

Phase 2 – Data collection & analysis: Lead data analysis of managers’ experiences of MSP learning (i.e., interviews, focus groups, Manager Listening Sessions, Self-Portraits)

-  Thematic synthesis of learning transfer, leadership development, and cultural change dimensions

28 Feb 2026

Phase 3 – Sensemaking and reporting: Document and interpret leadership development findings for sensemaking, draft sections of evaluation report related to leadership development, adult learning, and organizational change

Phase 4 – Finalization and communication: Facilitate reflection and help frame forward-looking recommendations during co-creation workshop, support finalization of communication products with emphasis on learning and leadership insights

-  Session inputs and facilitation support for sensemaking workshop, draft report contributions (learning/leadership sections, annexed thematic notes if relevant), co-creation workshop inputs (facilitation notes, thematic recommendations), inputs to evaluation brief, infographic/visual summary, and final presentation deck

30 April 2026

Qualifications

Education: Advanced University Degree (Masters) in Adult learning, leadership development, organizational studies, human resources management, or related field

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required *: 

• At least 7 years of experience in adult learning, leadership development, or organizational change in complex organizations.
• Demonstrated expertise in coaching, peer learning, or HR/leadership development initiatives
• Experience applying qualitative and mixed-methods evaluation approaches, integrating gender-equality, equity and inclusion considerations.
• Strong facilitation skills for participatory evaluation processes.
• Familiarity with the United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) norms and standards for evaluation is desirable.
• Familiarity with UNICEF or other multilateral organizations.
• Excellent synthesis and communication skills.

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.