Consultancy: Ventures Partnerships, Office of Innovation, New York, USA, 11.5 months

UNICEF is seeking to hire a consultant in the New York office to assist in the coordination and management of the Office of Innovation partnerships pipeline. The duration of the assignment is 11.5 months.

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, innovate...

UNICEF has a 70-year history of innovating for children. We believe that new approaches, partnerships and technologies that support realizing children’s rights are critical to improving their lives.

The Office of Innovation is a creative, interactive, and agile team in UNICEF. We sit at a unique intersection, where an organization that works on huge global issues meets the startup thinking, the technology, and the partners that turn this energy into scalable solutions.
 
UNICEF's Office of Innovation creates opportunities for the world's children by focusing on where new markets can meet their vital needs. We do this by:

• Connecting youth communities (or more broadly -- anyone disconnected or under-served) to decision-makers, and to each other, to deliver informed, relevant and sustained programmes that build better, stronger futures for children.
• Provoking change for children through an entrepreneurial approach -- in a traditionally risk-averse field -- to harness rapidly moving innovations and apply them to serve the needs of all children.
• Creating new models of partnership that leverage core business values across the public, private and academic sectors in order to deliver fast, and lasting results for children.

The Office of Innovation specifically looks to form partnerships around frontier technologies (like drones and UAVs, blockchain, 21st century skills, urban technologies, new banking tools, wearables and sensors, or 3D-Printing) that exist at the intersection of $100 billion business markets and 1 billion person needs – and to identify how they can grow and scale profitably and inclusively.
 
Our team
We're an interdisciplinary team around the world tasked with identifying, prototyping, and scaling new technologies and practices. With our partners, we focus on convening and collaborating on new and different solutions, low- and high-tech, by:

• Looking at the 2-5 year horizon to evaluate emerging and trending technologies and to see how UNICEF can work with the private sector on doing better business while improving essential services for children;
• Investing in early stage solutions that show great potential to positively impact children in the 0-2 year future including the Venture Fund that invests in open source technology solutions from start-ups based in UNICEF’s programme countries;
• Identifying proven solutions that can be implemented at national scale in multiple countries – taking the ideas that help thousands in one country, bringing them to dozens of countries across multiple sectors, and impacting the lives of millions of children.”
  

How can you make a difference?

You’re an superior organizer and communicator, and are obsessively optimizing ways your team can work together. You can see the big picture but also follow up on the details. You understand the implications of technology’s growth into every part of our lives. You occasionally wake up worried about killer robots, and are interested in how mobile phones, big data, and blockchain can transform the world of international development. You have a firm handle on and interest in international relations, and a keen sense of how a large organization works internally and outside with others.

Main responsibilities will be:

UNICEF is seeking to hire a consultant in the New York office to assist in the coordination and management of the Office of Innovation partnerships pipeline.

Under the supervision of the Partnerships Lead, the consultant will be responsible for:

• Leading partnerships strategy for multi-stakeholder partnerships
• • Develop the partnerships strategy for multi-stakeholder alliances around Digital Public Goods and Project Connect
  • Collaborate with Leads on developing strategic relationships with large financial and technical partners
  • Participate in discussions for and work with other UNICEF teams to establish non-traditional funding mechanisms
  • Provide critical input in developing vision statement, planning and monitoring project activities, etc.
  • Support recruitment activities and alliance team management
• Managing existing partnerships
• • Lead and project manage discussions/check-ins with existing partners as relevant to relationship management
  • Report on deliveries/activities/blocking points
  • Coordinate reporting as required in partnership agreement/by NatCom
  • Identify (with input from Leads) opportunities to grow/extend existing partnerships
  • Develop/review briefing notes for high level meetings/events involving relevant partners
• Developing partnerships
• • Create proposals for new partners: including scope definition (coordinating with the relevant Leads) and annual work plan.  
  • Cultivate Innovation partnerships through PFP offices, NatComs or Country Offices in Japan, Korea, India, Gulf Area, and the US (non-tech partners)
  • Develop relevant pitching materials such as decks, concept notes, etc. for new partnerships discussions for priority projects
  • Draft partnership agreements (e.g. agreements, MoUs and LoIs) for partners and collaborators and coordinate with Legal for approval
  • Lead and project manage discussions and negotiations related to new partnerships under discussion: scope, roles and responsibilities, financial contributions or fundraising activities.
  • Provide technical guidance and input on partnership process (e.g. due diligence, benefits package for partners, UNICEF partnerships standards etc)
  • Ensure we are meeting our communications obligations (those in agreements and as needed to position OI for future partnerships) with current partners including opportunities to showcase ongoing partnership-related successes/failures
• Prospecting new partners
• • Research and identification of prospective partners for priority areas of work (as defined in workplan)
  • Initial outreach to prospective partners (incl communication through NatComs and PFP)
  • Updating partnership needs for each area of work (through regular discussion with respective Leads)
• Keeping our team organized and informed
• • Maintain the team’s partnerships management system in Monday and Google Drive - including keeping track of key partnership contacts and leads
  • Facilitate internal partnership meetings
  • Follow up on all due diligence processes for prospective partners, and become the focal point for corporate research on prospective partners - primarily using UNICEF’s Salesforce system
  • Represent the Partnerships team in meetings with the PFP, National Committee, and partners
  • Provide regular reports on partnership activities to the Innovation Management Team, project leads, and Natcoms

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

• Advanced University degree or equivalent professional experience in one of the following fields: public and/or private sector partnerships, communications, social sciences communication, public relations, international development, business administration and management.
• At least eight (8) years of progressively responsible experience in partnerships/project management, and a track record of organizing and managing partnerships between the technology sector and development/non-profit organizations - experience fundraising and partnerships management in UNICEF a huge plus.
• Demonstrated planning, communication, fundraising and very strong writing and editing skills.
• Capacity to prioritise and manage a diverse range of partners, projects and activities.
• Must be a natural project manager - keeping resources and conversations organized a requirement.
• Familiarity with UNICEF’s Innovation work an asset.
• Fluency in English. Competence in another UN language preferred.

Payment details and further considerations

• Monthly payment, based on monthly tasks and progress reports, approved upon monthly review with supervisor.
• Consultant is responsible for his/her own health and travel insurance.
• Consultant is eligible for standard DSA for all work-related travel.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

View our competency framework at: http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

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, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Duration: 11.5 months

Duty Station: New York