Recrutement de 01 Learning Cabinet Product Manager Consultant, Office of Innovation

Recrutement de 01 Learning Cabinet Product Manager Consultant, Office of Innovation

Contract type: Consultant
Duty Station: Helsinki
Level: Consultancy
Location: Finland
Categories: Education, Knowledge Management
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 fulfil 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.

For every child, innovate...

The Office of Innovation (OoI) works to catalyse UNICEF's and all its partners’ expertise and resources to solve key challenges for children, with a view to continuously ideate and scale the most effective solutions with transformational potential at scale to achieve the child-related SDGs.

Within the Office of Innovation, the recently established UNICEF Learning Innovation Hub based in Helsinki with vision to become global home for the architects of the future of learning. It will support the Reimagine Education initiative by accelerating and scaling game-changing digital learning solutions that can help solve the learning crisis and provide access to quality education to all children.

For every child, learning…

In the next decade, technology will radically transform education. This is not only by improving the learning experience for children, teachers and parents, but by making world-class digital learning solutions accessible to all children.

Today we are seeing a wealth of EdTech tools emerging: from adaptive learning programs for math and gamified language learning apps, to robotics kits powered by Machine Learning that invite children to give their first steps to computing education by tinkering with technology.

Many of these EdTech tools are featured in different places: platforms, databases, catalogues and portfolios, yet it's still hard for teachers, parents, education leaders and colleagues in the field to discover them and understand which one would better suit their needs, especially when it comes to local environments within the global south.

Given this challenge, the Learning Hub will build and launch a Learning Cabinet, to be an online place where anyone, in any part of the world curious about digital learning solutions, can easily discover and access a curated selection of EdTech tools they can later deploy in their contexts. Projected users include education specialists working in development and governments, principals, teachers, parents, youth.

Through an engaging and user-friendly digital experience, visitors of the Learning Cabinet will be able to search and learn about different edtech tools that have been assessed using UNICEF EdTech For Good Framework focused on identifying digital learning solutions based on efficacy, quality, safety, security, equity and sustainability.

How can you make a difference?

You will work under the direction of the Portfolio Manager, leading the design and development of the Learning Cabinet, from inception to launch.

Building the Learning Cabinet, you will take a lean startup approach combined with initial agile market research, landscaping analysis and mapping of user's needs from various profiles. Just like any new idea brought to life, it will be shaped along the way while we learn by doing. You will act as the main internal focal point for the Learning Cabinet and will ensure timely and quality delivery of all components of the project, overseeing teams of coders, designers and content experts, working in close collaboration with relevant Learning Innovation Hub colleagues and with an extensive network across UNICEF divisions, offices, and teams.  

An ideal candidate is an experienced product manager with experience from both design and coding, and from managing teams of designers, coders and content experts.

Your main responsibilities will be:

Discovery & Design

Conduct landscape mapping and user research to develop concept design for a MVP of the Learning Cabinet

Conduct landscape Mapping with benchmark analysis.

Conduct field-based Human-Centered Design Research

Integrate the UNICEF EdTech Framework to the MVP

Coordinate with relevant UNICEF sections to ensure the product is in line with UNICEF’s digital, security, accessibility and brand guidelines

Develop concept design for MVP



Build & Launch

Lead and oversee the strategic design, prototyping and building of the Learning Cabinet’s MVP to test key hypotheses of the solution.

Support the contracting and onboarding of vendors (software development, design) to produce the Learning Cabinet functional MVP

Develop, implement, oversee and maintain production timelines for the first functional MVP of the Learning Cabinet, including coordinating day-to-day activities with vendors and relevant colleagues (software development, design, content) from prototyping to launch, to ensure all tasks are on track and deliverables can be completed on time.

Test & Grow

Drive product development post launch, track user data and feedback and lead the prioritization and implementation of features for the Learning Cabinet

Test in different environments and measure success through data gathering and consistent user feedback.

Iterate and refine based on learnings from user data: Identify new features to be developed, including exploring AI based options to automate the assessment of edtech tools

In coordination with LIH team, source the EdTech tools pipeline to grow the content of the Learning Cabinet

Positioning

Position and represent the Learning Cabinet externally and internally

Support the communication team in development of robust PR and communication strategy and content.

Post launch, support the communication team in developing marketing, advertising and distribution strategies for growth

Please access the full ToR with related information here Download File TOR Learning Cabinet Product Manager Aug 2023.docx

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

An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Business Administration, Management, Product Design, Engineering, Innovation or relevant field. A first degree + 2 years of additional experience would be considered in lieu of a Master’s Degree. 

A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in building and managing the development of B to C digital products is required.

Demonstrated experience in lean startup and agile digital product development is required.

Demonstrated experience translating user research into product features, with deep understanding of UX/IU best practices is required.

Demonstrated experience in budgeting and coordinating digital large-scale projects

Experience in creating product roadmaps and defining go-to-market strategies

Experience working with a multidisciplinary team of designers, engineers, researchers, and technical experts.

Knowledge of the environment in which UNICEF operates and understanding the constraints of working in a developing-world environment. This should include experience developing low-bandwidth applications in challenging work environments.

Good verbal and communication skills.

Strong interpersonal skills and proven capacity to work with collaborative teams across different locations and with different technical skills. 

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

Travel: 

The consultant is expected to travel during the assignment, this will be planned and agreed with the supervisor

The consultant is responsible for arranging his/her own travel, including visa and travel insurance. 

Any possible travel costs will be covered by UNICEF as per standard UN travel procedure



 Payment details and further considerations 

Payment of professional fees will be based on the submission of agreed deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.   

Consultant is responsible for their own health and travel insurance

How to apply: 

Applicants are required to enclose a portfolio of digital tools that they have worked on / delivered, specifying the applicant’s specific role in each product, and including links to the product

Interested applicant is required to submit a financial proposal with all-inclusive fee.  Please see the financial proposal template. 

Financial proposal must include travel costs (economy class) and daily subsistence allowance, if travel is required as per TOR and any other estimated costs: visa, travel/health insurance 

Applications without a financial proposal will not be considered.  

Please find attached the financial proposal template Consultancy Financial Offer template.docx

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).    

To view our competency framework, please visit here. 

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. 

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.  

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 also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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.  

Remarks

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible for ensuring that the visa (if applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.



Advertised: 05 Aug 2023 FLE Daylight Time
Deadline: 26 Aug 2023 FLE Daylight Time