Consultant
OVERVIEW
Parent Sector : Priority Africa and External Relations Sector (PAX)
Duty Station: Dakar
Job Family: Programme Coordination
Type of contract : Non Staff
Duration of contract : From 7 to 11 months
Recruitment open to : External candidates
Application Deadline (Midnight Duty Station Time) : 24/03/2025
UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism
OBJECTIVES OF THE CONSULTANCY
The consultant will support the overall work of the UNESCO Dakar office in particular related to UN Coordination in Africa in West and Central Africa. He/she will also assist in liaison with HQ, information sharing, and promote communication and visibility of UNESCO work.
Therefore, the consultant shall:
- Ensuring UNESCOs substantial contribution in the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks (UNSDCFs) of the respective countries UN Country Teams, and provide analytical reports of the situation on UNESCO engagement in the respective UNCTs, identifying challenges, and opportunities, highlighting UNESCO's added value in these efforts, particularly in the context of promoting cross-sectoral collaboration, contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and reinforcing UNESCO’s mandate within the broader UN framework
- Support the coordination of UNESCO participation in major events, such as the annual Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD), Regional Directors meeting, UNISS Steering Committee, UN Regional Collaborative Platform (RCP - Africa) meetings, and ensure UNESCO leadership on Opportunity Issue Based Coalitions 3 on Transforming education, youth and digitalisation, by organizing meetings, implementation of 2025-26 reporting, and ensure UNESCO strategic positioning in other relevant OIBCs, and ensure follow up of UNESCO commitments
- Contribute to the elaboration of a comprehensive Partnership Strategy, identify strategic opportunities for partnerships with other UN entities and other stakeholders working within UNESCO’s field of competence and production of a matrix/mapping. The consultant will also support the mobilisation of partnerships for UNISS Sahel strategy, in particular Resilience and Peace and Security and support mobilisation of resources and other areas of relevance to UNESCO
- Support communication and visibility of UNESCO collaboration with other UN agencies, in coordination with UNESCO Dakar communication team, to further enhance the impact and visibility of UNESCO's work highlighting alignment to the Operational Strategy on Priority Africa (OSPA) and ensure the production of visibility materials on UNESCO collaboration with other UN agencies
BACKGROUND
UNESCO is part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG), which intends to improve the UN’s presence in the field, in support of the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Following the recent restructuring of the fields network, UNESCO Dakar, also known as UNESCO's Multisectoral Regional Office for West Africa, covers the fifteen West African countries beyond the Sahel region: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo and now has an additional role of liaising with the United Nations Development Coordination Office (UNDCO) in coordination with all UNESCO field offices in Africa, as well as Headquarters.
The Regional Office ensures the organisations engagement in the Regional Collaborative Platform (RCP) which is the main system-wide coordination platform for sustainable development at the regional level with its well-defined thematic areas called OIBCs with some strategic alignment to Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063 as well as the UNESCO’s Operational Strategy for Global Priority Africa (2022-2029). Among others, UNESCO also, alongside other UN agencies also support the implementation of the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel (UNISS). In need of this enhanced coordination the consultant will support the regional office in the ensuring full participation, by mobilising sectors to engage more in the UN development system and positioning UNESCO in regional programmes and initiatives.
DELIVERABLES
- Analytical report by country on UNESCO engagement in UNCTs in west and central Africa, giving recommendations on how to address the challenges and improve collaboration
- Elaboration of the UNESCO Partnership strategy for west Africa
- Elaboration on UNESCO strategy to support UNISS strategy, mapping of partners and mobilise funds
COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial)
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REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Education
At least Master’s degree in Social Sciences, Political Sciences or other related areas
Work experience
- A minimum of 4 years of progressively responsible relevant experience in the field of diplomacy, international relations, of which preferably 3 years acquired at the international level with proven experience in coordination, resource mobilisation, in particular projects or activities related to
- Proven experience in programmes/projects design, implementation at country level as well regional level within the framework of agenda 2063 and agenda 2030.
- Demonstrated experience in political outreach, facilitation, analysis, advice and reporting.advocacy, resource mobilization and partnerships.
DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS
- Excellent knowledge on issues related to Africa’s sustainable development landscape in particular the Sahel region, its geopolitical issues and of economic, social, and cultural development will be ab added advantage
- Good knowledge of the mandate, vision, strategic direction and priorities of the Organization and the Operational Strategy for UNESCO Priority Africa 2022-2029 and general functioning of international organizations or the United Nations system, and knowledge of the United Nations 2030 Agenda and the African Union Agenda 2063.
Skills
- Strong strategic and analytical writing skills and demonstrated ability to provide concrete advice
Language skills
- Good knowledge of both French and English. In addition, knowledge or good command of another language will be an advantage.
SELECTION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS
Interested candidates should click on “Apply Now” and download and complete the Employment History form (Word document) in “Employment History Form / My Documents”. Before uploading the document, at the end of the Word document, please insert the extra pages with the following required information:
- Technical proposal:
- Short Approach and Methodology to work (maximum 3 pages) identifying the specific components of the TOR and how the intended objectives and/or deliverables shall be addressed.
- A list of past similar examples of equivalent or comparable assignments drafted by the applicant (independently or as a team member) with hyperlinks to access such documents if they are available online, or samples of such documents if they are only available offline.
- Financial proposal in US dollars.
An up-to-date Curriculum Vitae (CV) (maximum 2 pages) stating details of educational qualifications, work experience including prior experience of similar work
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