Consultancy - Early Childhood Education (ECE) /Early Childhood Development (ECD) Program Manager, Education Outcomes Fund (EOF), London, UK or Remote, 11.5 months, REQ

This opening expired 1 year ago. Do not try to apply for this job.

UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund

Open positions at UNICEF
Logo of UNICEF
GB Home-based; London (United Kingdom)

Application deadline 1 year ago: Sunday 15 May 2022 at 22:55 UTC

Open application form

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

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, education . . .

There are few greater challenges faced by the global community than the twin crises of learning poverty and youth unemployment. In response, the Education Commission (chaired by Gordon Brown, former UK Prime Minister and UN Special Envoy for Global Education) and the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (chaired by Sir Ronald Cohen) came together to create EOF. We aim to improve the education and employment outcomes of 10 million children and youth by supporting governments to utilize a range of innovative finance instruments at scale, including outcomes funds and other results-based financing (RBF) instruments.

EOF supports improvements in the quality of education and skills programs, with a special focus on girls and underserved populations, including those in the hardest to reach rural areas. It measures (and pays for) what matters – both core skills like literacy and numeracy, but also critical 21st Century skills such as socio-emotional skills, ICT skills, and other broader fundamentals of a quality education. It helps close the persistent gap between the skills needed by employers and those attained by today's youth.

For all the above, EOF pays primarily on the basis of the results achieved, ensuring that taxpayer-funded domestic resources, aid, and philanthropic funds are only used to pay for what works. This is a game-changing way to finance results in education, focusing attention and realigning systems on the most challenging but most important measure of a program's performance: whether it is improving lives. Together with our supporters, we believe this is the early stages of a much larger movement, with huge potential to increase learning outcomes for children and youth around the world, though improved aid effectiveness and government spending.

Since our inception in 2018, EOF has:

  • Partnered with governments in Ghana and Sierra Leone to establish the two largest outcomes funds to date in developing countries, mobilising ~$50M for these programs.
  • Established itself as a leading global player in RBF, and the only dedicated center of expertise for RBF in education and skills.
  • Become the first outcomes fund hosted by the United Nations within UNICEF, as a scalable platform to partner with governments around the world.
  • Established a major partnership with the LEGO Foundation, to develop a scale portfolio of RBF programs in early childhood across a diverse range of countries, as well as to amplify the movement and ecosystem of partners around this approach.
  • Had our innovative approach featured in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, FT, Economist, Brookings, and more.
  • Built our institutional capacity to contract and implement large-scale outcomes funds more efficiently and effectively than historic impact bonds.
  • Established a strong culture of performance and an active focus on ongoing professional development for all our team.
  • The next chapter of EOF’s growth is particularly exciting, as we look to build on this foundation in the coming years. We will shift focus towards implementation of our first large scale programs, developing public goods and policy insights on ‘what works’ both in education and RBF. We will develop new RBF models that can be replicated and scaled across regions, as well as continuing to roll out our existing models. Ultimately, we want to improve the way governments and donors fund and implement education programs around the world.

How can you make a difference?

We are seeking to recruit a high-calibre Program Manager to kick-start our rapidly growing pipeline of work in the early childhood space. The Program Manager role is at the heart of what we do, and we need a highly motivated and capable individual who shares our passion for the mission and has the capacity to ensure we succeed.

You will become a core part of our Program Team, working closely with governments, donors, and service providers/impact investors to design and implement programs, as well as build on EOF’s thought leadership in this space. The Program Manager will report to EOF’s Director of Programs and work in collaboration with the rest of the Program Team, as well as with the EOF CEO and Executive Committee.

DESCRIPTION OF ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Program design:

  • Manages scoping and feasibility studies to assess the opportunity for Results-based Financing (RBF) programs and outcomes funds in skills for employment, identifying the barriers to outcomes and the value add of the RBF mechanism.
  • Engage government stakeholders and donors to secure interest and financial commitment to fund the programs.
  • Lead the technical design process of outcomes funds, including the selection of outcome metrics, evaluation methodologies, target setting, pricing and financial model, and applying EOF’s approach to the context and objectives of the program in a solution-oriented and creative manner.
  • Build strong relationships with government partners and co-outcome funders as the primary point of contact. Engage with providers and investors to refine the design of programs and generate interest from the market.
  • Engage the EOF Executive Committee (ExCom) on the design for approval.
  • Lead the selection of providers, investors, and evaluators, as well as the contracting process using EOF’s templates. Establish the governance structure, management unit, and relevant management processes to support program implementation.
  • Manage the workplan and delegate tasks to team members as appropriate, ensuring quality control of work produced by more junior team members.
  • Contribute to the Program Team’s discussions and brainstorming sessions to strengthen the design of other EOF programs.

Support to EOF’s team:

  • Support EOF’s communication and advocacy strategy through publications and participation in relevant events.
  • Contribute to EOF’s operations and recruitment processes as a core member of the team in support of EOF’s goals
  • Ensure the line management of more junior members of the EOF team and external consultants, providing regular feedback and promoting their growth and development, and conducting mid-year and end-of-year reviews.

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

  • An advanced degree (Masters) in economics, political science, finance, education or a related field.
  • A Bachelor’s degree may be considered with 2 additional years of experience
  • 5-8 years of professional experience, including experience managing complex programs or workstreams and teams.
  • Experience in innovative financing, in particular with RBF instruments or incentive structures, is preferred.
  • Experience in education, early childhood development, or skills/employment programs is preferred.
  • Experience in qualitative and quantitative data collection, analysis and reporting.
  • The creation and sourcing of appropriate measurement tools for the education/skills sector is preferred.
  • Implementing systems for capturing impact and performance data to facilitate organizational learning and evidence is preferred.
  • · Experience working in Africa and/or the Middle East is preferred but not required.
  • Relevant experience includes, but is not limited to, the following sectors: International development; Charity or public sectors; Strategy consulting; Think tanks/research institutes; Investment or development banking.
  • Fluency in English is required. Proficiency in Spanish, French or Arabic is preferred. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, or Russian) is an asset.

Duty Station

London, United Kingdom or Remote

Duration 11.5 months contract with possibility of extension

Proposed Payment Schedule

Payments will be made monthly. The proposed rate should inclusive of all professional fees, daily allowances, living allowances, and other administrative costs and should assume a full-time commitment.

Insurance: Consultants and individual contractors are fully responsible for arranging, at their own expense, all insurance, such as life, health and other forms of insurance, covering the period of their services as they consider appropriate. They are required to certify that they are covered by medical/health insurance.

How to Apply:

Qualified candidates are requested to upload a cover letter, resume/cv, and their proposed fees (monthly rate in British Sterling) by 15 May 2022. Please also indicate your availability in your cover letter.

Applications submitted without a financial proposal will not be accepted.

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.

  • Think and act strategically
  • Nurture, lead and manage people
  • Innovate and embrace change
  • Manage ambiguity and complexity
  • Demonstrate self-awareness and ethical awareness

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

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.

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.

Added 1 year ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unicef.org