Consultancy: Volunteer Engagement and Strategy Specialist, Office of Global Insight and Policy, New York, USA, 11.5 months

This is a unique and exciting opportunity to join the organisation's first concerted effort to volunteering, exploring the role of people power, and what deeper engagement of supporters and the communities we serve can look like across the 193 countries and territories UNICEF operates in. We're looking for strategists, community builders, project and program managers with extensive experience in volunteer management, public engagement and offline mobilisation. Having worked internationally, in youth engagement, leading teams, developing campaigns and speaking multiple languages are some of the additional skills/experience that will make you a strong candidate. This position will develop and coordinate strategic plans for volunteer engagement opportunities across UNICEF. Leading development of multiple strategy streams from capacity building in Country Offices and National Committees, to collaborating with colleagues of other divisions to deliver on UNICEF’s campaigns. Consultant will support Country Offices and National Committees. This consultancy is full-time and will require some travel. Duty Station: New York Duration: 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, volunteers.

Millions of people all over the world support UNICEF and our cause. They raise money, they campaign and in some countries they volunteer to help children in myriad ways. There is an opportunity to build on this force for good and go to another level of engagement with a committed group of volunteer supporters. Our aim is to build a UNICEF membership cadre of millions who champion the change we need through their individual and collective commitment. A volunteer force would vastly extend UNICEF’s reach and help broaden and transform UNICEF itself.  

By building a membership group of UNICEF volunteers, we can bring millions more people into UNICEF to take action for children -- locally, nationally and globally. They would help us:  

• create a stronger connection, better communication, and more accountability between UNICEF and the communities we serve;
• foster vibrant discussion, debate, and sharing of information about child well-being in the places where UNICEF operates, and
• grow our presence in the places where we work, make our brand even more powerful, and allow us to include the advice and energy of millions of members across the globe. 
 

 Members might volunteer their time and experience through:  

• Service activities (from building a playground, helping with language learning, to participating in emergency response) in local communities and attending signature events;  
• Organizing events and volunteer activities;  
• Speaking about issues for children in their communities;  
• Advocacy with governments and the private sector; and  
• Fundraising to support children. 
 

As volunteers periodically take action in support of children, and come to identify with UNICEF, they will not only contribute to their communities but also contribute energy and advice to UNICEF.  

About us

We are a small team working within UNICEF to support the skills, experience, creativity, and ideas of colleagues, and to help them create a global volunteer force of millions who take action for children.

Our team is gathering and consolidating existing tools and resources; generating the additional systems and tools that colleagues need; fostering a vibrant community of practice among colleagues working with volunteers; and offering research, strategic, and execution support to country teams as they launch and/or scale volunteer activities.

Most of the things we make will be accessible to UNICEF's 135 country offices and 30+ National Committees. We will work with 15 pilot 1st phase countries to create dynamic volunteer initiatives that can model ways of working and inspire colleagues across the organization.

How can you make a difference?

The purpose of the consultancy is to develop and coordinate strategic plans for volunteer engagement opportunities across UNICEF. The consultant will work full time, leading development of multiple strategy streams from supporting Country Offices and National Committees to design volunteer tactics, facilitating learning and leading training around volunteer engagement, identifying areas of collaboration among different Country Offices and National Committees, and helping to identify the tools and resources we need to build to support a global community of UNICEF volunteers. The Consultant will support both Country Offices and National Committees which will require significant travel.

Your main responsibilities will be:

• Develop, enable and grow the Community of Practice for volunteer engagement practitioners globally
• Knowledge management and exchange - Implement a series of fora and virtual repository to access, share, elevate and cross-pollinate experience and expertise throughout the community.
• Project Manage UNICEF campaigns and youth engagement opportunities for 1st and 2nd phase countries and National Committees.
• Facilitate bottom-up processes to inform streams of the Volunteer Initiative strategy.
• Oversee development and implementation of volunteer engagement toolkits for global UNICEF campaigns and youth.
• Develop support and guidance materials for COs and NatComs as necessary.
• Elaborate annual UNICEF volunteering report and coordinate KPI standards. 

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in public policy, social science or other relevant field
  A first university degree (Bachelor's) in a relevant field combined with 7 years of professional experience, may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree
• A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in volunteer and public engagement work
• Significant experience working with teams to develop, deliver, and optimize successful volunteer initiatives
• Experience facilitating and developing strategies and tactics with multiple stakeholders across functional communities and in global contexts
• An ability to tailor engagement approaches to context, adjusting to suit different issues, audiences, cultures, political situations, and systems of government
• A sophisticated and current knowledge of relevant digital tools and technologies, and a knowledge of trends and best practices in the volunteering and the broader public engagement spaces
• Experience facilitating workshops, building capacity, and hosting internal communications
• Excellent verbal and interpersonal communication skills; meticulous attention to detail and ability to work under tight deadlines with a commitment to quality
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is an asset.  

For every child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The functional competencies required for this post are:

• Working with People (Level III)
• Drive for results ((Level II)
• Communication ((Level II)
• Formulating strategies and concepts [(Level II]
• Relating and Networking [(Level II]
• Persuading and Influencing [(Level I]
• Applying technical expertise [(Level II]
• Entrepreneurial thinking [(Level II]

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.

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

Remarks:

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

Duty Station: New York

Duration: 11.5 months