Individual Contractor (11.5 months, full-time, home-based) Innovative Financing – Impact Investing and Structuring, Outreach and Engagement, Division of Private Fundraising and Partnerships

Consultant Communications & PR

Overview

Lead innovative financing initiatives to gather resources for children globally.

You have:

• Advanced university degree in international development, finance, economics, public or business administration or closely related fields required.
• Minimum of 10 years of relevant work experience at national and international levels in international finance, ESG/impact investing, investment banking/specialized fund development, project management, consulting, budget, capital formation, or other related fields.
• Prior experience working with Innovative partnerships or financial innovation, as well as diverse stakeholder groups or multi-stakeholder partnerships; capital formation from private sector partners as well as DFIs is highly desirable.
• Specific experience working with Europe partners is highly desirable.
• Experience in/knowledge of the UN system and knowledge of UNICEF’s work would be a strong asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of an additional UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish) is desirable.

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, hope

UNICEF works for a world in which every child has a fair chance in life. It has helped save more children's lives than any other humanitarian organization - over 90 million since 1990 - and is the world's largest provider of ready-to-use therapeutic food, a high-protein paste that can bring a malnourished child back to health within weeks. UNICEF also immunizes nearly 40% of the world's children and when a natural disaster strikes, is already on the ground and ready to act. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations, and governments.

UNICEF is seeking to leverage additional resources for children as well as to optimize the use of existing resources to achieve the targets set out in the 2022-2025 UNICEF Strategic Plan. UNICEF's Private Fundraising & Partnership Division (PFP), along with other Divisions within UNICEF, are working together on the development and implementation of new financial structures (e.g., blended funds, loans/guarantees, impact bonds) that can leverage additional resources for children (as well as make existing resources more efficient and results-oriented). The core objective of Innovative Financing for Children (IF4C) at UNICEF is to enable the use of financial instruments and financial engineering to help enable UNICEF to meet its programmatic requirements and fulfill its global mission to save and improve the lives of all children and youth.

UNICEF's vision for IF4C is to identify and scale up “best of class” innovative approaches to financing and investing in children across a diverse spectrum of public and private sector capital, including through our National Committees and in close coordination with our Public Finance colleagues and UNICEF's global and national partners on the ground. By implementing our new Global Vision & Strategy for IF4C in fulfillment of this vision, we will Align, Amplify, Accelerate and Access the necessary additional funding, financing, support, and partnerships, to rapidly rebuild from losses and radically accelerate progress towards the SDGs for children by 2030.

How can you make a difference?

Reporting to the Partnership Manager for Innovative Finance (PFP), the individual contractor will initiate and lead specific activities in the PFP 2022-2025 Office Management Plan (OMP) to deliver on the implementation of the new Global Vision & Strategy for IF4C at UNICEF.

These activities will include exploring various methods of structuring new innovative financing mechanisms and leveraging the potential catalytic and transformational impact of creatively engaging the global capital markets to achieve the SDGs for children, particularly the $40 trillion global ESG/impact investing market.

MAIN TASKS

Under the leadership of the Partnership Manager for Innovative Finance (PFP), and in close collaboration with the relevant teams within PFP and other key UNICEF Divisions, the individual contractor will conduct the following planned activities to support PFP’s 2022-2025 OMP:

1) Private sector business analysis for new IF4C mechanisms: Lead and support high-level business analysis of IF activities for the PFP 2022-2025 OMP, working closely with UNICEF Divisions and UNICEF National Committees to 1) better understand the optimal characteristics/parameters of the new innovative financing mechanisms as applied to the UNICEF context; 2) evaluate all applicable financial and reputational risks involved and develop detailed risk profiles/mitigation strategies; and 3) identify and recruit potential private sector service providers with the knowledge and capacity to assist UNICEF in developing, structuring and launching these new mechanisms.

2) Child Lens investing approach: In coordination with the Office of Innovation (OoI) and UNICEF National Committees, develop a comprehensive internal ‘best practice’ process and methodology for deal sourcing/identification and pipeline development as a central element of IF4C’s new SDG Child-aligned investment approach for the private sector, to accelerate the alignment of the global ESG market towards greater investments in children under the new IF4C Global Vision and Strategy and the UNDP/UNICEF Financing Flagship joint workplan.

3) IF4C Private Sector initiatives: Structure, incubate and capacitate new strategic private sector IF4C initiatives for the Division’s 2022-2025 OMP, with an initial focus on leveraging support and access to capital from Europe-based Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), private sector financial markets, et. al., in cooperation with all relevant internal and external stakeholders. Examples of current IF4C initiatives in the PFP 2022-2025 OMP: e.g., engaging the Joint SDG Fund; UNICEF’s Private Sector European IF approach; various other outcome-based and blended financing/funding initiatives TBD.

