Roster of Consultants for Facilitation Expertise, Education Outcomes Fund (EOF), UNICEF Hosted Fund, Remote, REQ#577641

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, Education

Background on the Education Outcomes Fund

There are few greater challenges faced by the global community than the twin crises of learning poverty and youth unemployment. 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) came together with our founding CEO (Her Excellency Dr.) Amel Karboul to create EOF. We aim to improve the education and employment outcomes of 10 million children and youth, by supporting governments to utilize a range of innovative finance instruments at scale, including outcomes funds and other results-based financing (RBF) instruments.

EOF is backed by a range of world leaders who support us to shape our approach and achieve our ambitious aims, as well as leaders in education and impact investing.

EOF supports improvements in the quality of education and skills programmes, with a special focus on girls and underserved populations, including those in the hardest to reach rural areas. It measures (and pays 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 helps close the persistent gap between the skills needed by employers and those attained by today’s youth.

For all the above, EOF pays primarily 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, focusing attention and realigning systems on the most challenging but most important measure of a programme’s performance: whether it is improving lives.

Together with our supporters, we believe this is the early stages of a much larger movement, with huge potential to increase learning outcomes for children and youth around the world, through improved aid effectiveness and government spending.

Since our inception in 2018, EOF has:

• Partnered with governments in Ghana and Sierra Leone to establish the two largest outcomes funds to date in developing countries, mobilising ~$50M for these programmes.
• Established itself as a leading global player in RBF, and the only dedicated center of expertise for RBF in education and skills.
• Become the first outcomes fund hosted by the United Nations within UNICEF, as a scalable platform to partner with governments around the world.
• Established a major partnership with the LEGO Foundation, to develop a scale portfolio of RBF programmes in early childhood across a diverse range of countries, as well as to amplify the movement and ecosystem of partners around this approach.
• Had our innovative approach featured in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, FT, Economist, Brookings, and more.
• Built our institutional capacity to contract and implement large-scale outcomes funds more efficiently and effectively than historic impact bonds.
• Established a strong culture of performance and an active focus on ongoing professional development for all our team. 

Purpose of the assignment

EOF requires expert facilitation support to achieve high-impact results during key moments of reflection, strategy, and organizational development. This includes EOF’s Annual Results Review Meetings for its whole team, regular Leadership Team workshops and other critical sessions.

This consultancy roster will establish a pool of facilitators who bring a blend of business acumen, mastery of facilitation tools, and deep expertise in organizational dynamics, including leadership challenges, change management, and team development.

The activities may include the following:

• Pre-Session Design: Collaborate with EOF leadership to co-design session outlines, recommend structures, design activities, and produce required materials (e.g., slide decks, tools). Sessions must be customized to EOF’s context, goals, and group dynamics.
• Lead or co-facilitate sessions with high energy and engagement, ensuring safe, inclusive, and productive environments.
• Post-Session Outputs: Provide actionable summaries or insights that help EOF apply learnings effectively.

Qualification Requirements

• An advanced degree in political science, human resources, economics, finance, business, education, international development, or a related field, is required.
• A Bachelor’s degree in a relevant subject will be considered with an additional 2 years’ relevant experience.
• A professional certification in designing or facilitating training is desirable, but not required.
• A minimum of 10 years of relevant professional experience in strategy consulting, management consulting, organizational development or similar sectors is required.

1. Business Acumen:

• Proven ability to understand organizational models, business challenges, and strategic goals.
• Experience working with leadership teams and senior executives (e.g., C-Suite, ministers).

2. Facilitation Expertise:

• Mastery of diverse facilitation tools and techniques, both online and in-person.
• Strong ability to design and execute sessions that go beyond surface-level activities.
• Expertise in managing time effectively without compromising depth.

3. Depth in Organizational Dynamics:

• Deep understanding of group dynamics, team development, and leadership challenges.
• Experience with change management and organizational development processes.
• High emotional intelligence and the ability to navigate sensitive team dynamics.

4. Inclusion and Safety:

• Demonstrated ability to create inclusive environments where participants feel safe to contribute.

5. Technology Proficiency:

• Expertise with tools for online facilitation and hybrid engagement.

6. Engaging Presence:

• Dynamic and professional speaking style, with the ability to energize and inspire participants.

Fluency in English is required.

• Fluency in English is required.

DESIRED REQUIREMENTS

• Experience working in the global education sector and/or international development.
• Experience designing and facilitating professional development training. Professional coaching or mentoring experience.
• Knowledge of innovative financing models.
• Knowledge of organizational culture development.

To excel in this role, facilitators must combine:

1. Strategic Insight: The ability to connect facilitation outcomes with EOF’s broader mission and goals.
2. Tailored Design: A commitment to understanding EOF’s unique context and designing sessions that are relevant, impactful, and memorable.
3. Adaptive Expertise: The flexibility to adjust facilitation methods in real time to meet group needs and dynamics.

EOF values facilitators who think strategically, challenge assumptions constructively, and support our teams to reach clarity, alignment, and actionable outcomes.

Please submit your application, including:

1. A brief cover letter highlighting your experience in the areas outlined above.
2. Two examples of facilitation work that showcase your ability to balance strategic insight, facilitation mastery, and group dynamics expertise.
3. References from past clients or colleagues who can attest to your skills in facilitation and leadership engagement.
4. Financial proposal (i.e. daily consulting fee) in USD. Please ensure you include and upload a financial proposal (with daily consultancy rate in USD), otherwise your application will not be considered.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS

Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. At the end of the selection process, a consultant roster will be created. 

Once a consultant roster is created, when the need for particular expertise arises, EOF will approach one or more consultant candidates on the roster with specific Terms of Reference to discuss availability and interest and further assess expertise and experience vis-à-vis the specific terms of reference. Successful applicants will be placed on a pre-approved roster that will remain valid for36 months.

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. 

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. 

Remarks: 

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. 

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