Organization: UNICEF – United Nations Children’s Fund
Location: Istanbul | Ankara
Grade: Consultancy – Consultant – Contractors Agreement
Occupational Groups:
Social Affairs
Human Resources
Humanitarian Aid and Coordination
Culture and Sport
Children’s rights (health and protection)
Closing Date: 2024-10-08
UNICEF is seeking a consultant to define and integrate humanitarian competencies into its existing Competency Framework, aligning with its dual mandate of humanitarian assistance and development support. This consultancy aims to equip UNICEF personnel with the skills necessary to navigate complex environments and respond effectively to emergencies, in line with the Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action (CCCs). Key deliverables include a thorough review of current competencies, stakeholder engagement, and the development of a revised framework adaptable to various roles. The consultant will also map training programs to ensure alignment and facilitate implementation across HR processes. This initiative is crucial for strengthening UNICEF’s response capabilities amid evolving global challenges.
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, a Vision!
The UNICEF Strategic Plan 2022-2025 identifies fostering a dynamic and inclusive people and culture as the key to enhancing organizational performance. The global OneHR function is a key enabler of the UNICEF Strategic Plan 2022–2025. Through the HR Transition and Transformation Initiative, OneHR strives to shape an adaptive and capable people-centered HR Community that actively works with its partners to accelerate results for the children we serve. In 2020, for the first time, UNICEF launched the Competency Framework to establish common standards of behavior to guide the way we work aligning to our core values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability and Sustainability. The framework consists of eight competencies and a set of behavioral indicators.
The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the future context of work, employee expectations and ways of working. It provided stimulus to embed organizationally, people-centered best practice policies and processes that UNICEF had struggled to integrate into its work context. The pandemic has also made clear the challenges of a fast-changing global context that requires UNICEF to remain adaptable, constantly evolving to deliver results for children. In 2022, UNICEF continued to respond to 442 new and ongoing humanitarian crises in 128 countries (compared to 455 in 2020 and 483 in 2021). UNICEF’s credibility and reputation depends largely on how fast and how well the organization can respond to humanitarian crises and emergencies. As a result, business models are changing across the organization and there is a need to adjust the existing competencies to align with the demands of the business environment. There is an urgent need to develop and integrate the humanitarian competencies in the overall framework which is not existent now.
Scope of Work
The aim of this consultancy is to clearly define the competencies that personnel require for UNICEF to deliver on its’ humanitarian mandate and policy framework as defined in the Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action (the CCCs, Core Commitments for Children | UNICEF). UNICEF has a unique dual mandate to provide both humanitarian assistance and development support. UNICEF is seeking to strengthen the competencies of all personnel to work in both development, and humanitarian and emergency contexts. The consultant is expected to integrate humanitarian competencies into the existing UNICEF’s Competency Framework with an overall goal of integrating competencies and behaviors that better equip personnel to navigate complex environments, respond to emergencies effectively, and uphold the principles of humanitarian action.
Duration: 15 December 2024 – 31 July 2025 (7.5 months)
Work Assignments Overview
Deliverables/Outputs
Delivery Deadline
Deliverable 1: Identify and integrate humanitarian competencies into UNICEF’s Competency Framework ensuring that UNICEF’s dual humanitarian and development mandate is adequately reflected.
Conduct a thorough review of the organization’s current competencies, identifying its strengths, weaknesses, and gaps to support UNICEF humanitarian ambition.
Review existing organizational documentation, including competency frameworks, policies, procedures, and reports, related to humanitarian goals.
Integrate a focus on the Level 3 behaviors (Manager of Multiple teams) that will ensure that all UNICEF’s managers and leaders are prepared to lead in both development and humanitarian contexts.
Integrate UNICEF’s value of Sustainability into the competency framework positioning it as a core element, ensuring that it is embedded in all HR processes.
Conduct research on existing competency frameworks within the humanitarian sectors, as well as other relevant humanitarian organizations, to identify best practices and ensure alignment with industry standards.
