Consultant - Communications Manager, Education Outcomes Fund (EOF), Remote (11.5 months), REQ

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, 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 underserved populations, including the hardest to reach, rural populations, girls, children with disabilities, and refugees. 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 by paying for employment and retention outcomes.

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. It is more than just a fund – it is a powerful new set of partnerships and way of working.

Together with our supporters, we believe this is the early stages of a much larger movement. Our approach is at the cutting edge of development finance, shifting risk to the private sector, crowding in private capital, and harnessing the capacity and capability of non-state actors, with huge potential to achieve better outcomes for children and youth around the world.

Rationale for the consultancy

We are seeking to recruit an exceptional Communications Manager to take a leading role in EOF's communications, in close coordination with the leadership team and program managers.

How can you make a difference?

The successful candidate will develop EOF's communication strategy and implement it - this is a broad and exciting role in a rapidly scaling organisation that is solving some of the most complex problems in global education.

DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNMENT (TASKS, SMART DELIVERABLES, DEADLINES):

The Communications Manager will report directly to the Chief Operating Officer. They will also collaborate with all members of the EOF team. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Strategic communications planning: develop EOF's communications strategy for the central organisation and each of our programs, and hold overall responsibility for successful implementation
• Lead the communications function: this will include managing junior team members (researchers, analysts, and associates), external consultants and agencies
• Thought leadership development: Write, and support others in writing, content across a variety of formats and platforms, across digital and traditional media; this will include blog posts, articles, newsletters, op-eds and reports
• Plan and deliver events: at the sides lines high-level international conferences, such as the UN General Assembly or at G7 summits, or through virtual/hybrid engagements, such as EOF's High-Level Steering Group meetings or webinars with global education leaders
• Act as a custodian for EOF's brand: work across formats and media to improve our brand, including active quality control for all externally published content
• Manage EOF's social media: oversee the development of relevant and engaging content for Twitter and LinkedIn, which responds to our operating environment
• Manage the EOF website: proactively improve the structure, content and navigation of our website, to ensure it effectively communicates EOF and our work
• Secure speaking opportunities: identify valuable opportunities for external engagement which will raise EOF's profile and support our programmatic and partnership goals
• Build the EOF team's communication skills: develop standard messaging, draft talking points and train the team on effective communication.

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

• A minimum of a Bachelor's degree, with excellent grades from a top school, in communications, public relations, marketing, education, international development, or a closely related subject.
• A Master's degree would be preferred but is not required.
• A minimum of 6 years of relevant, professional experience in communications, public relations, marketing or a closely related field.
• A track record in developing and implementing communication strategies in complex and political environments
• Experience leading international communication activities (such as a program launch), which include traditional and digital media
• Experience in directly leading people, projects and teams
• Excellent written skills. Able to convey complex ideas clearly and engagingly and can adjust your style to reach a variety of different audiences;
• Experience working in a start-up/ scale-up environment; comfort and ability to thrive amidst ambiguity and to quickly (re-)adjust to new circumstances
• Experience or an interest in international development, the global education sector, and international aid
• Experience working in or with low- and/or middle-income countries, particularly in Africa, the Middle East or South America
• Experience in innovative financing, in particular with RBF instruments or incentive structures.
• Experience or interest in international development, the global education sector, and international aid.
• Fluency in English is required. Proficiency in French, Arabic, Spanish or other languages in the MENA region is preferred.

Duty Station

London, UK or Remote (Home-based). Candidates are expected to be available during working hours in the Europe / Africa / Middle East time zones.

Duration 11.5 months

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 25th September 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.

Key competencies are:

• Clear and confident communication skills
• Drive to achieve results
• Exceptional problem-solving skills
• Entrepreneurial mindset
• Think and act strategically
• Work collaboratively with others
• Embrace change and uncertainty
• 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 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. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to complete a written case-study test (please allow 3 hours for this), followed by multiple rounds of interviews.

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.