Leadership Development Consultancy

Request for Expression of Interest- Division of Human Resources-Organizational Learning and Development Section (DHR-OLDS) March 14 2014- for a Leadership/Management Development Consultancy.

Statement of Work

UNICEF New York Headquarters, hereinafter referred to as “UNICEF”, invites consultants to express interest in participating in the bid for a potential award of a consultancy for the Leadership Development Consultancy

Background Information

In order for UNICEF to achieve its strategic priorities, it is reliant on the quality of the leadership development for senior leaders in the organization. These skills are a key factor in determining how effectively and efficiently UNICEF can achieve its goals in a sustainable manner. 

UNICEF currently offers a variety of corporate wide leadership development programmes targeting junior, mid and senior managers. These programmes are delivered in partnership with various business schools (INSEAD, Judge Business School/Cambridge University and Harvard Business Publishing). The programmes are blended with a strong focus on the face to face delivery component.

In partnership with Harvard Business Publishing, UNICEF has designed asynchronous certificate programmes - known internally as Dynamic Leadership Certificates (EMP, DLC-Prime, DLC-Select and DLC-Executive) - that require participants to take a variety of online courses targeting management skills the organization wishes to enhance in its leadership pipeline.

The programmes last 6 months respectively; however, the DLC-Select for mid-level managers and the DLC-Executive for senior managers are more rigorous and, in addition to discussion board participation, require that participants complete Action Learning Projects (ALPs). As part of this exercise, participants are also expected to give/receive feedback to/from their colleagues on the ALPs in order to create a collaborative learning experience for all involved. At the conclusion of each DLC, participants are issued a final certificate by UNICEF indicating successful completion of their corresponding programme.

For additional programme description, please see Annexes 1, 2, 3, 4.

Because of technological limitations and scope of contract with Harvard Business, there are two platforms on which course work, discussions and ALP submissions are hosted:

Scope of Work

The ideal consultant will support the learning objectives of participants enrolled in Dynamic Leadership Certificates by providing the following deliverables.

1. Monitor discussion forum(s) activities on the Harvard Business platform. Consultant will also engage learners during discussions in order to:
   1. Stimulate critical thinking;
   2. Ensuring that discussion remains within the scope of the subject;
   3. Request or provide clarification when learner post(s) seems vague or off-topic;
   4. Request additional information on behalf of the learner if post, or response to a post, are too vague or lacks substance.
2. Monitor discussion forum(s) activities on the Sharepoint (UNICEF) platform by:
   1. Ensuring/tracking that ALPs are submitted as per programme requirements.
   2. Remind participants of approaching deadline(s) and required minimum feedback from other learners (each participant is required to receive at least 2 pieces of feedback from other learners for each of their ALPs).
   3. Confidentially provide in-depth and thoughtful critical feedback/analysis for each ALP. Please note that this is not a graded exercise. You will not be asked to numerically grade or give a PASS/FAIL grade to any of the submissions.
   4. Provide a summary report of ALP submission to project managers. Flag potential areas of concern, emerging trends or issues to consider.
   5. Consultant may at the discretion of project manager be asked to participate in WebEx session at the launch of each cohort to introduce her/himself to the group, establish expectations and understand challenges or question that might arise during the session.
   6. Consultant will be asked to participate in WebEx session once all ALPs have been submitted and reviewed.

Desired Qualifications

1. At least 5-8 years of experience in organizational learning and development and/or instructional design with a focus on leadership/management development.
2. Demonstrated command of written and spoken English.
3. Excellent communication skills (tact and diplomacy).
4. Experience or comfortable with online or e-learning technologies.
5. Experience or comfortable with video conferencing technologies such as Webex, Lync and/or similar platforms.
6. Experience working in large organization preferred, previous work with a UN agency a plus.
7. Master’s degree in Organizational Learning and Development or Organizational Psychology or Leadership Development. In lieu of degree we will consider at least 10 years of work experience with a Bachelor’s degree.
8. Ability to work with a group from diverse cultural background(s); and an ability to work in an organization with a variety of challenges due to geographic dispersion and with staff working under a number circumstances and shifting priorities.
9. Ability to consistently perform the functions outlined in the deliverables in a timely fashion as well as respond to queries from participant within 24 hours.

Work Conditions

1. Telecommute. No office space will be provided and consultant will be expected to have his/her own computer with necessary peripherals and a reliable internet connection.
2. Consultant will be expected to respond to query in a timely fashion with the understanding that learners are geographically dispersed in different time zones.
3. Consultant will be expected to spend 10-15 hours per month monitoring and providing feedback on the online platforms.
4. Consultancy will last from end of March until the end of 2014.

Contract and Submission details

1. Contract details/Terms of Reference will be shared upon final selection of consultant
2. The duration of the contract will be for 9 months with a possibility for extension.
3. Prospective consultant should submit a copy of latest CV with cover letter to the attention of Benson Bao at bbao@unicef.org. Please also indicate your daily rate.
4. CV should reach us no later than 4PM Est on March 21st, 2014.
5. Only consultants meeting our needs will be contacted on or about March 24, 2014.
6. Prospective consultant(s) will be asked to participate in an interview and complete a written exercise.
7. Selection process expected to be completed by end of March.
8. If you have any questions or are in need of clarification, please send your query to bbao@unicef.org .