Contract Specialist (Connectivity Solutions), (P-3), Office of Innovation (Giga), Geneva, Switzerland, #130370 (Temporary Appointment 364 days)

The effectiveness of the Contract Specialist in supporting the implementation of procurement strategies and managing contracts will directly impact Giga’s ability to help governments scale up the procurement of high-quality, affordable connectivity solutions for schools. This role will ensure that procurement processes are executed efficiently, transparently, and in alignment with UNICEF’s mission, contributing to improved educational outcomes and equitable access to digital resources for children.

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, Connectivity

The Office of Innovation (OoI) is a critical driver of UNICEF’s mission, leveraging expertise and resources from across the organization and its partners to address key challenges facing children worldwide. By continuously ideating, testing, and scaling the most impactful solutions, the OoI plays a pivotal role in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals related to children.

Giga (giga.global), an initiative launched in 2019 as a joint effort between UNICEF and ITU (itu.int), seeks to connect every school in the world to the internet, thereby addressing the growing digital divide. With over 75 years of experience in delivering emergency assistance, technical advice, and building systems in health, education, and child protection, UNICEF, through Giga, aims to provide children with access to information, opportunity, and choice. The initiative not only focuses on connectivity but also uses schools as community hubs, creating broader economic and social opportunities.

The Giga team (https://giga.global/about-us/) has experience and background in building technology products, finance and investment, design, and infrastructure. It’s a global team, with two “centres of gravity” (in Barcelona, Spain and Geneva, Switzerland) with many team members located around the world.

Giga works across three main areas: Mapping, Finance, and Market Influence and Procurement. The Country Engagement Team supports the initiation and implementation of all three areas of Giga’s support in countries. The Mapping team maps schools and their connectivity, creating a real-time display of access and need on Project Connect (https://projectconnect.unicef.org/map). The Finance team works to create the financing (grant, loan, and investment) for connectivity. The Market Influence and Procurement team works closely with UNICEF Supply Division to support governments through public procurement processes for contracting sustainable, high quality and affordable school connectivity. There are also cross-cutting teams that support on communications, partnerships, staff wellbeing, and operations.

Giga is building a Global Connectivity Marketplace. The marketplace is envisioned to operate at the intersection of a carbon credits market and a universal service/access fund, serving as a catalyst for incentivizing connectivity in individual countries by issuing tokens for companies connecting rural areas, underserved populations, and public facilities. This system is currently being piloted at a country level using existing financial incentives from national governments; the Connectivity Credits Marketplace seeks to create liquidity and attract further financing at a global level.

The team functions similar to a tech start-up, but within the United Nations. We aim to have agility and flexibility in how we work, and to be driven by real time data about what we are doing. We also work within the political and global framework of the UN, which means that we can collaborate with policy makers and regulators, governments, civil society, and of course, most closely with our 135 country offices, in everything we do.

How can you make a difference? 

Under the general guidance of the Giga Procurement Section Contract Manager, and in alignment with UNICEF Supply Division’s Service Contracting Center, the Contract Specialist will be responsible for:

Support the development and implementation of procurement strategies at scale for connectivity solutions:

• Assist in the development and execution of global and regional procurement strategies for school connectivity solutions.
• Support the preparation and review of procurement requests, ensure that all procedural documents are up to date and coordinate with the different stakeholders to ensure timely revision, publication, and dissemination of these documents.
• Provide assistance and advice on contractual issues as well as procurement policy and procedures-related matters.

Assist the implementation of secondary bidding processes:

• Assist in the planning and execution of secondary bidding processes, ensuring transparency and competitiveness in line with UNICEF’s Financial Rules and Regulations.
• Support the integration of innovative procurement tools to make secondary bidding processes more dynamic, transparent and competitive.
• Support the evaluation of proposals and support the contracting process, ensuring the best value for money.

Support contract management:

• Provide support in the negotiation of contract terms and conditions, ensuring they are favorable to UNICEF and Giga’s mission.
• Support the finalization of contracting processes, ensuring that all contracts include clauses to monitor in real-time the connectivity that schools receive and that KPIs are clearly defined in Service Level Agreements.
• In collaboration with the Giga procurement team, provide support to ensure that the connectivity solutions are implemented on time, comply with the required technical specifications and quality assurances.
• In collaboration with the Giga tech team, provide technical guidance to ensure all contracts are managed through Giga’s open-source tools (e.g., Giga Counts) and that Giga receives real-time information of connectivity performance from providers.

Reporting and documentation:

• Support the preparation of detailed reports and presentations for senior management, highlighting procurement achievements and challenges.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date records of all procurement and contract management activities.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Minimum requirements:

Education:

• An advanced university degree (master’s or higher) in Procurement, Contract / Commercial Law, Business Administration, Economics, Supply Chain 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

Work Experience:

• A minimum of 5 years of professional experience in procurement/contracting, with a focus on high-value, high-risk contracts for services.
• Previous experience in procuring internet connectivity services and managing contracts with internet service providers in developing (or LMIC/MIC) countries, preferably in Africa, will be considered a strong asset.
• Demonstrated experience in negotiation, procurement of connectivity services, implementation of competitive bidding processes, and contract management in the public and/or private sectors will be required for this role. The candidate must have a strong understanding of market dynamics and procurement strategies.
• Familiarity with UN procurement rules and regulations, and experience with UNICEF’s procurement processes, is an asset.

Skills:

• Proven ability to work collaboratively with teams across different locations, within various UNICEF country offices, and across different technical skills sets is essential.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness

(3) Drive to achieve results for impact

(4) Innovates and embraces change

(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity

(6) Thinks and acts strategically

(7) Works collaboratively with others 

(8) Nurtures, leads and manages people. 

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

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.

We offer a wide range of measures to include a more diverse workforce, such as paid parental leave, time off for breastfeeding purposes, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason. 

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.