Consultant
Parent Sector : Education Sector (ED)
Duty Station: Hamburg
Job Family: Education
Type of contract : Non Staff
Duration of contract : From 1 to 6 months
Recruitment open to : Internal and external candidates
Application Deadline (Midnight Duty Station Time) : 10.06.2025
UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism
OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST
1. Background and Context
The UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC)
The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) is located in Hamburg, Germany, and is one of UNESCO’s eight education Institutes. UIL supports Member States in the field of lifelong learning with a focus on learning ecosystems, skills for life and work, and inclusive learning. It pays special attention to UNESCO’s Global Priorities Africa and Gender Equality. Within UNESCO’s broad educational mandate, the mission of the Institute is to promote the recognition of and create the conditions for the exercise of the right to education and learning. The Institute undertakes research, capacity-building, networking and publication on lifelong learning. UIL responds to the concerns of all UNESCO Member States, giving priority to least developed countries.
In a context of rapid urban growth and increasing challenges related to social inclusion, sustainability, and economic development, UIL established the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC) to support local governments in harnessing lifelong learning as a strategic tool for inclusive and sustainable urban development.
The GNLC, coordinated by UIL, is an international, policy-oriented network that provides inspiration, know-how, and examples of best practice. Its mission is to support and accelerate the practice of lifelong learning in cities worldwide by promoting policy dialogue and peer learning among member cities, forging links and fostering partnerships, building capacities for lifelong learning, and developing tools to encourage and recognize progress in building learning cities. The GNLC opened for membership in 2015. Since then, the network has grown to more than 350 member cities across all five UNESCO regions.
The network is based on two foundational documents: the Beijing Declaration on Building Learning Cities and the Key Features of Learning Cities, both adopted at the first International Conference on Learning Cities (ICLC) in 2013. Additional key documents include Learning Cities and the SDGs: A Guide to Action and the Guidelines for Building Learning Cities.
Milestones of the 2025 GNLC workplan
The year 2025 marks a critical phase for advancing the strategic priorities of the GNLC. The network will focus on strengthening its core functions, including membership coordination, capacity-building, peer learning, and knowledge sharing among member cities, in line with the GNLC Medium-Term Strategy 2025–2030.
Key activities will include coordinating the 2025 GNLC Membership application process, organising a series of thematic webinars, implementing and enhancing the GNLC Online Community of Practice (CoP), and designing the GNLC Academy. In parallel, efforts will continue to support regional and thematic clusters to foster collaboration, visibility, and policy development aligned with local and global lifelong learning goals.
Throughout 2025, the GNLC Coordination Team, will work to ensure the effective implementation of these activities by improving communication and outreach strategies, organising knowledge-sharing events, consolidating data from member cities, and developing tools and content that reflect the diversity and innovation within the network. These efforts will contribute to a more coherent, accessible, and impactful GNLC.
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Purpose of the Consultancy
The GNLC seeks to strengthen its impact by improving the quality, visibility, and coherence of its core activities, including membership coordination, peer learning, knowledge exchange, and strategic support to cities. Through these efforts, the network aims to promote lifelong learning as a key driver of inclusive and sustainable urban development. UIL is committed to ensuring the effective implementation of GNLC initiatives while making sure that city contributions are clearly documented, effectively communicated, and used to inform policy and inspire collaboration across the network.
To this end, UIL is seeking a junior consultant to support the GNLC Coordination Team in 1) contributing to the development and implementation of key activities of the network, including the 2025 GNLC Membership Application process, the 2025 Webinar Series, the GNLC CoP and the GNLC Academy, and 2) supporting the coordination of ongoing strategies and activities related to the thematic and regional clusters, ensuring the effective implementation of all planned processes during the assignment period.
The overarching goal is to design processes that support effective engagement with cities by improving outreach and communication strategies, fostering meaningful exchanges through webinars and the GNLC CoP, ensuring that data and insights from member cities are accessible, well-structured, and usable for diverse audiences, as well as designing the GNLC Academy as a dedicated platform for capacity-building and peer learning.
Main duties and responsibilities
Under the overall authority of the Director of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL, and under the direct supervision of the team leader of the Skills Throughout Life Programme and GNLC Coordinator, the individual consultant will undertake the following main responsibilities:
Coordinate the 2025 GNLC Membership Application Process
Maintain correspondence with applicant cities and National Commissions for UNESCO, offering tailored guidance throughout the application process.
Organise and track endorsed applications by compiling a dynamic data table for monitoring and visualization.
