Consultancy: UPSHIFT Digital Strategy Consultant, Office of Innovation, Stockholm, Sweden

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 start-up thinking, the technology, and the partners that turn this energy into scalable solutions. As the custodian of the UPSHIFT, the Office of Innovation (OoI) continues to engage daily with country offices implementing UPSHIFT and is developing subsequent tools, knowledge products, and lessons learned to further support the UPSHIFT community of practice to accelerate the delivery of results for children and young people globally.

UPSHIFT is a UNICEF global skills development solution. It draws from best practices from non-formal education, experiential learning, and business education to create a learning journey that consists of workshops, mentorship, and an entrepreneurial challenge. Participants learn how to identify and analyze problems that they care deeply about and how to create products or services that address them. At the end of the 25-hour course (phase I), all the solutions are evaluated, and the most promising ones receive seed funding and further mentoring and learning support for their implementation (Phase II). This encourages young people to keep coming up with big ideas as they can see the selected ones become reality. UPSHIFT is currently operating in 55 countries with 5 million young people having completed over 120 million learning hours since UPSHIFT started in 2014, with one million young people having finished a full UPSHIFT learning journey in 2023 alone. Integration of UPSHIFT delivery into education systems and the use of digital platforms to deliver blended learning journeys are central to UPSHIFT's transition to scale. Blended delivery models have proven to be effective in scaling UPSHIFT delivery in and out of education systems and doing so at reduced costs. There currently is a strong interest from country offices and Governments alike to deploy such models but the high level of investment in terms of time, expertise, and funding required is a core bottleneck. The development of a global UPSHIFT digital strategy in 2025 will aim to reduce the investments and time required by countries to deploy blended.

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within UPSHIFT delivery is of strong interest to an increasing number of country offices with the main focus to date being around three objectives: (i) increased learning outcomes (UPSHIFTers and teacher/mentors), (ii) reduce delivery costs, and (iii) develop AI literacy (UPSHIFTers and teacher/mentors). As AI can be integrated within UPSHIFT delivery in both face-to-face and blended delivery models, it is expected that the digital strategy will include elements of AI integration.

How can you make a difference?

To this end, UNICEF is recruiting a consultant to lead the development of a Digital Strategy to strengthen the acceleration to scale of UPSHIFT. The consultant will also support the identification of approaches to integrate AI within the UPSHIFT learning journey. The overall objective of the strategy is lowering the financial and human costs in transitioning to digital blended deliveries at the country level. Knowledge management will be an important part of the work to ensure easy access to existing experience and expertise.

Your main responsibilities will be:

- In close collaboration with the UPSHIFT Global Lead, Regional Offices, and Programme Group counterparts, map out current needs and plans of country offices as they relate to digital deployment and leveraging AI for UPSHIFT delivery.
- In close collaboration with the Learning Passport Team, Regional Office, and respective Country Offices, document the costs of UPSHIFT delivery through the Learning Passport and Unisolve including set up and operational costs to be used as a baseline in the development of the UPSHIFT digital strategy.
- Develop and maintain up-to-date a user-friendly database cataloging the existing use of digital tools and assets for UPSHIFT delivery including, but not limited to:

- (i) list of countries using digital tools/platforms for UPSHIFT delivery with associated use case description,

- (ii) list of digital platforms used to deliver UPSHIFT, (iii) list of existing digital assets used for UPSHIFT delivery.

- Develop UPSHIFT digital strategy focusing on supporting UPSHIFT transition to scale including, but not limited to:

- (i) support cost-effective scaling of blended UPSHIFT deliveries through Learning Passport / Passport to Earning as well as Unisolve including roles of different UNICEF stakeholders.

- (ii) outline of content production specifications to maximize platform compatibility.

- (iii) process and associated assets to support porting learning journeys across platforms.

- (iv) identification of digital assets (i.e., media, curriculum, etc.) needed to accelerate the deployment of UPSHIFT blended learning globally and (v) costed workplan to implement the strategy.

- For global assets identified to accelerate the deployment of UPSHIFT blended learning, develop estimated costs and technical specifications/terms of reference for their production.
- Develop toolkits, presentation decks, SharePoint content, or other content to inform country offices considering using digital blended delivery models.
- In collaboration with the Artificial Intelligence experts on the Ventures team, support UPSHIFT Global lead in developing vision for integration of AI in the UPSHIFT learning journey, lead technical discussions with relevant stakeholders and support the development of testing and rollout plans to pilot and scale the use. Serve as focal point for the Learning Passport, Passport to Earning, and Google teams within UNICEF as well as ICT and T4D colleagues.
- Provide orientation and/or technical support to country offices, Regional Offices, and other counterparts as appropriate.
- Provide inputs to presentations, proposals, briefing notes, or other UPSHIFT materials being developed or updated.
- Represent UPSHIFT in relevant meetings and serve as UPSHIFT focal point for ICTD colleagues and regional T4D officers.

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

- An advanced university degree (master’s or higher) in education, information technology, or another relevant field.
- A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.
- A minimum of 5 years of proven professional experience in information systems development and learning management systems.
- A strong, proven track record on strategy formulation, project development, and implementation.
- Experience in working with learning management systems deployment.
- Knowledge of Government education systems environment and use of digital curriculum.
- Knowledge of the UPSHIFT methodology or design thinking/human-centered design approaches.
- Knowledge of United Nations programming environment.
- Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
- Experience in UNICEF ICTD structures, UPSHIFT adaptation or delivery and UPSHIFT blended learning conception, delivery or implementation would be considered an asset.
- Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

For more information, please review the Terms of Reference: ToR - UPSHIFT Digital Strategy Consultant.pdf

Travel:

- The consultant is expected to travel to Stockholm, Sweden for 5 nights.
- The consultant is responsible for arranging his/her own travel, including visa and travel insurance.

Payment details and further considerations:

Payment of professional fees will be based on the 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.

How to apply:

- Interested applicants are required to submit a financial proposal with all-inclusive fee. Please see the financial proposal template.Consultancy Financial Offer template.docx
- Financial proposal must include travel costs (economy class) and daily subsistence allowance, if travel is required as per TOR and any other estimated costs: visa, travel/health insurance.
- Applications without a financial proposal will not be considered.

General Terms and Conditions:
Please review UNICEF's General Terms and Conditions for Consultants here for important information regarding contract obligations, including medical insurance, SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) vaccination, and income tax requirements.

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 committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

Remarks:

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.

In case of any questions, please contact swe-ooi-recruitment@unicef.org

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