Consultancy: Senior Consultant - South Africa - Ref.# 582287

UNICEF; West New York (NJ); Remote; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

An international children's organization is seeking a Senior Consultant to provide strategic guidance on the implementation of its Early Childhood Care and Education Outcomes Fund in South Africa. The role requires extensive experience in managing development programs and stakeholder engagement. This remote position offers a chance to influence children's education and well-being. Candidates must possess a university degree and substantial experience in the education sector.

Benefits

Flexible working arrangements

Competitive compensation package

Professional development opportunities

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years of experience in strategic development programs.
• Direct experience working with the Government of South Africa.
• Experience managing multiple stakeholders across projects.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic guidance on Early Childhood Care and Education implementation.
• Develop and maintain oversight tools for project milestones.
• Facilitate formal governance meetings with stakeholders.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Program management

Fluency in English

Knowledge of South African education sector

Education

University Degree in Education, International Development, Social Sciences, or Project Management

Job description

Overview

UNICEF, guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, works together with partners in 190 countries and territories to promote and advocate for the protection of the rights of every child.

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, HOPE!

Vacancy Announcement: Consultant

Consultancy Title: Senior Consultant – South Africa

Section/Division/Duty Station: Education Outcomes Fund, Pretoria South Africa

Duration: September 1, 2025 to August 30, 2028

Home/ Office Based: REMOTE

About UNICEF

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, UNICEF invites you to apply. UNICEF has worked for 70 years in 190 countries and territories to promote children’s survival, protection and development. It supports child health and nutrition, water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries.

Background

Purpose of Activity/Assignment: The consultant will provide strategic guidance on the implementation of EOF’s South Africa Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Outcomes Fund. The consultant will provide strategic guidance, work to ensure timely delivery of key programme milestones, support stakeholder engagement (DBE, provincial departments, evaluators, donors), support implementation of outcomes-based financing, and work to enable sustainability and evidence uptake into public systems.

Scope of Work: The consultant will support EOF’s team in relation to its ECCE outcomes fund in South Africa, which is expected to launch in November 2025 and continue implementing until 2029.

Terms of Reference / Deliverables

Deliverable 1:

• Develop and maintain implementation oversight tools, including milestone tracking reports (procurement, contracting, delivery, evaluation), risk registers (Excel), and performance summaries highlighting delays, mitigation actions, and delivery gaps.
• 8 milestone tracking reports, each of 2 pages
• 18 updates to the risk register
• 6 summary reports (8-10 pages each)
• Tracking and reporting milestones: 4 tracking reports by 30.08.2026; the final 4 by 30.08.2025
• 6 risk log updates by 01.09.2026, plus 6 by 01.09.2027 and the final 6 by 30.08.2028
• 2 summaries per year due 30.12.2026, 30.12.2027, 30.08.2028

Deliverable 2:

• Prepare for and facilitate 9 formal governance meetings between 2026–2028 with government, evaluator, and grantees. For each, prepare a 15-slide technical guidance pack to frame decisions and facilitate joint problem-solving implementation issues.
• 12 governance meetings facilitated
• 12 technical pre-reading slide decks (15 slides each)
• 3 meetings by 30.08.2026; 3 by 30.08.2027; 3 by 30.08.2028

Deliverable 3:

• Provide strategic guidance to the team to support stakeholder engagement with DBE and provinces through bi-monthly meetings. Produce and submit contact and engagement reports summarizing key decisions and follow-ups. Ensure ongoing alignment between implementation and government priorities.
• 100 contact and engagement reports (1–2 pages each)
• Due 30.08.2026; remainder by 30.08.2028

Deliverable 4:

• Facilitate technical and planning workshops for government and implementing partners on topics including governance, evaluation design, and sustainability. Each session to be accompanied by workshop materials and feedback summaries.
• 16 capacity-building workshops with DBE, provinces, and service providers (estimated 2 days per workshop)
• Workshop slide decks and short summaries
• At least 6 by 30.12.2026; remaining 6 by 30.08.2028

Deliverable 5:

• Conduct site visits to programme provinces to validate progress, observe implementation, and engage local stakeholders. Produce 5-page reports summarizing visit outcomes, risks, and recommended actions.
• 12 site visits conducted (each approx. 5 days)
• 12 visit reports (5 pages each) – 4 by 30.12.2026, 4 by 30.12.2027, 4 by 30.08.2028

Deliverable 6:

• Draft a 30-page Strategic Intelligence Report analyzing ECCE policy shifts, local government dynamics, opportunities for scaling outcomes-based finance, and EOF’s strategic visibility.
• Strategic Intelligence and Local Positioning Report (30 pages) – draft by 01.12.2026; final by 01.04.2027

Deliverable 7:

• Co-develop a long-term sustainability proposal for ECCE Outcomes Fund Phase 2, informed by two multi-stakeholder workshops. Proposal will include scale-up scenarios, integration into DBE systems, and costing frameworks.
• 20-slide sustainability proposal
• 2 stakeholder consultation workshops – draft by 01.09.2026; final by 01.12.2026

Deliverable 8:

• Produce 3 visibility briefs, 1 end-of-year summary, 1 events and visibility report, and 6 pieces of online content for EOF/DBE platforms to promote programme visibility and learning.
• 6 visibility briefs (2 pages each)
• 5-page end-year summary
• 8–10-page events report
• 12 social media/digital content pieces (approximately 1 page each)
• At least 2 briefs and 3 content pieces by 30.12.2026; remaining outputs by 30.03.2028

Deliverable 9:

• Join estimated 36 workshops with EOF’s program team over the duration of the assignment, each approx. 0.5 days, to provide strategic and operational guidance on implementation challenges.
• Estimated 12 workshops by 30.08.2026; 12 by 30.08.2027; 12 by 30.08.2028

Deliverable 10:

• 3 reports, one at the end of each year’s implementation, summarizing the program delivery that year (15–20 pages per report).
• 1 report by 30.08.2026; 1 report by 30.08.2027; 1 report by 30.08.2028

Qualifications

Education

• A university Degree in Education, International Development, Social Sciences, Project Management, or a related field is required.
• A Master’s degree is preferred but not required.

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills

• At least 10 years’ experience in leading and managing strategic development programmes in South Africa, ideally in the education sector.
• Direct experience of working with the Government of South Africa, ideally in the education sector.
• Experience leading a team, and managing multiple stakeholders across complicated projects.
• Fluency in English is required.
• Desirable: prior experience working with international organisations in development and donors in South Africa; experience with innovative finance, particularly outcomes funds; fluency in Sepedi, IsiZulu or IsiXhosa.

Requirements

• Completed profile in UNICEF’s e-Recruitment system and upload copies of academic credentials.
• Financial proposal including costs per deliverable and total lump-sum (in US$), travel costs and daily subsistence allowance if applicable, visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.
• Indicate availability. Any emergent/unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.
• At contract award, the selected candidate must have current health insurance coverage.
• Payment will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables; UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment for substandard or delayed deliverables.

Additional Notes

• U.S. Visa information: Unless exempt, candidates may be required to change visa status to G4; household members may require an EAD to work if residing in the United States.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
• UNICEF values CRITAS (Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, Sustainability) and provides a competency framework.
• UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion and supports flexible working arrangements and accommodations for persons with disabilities.

Remarks: Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. Consultants and individual contractors are not staff members under UN/UNICEF rules and are not entitled to staff benefits. Selected candidates must ensure visa and health insurance are valid for the contract duration and may be required to provide additional information for background checks. Vaccination status against SARS-CoV-2 may be requested where applicable.