The Country Support and Government Engagement component of Giga is central to achieving its mission. Governments play a pivotal role in supporting school connectivity through policy reform, resource allocation, and fostering partnerships with the private sector. Through close collaboration with national governments, UNICEF Country Offices, and international stakeholders, Giga seeks to create an enabling environment that accelerates school connectivity efforts. This involves direct engagement with ministers, policy makers, and key stakeholders to build the political will necessary to support the deployment of connectivity solutions at scale.

By leveraging high-level advocacy, inter-governmental cooperation, and targeted private sector partnerships, the Country Support and Government Engagement initiative aims to bridge the gap between global ambitions and local execution. Through this Long-Term Agreement (LTA), Giga seeks to partner with experts who can provide ongoing advisory services, supporting governments in aligning their efforts with Giga’s global mission, and enabling scalable, sustainable solutions for school connectivity.

Your responsibilities will be…

The objective of this Long-Term Agreement (LTA) is to provide ongoing strategic advisory services to Giga’s Country Engagement team, focusing on high-level government advocacy and private-sector collaboration to accelerate school connectivity efforts. The consultants under this LTA will offer specialized support in engaging key ministers, promoting the adoption of Giga’s strategies, and facilitating government and private sector partnerships to scale school connectivity in priority countries.

The consultant will be called upon for specific tasks as needed under the LTA. These tasks will include: 

• Advocacy for School Connectivity at Government Levels
  – Provide strategic advisory services to advocate for school connectivity, engaging ministers, deputy ministers, and other high-ranking government officials to support the adoption of Giga’s objectives.
• Inter-Governmental Collaboration and Engagement
  – Facilitate collaborations between governments and private-sector partners, guiding the implementation of strategies aimed at accelerating school connectivity. Assist in organizing high-level meetings and managing partnerships with organizations like ITU.
• Custom Country-Specific Strategy Development
  – Develop tailored strategies for each target country, including roadmaps for implementation, identification of local champions, and recommendations for overcoming key roadblocks in scaling connectivity.
• Private Sector Engagement
  – Offer strategic guidance for engaging private sector partners and fostering collaborations that support school connectivity efforts. This includes identifying potential partners, developing engagement plans, and supporting partnership negotiations.
• Stakeholder Engagement at Key Events
  – Participate in high-level regional and global events, presenting Giga’s school connectivity goals and engaging key stakeholders in advocacy efforts. Provide advisory reports on outcomes and strategic recommendations following participation in events.

You must access the full Term of Reference (ToRs) and read a more detailed description of the assignment in this file to prepare your financial proposal and learn more about the role:  ToRs Country Support and Government Engagement.pdf

To qualify for this position, you will have…

• An advanced university degree in Business Administration, Economics, Finance, International relations, Political Science, Public Administration, Management, or a related 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 10 years of experience at ministerial, deputy ministerial, or other Senior Government level is required.
• A proven track record in strategic planning, preferably in the fields of education, technology, and international development.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to present strategic ideas clearly.
• Ability to work independently and provide actionable recommendations.
• 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:

• Remote-based, with some mission travels to Geneva, Barcelona and countries working with Giga which will be determined at the contracting stage. 

Payment details and further considerations:

• Payment will be made after completion of deliverables and submission of invoices for the actual work completed, subject to satisfactory performance. 
• The consultant must submit a financial proposal as part of the application, establishing the fee for the services defined in each task. The quoted fee will remain fixed during the entire period of the Long-Term Agreement. 
• UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment if the deliverables do not meet the required standards or if there are delays in submission. Payments will be processed only after the deliverables are approved by the relevant Giga team. 

How to apply:

• Cover/motivation letter in the section “Please upload your cover letter”. 
• Resume in the section “Please upload your C.V. / Resume”. 
• Degrees and relevant certificates in the section “Please upload a copy of your highest level of education certificate”. 
• Financial proposal in the section “Please upload financial proposals here”. This document must be submitted in United Stated Dollars (USD). Please state your consultancy daily fee separately for the roles you would like to be considered. 
• You must use this template:  LTA Financial Proposal On Country Support and Government Engagement.docx

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.