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, support.

UNICEF Pacific Multi-Country Office (UNICEF Pacific) works with 14 Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs), namely, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. The island nations and territories are home to 2.3 million people, including 1.2 million children and youth, living in more than 660 islands and atolls that stretch across 17.2 million square kilometres of the Pacific Ocean.

The total annual birth cohort in the Pacific is estimated to be around 62,000 children. Routine immunization coverage in Pacific Island countries has generally remained high, with some country-specific exceptions. However, Pacific Island nations and territories (PICTs) face unique challenges in vaccine security due to geographic remoteness, dispersed populations, and limited health infrastructure.

Ensuring vaccine security requires collaboration across governments, regional organizations, and international partners. UNICEF plays a critical role as a technical advisor and procurement agent, working closely with ministries of health to ensure timely delivery and distribution of vaccines. Collaboration with partners, UNICEF globally procures 28 different vaccines on behalf of 123 countries, which can vary from year to year, making it the largest global buyer of vaccines. Out of approximately 2.4 billion doses procured annually, approximately one third is funded by countries; one third is funded by international health programmes such as the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI); and about one third is funded on behalf of countries by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

UNICEF has lead several financing and market-shaping initiatives that helped to bring vaccination rates up over the years.  The Vaccine Independence Initiative (VII), which is a pre-financing solution managed by UNICEF was developed to assist countries to avoid situations in which a temporary cash delay might keep children from accessing vaccines and other essential supplies. The flexible credit terms of the VII allow governments to pay after delivery, as opposed to the UNICEF standard advance payment requirement. Since its inception in 1991, millions of children have benefited from VII support to countries each year. Originally focused on vaccines, the VII has evolved to meet demand and now also supports procurement of other commodities such as medicines, bed nets, nutrition products and cold chain equipment. In 2023 the VII accelerated the procurement of essential health supplies, worth over US$200 million and including vaccines, nutrition products and health kits, for children in 32 countries.

How can you make a difference? 

You can lend your expertise and experience to join a team of three consultants to conduct the evaluation of the UNICEF VII pooled procurement mechanism. The evaluation will cover the performance of the pooled procurement mechanism from 2016 - to the present, assessing trends, challenges, and achievements over time. Geographically, the evaluation will examine the implementation of the VII pooled procurement in the 13 Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs), namely the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. The central theme of the evaluation is vaccine security, to be achieved by aligning VII with key government policies and normative frameworks, national capacity strengthening, financial management and cost-effectiveness, among others.

Please refer to the ToR ( TOR_Evaluation of VII pooled procurement.pdf) for further information on the deliverables and the timelines. 

GUIDANCE FOR APPLICANTS:  

Each consultant will be hired on an individual consultancy basis, and is required to prepare an application package as follows:  

1. Indicate whether he/she wants to be considered for the team leader role, or for team member/subject specialist.
2. Submit an evaluation matrix/table that is populated with the three objectives, and revisions to the questions and sub-questions. The evaluation matrix should indicate data collection methods, tools to be used, and data sources. It will be assessed to determine the applicants understanding of the evaluation and their suitability for the assignment.
3. Submit a separate financial proposal in US dollars. The proposal should be all inclusive lumpsum indicating the following: (i) applicants professional fees (rate per day) multiplied by the level of effort to accomplish the task (in number of days)8; (iii) living expenses for approximately 15 days that the consultant will work away from his/her base; (iii) air tickets (economy round trip ticket to Suva and two (2) other Pacific countries9; and, (iv) other travel-related costs (visas, terminal fees, etc.).
4. Detailed CV of the applicant, with the entries that are relevant to the evaluation presented in bold or highlighted text.
5. Submit one evaluation report, and one other evaluation or communication product (e.g., policy brief, database, interactive PowerPoint presentation, etc.), solely authored or lead authored by the applicant to showcase the ability to organize her/his work and/or to communicate evaluation findings, conclusions, and recommendations effectively. An evaluation report that was assessed highly by GEROS or a similar evaluation quality assessment 5system will be an added advantage.

Travel and equipment: Selected consultants will be responsible for making travel arrangements for themselves, which is economy class via the most direct and economical route. Also, each consultant is expected to have his/her own laptop, mobile phone, and other relevant equipment that is required for executing the assignment.

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

UNICEF PMCO will commission up to three evaluators/consultants selected and contracted on an individual basis. An international consultant will execute the role of team leader/senior evaluator. Depending on the coverage of skills of the for the combined team, one or two consultants will fill the role of content specialist(s). In the case of two team members, a combination of mid-level international and national consultants is desired. The qualifications, technical capabilities, skills that are required to serve as team leader and/or team member are stipulated below.

The team leader should have the following qualifications and attributes:

1. Advanced university degree (master’s degree or higher), in one or more of the disciplines relevant to evaluation (social sciences, natural sciences, engineering, etc.), and any associated sub-discipline.
2. Comprehensive evaluation experience as team leader, with strong skills and expertise in evaluation theory and conceptual frameworks, and a minimum of 12 years of post-master’s experience in evaluation practice.
3. An excellent understanding of evaluation principles and methodologies, including experience in applied qualitative and quantitative research and analytical techniques, tool development and adaptation with translation.
4. Good knowledge of UNICEF health programmes, UNICEF vaccine procurement processes and/or some other aspects of the procurement function, as well as UNICEF organizational culture.
5. Track record of conducting similar or related strategic programme evaluations or evaluative reviews, and/or evaluative review of similar programmes supported by UN or UNICEF, implemented in various contexts, including humanitarian or fragility contexts, an awareness of human and child rights, gender equality and equity in evaluation, and UNEG norms and standards.
6. Readiness to travel to the PICTs that will be selected for primary data collection.
7. Excellent in English languages skills (oral communication, reading documents, writing formal reports), demonstrated in reports where the proposed team leader was the first author or lead author.
8. Demonstration of capacity to manage teams and successful execution of a contract in UNICEF, including a reputation to complete tasks and submit deliverables in a timely manner.
9. Experience living and/or working/consulting in any of the 13 PICTs (see Section I) will be an added advantage.

Desired knowledge, skills, competencies and experience for the subject matter/content specialist(s) is as follows:

1. Advanced university degree, master’s degree or higher, in health, pharmacy, or related field
2. Subject matter expertise and/or a practitioner in health or any of the sub-disciplines (health supply chain, public health, immunization pharmacy, health financing, health economics, etc.)
3. Credible international expert with at least 6 years of post-master’s professional experience in planning, implementation, management, monitoring of health programmes in developing countries
4. Prior experience and practice in executing quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis.
5. Readiness to travel to the PICTs stipulated for primary data collection, and to undertake domestic travel in target countries, where required
6. Excellent in English languages skills (oral communication, reading documents, writing formal reports), ability to prepare high-quality reports.

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 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 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.