Individual Consultancy - Associate Consultant, Education Outcomes Fund (EOF) (Remote UK time zone) 6 Months -w/ possible extension REQ#540287

There are few greater challenges faced by the global community than the learning crisis. By 2030, nearly half of the world’s young people will be failing to learn. This ticking time-bomb for global development will undermine the achievement of all of the Sustainable Development Goals, and demands urgent global action. In response, the Education Commission (chaired by Gordon Brown, former UK Prime Minister and UN Special Envoy for Global Education) and the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (chaired by Sir Ronald Cohen) have come together to create the Education Outcomes Fund (EOF), an initiative to improve the education of 10 million children and young people. EOF will support governments over the next decade to improve outcomes in education and youth employment by paying for results delivered by innovative NGOs and social entrepreneurs. EOF will use several innovative finance instruments including development impact bonds (DIBs) and other Results-Based Financing mechanisms to achieve this mission.

For every child, education...

The fund will support improvements in the quality of education and skills programs, and seek to ensure that no child or young person is left behind, with a special focus on underserved populations including the hardest to reach rural populations, girls, children with disabilities, and refugees.  It will measure (and pay for) what matters – both core skills like literacy and numeracy, but also critical 21st Century skills such as socio-emotional skills, ICT skills, and other broader fundamentals of a quality education.  It will help close the persistent gap between the skills needed by employers, and those attained by today’s youth by paying for employment and retention outcomes. 

For all the above, EOF will pay almost entirely on the basis of the results achieved, ensuring that taxpayer-funded domestic resources, aid, and philanthropic funds are only used to pay for what works.

This is a game-changing way to finance results in education.  It is more than just a fund – it is a powerful new set of partnerships and way of working.  Rather than fragmented spending on inputs and activities, it aligns the whole system around a common, agreed set of outcomes.  Rather than stifling NGOs with restricted funding, EOF empowers and supports them to innovate, adapt, and find context-specific solutions.  And rather than being funded on the basis of emotional appeals about their impact, providers and investors will be rewarded based on independently verified results.  This radical transparency will ensure that EOF, government policy makers and the broader donor community can systematically shift funds towards scaling programs that demonstrate the best results and value for money.

We believe this is the early stages of a much larger movement.  As the development sector continues to shift away from traditional, activity-based funding towards results-based approaches, there is growing interest in outcomes funds and impact bonds, that go beyond outputs (the focus of most results-based aid to date) to reward outcomes. Shifting risk to the private sector, crowding in private capital and harnessing the capacity and capability of non-state actors has huge potential to achieve better outcomes and better value for money. 

We hope you will join us on this exciting journey to launch programs as part of the first large scale outcomes funds for development, in support of achieving inclusive and quality education for all.  

How can you make a difference?

EOF is looking for a high-performing Associate to join the Program Team. You will typically work on 1 to 3 projects as part of small teams of 3 to 4 people. You will often be responsible for defining your own workstreams on a project, ensuring your work leads to the success of a program.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Supporting the work of EOF’s program team to scope, assess the feasibility and design Results-Based Financing programs in early childhood development, basic education or skills;
• Engaging a variety of external stakeholders – including governments, donors, service providers, investors and think tanks- at different stages of program development; 
• To support the growth of EOF – preparing fundraising and pipeline development materials, supporting the recruitment and training of more junior members of the team, as well as writing blog posts and articles.

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

• A minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in economics, political science, finance, education or a related field. A Master’s degree in these fields would be preferred but is not required.
• At least 3 years of professional experience
• Experience in innovative financing, in particular with Results-Based Financing instruments or incentive structures is preferred.
• Experience in education, early childhood development or skills / employment programs is preferred
• Experience working in Africa / the Middle East is preferred
• Experience in evaluation design and / or management is preferred.
• Relevant experience includes, but is not limited to, the following sectors:
  • International development
  • Charity or public sectors
  • Strategy consulting
  • Think tanks / research institutes
  • Investment or development banking
• Fluency in English is required
• Proficiency in French, Arabic or other languages in Africa or the MENA region is preferred.

