Climate, Energy, Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction (CEED) Policy Consultant - Ref#577936

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, hope.

Consultancy Title: Climate, Energy, Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction (CEED) Policy Consultant

Section/Division/Duty Station: Climate Environment Energy & Disaster, Programme Group, UNICEF NYHQ

Duration: 10 February 2025 to 6 February 2026

Home/ Office Based: NYHQ / Remote

About UNICEF

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries.

BACKGROUND

Purpose of Activity/ Assignment:

Climate change, disasters and environmental degradation present significant and escalating threats to the rights and well-being of children globally, jeopardizing the progress achieved in child survival and development. Over a billion children are exposed to severe risks from climate and environmental hazards such as heatwaves, floods, and cyclones. Consequently, it is imperative for countries to develop policies and associated financing strategies which prioritize climate-resilient, low-carbon social services encompassing water and sanitation, healthcare, education, nutrition, social protection, and child protection to tackle current threats and prepare for increasingly severe impacts.  

In alignment with our commitment to protect children and young people worldwide, UNICEF’s 2023 – 2030 Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (SCAP), housed within the Climate, Energy, Environment and DRR (CEED) team, prioritizes urgent climate action through systematic change to prioritize the needs of children and young people and build their resilience to the climate threats at hand.  The SCAP strives to mainstream sustainability and climate action both internally and externally, through protecting the lives, health and well-being of children and their communities; empowering children with developmental opportunities and skills; and reducing emissions and the environmental footprint within UNICEF. 

To build on previous UNICEF engagement towards the UN Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat and significant progress with respect to integrating children and the resilience of essential services within core UNFCCC negotiations outcomes, a consultant is required to support consolidation and implementation of UNICEF’s SCAP policy strategy towards relevant climate, environment and disaster risk reduction processes at an intergovernmental and national level.

The consultant will work under the supervision of the CEED Programme Officer and in close collaboration with relevant staff within the CEED team, and across Programmes (PG), Division of Global Communications and Advocacy (GCA) and Public Partnerships Division (PPD) as required. 

Scope of Work:

The CEED Policy Consultant will report to the CEED Programme Officer by supporting deliverables under three workstreams:

Climate Change Adaptation, Loss and Damage and Disaster Risk Reduction Policy

Climate Finance Policy

CEED Policy Unit Support

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

Provide in-house synchronization support and technical expertise to adaptation-relevant work of UNICEF vis-à-vis UNFCCC workstreams and Constituted Bodies to ensure focus on children and adaptive essential services.

Support technical submissions, analysis of Party positions/submissions and engagement to secure key priorities in the UNFCCC negotiations, including integration of child-responsive language.

Assist in the development of supplementary guidelines and trainings on child-responsive policies, in collaboration with the UNFCCC secretariat and/or other key partners.

Support the delivery and dissemination of the UNICEF Adaptation Policy Guide. (Complementary research, reviews, copyediting, launch)

Explore and support integration of child-tagging in domestic climate budgets, feeding back good practice to policy positions.

Support development around knowledge products such as a child marker for climate finance or other avenues for enhancing tracking of child-responsive climate finance.

Provide support to event engagements in UN fora (including COP) with a focus on strategic in-house synchronization, side events, speaking engagements, etc.

Support information management and knowledge sharing for the CEED policy unit and relevant UNICEF stakeholders.

Support the successful development, implementation and monitoring, learning and evaluation of child- and youth-responsive CEED policies and plans.  

Support the signing processes between UNICEF and the Declaration on Children, Youth and Climate Action           

Provide quality inputs to the senior management on briefings, talking points, speeches, analytical/strategic documents, etc.

Qualifications

Education: 

Advanced university degree (Bachelors) in the area of in a STEM field, science policy and international relations, or related fields is required.

Work experience:

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required *: 

Requirements:

Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system and

- Upload copy of academic credentials

- Financial proposal that will include/ reflect :

- Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.

- At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.

- Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory 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.

U.S. Visa information:

With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.  

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

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. View our competency framework at: Here

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:  

Individuals engaged under a consultancy 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. Consultants 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.