Consultant (12 months, home-based): Community Engagement and Communications Consultant, Division of Private Fundraising and Partnerships (PFP)

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built. We offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture., coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to hope

The Market Development & Fundraising Innovation Team (MD/FIT), part of the Private Fundraising and Partnerships (PFP) Division, is seeking a consultant to coordinate team communications and develop the community of practice—an essential aspect of the MD/FIT strategy. The role will focus particularly on supporting the Fundraising Innovation Program. The consultant will be responsible for strengthening the facilitation and implementation of support workstreams for UNICEF fundraising directors and fundraisers globally.

This consultancy position will actively contribute to the achievement of the MD/FIT Program’s strategic objectives for 2025/2026 by maintaining engagement with the Market Development stakeholder network and advancing the Fundraising Innovation Community of Practice. Key responsibilities include coordinating and delivering regular communications, facilitating knowledge sharing initiatives, and supporting fundraising innovation processes and activities.

How can you make a difference?

Scope of Work:

Under the guidance of the Fundraising Innovation Manager, the consultant will be responsible for supporting the following tasks:

A. Community of Practice Coordination

Coordinate the planning and delivery of a community engagement action plan, including managing the operational aspects of fundraising innovation webinars, training and events, including planning, logistics, participant engagement, and follow-up.

Support the development of a strong fundraising innovation Community of Practice for UNICEF fundraisers by mobilizing active participation and facilitating the ongoing exchange of knowledge, ideas, updates, tools, and collaboration opportunities across members and ad-hoc sub-groups (e.g. AI, Foresight, etc).

B. Communications Coordination and Delivery

Lead the planning, sourcing & support the production of MD/FIT communications materials & assets (including curating case studies, challenge and events briefs, landing pages, community posts, PFP Intranet/Sharepoint content and other ad-hoc communication opportunities) and timely distribution to relevant audiences.

Oversee the mapping, auditing & quality control of MD/FIT content on internal systems & external platforms, through regular content updates, reviews and the implementation of continuous improvement plans.

C. Planning, Monitoring and Reporting

Lead on the planning, monitoring, and reporting activities related to implementation and progress of the MD/FIT Communications and Community Engagement Action Plan.

General fundraising innovation program delivery support, including ad-hoc requests in coordination with other teams and other relevant stakeholders.

Work Assignment – Deliverables:

A. Community of Practice Coordination Deliverables:

• 1. The activities included in the community engagement action plan are effectively implemented, with a minimum of four (4) quarterly webinars or events conducted, covering event logistics, active participant engagement, and timely post-event follow-up.
• 2. Effective coordination of Innovation initiatives and thematic sub-groups are effectively coordinated with regular meetings convened, action points tracked, and progress documented.

B. Communications Coordination and Delivery Deliverables:

• 3. Communication assets outlined in the action plan are produced and distributed, including key messages, ad-hoc briefs, progress and final project reports, research and case studies, and other required assets/materials
• 4. An initial full review of internal communication systems and innovation platforms is conducted, followed by a proposal outlining optimization measures, with plan for improvements submitted. C. Planning, Monitoring and Reporting of Fundraising Innovation processes:

Deliverables:

• 5. The annual fundraising innovation community engagement and communications plan is developed, regularly updated, including monitoring metrics and reporting mechanisms are developed and maintained to track progress and outcomes of engagement and communications plans, with mid-term progress and final reports submitted.

Payment will be made on submission of an invoice and satisfactory completion of the above-mentioned deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if deliverables/outputs are incomplete, not delivered or for failure to meet deadlines. All materials developed will remain the copyright of UNICEF and UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify them in the future.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel:

The Consultant will be remote/home-based. As part of the assignment, there is a possibility of travel during the assignment on a per need basis and this will be covered separately by UNICEF, and not included in the lump sum fee. The consultant will arrange her/his travel as and when they take place, and related costs will be reimbursed per UNICEF travel policy.

Travel Clause

• All UNICEF rules and regulations related to travel of Consultants apply.
• All travels shall be undertaken only upon the prior written approval by UNICEF.
• The consultant must be fit to travel, be in a possession of the valid UN BSAFE certificate, obligatory inoculation(s) and have a valid own travel/medical insurance and an immunization/vaccination card.

Apply by sending a cover letter, please as well attach up to 3 examples of recent work you are proud of (this could be any communication asset such as an article, a landing page, an action plan, etc.)

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

Minimum Qualifications required:

Education

• A first level University Degree (Bachelor’s Degree) in one of the following fields is required: Communications, Journalism, Innovation, Marketing, Business or any related field

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

• Excellent facilitation and community-building skills is required, with proven experience in leading global initiatives, online events, discussions and facilitating knowledge-sharing.
• Strong analytical skills is required, with the ability to conduct comprehensive studies and develop high-quality case studies and reports.
• Experience and expertise in creating and disseminating engaging, knowledge-sharing content and distributing through various platforms and channels, is required.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills is required, with the ability to engage and collaborate with diverse stakeholders.
• Knowledge of fundraising and/or innovation in a development context (preferably in UNICEF) is an asset.

Language Requirements:

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 Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

Remarks:

Please indicate your all-inclusive (lump sum) fees in USD against the deliverables listed above, including all associated administrative costs (if applicable), in the cover letter. 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.

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