UNICEF has a 70-year history of innovating for children. We believe that new approaches, partnerships and technologies that support realizing children’s rights are critical to improving their lives.
The Office of Innovation is a creative, interactive, and agile team in UNICEF. We sit at a unique intersection, where an organization that works on huge global issues meets the start-up thinking, the technology, and the partners that turn this energy into scalable solutions.
UNICEF’s Office of Innovation creates opportunities for the world’s children by focusing on where new markets can meet their vital needs. We do this by:
Our team
We’re an interdisciplinary team around the world tasked with identifying, prototyping, and scaling new technologies and practices. With our partners, we focus on convening and collaborating on new and different solutions, low- and high-tech, by:
Identifying proven solutions that can be implemented at national scale in multiple countries – taking the ideas that help thousands in one country, bringing them to dozens of countries across multiple sectors, and impacting the lives of millions of children.
For every child…innovate
How can you make a difference?
OOI is looking for a project management consultant that will take the ProjectAlpha concept and bring it to life. The consultant will be required to coordinate, lead, and connect across UNICEF teams and project partners and stakeholders. You will possess excellent communication and coordination skills and the experience to connect, energize and support country offices.
The key outputs and responsibilities of the project management consultant is:
The project follows an agile and iterative approach underpinned by a dynamic, multi-disciplinary project team, that is guided by core principles and practices of the innovation process. Familiarity with project management approaches like agile is very beneficial. The project brings together several different thematic fields (e.g. finance, business models, skill building for entrepreneurs) and sustainable energy technologies; so, awareness of and the ability to discuss these types of technologies with diverse audiences will be very helpful.
The project manager will work to implement the ProjectAlpha ‘Beta’ phase by seeding the three project modules across multiple countries in Africa. The three modules include:
Through optimize, we aim to identify, develop, and adapt digital tools using satellite data to accurately estimate the energy needs and solar potential of schools and health centers. This includes a detailed analysis of school power requirements, calculating capital expenditure, and estimating revenue, facilitating the creation of rapid renewable energy business cases in partnership with government entities.
The resource module will tap into innovative financial avenues like the carbon credit market and alternative investment capital, complemented by pioneering tools like Peace Renewable Energy Credits and Blockchain protocols for risk mitigation and investment security. We will build a financially robust foundation that secures capital requirements and ensures sustainable revenues, that prioritizes long-term stability and appeals to investors.
ProjectAlpha unlocks both solar and human potential. Through sustain we will cement the sustainability of solar energy by introducing educational programs and forging strong partnerships, with a key collaboration involving UNICEF and the public sector to integrate renewable energy training into curricula. We aim to empower communities by cultivating a youth workforce skilled in solar technology, ensuring the enduring success and growth of solar infrastructure projects.
ProjectAlpha will be initial beta tested in three countries with the expected outcome of creating a sustainable solar-powered infrastructure. In applying the modular approach, project partners will address the challenge that best matches their expertise, where the role of the project management consultant will be to coordinate, guide and lead these efforts.
Your main responsibilities will be:
For Project Alpha to be implemented successfully several work areas are needed, and the project management consultant’s scope of work will focus around three main areas: project management, co-ordination, and communication.
Project Alpha will adopt a comprehensive approach that focuses on several different areas of work as described above. The primary focus of Project Alpha will be on creating an infrastructure for sustainable and renewable energy, building capacity at a local level and ensuring the psychosocial well-being and education of children in areas with high energy-poverty. The responsibilities will be as follows:
Project Team Leadership
Co-ordination
Reporting
The project management consultant will report to the Humanitarian Portfolio Manager, at the Office of Innovation, UNICEF.
Please find attached the full ToR (Terms of Reference) with related information: ToR Project Alpha – project management consultant final.pdf
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Travel:
Payment details and further considerations
Payment of professional fees will be based on the submission of agreed 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.
How 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.
Contact: For any queries, please contact: swe-ooi-recruitments@unicef.org