Title: Long Term Agreement (LTA) for engagement of Partnerships experts as Individual Consultants in Education Cannot Wait (ECW)

Duration of LTA: Three years

Duty Station: Home-based 

BACKGROUND / RATIONALE

Education Cannot Wait (ECW) is a fund dedicated to education in emergencies and protracted crises. It was established in 2016 during the World Humanitarian Summit by international humanitarian and development aid organizations, along with public and private donors, to help reposition education as a priority on the humanitarian agenda, usher in a more collaborative approach among actors on the ground and foster additional funding to ensure that every crisis-affected child and young person is in school and learning.

To support ECW’s resource mobilization efforts ahead of and throughout its 2026 replenishment, ECW needs to be able to act swiftly and identify Partnerships expertise with the requisite skills and experiences to initiate innovative and non-conventional partnerships and funding opportunities with private and public donors. ECW’s experience thus far has demonstrated the critical need for expert Partnerships specialists who retain knowledge of, and high-level networks in, particular geographic markets.

To meet this critical requirement, ECW would like to engage the services of partnership experts with a strong track record of partnerships, fundraising, network building, and advocacy, initially in the UK, US, EC, Germany, Nordic Region, and the Arab Gulf. The consultants will report to the ECW Chief, Resource Mobilization and Partnerships..

PURPOSE OF ASSIGNMENT

To meet this requirement, ECW would like to create a roster of Partnerships experts with solid track records in specific geographic markets who can initiate innovative and non-conventional partnerships and funding opportunities with private and public donors.

PROGRAMME AREA AND SPECIFIC PROJECT AREA

Partnerships and Resource Mobilization

OBJECTIVE(S)

To set up a Long-Term Agreement to facilitate and expedite the process by which ECW will hire Partnerships Consultants who are specialized in specific geographic markets.

MAJOR TASKS TO BE ACCOMPLISHED

Successful candidates will help generate new funding opportunities, broaden ECW’s network of influential partners, and raise awareness of ECW and its impact at the highest levels of politics, policymaking, business, and philanthropy. The consultants are expected to deliver concrete results and the success of the assignment will be measured by a) the quality of initiated ideas and approaches that are implementable in the first 12 months, b) the number of new leads identified to mobilize resources from the private sector, c) successful expansion of ECW’s network of influential partners in policy, political and private sectors. Tasks include, but not limited to:

1. Provide insights and intelligence that help ECW initiate new resource mobilization opportunities. This involves developing and testing opportunities to mobilize additional resources for ECW from traditional as well as non-traditional donors, including businesses, foundations philanthropists.
2. Help ECW to strengthen its network of influencers in the chosen geographic market. Influencers are representatives from ministries, civil society, private sector, foundations, politicians, and other influential interest groups. The consultant is expected to utilize his/her own network of national influencers.
3. Identify and provide strategic advice for ECW to strike partnerships with high-profile, influential ‘Champions’ who can campaign and convene at the highest levels for ECW.
4. Generate interest and support for ECW’s existing innovative partnership models. This may involve engaging with investors and the financial services sector to profile the impact of ECW.
5. Organize bilateral and multi-stakeholder events and engagements that advance the objectives of the assignment.
6. Provide expert public affairs and policy advice to the ECW Chief of Resource Mobilization and Partnerships
7. Draft briefing notes, talking points, political and policy analysis, speeches, and other relevant materials needed to support ECW’s objectives in the chosen geographic market.
8. Ensure good coordination by briefing the ECW Chief of Partnerships and other relevant ECW staff at biweekly intervals, take part in relevant coordination meetings, present preliminary results, and ensure coordination and alignment with other relevant ECW processes.

Responsibilities of the Consultant:

• Consultants will use their own equipment; laptops, microphones, and other accessories that may be required to complete the assigned deliverables.
• Consultants will manage their own time and work schedule to complete the assigned deliverables as per the TOR.

Responsibilities of ECW:

1. ECW will provide all the details about the consultancy assignment and its requirements.

DELIVERABLES

The below table only provides a breakdown of the types of deliverables that may be expected from the consultant in their chosen market. Exact deliverables and timelines will be agreed with ECW at the outset of the contract for each market and may vary depending on the scope of the work and project requirements.

ESTIMATED DURATION OF LTA

The Long-Term Agreement will be for a duration of three years. The initial period would be for two years with an option for renewal for a subsequent year on the same rates, terms and conditions, subject to satisfactory performance evaluation and continuing need for the service.

QUALIFICATIONS / SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE / EXPERIENCE/ LANGUAGE SKILLS REQUIRED 

• Master’s degree in international relations, politics, economics, international development or another related field
• A minimum of ten years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas is required: public affairs, resource mobilization, partnerships, external relations, or other relevant area.
• Experience developing innovative funding partnerships with both private and public sector donors in the chosen geographic market is required.
• A strong network and deep understanding of the political and policy landscape in the chosen geographic market is required.
• Excellent diplomatic communication and negotiation skills to establish and maintain trusted partnerships with high-level officials, parliamentarians, business executives, political advisers, civil society leaders etc. is required.
• Experience mobilizing resources for international development and / or humanitarian affairs is an asset.
• Fluency in both English and the main language of the chosen geographic market.

TECHNICAL EVALUATION PROCESS AND CRITERIA

The selection of consultants for the LTA will be based on technical evaluation and financial offers in the ratio of 80:20. The criteria for technical evaluation will be as follows:

FINANCIAL PROPOSAL:

Include your financial proposal separately in the below Financial Proposal template, indicating your professional fee per day. In the financial proposal, indicate your estimate of the maximum number of days to deliver each category of deliverables. Include estimates for proposed number of days per category of deliverable. All costs should be estimated in United States Dollars (USD).

HOW TO APPLY:

The application to be submitted through the online portal in which applicants are requested to outline all their relevant work experiences. The application should further contain three separate attachments:

1. A Cover letter explaining the motivation for applying and how the qualifications and skillset of the candidate meet the requirements of the assignment, and how the candidate will approach the work described in the TOR (to be uploaded online)
2. Three Work Samples – This can include reports, campaign materials, resource mobilization strategies or other relevant documents that demonstrate your suitability for the ToRs. Please also provide a short overview including a clear description of your role and activities in each project. It is critical to submit work samples as you will observe from the advertisement that marks have been assigned to these criteria for arriving at the most suitable candidate.
3. A financial proposal indicating professional fee as per the  LTA Financial Proposal Template.doc. Please do not forget to specify your name in the file while saving. (To be uploaded under other supporting documents).

Important Note: Please do not indicate financials anywhere else in the online application form, please mark "n/a or 00", under the fee related questions in the online application form.  

Without all the above three documents your application will be considered incomplete and invalid and will not be considered further.

• Any attempt to unduly influence UNICEF’s selection process will lead to automatic disqualification of the applicant.
• Joint applications of two or more individuals are not accepted.
• Please note, UNICEF does not charge any fee during any stage of the process.
• Female candidates meeting the requirements are strongly encouraged to apply.
• UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion and encourages qualified candidates from all backgrounds including persons living with disabilities to apply.

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 here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

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:  

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.