Consultant – Results Based Financing Manager, Education Outcomes Fund (EOF), Remote (6 months)

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 is backed by a range of world leaders who support this objective, as well as leaders in education and impact investing. Our Executive Committee includes Sir Ronald Cohen, Sir Michael Barber, Dolika Banda, George Werner and Rob Jenkins. Our High-Level Steering Group includes, amongst others, Aliko Dangote, Aicha Bah Diallo, Henrietta Fore, Jakaya Kikwete, Felipe Calderon and Christos Stylianides.

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.

Since our inception in 2018, EOF has:

• Partnered with governments in Ghana and Sierra Leone to establish what will be, once launched, the two largest outcomes funds to date in developing countries.
• Become established as a leading global player in RBF, and the only dedicated centre of expertise for RBF in education and skills.
• Become established as the first outcomes fund hosted by the United Nations.
• 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.

  How can you make a difference?

We are seeking to recruit a high-caliber Results-Based Financing Manager to kick-start our rapidly growing pipeline of work in the early childhood sector that will help improve the effectiveness of funding for early learning and holistic development outcomes for children.

The broad purpose of this consultancy is to:

• Play a leading role in the work of EOF’s Program Team to scope and design RBF programs, with a particular focus on early childhood programs;
• Engage governments, donors, investors, implementors, and other stakeholders;
• Support EOF’s pipeline development and fundraising efforts by building strong relationships with potential funders, identifying and pursuing opportunities;
• Support the growth of the EOF team and culture;
• Participate in EOF’s communication and advocacy strategy.

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

Tasks

End Products/ Deliverables

Duration/ Deadline

Program design:

• Manage scoping and feasibility studies to assess the opportunity for Results-based Financing (RBF) programs and outcomes funds in early childhood education, 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 apply 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.

• Scoping and feasibility study reports presenting recommendations for the opportunity to design outcome funds in specific contexts.

• Design documents and presentations for different audiences presenting the program and design choices.
• Terms of reference and contracts adapted to each program.

Ongoing

Pipeline development and fundraising:

• Proactively manage relationships with key funders (foundations, bilateral and multilateral organizations) and partners. Maintain regular contacts to build strong trust-based relationships and identify opportunities for partnerships taking into account the strategic priorities of each organization.

• Support the fundraising team to identify and pursue opportunities for the development of EOF programs and to secure OpEx funding to cover the costs of EOF’s Secretariat.

• Presentations targeted at different audiences presenting EOF’s work and programs.

• Concept notes and proposals for feasibility studies or the design of outcomes funds.

Ongoing

Support to EOF core 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.

• Blog posts, articles and presentations as relevant.

• Internal contributions in team meetings or in support of EOF’s operations as needed.

Ongoing

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in economics, political science, finance, education or a related 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 (5) years of professional experience is required.
• Experience managing complex processes and teams is required.
• Experience in innovative financing, in particular with Results-Based Financing instruments or incentive structures is preferred.
• Experience in early childhood education is preferred.

• Experience in evaluation design and / or management. 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

Home-based. Candidates are expected to be available during working hours in the Europe / Africa / Middle East time zones.

International travel to deliver project objectives is expected once the Covid-19 travel restrictions have been lifted.

Duration 6 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.

Travel

Should “mission travel” be required, UNICEF will manage and pay for travel via Travel Authorization. However, this will be subject to the following prerequisites: Medical Clearance, Security Clearance through the Travel Request Information Process (TRIP) system, the Basic and Advanced Security in the Field Trainings, Travel Visa, and liability waiver. Trip prerequisites will be met at the expense of the consultant.

Travel cost shall be calculated based on economy class travel, regardless of the length of travel. Costs for accommodation, meals and incidentals shall not exceed applicable daily subsistence allowance (DSA) rates, as promulgated by the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC at http://icsc.un.org). The consultant must travel on UNICEF approved airlines.

Visa

Consultants are solely responsible for obtaining their visas prior to travel. No visas will be facilitated by UNICEF.

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 14 January 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.