Consultancy: Officer (Innovation Fund), 11.5 months, New York

Contract

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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.

How can you make a difference?

With $30M raised to date, the Innovation Fund is scaling its investment portfolio to new companies in UNICEF programme countries. In this context, we are looking for a consultant to coordinate new calls for applications, to coordinate the selection strategy and to conduct research on new potential areas of investment. In addition, the consultant will work on strengthening the diversity outlook of UNICEF’s Innovation Fund portfolio ensuring an equitable gender and geographic representation.

Your main responsibilities will be:

• Provide research and coordination support for each of the Fund’s call for applications
• Coordination of the assessment process, including preparation of review materials, additional research, organization of various stages of the review process and compiling feedback
• Conduct research on emerging technology areas and potential investment areas/companies for the Innovation Fund
• Collect on an ongoing basis data to track performance metrics from portfolio companies and keep various data and monitoring tools up to date
• Support management of the portfolio administratively and operationally

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in finance, entrepreneurship, business administration or other relevant field, or related equivalent practical experience.
• Min 3 years relevant work experience required. *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.
• Demonstrated experience in collecting and managing data and information collected from various sources
• Experience in entrepreneurship or supporting investments in start-ups desired
• Experience in developing communications, outreach and representation campaigns/efforts
• Understanding of open source technologies desired
• Strong verbal and written communication skills required
• Understanding of different contexts and experience working in developing countries
• Knowledge of international development, technology for development and key challenges affecting children in developing countries desired

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 functional competencies required for this post are...

• Relating and Networking - Level 2
• Analyzing - Level 1
• Learning and Researching - Level 1
• Planning and Organizing - Level 2

View our competency framework at

http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

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.