Consultant (18 months, home-based): Project Results Consultant, Innovative Finance for Children, Division of Private Fundraising and Partnerships (PFP)

Support the global coordination, implementation and monitoring of the Today and Tomorrow Initiative. To address the growing climate and disaster risk finance gap for children, UNICEF has launched the Today & Tomorrow Initiative (TTI) as a first of its kind climate and disaster risk finance mechanism specifically targeted and designed for children. The TTI initiative responds to the call for moving away from a traditional ex-post humanitarian response towards a more proactive ex-ante risk management approach as it offers comprehensive climate risk financing through a parametric insurance that is pre-designed to deliver rapid finance for relief and recovery with explicit focus on children. Through its Today pillar, the TTI initiative is designed to provide finance also for preventing and reducing climate risks and building longer-term climate resilience that needs to start today. After the pilot phase, the initiative is expected to scale up to more countries and cover other climate hazards and to protect and empower vulnerable children highly exposed to multiple threats of climate change. TTI is the flagship initiative under Area of Acceleration 1 of UNICEF’s 2023-2030 Sustainability and Climate Action Plan and contributes to Goal Area 4 of UNICEF 2022-2025 Strategic Plan: Ensuring that every child lives in a safe and clean environment. For this consultancy, UNICEF seeks a highly motivated, organized, and innovative thinker to effectively coordinate, implement and monitor the results of the initiative during the 3-year pilot phase (2022-2025). The consultant will report directly to the Innovative Finance for Children (IF4C) team in close coordination with PG CEED, EMOPS, PPD and other relevant teams.

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

Support the global coordination, implementation and monitoring of the Today and Tomorrow Initiative

To address the growing climate and disaster risk finance gap for children, UNICEF has launched the Today & Tomorrow Initiative (TTI) as a first of its kind climate and disaster risk finance mechanism specifically targeted and designed for children. The TTI initiative responds to the call for moving away from a traditional ex-post humanitarian response towards a more proactive ex-ante risk management approach as it offers comprehensive climate risk financing through a parametric insurance that is pre-designed to deliver rapid finance for relief and recovery with explicit focus on children. Through its Today pillar, the TTI initiative is designed to provide finance also for preventing and reducing climate risks and building longer-term climate resilience that needs to start today. After the pilot phase, the initiative is expected to scale up to more countries and cover other climate hazards and to protect and empower vulnerable children highly exposed to multiple threats of climate change.

TTI is the flagship initiative under Area of Acceleration 1 of UNICEF’s 2023-2030 Sustainability and Climate Action Plan and contributes to Goal Area 4 of UNICEF 2022-2025 Strategic Plan: Ensuring that every child lives in a safe and clean environment.

For this consultancy, UNICEF seeks a highly motivated, organized, and innovative thinker to effectively coordinate, implement and monitor the results of the initiative during the 3-year pilot phase (2022-2025). The consultant will report directly to the Innovative Finance for Children (IF4C) team in close coordination with PG CEED, EMOPS, PPD and other relevant teams.

How can you make a difference? 

Scope of Work:

Under the guidance of the Lead Partnerships, IF4C, the Project Results Consultant will perform the following duties:

Objective 1. Ensure the Comptroller’s compliance for advancement payment and TTI implementation (including payout processing)/reporting requirements are met

• Ensuring Comptrollers compliance requirement for advance payment are met
• Ensure TTI implementation (including payout processing) /reporting requirements are met as per the TTI SOP
• Coordinating the due diligence of the UNICEF Today and Tomorrow Initiative’s Parametric Insurance providers (prospective and existing), in coordination with DFAM
• Ensuring compliance and risk mitigation in alignment with the internal stakeholders’ requirements and internal policies

Objective 2:  Maintain Detailed Work Plans, Budgets and organize TTI Co-ordination meetings

• Create and update at least 2 comprehensive work plans and budgets annually.
• Monitor initiative progress and deliver, including holding 2 annual consultations on the TTI workplans of the 8 pilot Country Offices. 
• Conduct 2 annual reviews (2024 and 2025) of the Today and Tomorrow Standard operating procedures in coordination with PG CEED, EMOPS, PPD and other relevant teams.
• Organize and lead monthly/quarterly coordination and technical meetings at global and country/regional levels.

Objective 3: Support Timely Donor Reporting and Briefings

• Support the annual donor reporting process including developing 1 financial, 1 annual narrative report and 1 half annual report, as outlined the agreed-upon GRiF reporting requirement for the UNICEF TTI.
• Support organization of a minimum of 2 donor briefings per year, in collaboration with COs, ROs, and HQ divisions (PG, EMOPS, and PPD).

Objective 4: Provide Technical Guidance and Support

• Deliver technical assistance and backstopping support to the 8 target COs at least 3 times per year.
• Develop and disseminate 2 technical guidance materials and 1 thought leadership piece annually, in consultation with the pilot country offices and relevant HQ divisions.

Objective 5: Implement Comprehensive Knowledge Management and Communication Plan

• Develop and implement 1 comprehensive knowledge management and communication plan.
• Manage the TTI KM workspace and KM Hub to facilitate effective information sharing.
• Develop and implement 1 comprehensive communication plan, and collaborate with Coms, PG, EMOPS, PFP, and PPD to ensure proper dissemination of information.

Work Assignment Overview

• Objective 1: Ensure the Comptroller’s compliance for advancement payment and TTI implementation/reporting requirements are met;
• Objective 2:  Maintain Detailed Work Plans, Budgets and organize TTI Co-ordination meetings;
• Objective 3: Provide Technical Guidance and Support;
• Objective 4: Implement Comprehensive Knowledge Management and Communication Plan

Deliverables

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

Education:

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree or higher) In finance, business administration, social sciences or similar is required.  

Experience:

• A minimum of 8 years of relevant work experience is required in innovative financing projects, climate resilience-related to climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in the United Nations or international organizations.
• Expertise in innovative financing projects, with desired experience implementing initiatives related to climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.
• Excellent coordination, communication and partnership development skills is desirable.
• Strong writing and communication skills, with the ability to effectively communicate complex climate financing concepts and proposals, both in writing and verbally is required.  
• Proven experience of results monitoring and evaluation is required
• Experience in climate and disaster risk financing is an advantage

Language:

• Fluency in English is required. knowledge of another official UN language is considered as an asset

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

Remarks:  

Please indicate your all-inclusive (lump sum) fees in USD against the deliverables listed above. If there is a need for business travel, the travel costs will be covered by UNICEF separately. The office selects the individual based on best value for money.

Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

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. 

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. 

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

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.