Contribute to the internal assessment process of applications.
Organise the jury review process by coordinating communication, distributing applications, managing online meeting logistics, collecting evaluations, and compiling the results.
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Produce communication materials with regards to the results, tailored for cities, National Commissions for UNESCO, and UNESCO Headquarters.
Design a welcome package for newly admitted GNLC members.
Create city profiles for new GNLC members for publication on UIL’s website.
Organise the announcement event for the new GNLC members.
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Organise the GNLC Webinar Series
Organise and deliver three thematic webinars in the second half of 2025, overseeing all aspects from planning and speaker coordination to technical execution, interpretation, and follow-up communication.
Organise the webinar of 20 August 2025 titled 'Digital learning in the city: Leveraging AI for inclusive learning'.
Organise the webinar of 15 October 2025 titled 'Exploring learning through culture: Leveraging the arts to empower cities'
Organise the webinar of 17 December 2025 titled 'Breaking down barriers: Lifelong learning for diverse groups of refugees and migrants in cities'
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Implement the GNLC CoP
Enhance the functionality and user experience of the GNLC CoP platform through technical improvements and the continuous update of user manuals and support materials based on feedback and developments.
Facilitate active engagement and peer exchange by delivering onboarding sessions for city representatives and managing communication strategies and user interaction within the platform.
Design the Learning Cities database and knowledge repository
Design and maintain a user-friendly, searchable dashboard and master document that consolidate key data on member cities, including initiatives, events, and documents, using structured categorization, tagging, and thematic filters to support strategic use.
Collect, validate, and standardize data from various sources, and identify exemplary practices to be showcased on the GNLC website and in newsletters.
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Contribute to the development of the GNLC Academy
Contribute to the design of the key features and structure of the GNLC Academy as a capacity-building platform.
Support the development of a detailed roadmap for its phased implementation, aligned with member needs and UIL priorities.
Long Description
5. Deliverables and timeline
The consultant must submit editable versions of all deliverables in English within the contract period. The specified dates for the deliverables indicated below are subject to revision.
List of deliverables
Deliverable 1 should be submitted on 31 July 2025
Deliverable 2 should be submitted 29 August 2025
Deliverable 3 should be submitted 30 September 2025
Deliverable 4 should be submitted 31 October 2025
Deliverable 5 should be submitted 28 November 2025
Deliverable 6 should be submitted 19 December 2025
UIL will provide feedback to each deliverable submitted and hold regular meetings to ensure the progress and quality of the consultant’s work.
The contractor should ensure that all visibility materials are produced in line with UNESCO’s branding guidelines. Please refer to the UNESCO Style Manual for citation style, terminology and spelling, abbreviations, references, etc.
In line with UNESCO’s overall gender mainstreaming strategy, the contractor is expected to integrate a gender perspective in all activities and apply gender analysis and mainstreaming concepts whenever feasible.
The documents produced will be the property of UIL.
Logistic arrangements and travels
The consultancy can be done by working remotely.
Long Description
7. Required Qualifications
Education
Master’s degree in political sciences, international relations, education, social sciences, development studies or any other related fields.
Work experience
At least 2 years of relevant work experience in project coordination or management, ideally within the field of education, lifelong learning, or international cooperation.
Previous experience in planning and implementing multi-stakeholder activities, including event organisation, data coordination, and communications.
Experience supporting or managing international projects, particularly in collaboration with local governments, city networks, or public institutions.
Proven experience in collaborating on international projects in the field of education.
Familiarity with lifelong learning, urban development, or education systems across different regions, especially in UNESCO Member States.
Skills
Excellent drafting and communication skills.
Excellent analytical skills, including the ability to collect, structure, and summarize data to inform decision-making.
Competent computer skills for MS Office package processing, presentation, online collaboration and data visualization.
Excellent independent working skills.
Language
Fluency in English, French and Spanish (both written and spoken).
COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial)
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Long Description
Long Description
8. Application process
Content of the application
Interested candidates will need to submit one consolidated PDF document which includes the following information:
A short description, one page only, explaining the approach proposed for completing this project.
A financial proposal, one page only, for delivering the activities described in the call;
A short CV, focusing on previous relevant working experience, consultancy assignments and deliverables and relevant expertise to this project.
The proposal should not exceed 5 pages. Proposals missing any of the above will not be considered.
9. Selection process
A shortlist of the three most suitable applicants will be drawn up, and the selected candidates will be contacted by the team leader of the Skills Throughout Life Programme. The successful candidate will be selected and offered a contract based on the application review.
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