UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.
Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.
And we never give up.
Under the supervision and guidance of the Programme Manager, the Country Engagement Manager is responsible for the achievement of Giga’s country engagement strategy, including deploying Giga and its tech products in defined priority countries, coordinating and overseeing the development and execution of country-specific plans and agreements, coordination between specific country needs, strategy and global level resources and partners (including ITU, UNICEF HQ, Regional Offices and pertinent divisions, potential funders and technical assistance partners).
Initiate outreach to prospective countries and identify additional countries:
Manage the development and regular update of standard materials and resources for country-level engagement, with a focus on Giga’s open-source technology products and offerings.
Coordinate collection of data and analysis to inform outreach, high-level advocacy, and stakeholder engagement Act as the lead focal point for prospective Giga countries and assess opportunities and prioritization.
Design country engagement strategy and define Giga’s added value for each country where Giga is implemented:
Lead the process of formalizing agreements for national engagement.
Develop, implement and adapt the global country engagement approach and steps to be used.
Define country-specific needs and value add, and coordinate Giga’s Finance and Procurement team’s inputs needed to inform engagement with potential funders, partners and financial models.
Lead implementation of the engagement strategy, including development of agreements and country-level mechanisms and resources
Provide hands-on technical support to Giga country and regional level teams.
Facilitate access to cutting-edge technical assistance through emerging technology and innovative finance products as defined with country-level partners.
Track implementation and outcomes of technical assistance, with a focus on deployed products.
Lead engagement with national governments around open GIS data required for Giga implementation.
Coordinate engagement of partners in country plans, including ITU, potential funders, open source technology developers, connectivity experts, and data collection actors as relevant
Lead the process of information exchange with country and regional teams, e.g., UNICEF Country Offices, Regional Offices, to ensure synergies between Giga’s pursuit of universal school connectivity and other programme interventions at CO/RO level that might benefit from connectivity.
Provide strategic input as part of global Giga team
Provide and manage field expert input in the development of emerging technology and open data Giga products and processes.
Manage expert inputs from Internet Service Providers (ISPs) for network connectivity data for various Giga products.
Manage tracking of country engagement status and oversee the process of maintaining up-to-date data to inform programming directions and strategy.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have:
An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in technology, social sciences, development sciences, public administration, business administration and management or related degree is required.
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.
A minimum of 8 years of relevant professional experience in implementing technology for development projects is required.
At least 5 years of relevant professional experience in managing projects and partnerships focused on open-source frontier technology is required.
Experience in facilitating engagements with national partners, including government, universities, NGOs and the private sector, ITU, and funders on connectivity and digital public goods is required.
Experience in facilitating discussions with governments, legal experts, and GIS specialists around open-source GIS data on schools in challenging environments is required.
Experience of matching government priorities and needs with open-source technology and data for school connectivity is essential.
Experience facilitating testing of open-source technology prototypes for connectivity with national governments is desired.
Proven understanding of challenges in GIS data sharing is essential.
Previous experience collaborating with ITU and its regional teams is required.
Experience in the ideation and co-creation of major global open-source gov-tech initiatives will be a requirement for this role. The candidate has worked to move projects from their earliest conceptual stage to uptake at the Ministerial level in a variety of global contexts.
Proven capacity in managing teams across different locations and with different technical skills is required.
Familiarity with agreements and frameworks to guide engagement with private sector and other partners on open-source technology and related programmes is an asset.
Knowledge of national policy frameworks related to technology development, implementation, and infrastructure development is required
Experience in/knowledge of UNICEF’s programmes, policy, and principles.
Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.
