Summary

UNICEF is seeking for a Pilot Project Coordinator (Connectivity Credits) to join Giga, a UNICEF-ITU initiative to connect every school in the world to the Internet. The successful candidate will play a crucial role in the establishment of the Connectivity Credits system. Tasked with being a bridge between on-the-ground implementation in specific pilot countries, and a digital product team that is building a scalable global marketplace, this role is key to ensuring that what the Connectivity Credits becomes is based on learnings from real users and stakeholders in countries. Success in this role will mean that Connectivity Credits is proven as a viable and attractive method for financing local, small ISPs that can connect the second half of the world, enabling enhanced educational and socioeconomic opportunities in underserved communities worldwide.

Your responsibilities will be…

Project planning and implementation

• Establish a coherent project plan for each pilot in coordination with in-country stakeholders, setting clear milestones, and ensuring timely execution across different teams and stakeholders.
• Proactive and resourceful problem-solving to overcome challenges in pilots when they come up.
• Coordinate closely with the product team and other team members, aligning on rollout and adoption of the digital product.

Stakeholder Engagement and Communication

• Foster productive relationships with Universal Service Funds, governmental bodies, and other relevant stakeholders that are piloting Connectivity Credits
• Ensure close dialogue and foster a collaborative environment of co-creation, whereby local stakeholders continuously are shaping what the Connectivity Credits team are building.

User engagement and feedback collection

• Engage with users of the Connectivity Credits (on the one hand, government administrators, and on the other hand, small local ISPs) to understand their needs and pain points.
• Approach the experience of Connectivity Credits users with genuine curiosity and interest, and champion your observations inside the Connectivity Credits team to ensure we are building a system that fits users’ needs.

Results-Oriented Execution

• Drive a results-oriented culture, working backwards from the story we want to tell with Connectivity Credits and designing pilots to demonstrate metrics that support that story.
• Monitor and evaluate project progress towards objectives, ensuring that the Connectivity Credits team is constantly adjusting achieve pilot results.

Continuous Improvement and Innovation

• Bring innovative thinking to come up with and test new ideas in lean ways that can be replicated later with technology systems.
• Constantly scan the local ecosystems for new innovations or ways of connecting the unconnected that Connectivity Credits could learn from and enable better.

Risk management and problem solving

• Employ proactive and resourceful problem-solving strategies to effectively address challenges encountered during pilot projects.
• Develop and maintain a robust network of relationships with industry and government partners to facilitate local knowledge and resources.

Please access the full Term of Reference (ToRs) and read a more detailed description of the assignment in this file in order to prepare your financial proposal and know more about the role: Pilot Project Coordinator (Connectivity Credits) TOR.

To qualify for this position, you will have…

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in  Project Management, Business Administration or related degree is required
  *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 relevant professional experience in implementing innovation or technology projects, ideally in the connectivity sector
•  Experience in the Telecom, Media, and Technology (TMT) sectors, with a particular focus on internet connectivity
• Experience working in emerging markets and understanding their unique challenges and opportunities.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to engage with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Ability to work independently, think creatively and embrace innovation in a fast-paced environment.
• High degree of professionalism, with a focus on delivering quality outcomes while nurturing a positive team dynamic
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

Travel

• The consultant is expected to travel to Geneva one time (1 trip), for a stay of 5 nights.
• The consultant is expected to travel to six Giga countries (6 trips), for a stay of 5 nights.

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.
• The consultant is responsible for his/her own health and travel insurance.
• The consultant is responsible for arranging his/her own travel, including visa.
• This consultancy is based in Geneva.
• UNICEF will facilitate the process for obtaining local permits exclusively for the consultant, excluding any dependents.
• For more information on Non-staff members IO based in Geneva, you can visit this link.

How to apply:

• Interested applicants are required to submit a financial proposal with an all-inclusive fee. Please see the financial proposal template here: 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.

About our team

We are a fast-paced, multi-disciplinary team of software engineers, finance specialists, data scientists, policy experts, and much more. Our team is a distributed workforce and plans to remain distributed into the foreseeable future. We are growing fast. Our team has grown by over 400% in the last 6 months as we rapidly scale to meet our stated mission.