Consultancy: Technology Adviser and Designer, Office of Innovation, Learning Hub - Helsinki, Finland, 12 months (On-site)

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

UNICEF has a 70-year history of innovating for children. We believe that new approaches, partnerships, and technologies that support the realization of children’s rights are key to improving children’s lives. Worldwide, we innovate to tackle the most pressing problems faced by the most vulnerable children. We take a systematic approach to innovation, applying skills and energy across new tools and technologies, products, innovative financing, and new ways of working to boost our impact. The Office of Innovation (OOI) is a creative, unique, 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, the tools, the know-how, and the partners that turn ideas and energy into scalable solutions for children.

The Global Learning Innovation Hub under the UNICEF Office of Innovation has been established in Helsinki with the mission to radically transform education around the world by making it a wonderful adventure for every child. Working with corporates and non-profit partners, the Learning Innovation Hub supports governments in accelerating access to digital learning; invests from pilot to scale on game changing EdTech innovations and explores how new innovative pedagogies and technologies can create environments where children can learn, unleash their unique talent, and become true entrepreneurs of their life. It is part of Reimagine Education initiative and has the bold ambition to become a global “home for the architects of the future of learning”.

One of the key priorities of the Hub is the Learning Pioneers Programme, a two-year hybrid experience for UNICEF Country Offices (COs) and their respective Governments who want to partner with the Learning Innovation Hub in bringing innovative approaches that harness the power of digital learning. Another cohort of Learning Explorer countries is part of the Hub’s Tinkering with Tech project, modeling to scale the use of coding and robotics to develop 21st-century skills among teachers and students. 

How can you make a difference? 

Under the supervision of the ADT Lead (new TA on ADT and inclusion), Learning Innovation Hub, the selected consultant will lead the technology team to develop the AI pipeline and automate the production of accessible digital content for children with and without disabilities, ensuring compliance with accessibility standards and educational value for children. The consultant will also provide technical support and assistance to accessible digital learning programmes, and build global, regional, and national capacity on the Accessible Digital Textbooks initiative and other EdTech solutions, including AI products. In collaboration with UNICEF Global Office of Research and Foresight, Innocenti, the consultancy will contribute to the development of knowledge management products such as user testing, pilots, and lessons learned to promote the advancement of Accessible Digital Textbooks and other inclusive education initiatives. The Consultant will also contribute to the regional and global strategy for working with external organizations involved in the implementation of the ADT, and support partnerships.

Your main responsibilities will be:

Specifically, we are seeking someone to:

1. [Phase 1] Lead the technology team to develop the ADT AI pipeline with the support of OpenAI throughout the year. The ADT AI pipeline automates the production of accessible digital content for children with and without disabilities. Phase 1 development is primarily focused on supporting the needs of the upcoming pilots in 2-3 countries.

• Lead the pipeline development between UNICEF OOI, ICTD, and OpenAI teams.
• Test and validate the pipeline's inputs and outputs, ensuring compliance with accessibility standards and educational value for children.
• Support INNOCENTI in the development of validation tools and data-gathering efforts.
• Advise and work with UNICEF UX/UI teams to improve the design of the books and web interface.
• Develop a data storage solution that is compatible with Uruguay LMS for the pilot.
• Develop the sign language video integration (manual) to support this feature for the pilot.
• Improve and refine the prompts and few-shots to ensure the outputs are predictable and applicable to a wide range of content.

1. Provide technical support and guidance to ADT pilot countries throughout the pilot including Uruguay, Nepal, Bhutan, and any new countries that join the initiative in 2025.

• Make recommendations on rollout and deployment based on the EdTech ecosystem of both countries in consultation with key stakeholders.
• Conduct in-country and online workshops and training to support countries on the development of Accessible Digital Textbooks (ADTs).
• Support pilot in Uruguay.
• Develop technical capacity within the countries and local partners.
• Create demonstration materials and document process.
• Validate final ADTs produced by countries for accessibility.
• Ensure compatibility with country distribution systems (offline/online).