Draft recommendations on the proposed approach to the integration of all three levels of behaviors, and any new competencies if relevant, into the broader organizational framework. Ensure that the competencies framework can be used to map existing training programs and identify development needs.
Engage with relevant stakeholders, including HR staff, divisions, EMOPS, country and regional offices’ heads, section’s chiefs, staff representatives, humanitarian leaders, and technical subject matter experts, to gather inputs and insights on competency requirements for humanitarian contexts. The stakeholders for the leadership competencies will include senior leaders within UNICEF.
Pilot test the competencies framework with a sample of targeted staff to gather feedback and validate its effectiveness.
Develop a draft revised competency framework, solicit feedback from stakeholders, and finalize the revised draft. The revised framework should include the identified competencies, behavioral indicators, and proficiency levels required for each competency. The framework should be adaptable to different roles and levels within UNICEF.
Organize a validation workshop with key stakeholders to present the proposed humanitarian competencies to be integrated and gather feedback for refinement.
Based on the feedback received, finalize the revised UNICEF Competency Framework, incorporating necessary adjustments and improvements.
The completion of Deliverable 1 encompasses sub-deliverables to be submitted as per the payment schedule.
An Inception Report which analyses UNICEF’s documentation and previous draft humanitarian competency documents and proposes an approach to the integration of humanitarian competencies into UNICEF’s current framework.
A Stakeholder Engagement Report, including documented inputs, feedback and recommendations collected through interviews, focus groups, validation workshop and pilot testing.
31 March 2025
Deliverable 2: Mapping to Training and Development
Review and map existing training programmes, materials and methodologies, including humanitarian leadership programmes, of other UN agencies, international organizations and other relevant sectors.
Draft a Mapping Report that documents different training and L&D programmes and materials (internal and external). Review end user training materials and briefing sessions related to the revised framework.
30 May 2025
Deliverable 3: Support Implementation and Integration
Presentation of the framework to the OneHR leadership team and key stakeholders.
Webinars for OneHR community and global UNICEF staff to explain the competency approach and the new revised framework.
Work closely with other Units to ensure full integration of the revised UNICEF Competency Framework into their HR processes, including recruitment, performance management, and staff development.
Review and make updates to existing training programme to strengthen existing humanitarian leadership capacity.
Develop an Integration Report documenting how all competencies will be combined and integrated across all human resource management functions, including Job Descriptions, performance management, staff development, and recruitment.
31 July 2025
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Master’s degree in HR, organizational development, social sciences, and/or other related field.
At least 10 years’ experience in supporting organizational change processes and design.
Extensive experience and breadth of services related to human resources management, with specific experience in organization design and development.
Experience in research/best practice analysis in the field of HR management and development.
Expertise in communication, customer orientation, and excellent understanding of competency and capability frameworks and their relationship to performance management, learning and development and other talent management systems and processes.
Experience working in UN and other similar agencies.
It is preferable that the consultant has experience with, or in, multilateral institutions.
Knowledge of UNICEF context an asset. Knowledge of UN common practices in HR an added advantage.
Financial Proposal:
A financial proposal indicating the professional fee as per the below template should be sent separately to this email address: dhr-financial-proposals@unicef.org. Please do not forget to specify your name in the file while saving. Attaching the financial proposal to the application portal will result in disqualification. If there is a need for business travel, the travel costs will be covered by UNICEF separately. The office selects the individual based on the best value for money.
Template for Financial Proposal:
Work Assignment / Deliverable
Proposed Rate in USD
Unit (specify the unit) e.g. /day, /hour
Remarks
Important Note
Please do not indicate financials anywhere else in the online application form, please mark “n/a or 00” under the fee-related questions in the online application form.
Financial proposals must adhere to the provided template to allow for comparison with other applicants’ proposals. Alternative formats will not be accepted.
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:
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.