Data Security and Privacy Mentor Consultant, Office of Innovation, 9 months (remote + part time)

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. 

For every child, innovate…

The Office of Innovation is a creative, interactive, and agile team in UNICEF. We sit at a unique intersection, where an organization that works on huge global issues meets the startup thinking, the technology, and the partners that turn this energy into scalable solutions.

UNICEF’s Office of Innovation creates opportunities for the world’s children by focusing on where new markets can meet their vital needs. We do this by:
Connecting youth communities (or more broadly — anyone disconnected or under-served) to decision-makers, and to each other, to deliver informed, relevant and sustained programmes that build better, stronger futures for children.

• Provoking change for children through an entrepreneurial approach — in a traditionally risk-averse field — to harness rapidly moving innovations and apply them to serve the needs of all children.
• Creating new models of partnership that leverage core business values across the public, private and academic sectors in order to deliver fast, and lasting results for children.

The Office of Innovation specifically looks to form partnerships around frontier technologies (like drones and UAVs, blockchain, data science and machine learning, 21st century skills, urban technologies, new banking tools) that exist at the intersection of $100 billion business markets and 1  billion person needs – and to identify how they can grow and scale profitably and inclusively.

How can you make a difference? 

UNICEF Venture Fund is looking for a seasoned data security and privacy specialist. This is a part time consultant role within the Office of Innovation, reporting to the Venture Fund team.

Your main responsibilities will be, but not limited to the following:  

The consultant will provide advice and mentorship to teams within the UNICEF Venture Fund portfolio as they are developing their frontier tech solutions. The consultant will help teams assess gaps and develop a roadmap to overcome them during the investment period, to ensure compliance with various regulations and best practices related to data security and privacy, including (but not limited to)

• (1) UNICEF’s data security and protection standards and policies,
  • (2) Relevant national policies and government regulations and key international regulations and standards as they relate to the services provided by each company, and the digital public goods criteria.

• This role will also support the Venture Fund in defining how data security and privacy considerations can be integrated into the existing support structure and process for startups. The solutions that this role will be advising employ emerging technologies (data science, AI, machine learning, blockchain, etc. to provide solutions either

  • directly to children and families (B2C)
  • through UNICEF,
  • or to UNICEF’s partner governments (B2G).

Please access the full ToR and related information here  Data Security and Privacy Mentor – TOR – June 2023-forTMS.docx

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

• An Advanced degree relevant to the scope of this position. *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.

• Multidisciplinary professional experience (5+ years) background in technical and legal knowledge:
  • Developing training, particularly on data privacy and information security related fields
  • Demonstrated understanding and application of data privacy laws, and working within a compliance, legal audit and/or risk function, with recent experience in privacy compliance.
• Experience with UNICEF’s information security standards, and familiarity with the Digital Public Goods standard, is an asset.
• Data Protection and/or Privacy certification such as, but not limited to, CIPP, CIPT, ISEB is preferred.
• A track record of advising/mentoring early-stage technology projects / technology startups.
• Ability to communicate complex concepts in a clear and effective manner.
• Experience with developing easily digestible, step-by-step guidance and lean strategy recommendations for non-experts.
• Experience with information security and privacy issues related to open-source technologies.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, excellent technical communication with peers and non-technical stakeholders
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• Desire to work in a highly collaborative environment is an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

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. 
• Monthly payment based on # mentorship sessions conducted. Approved upon monthly review with supervisor.
• Consultant is responsible for his/her own health and travel insurance
• Consultant is eligible for standard DSA for all work-related travel.

How to apply:

Interest applicant is required to submit a financial proposal with all-inclusive fee.

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. No travel is anticipated for the Data Privacy & Security mentor role.

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 to ensure that the visa (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.