1. [Phase 2] Support the development of a consumer-facing product for ADT that will allow teachers, curriculum developers, and publishers to access the platform and produce books.

• Support the development of the front end with OOI and ICTD to allow the public to use the ADT AI pipeline in compliance with UNICEF security standards.
• Improve and refine the pipeline and develop quality-of-life features based on the feedback from the first pilots in March.
• Develop a simple user interface for editing ADTs with limited options.
• With the disability team, build support for additional outputs from the ADT including plain text and integration with DAISY pipeline.
• Ensure offline compatibility in a variety of distribution scenarios.

1. Facilitate the release of the code base as open source.

• Work with OOI open-source team on best practices for release on GitHub.
• Participate in the community of practice.
• Coordinate with the open-source community to try alternative open models as an alternative to OpenAI models.
• Ensure documentation is updated with the support of the development team.
• Ensure licensing and standards compliance.

1. Provide support for international workshops, events, and conferences.

• Provide support for UNICEF-organized and hosted hackathons.
• Support teams to create materials for participation in events and conferences.
• Attend any conferences if required as per UNICEF operating procedures.

1. Curate and produce a library of UNICEF ADTs.

• Convert library of open-source materials (80 books) into multi-lingual ADTs (available in 64 languages) to be accessible online.
• Ensure access from UNICEF’s Learning Passport team to host ADTs.
• Work with the Digital Learning Team to host produced ADTs.

1. [Phase 3] Update the pipeline as the models improve.

• Expand the library of accessible interactive exercises (a few-shots) to support a wider range of content.
• Build support for AI interactivity generation. Using the library of exercises to prompt the model to create its own.
• Improve the richness and flexibility of the designed outputs through the ability to extract a stylesheet from the material.
• Build support for designed templates.

1. Coordinate and advise UNICEF teams and partners to integrate the pipeline with key stakeholder solutions.

• Align with UNICEF's digital education strategy to identify partnership opportunities.
• Ensure the pipeline outputs can be made compatible with Learning Passport.
• Develop integration of ADT AI pipeline with Google Classroom.
• Collaborate with publishing partners to provide access to the pipeline for the libraries of content.

Support ideation and prototype on additional products and solutions powered by the pipeline.

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

• An advanced university degree (master’s or higher) in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related technical discipline.
• 5+ years of relevant software development or product management experience (previous experience with digital accessible programming and Epub3 desired)
• Experience in planning and project coordination required.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in technology product design, AI development, tech accessibility, and EdTech ecosystem analysis with strong technical expertise in inclusive education and technology innovations.
• Experience designing and developing learning materials in accessible formats for children with disabilities required.
• Team leading and management required.
• Demonstrated experience on accessibility for children with disabilities is required.
• Work experience with the UN system or any other UN agency or similar organization is an asset. Previous experience globally including accessible digital learning for children with disabilities is an asset.
• Previous experience working on accessible education resources is a distinctive asset. Knowledge of Universal Design for learning principles and CRPD human rights-based approach to disability and inclusive education required.
• Demonstrated experience in the development of Inclusive education knowledge products and resources for children with disabilities.
• Strong understanding of browser-based applications, interfaces, and UDL accessibility in technology

Travel

• The consultant is responsible for arranging his/her own travel, including visa and travel insurance.
• UNICEF will assist the visa application by providing relevant documents requested by the visa issuing authority.
• UNICEF will reimburse any travel costs related to the TOR deliverables upon submission of an invoice and supporting documents, in line with standard UN travel procedures. This includes economy class airfare and daily subsistence allowance.

Payment details and further considerations

• Payment of professional fees will be based on the submission of agreed quality 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.

How to apply:

• Interest applicants are required to submit a financial proposal with an 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. Consultancy Financial Offer template.docx

 For more information, please read the Terms of Reference:  TOR Technology adviser and designer consultant.pdf

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 committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

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. 

In case of any questions, contact us at swe-ooi-recruitments@unicef.org