Key competencies

Our ideal Associate will possess the following attributes / skills:

• Intellectual curiosity and a passion for education, global development and innovative finance.
• Data & analytical skills: you are comfortable working with data and can conduct analysis independently. You can work with basic financial models and can take the initiative to create financial and operational models that address underlying problems.
• Think and act strategically: you are able to pull insights from complex information. You form sound evidence-based judgements in the delivery of results. Whether working on programs or contributing to the growth and development of the EOF team, you are able anticipate risks and identify strategic opportunities.
• Build and maintain partnerships: You possess excellent communication skills and are able to engage existing and potential partners including Government, donors, investors and providers and build trust-based relationships in support of EOF’s vision.
• Manage ambiguity and complexity. You demonstrate resilience and composure, get things done despite challenges and maintain performance levels in pressured, adverse and uncertain environments. You are a strong communicator who can share complex information simply and shape thinking around an issue
• Process management: you are comfortable with taking ownership and responsibility of different workstreams, and able to oversee the work of more junior team members. You manage workplans and ensure their timely execution through an adequate distribution of tasks. You thrive in a nimble start-up environment, where everyone can and should take initiative beyond a narrow scope of work and respond to shifting priorities with agility.
• Quality control: you are able to ensure the quality of the documents produced by yourself or more junior members of the team, demonstrating excellent attention to details
• Work collaboratively with others: you establish and maintain mutually supportive working relationships, demonstrating sensitivity to people of diverse backgrounds, respecting differences and ensuring that all can contribute and succeed. You enjoy teamwork and remain mindful of the need to collaborate with people outside your immediate area of responsibility.
• Demonstrate self-awareness and ethical awareness: you are self-aware of your own strengths, limitations, working style and deeply held convictions and biases. You display ethical awareness through behaviours that are consistent and compliant with the standards of conduct for international civil servants, UNICEF’s values and relevant UNICEF policies and procedures.
• Proficiency in all Microsoft Office Tools.

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.

UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children.

This position is not considered an elevated risk role. However, UNICEF reserves the right to conduct further vetting/ assessment within the scope of child safeguarding as appropriate.

Remarks:

Home-based. Candidates should be available to work during working hours in Europe / Africa / the Middle East. International travel to deliver project objectives is expected once the Covid-19 travel restrictions have been lifted.

Applicants are required to submit a financial proposal. Indicative range of gross annual fee: £37,000 – £43,000 for applicants based in London, to be adjusted based on the place of residence of the selected candidate.

Applicants asked to submit a covering letter, a one to two page CV and proposed fees (monthly in British Sterling) to undertake the above TOR.  Applications submitted without a proposed fee, will not be accepted. 

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

PROPOSED PAYMENT SCHEDULE

Monthly payments:  Lump sum payment will be made monthly, inclusive of all professional fees, daily allowances, living allowances, and other administrative costs. 

Should “mission travel” be required, UNICEF will manage and pay for travel via Travel Authorization.  However, this will be subject to the following prerequisites:  Medical Clearance, Security Clearance through the Travel Request Information Process (TRIP) system, the Basic and Advanced Security in the Field Trainings, Travel Visa, and liability waiver. Trip prerequisites will be met at the expense of the consultant.

Travel cost shall be calculated based on economy class travel, regardless of the length of travel.  Costs for accommodation, meals and incidentals shall not exceed applicable daily subsistence allowance (DSA) rates, as promulgated by the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC at http://icsc.un.org).  The consultant must travel on UNICEF approved airlines.

Individual Contractors who are working in a full-time capacity (for a minimum of 1 full month) and with the same working schedule as staff at the duty station (generally office-based, working five weekdays per week and following the office hours) receive Paid Time Off (PTO) credit at the rate of one- and one-half days (1.5 days) for each full month of service. Please refer to Paid Time off for Individual Contractors for further information.

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.

EOF is hosted by UNICEF. The Fund is administered under UNICEF’s financial, human resources and administrative rules and regulations, while operations are run by the Fund’s own independent governance structure that provides strategic guidance and oversight to its investments. EOF’s day-to-day activities are carried out by a Secretariat under the direction of the Education Outcomes Fund, Director.

If selected for this consultancy, the resulting appointment will be limited to EOF, a UNICEF hosted fund.