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Humanitarian Advocacy Consultant(Capacity Building), NYHQ/DGCA, Advocacy Req#583421

Apply now Job no: 583421
Contract type: Consultant
Level: Consultancy
Location: United States
Categories: Communication

About UNICEF

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines fordeveloping countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries.

BACKGROUND

Purpose of Activity/ Assignment:

The Humanitarian Advocacy Consultant (Capacity Building – Humanitarian Diplomacy and Advocacy) will support the Division of Communication and Advocacy (GCA) Head of Humanitarian Advocacy, in collaboration with the Emergency Operations (EMOPS) Division, in working with Country Offices, Regional Offices, other HQ Divisions and National Committees, in building critical corporate capacity in humanitarian advocacy and diplomacy. The Humanitarian Advocacy Consultant (Capacity Building) will contribute to the fulfilment of DGCA’s accountabilities to strengthen country, regional and global capacities to develop, implement and monitor targeted, integrated and corporately owned humanitarian advocacy strategies and workplans in major crises and at global level; and strengthen leadership capacity on humanitarian diplomacy, in collaboration with EMOPS.
Working to progress efforts of the Humanitarian Diplomacy Squad, the Humanitarian Advocacy Consultant will be accountable for driving development of a refreshed approach to humanitarian advocacy and diplomacy capacity building in a changing humanitarian landscape, with a particular focus on humanitarian diplomacy and political engagement, ensuring a rights-based and principled approach, strengthening safe and meaningful child and youth engagement, and on strengthening corporate capacity to monitor and evaluate UNICEF’s humanitarian advocacy and diplomacy efforts, maximizing effectiveness and agility.
 

Scope of Work:

Under the supervision of the Head of Humanitarian Advocacy in GCA and in close coordination with EMOPS, PPD and PFP alongside relevant Country and Regional Offices, the consultant will develop and pilot a humanitarian advocacy and diplomacy learning program that includes learning pathways based on learning profiles. The programme should include modules, tools and templates on the following critical areas, through a combination of self-paced e-learning, virtual workshops and face-to-face modalities, building on existing materials, consultations with Subject Matter Experts, and creation of new materials where gaps are identified:
• International frameworks: effectively leveraging relevant international legal and normative frameworks and principles, to strategically progress humanitarian advocacy in line with a principled and rights-based approach to humanitarian advocacy and in line with UNICEF’s Core Commitments for Children;
• Systems thinking to advance strategic humanitarian advocacy across local, national, regional and international influencing environments;
• Effective stakeholder mapping and analysis to inform targeted, real-time humanitarian advocacy in rapidly changing contexts;
• Data and evidence: Approaches to strengthen pipeline of relevant data and evidence to advance humanitarian advocacy objectives and ensure timely, targeted dissemination to maximize influence;
• Feedback loops: Approaches to strengthen feedback loops and sharing of critical information and intelligence to enable coherent, timely humanitarian advocacy, alongside other coordination mechanisms;
• Participation: Safe and meaningful participation of children and young people in humanitarian advocacy;
• Soft skills: influencing, political engagement and diplomacy skills in a complex international humanitarian landscape
• M&E: simplified approaches, tools and templates for monitoring and evaluation of humanitarian advocacy
• Documentation of learnings, best practice, and other institutional approaches to sustainably capture and retain institutional memory and inform current and future humanitarian advocacy and diplomacy efforts; and
• Capacity: Understanding and assessing capacity needed in humanitarian advocacy and diplomacy as part of emergency preparedness and response, identifying capacity gaps, and approaches to securing needed capacity.
As a starting point in these efforts, the consultant will review and leverage relevant existing materials within UNICEF and the humanitarian sector, updating and refreshing where needed to consolidate into a coherent and comprehensive package of learning materials, including new modules where gaps exist on critical areas identified, in consultation with Subject Matter Experts.
She/he will work collaboratively with colleagues across UNICEF at headquarters, country and regional level, and where requested and required with external partners, to contribute towards a longer-term goal to grow and strengthen system-wide capacity building on humanitarian advocacy, with a focus on humanitarian diplomacy. Within the scope of this consultancy, this should include:
- Developing methodology in line with UNICEF approaches and policies with regards to learning and development, while leveraging best practice and learnings available across the sector
- Identifying and maximizing opportunities for strategic partnerships to strengthen sector-wide humanitarian advocacy and diplomacy efforts, including local humanitarian and human rights actors, child and youth-led organizations and women’s rights organizations, as well as UN entities and international NGOs.
- Bringing recommendations based on findings and analysis to inform UNICEF planning and coordination on potential changes or adaptations required to strengthen corporate and inter-agency approaches to humanitarian advocacy and humanitarian diplomacy.
 
Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

Work Assignment Overview/Deliverables and Outputs/Delivery deadline

1. Review and leverage existing materials, conducting a gap analysis

- Comprehensive review of existing relevant internal and external materials
-  up to 15 initial stakeholder interviews conducted to inform updates and reviews to existing materials and identify high-level gaps
- 3 Comprehensive analysis conducted
10 Oct 2025
 
2. Module development Build on existing resources and gaps identified to a develop a humanitarian advocacy blended learning program for UNICEF (self-paced e-learning, session plans and materials for virtual workshops, and for face-to-face workshops).
- Comprehensive package of up to 6 learning modules developed, including core modules on:
(A) capacity assessment and preparedness for humanitarian advocacy;
(B) development of humanitarian advocacy strategies and engagement plans;
(C) real-time implementation of strategies and engagement plans across offices and at inter-agency level;
(D) monitoring, evaluation learning and documentation
(E) developing the soft skills and expertise for humanitarian diplomacy and high-level political engagement (targeting senior humanitarian leaders).
01 Dec 2025
 
3. Learning methodology and pathways: Develop methodology and integrate draft modules into blended learning programme with learning pathways identified based on targeted learning profiles, taking into account blended approach across self-paced e-learning, virtual workshops, and face-to-face workshops 
- Learning methodology developed in line with UNICEF institutional learning and development approaches and pathways
- up to 6 Draft modules integrated into blended learning programme based on UNICEF methodology and desired learning outcomes
13 Feb 2026 
 
4. Pilot and adapt: Pilot learning programme with select stakeholders; Adapt learning programme based on findings and recommendations from pilot
- up to 2 Pilots conducted with up to 25 select stakeholders
- Feedback gathered on pilot
- Materials adapted and refined based on findings and recommendations from pilot feedback
10 Apr 2026
 
5. Templates, tools and guidance: Update, refine and/or create (as needed based on review of existing materials and feedback from pilot) easy-to-adapt templates, worksheets, and guidance for humanitarian advocacy planning and implementation, including template advocacy strategies, advocacy plans, advocacy briefs, key advocacy messages, stakeholder mapping, etc. These should be hosted on the relevant SharePoint sites and Agora learning channels.
Work alongside colleagues to ensure the integration of these materials into ongoing roll-out of relevant institutional learning packages and emergency-related procedures, ensuring colleagues are aware of their humanitarian advocacy responsibilities and have the tools and knowledge to deliver. Help to ensure this roll-out is engaging for UNICEF staff in emergencies
- Templates, tools and guidance needs identified, based on initial gap analysis and feedback from pilot on support materials needed
- Existing templates, tools and guidance updated and refined as needed to meet needs
- Additional templates, tools and guidance developed as needed where gap identified
- Tools uploaded on relevant internal sites, including GCA Sharepoint pages, Agora learning channels, and relevant cross-divisional sites ) and dissemination strategy developed to maximize reach and pick-up
15 May 2026
 
6. Scale and sustainability: Identify partners for strategic collaboration to enhance sustainability and scale of humanitarian advocacy and humanitarian diplomacy capacity building across the sector; Consolidate full package of materials, produce final report including recommendations for sustainability, scale and future improvements, and produce full repository of data, outputs and findings.
- Partners identified
- Final report produced
- Full package of consolidated materials handed over
- Full repository of documentation produced and handed over
26 June 2026 
 

Qualifications

Education: University degree in Social sciences, international relations, public policy, humanitarian affairs, emergency response, international development, public relations, communication or a related field

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required *:

• At least seven years’ experience in humanitarian advocacy, political engagement or humanitarian diplomacy, preferably on both a global and national level.
• Demonstrated success in influencing diverse national and global stakeholders, using strong interpersonal and diplomatic skills, to foster collaboration and drive impactful results.
• Expertise in adult learning principles and instructional design, focused on practical capacity-building techniques.
• Experience in training and facilitation, including developing modules, tools and resources, based on a comprehensive needs assessment of target audiences, ideally in the humanitarian sector.
• Proven track record in managing multi-stakeholder projects, with strong project planning, monitoring, and coordination skills, adept at managing tight deadlines and using collaboration tools.
Demonstrated experience in design and management of projects, including establishing clear indicators and monitoring of results, with the ability to assess impact and develop and effectively communicate lessons learned to maximize continued improvement and institutional learning.
• Experience in operating independently at a senior level and in providing expert advice and support on humanitarian advocacy, diplomacy or political engagement, or on learning and development in emergencies.
• Experience working for an international organization on humanitarian issues e.g. international or national NGO, UN or other multilateral organization
• Current knowledge of humanitarian issues and children’s rights.
• Knowledge of the United Nations system and other international organizations within the humanitarian sector are a strong asset.
• Experience working in an emergency environment is a strong asset.

Requirements:

Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system and

- Upload copy of academic credentials

- Financial proposal that will include/ reflect :

    • the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference.
    • travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR.
    • Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.
    • Indicate your availability

- Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.

- At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.

- Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory 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.

U.S. Visa information:

With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. View our competency framework at: Here

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:  

Individuals engaged under a consultancy 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. Consultants 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. 

Advertised: Eastern Daylight Time
Applications close: Eastern Daylight Time

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