1. Purpose of the assignment
The Division of Governance, UN, and Multilateral Affairs (GMA) was established in 2008 with the aim to ensure a fully coordinated approach to UNICEF’s governance, political representation, and collaboration with key UN organs that influence and shape the humanitarian, development, and security contexts in which UNICEF operates. To achieve such unified leadership, UNICEF needs to strengthen its analysis of information and issues in the intergovernmental and multilateral arenas. Therefore, UNICEF needs to learn from its interactions with Member States and the international financial institutions (IFIs) so that it can synthesize intelligence essential to inform and guide the evolving strategic perspective of UNICEF management.
With this background in mind, the Multilateral System Analysis Unit (MSA) within GMA is seeking to better understand the evolving development architecture landscape and UNICEF’s engagement strategy with such changes. This project will require a consultant to prepare a report for UNICEF which gives an overview of major trends, identifies key actors and processes, proposes a structured process of continuous monitoring within existing budget parameters, and makes tentative suggestions on how UNICEF should engage going forward.

2. Major tasks and deliverables
i. To research and detail emerging trends and opportunities in the overall multilateral development architecture landscape, including the changing roles of the G8 and G20, the growing importance of the BRICS countries, governance changes to the IFIs and the OECD, and other parts of the multilateral system, outside the UN.
ii. To identify and map key actors/drivers in the debate around the changing development architecture. These actors most likely include senior policy-makers, thought-leaders housed in existing international institutions, think tanks, academia or in civil society. Increasingly philanthropies such as the Gates Foundation are becoming influential voices in this debate, as well as a few “celebrities”.
iii. To suggest how and when UNICEF should engage with these processes and actors to have influence on the processes to ensure that the interests of children and women are appropriately considered.
iv. To propose a structured process of continuous monitoring by MSA within existing budget parameters.
v. Set up meetings with some of the influential thought-leaders as identified under ii, for the consultant and the supervisor.

3. End product
A final report of some 25,000 words with appropriate bibliography, addressing the points raised under i-v above. The audience of the report will be internal UNICEF colleagues, primarily in the Governance, UN and Multilateral Affairs Division. A brief version of the document will be discussed with Senior Management.

4. Expected travel
Two visits to UNICEF Headquarters in New York, one upon assumption of the assignment with the supervisor and key staff, and one to review and discuss the consultant’s draft final report.

5.  Extent of the contract
20 days, including travel and visit to New York

6. Qualifications and specialized knowledge/experience required
• Extensive professional experience with senior policy-making in the area of international development architecture.
• Proven ability to draft clearly on complex and strategic issues.
• Has a network of contacts with key actors, including senior government representatives, international organizations, thought-leaders and other civil society representatives.

7. Timeline
The report should have been reviewed and discussed by UNICEF and finalized by the consultant by June 15.

8. To Apply
Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications msarecruitment@unicef.org, no later than 10 April 2009.

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Tags: Analysis, Human, International, Management