• Country: New York, USA
• No of vacancies: N/A
  
• Salary: N/A 
• Organization: UNICEF
• Gender: Both
• Deadline: 2024-02-03

Purpose of Activity/ Assignment:

The purpose of this assignment is to support the institutionalization of the coordination and management arrangements for the organizational priorities on Community Health and Nutrition agenda and the Sustainability and Climate Action Plan, as well as support an expanded multi-stakeholder partnership platform for the Adolescent Girl agenda.  The assignment will also support to undertake a partnerships modality review exercise.

Background: In response to the challenges facing children globally and our organizational collaborative advantages, Programme Group has defined a small set of focused priorities require coordinated action across programme teams and the wider organization.  Three of these priorities are (i) Community Health and Nutrition; (ii) Sustainability and Climate Action; and (iii) Adolescent Girls. In addition, as one of priorities, PG identified a need to carry out a review of UNICEF’s partnerships engagement modalities with global programme partnerships in order to better define UNICEF’s return for investment in these engagements.

Community Health and Nutrition:  For decades, community health workers (CHW[1]), the majority of whom are women, have been dedicated to reaching children and their families with life-saving health, nutrition, and social services, including in some of the most remote and challenging operating environments.  They exemplify the equity arm of primary health care by providing health and nutrition services in a culturally appropriate manner, extending service reach to the most vulnerable children and families, and addressing inequalities in health and nutrition. They serve as important sources of trusted knowledge in their communities and as advocates for local priorities and needs.

Recognising the critical part that community based health and nutrition service delivery through Community Health Workers (CHWs) play in primary health care, and the need to support the community platforms and the linked workers, UNICEF and partners launched the Community Health Delivery Partnership (CHDP). Focusing its efforts on priority countries with high burden of child and maternal mortality, this coalition will aim to:

1. Galvanise increased investment in community health and nutrition systems including the CHWs in some 25 high burden countries serving approximately 66 million children and their families.
2. Equip and professionalise roughly 1 million CHWs with the skills, tools (including technology) and protections they need for effective primary health and nutrition care.

Adolescent Girls

UNICEF is rolling out an ambitious programmatic and advocacy agenda for and with adolescent girls, aligned to UNICEF’s 2022 Adolescent Girl Strategy. The agenda includes advancing investments in 3 main areas: i) quality programming across sectors to achieve gains in adolescent girls’ wellbeing and agency; ii) public, private and philanthropic partnerships towards the global goal of harnessing $1 billion USD for adolescent girls; iii) vibrant research and learning agenda about what works for adolescent girls.

Sustainability and Climate Action:   The planetary crisis of climate change, environmental pollution and biodiversity loss is the defining challenge of our generation. This global emergency threatens decades of development and humanitarian gains.  In response, UNICEF launched a Sustainability and Climate Change Action Plan (SCAP) that is designed to galvanize and accelerate efforts to fill global gaps to protect the most vulnerable children. The plan has three objectives:

1. Protect the lives, health and well-being of children and the resilience of their communities by adapting essential social services to a changing climate, more frequent disasters and a degrading environment.
2. Empower every child through their life course with the developmental opportunities, education and skills to be a champion for the environment.
3. Reduce UNICEF’s emissions and environmental footprint, support its global network of partners to do the same, and advocate for the fulfilment of ambitious international sustainability and climate change agreements.

The consultant will work across teams in Programme Group (PG) and more broadly in UNICEF to advance these initiatives as an advocacy, partnership and programmatic priority. Key tasks are specified below.

Scope of Work:

1. Support the management and coordination arrangements for Community Health Delivery Partnership (CHDP) within PG and the wider organization. Serve as a member of the core strategy group for the Sustainability and Climate Change Action Plan (SCAP) and CHDP, established within PGLT.
2. Prepare for regular updates to the Executive Director and senior management and support ED’s key advocacy engagements on CHDP.
3. Support targeted funding opportunities (including IFIs, private sector partners, amongst others) with PG Health, PPD, and PFP for CHDP.
4. Support the formulation of workplan around the UNGA pledging event across teams and support monitoring the implementation of the workplan.
5. Together with Gender and PG management teams, provide regular briefings to senior management about the adolescent girl agenda, including to identify and agree on opportunities for strategic engagement with stakeholders.
6. Develop briefing note and advocacy/ partnership action plan for 2024 Q1/2, in collaboration with PG, DGCA, the US Natcom and other partners to launch 5 Key Policy Asks for Adolescent Girls and related assets.
7. Develop partnership briefing notes as needed for high level engagement with select partners as follow up to the Commission on the Status of Women and International Women’s Day.
8. Based on an updated mapping of potential partners, nurture 2-3 quality partnerships to co-collaborate on the adolescent girl agenda, with a focus on global investments for girls (ideally US-based).
9. Review and analysis of UNICEF’s partnerships engagement modalities with global programme partnerships

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

Deliverable 1: At least 12 meetings are facilitated including meeting minutes and agenda.

By 30 March 2024, by 30 June 2024, by 30 Sept 2024 and by 30 Dec 2024.

Deliverable 2:

-At least 20 updates are prepared and shared including updates on UNGA pledging event.

-At least 4 advocacy engagements for ED supported (including Talking Points)

By 30 Dec 2024

Deliverable 3: At least 4 funding opportunities are targeted.

By 30 November 2024

Deliverable 4: A finalized workplan on UNGA pledging event

By 31 March 2024

Deliverable 5: At least 4 briefings to senior management supported.

By 30 March 2024, by 30 June 2024, by 30 Sept 2024 and by 30 Dec 2024

Deliverable 6: Advocacy and partnership action plan for 2024 developed with clear deliverables

By 31 March 2024

Deliverable 7: At least 3 partnership briefing notes developed, meetings secured and follow up notes articulated. By 31 March 2024

Deliverable 8 : Partners mapping updated. Briefing notes developed and meetings secured for 2-3 quality partnerships

By 30 June 2024

Deliverable 9: Desk review of existing documents of UNICEF’s engagement with global programme partnerships (including hosted partnerships) conducted; key stakeholder interviewed; and analysis paper (15-20 page) produced.

By 30 April 2024

Qualifications

Education:

• Masters degree in Public Health, Nutrition, International Affairs, Law, other relevant discipline in the social sciences.

Work experience:

• Minimum 12 years of experience working in public health, nutrition, international development, child rights

Competencies/Knowledge:

• Excellent communication skills (written and oral)
• Partnership management experience
• Project management at a senior level
• Coordination and leadership of high-level special initiatives, including developing roadmaps.

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