Consultancy, Blockchain Lead, 11.5 months, Remote

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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, innovate...

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 startup 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:

• Connecting youth communities (or more broadly -- anyone disconnected or under-served) to decision-makers, and to each other, to deliver informed, relevant and sustained programmes that build better, stronger futures for children.
• Provoking change for children through an entrepreneurial approach -- in a traditionally risk-averse field -- to harness rapidly moving innovations and apply them to serve the needs of all children.
• Creating new models of partnership that leverage core business values across the public, private and academic sectors in order to deliver fast, and lasting results for children.

The Office of Innovation specifically looks to form partnerships around frontier technologies (like drones and UAVs, blockchain, 21st century skills, urban technologies, new banking tools, wearables and sensors, or 3D-Printing) that exist at the intersection of $100 billion business markets and 1 billion person needs – and to identify how they can grow and scale profitably and inclusively.

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:

● Looking at the 2-5 year horizon to evaluate emerging and trending technologies and to see how UNICEF can work with the private sector on doing better business while improving essential services for children;

● Investing in early stage solutions that show great potential to positively impact children in the 0-2 year future including the Venture Fund that invests in open source technology solutions from start-ups based in UNICEF’s programme countries;

● 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.”

Background on our blockchain/crypto work:

UNICEF Ventures explores technologies, such as blockchain, with the potential to impact children and young people globally, providing them with information, opportunity and choice. The team sees blockchain technology as having benefits in three main ways: 1) leveraging innovative financing models to distribute resources; 2) increasing the efficiency and transparency of processes, and; 3) incentivising and encouraging the creation and maintenance of open-source digital public goods. The approach to achieving this is by researching and prototyping with both internal and external stakeholders.

To understand the technical, social, ethical, and legal challenges of utilising blockchain technologies in our complex and interconnected world — the team is exploring this space with open eyes on practical experimentations of cryptocurrencies, smart contracts, and various types of tokens, as well as by supporting learning and training initiatives to build capacity.

How can you make a difference?

Help us design products, and partnerships around a set of distributed cryptographic applications to make the world better. Build the narrative and collaborations around a new technology, create the methods for accessing this partnership, and work with a dedicated technology team to ensure that product is prototyped and iterated upon quickly.

This is a role for someone who has built open-source products before, and taken them to a large number of users. You know about rapid testing, agile development (at least from a product-manager if not pro*ject*- manager point of view). You can tell a story, sell an idea, and comfortable work with a distributed team of nerds to help build out a vision. You understand the difference between ETH and ETC and can communicate it clearly in a tweet. Or a few tweets. You have an understanding of financial markets, exchanges, and smart contracts and (probably) find the term "fintech" frustrating. You can see a big picture but are able to help develop the minutiae of a plan, and understand how to adapt your communication style based on the audience you’re speaking to.

Your main responsibilities will be:

Main responsibilities will be:

• Identify and support promising blockchain based solutions for scaling through the portfolio mechanism, through technical support to the Fund’s investments, coordinating links to across UNICEF divisions
• Act as a project manager related to specific blockchain initiatives led by UNICEF, when UNICEF itself is looking to use emerging technology;
  • This includes supporting Country Office pilots related to digital records, transfer of value or increased organisational efficiency
  • Identifying and supporting opportunities to use blockchain for internal efficiency
• Act as a technical advisor to UNICEF related initiatives that require blockchain input, country-level pilots, HQ-led initiatives in various divisions, national committees, as well as internal and UN-wide working groups
• Guidance to blockchain- and crypto-related partnerships and fundraising efforts

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in engineering, computer science, business administration or other relevant field. *A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.
• A minimum of five years of relevant professional experience in technology product development, project and partnership management
• Technical understanding of decentralized systems and blockchain networks (e.g DLT, Bitcoin and Ethereum, Layer 2 solutions,DApps, DeFi and DAOs).
• Piloting and scaling of technology solutions in UNICEF programme countries desired
• Experience engaging with stakeholders from different backgrounds and coordinating multi stakeholder activities.
• Demonstrated outstanding analytical and quantitative skills, and the ability to conduct independent research.
• Experience managing a decentralized team.
• Demonstrated ability to translate clearly complex issues for a non-technical audience.
• Familiarity with international development;
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are...

• Communication - Level 2
• Working with People - Level 2
• Applying Technical Expertise - Level 2

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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.

Payment details and further considerations

• Monthly payment, based on monthly tasks and progress reports, approved upon monthly review with supervisor.
• Consultant is responsible for his/her own health and travel insurance
• Consultant is eligible for standard DSA for all work-related travel

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.