Re-advertisement- Home-based consultancy: Talent Management Strategy expert (56 days)

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, results

The Office of Emergency Programmes (EMOPS) provides strategic and coordinated support to Country Offices preparing for and responding to humanitarian crises, in collaboration with Regional Offices, to ensure that they have the right capacities to respond effectively and deliver on its Core Commitments to Children in Humanitarian Action (CCCs). EMOPS leads efforts to ensure that UNICEF’s role in complex emergencies and natural disasters is clearly defined, that the organisation is properly equipped to fulfil that role, and that all levels of the organisation are prepared to deliver our mandate.

Under each sectoral section of the CCCs, the first commitment is to coordination of the humanitarian response within the sector. In addition, humanitarian coordination is one of the overarching themes in the CCCs. UNICEF is cluster lead agency (CLA) for Nutrition and WASH, co-lead for Education, and lead of the Child Protection Area of Responsibility.

An internal Humanitarian Review was conducted by UNICEF in 2020 to guide the organization’s future in humanitarian action, ensuring it remains fit for purpose. The review made numerous observations on the importance of adequate staffing in humanitarian contexts. Particularly on the staffing of UNICEF-led clusters, the humanitarian review recommended that:

• In countries where UNICEF clusters are active, ensure that a dedicated cluster team is permanently in place (comprising at a minimum a coordinator and an information management officer). A career path within UNICEF should be developed for cluster coordinators to attract talent, while CO leadership should also be assessed on how COs are performing on cluster lead and coordination.
• Prioritize investment in UNICEF cluster coordinators and support to national co-leads where applicable. This could be through either a specific pool of coordinators, or perhaps more sustainably by ensuring that programme and emergency staff are trained to cover cluster functions, with proper career management so that cluster coordination is seen as a beneficial skill

The consultancy assignment will provide the Global Cluster Coordination Unit (GCCU) within EMOPS with a strategy that will enable UNICEF to fulfil its staffing ambitions for clusters in all countries. The CLA staffing strategy will allow all parts of the organization to have a shared understanding of what would be required to implement the Humanitarian Review recommendations for coherent and sufficient action that addresses all bottlenecks.

How can you make a difference?

The consulltant will be expected to carry out the following tasks:

1. Conduct desk review and induction interviews
2. Broad consultation with Regional Offices, Country Offices, as well as headquarters Programme Division, EMOPS and Division of Human Resources.
3. Develop a consultancy workplan
4. Conduct bottleneck analysis to realization of the Humanitarian Review cluster staffing recommendation
5. Develop a CLA staffing strategy that shows the way to realization of the Humanitarian Review recommendations on cluster staffing and addresses identified bottlenecks
6. Develop an action plan for implementation of the CLA staffing strategy, including a communications strategy.

Contractual modalities:

• Duty Station: The work will be conducted remotely with the consultant home-based, no travel required. To the extent that interaction with colleagues is needed, the work will align with Geneva working hours, with ability to hold occasional meetings in New York time. Duration: It is expected that the consultancy will take 56 days, allowing time for inception interviews scheduling, comments and feedback on different drafts).
• Payment: Payment will be made upon satisfactory completion of all deliverables, after receipt of an invoice, and paid as a lump sum on end of the assignment.
• Consultations:The process will include consultation with UNICEF staff from Regional Offices, Country Offices, EMOPS, PD, DHR and any other stakeholders. It is important to develop a strategy that can be implemented bearing in mind current constraints. If these constraints are deal breakers, it will be important to assess how to mitigate them (and that could be included in the consultancy). The above stakeholders will also be essential for uptake of the strategy.
• Supervision: The Consultant reports to and cooperates closely with the Global Cluster Coordination Unit (GCCU), in EMOPS Geneva, and is supervised by the Information Management Specialist under the leadership of the Chief GCCU. The consultant will also work closely with the Humanitarian Human Resources Business Partner based in the Division of HR in New York.

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s) in Human Resources, Business Administration, International Affairs, Social Sciences, psychology or related areas
• At least eight years of relevant professional experience in HR Management, organizational change or organizational development.
• Experience in development of organizational staffing strategy.
• Experience in facilitating consultation processes.
• Bottleneck analysis experience highly desirable.
• Knowledge of UN/UNICEF and their HR policies is an asset.
• Experience in emergencies is an asset.
• Fluency in English with excellent writing skills.

Personal skills

• Capacity to establish and maintain productive relations with a range of actors from different national and cultural backgrounds.
• Ability to write clear and concise reports and communicate effectively.
• Sound analytical skills and a constructive approach to problem solving.
• Ability to advise others.
• Ability to deliver outputs by agreed deadlines.

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.

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.

To apply:

Interested candidates should submit the following document through the vacancy announcement.

• A CV
• Short document (max. 2 pages) describing key milestones and outlining methods.
• A financial offer, with a single comprehensive rate in USD. Applications submitted without this rate will not be considered.
• Contact details of 3 previous supervisors who will provide references

Remarks:

This is a readvertisement. Candidates who have already applied do not need to reapply.

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.