4) Project management and support: Regularly set, track, evaluate, and document all relevant meetings, project milestones and outcomes, et. al.; present progress on IF priorities and specific initiatives under the new Private Sector Operating Plan for IF (PFP); and support the Partnership Manager for Innovative Finance (PFP) on IF4C-related activities for the PFP 2022-2025 OMP on an ad hoc basis, as needed.

DELIVERABLES

Provision of expert guidance and related services by the Individual Contractor will require working with UNICEF PFP, UNICEF OoI, UNICEF Division of Financial and Administrative Management (DFAM), UNICEF Legal, other key internal and external stakeholders, and UNICEF colleagues across various divisions/regions as needed, to:

1) Private sector business analysis for new IF4C mechanisms: 1) Conduct a comprehensive business analysis and market survey of new innovative financing mechanisms, including formulating specific Requests for Information (RFIs) from financial and impact investing experts in coordination with UNICEF DFAM, Procurement and Legal; 2) provide written and oral presentations of business survey findings and outcomes to serve as guidance for UNICEF senior leadership, i.e., by reviewing and validating the “best use” case, optimal conditions, and fundamental requirements for these new innovative financing mechanisms, as needed and in order to meet UNICEF’s goals and objectives (including those of structuring and risk mitigation), as stated in the preceding section.

2) Child Lens investing approach: Develop, document, and implement a comprehensive, ‘best practice’ deal sourcing/identification and pipeline development process and methodology for new SDG/ESG child-aligned investments under the new IF4C Global Vision and Strategy and the UNDP/UNICEF Financing Flagship joint workplan, in coordination with UNICEF OoI’s Innovative Finance Hub and other relevant divisions and partners. Working with key internal and external stakeholders, identify prospective Child-aligned sustainable investment opportunities for consideration, as part of the initial prospective pipeline.

3) IF4C Private Sector initiatives: To facilitate the development and implementation of new strategic, high cap IF initiatives for the division:

• Formulate, implement and drive project roadmaps, workplans and planned activities in order to achieve each initiative’s specified goals within all prescribed timelines and budgets, including structuring, incubating, and capacitating specific new innovative financing initiatives, beginning with the strategic engagement of the Joint SDG Fund for IF4C, and working with all relevant stakeholders to operationalize.

• Develop bespoke strategies and propositions to crowd in new catalytic funding from DFIs, et. al., and to facilitate access to private sector impact investing capital for key PFP IF4C initiatives, with an initial focus on Europe-based institutions.

4) Project management and support: Create and present regular progress updates and written reports, documentation of meetings, project documents, et. al.; and provide regular technical support and advice to the Partnership Manager for Innovative Finance (PFP) on an as-needed basis.

ESTIMATED DURATION OF THE CONTRACT AND PROPOSAL

full-time, 11.5 months, tentatively starting Dec 2021

REPORTING TO

Partnership Manager for Innovative Finance, PFP

WORKPLACE

Home-based (preferably European based)

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

Education:

• Advanced university degree in international development, finance, economics, public or business administration or closely related fields required. Alternatively, a first level university degree with a relevant combination of academic qualifications and experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.

Experience:

• Minimum of 10 years of relevant work experience at national and international levels in international finance, ESG/impact investing, investment banking/specialized fund development, project management, consulting, budget, capital formation, or other related fields.

• Prior experience working with Innovative partnerships or financial innovation, as well as diverse stakeholder groups or multi-stakeholder partnerships as well as capital formation from private sector partners as well as DFIs, et. al. is highly desirable.

• Specific experience working with Europe partners is highly desirable.

• Experience in/knowledge of the UN system and knowledge of UNICEF’s work would be a strong asset.

Language:

• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of an additional UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish) is desirable.

Others:

• Self-driven, motivated, passionate about achieving results.

• Strategic and global thinking and analytical ability.

• Excellent organizational, interpersonal and communications skills.

• Ability to conceptualize, plan and execute ideas as well as to manage projects.

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.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

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

Remarks: Please indicate your ability, availability and gross daily/monthly rate (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference above (including travel and daily subsistence allowance, if applicable). Applications submitted without a daily/monthly rate will not be considered. Also, please mention the earliest date you can start.

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. 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.

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.

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Potential interview questions

Added 4 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unicef.org