UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save childrenโs lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.
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For every child, the right to resilience.
In the Pacific we work in Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu: These 14 Pacific island countries are home to 2.3 million people, including 1.2 million children and youth, living on more than 660 islands and atolls stretching across 17.2 million square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean, an area comparable to the combined size of the United States of America and Canada. Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu are classified as Fragile States according to World Bank/OECD criteria.
All 14 Pacific Island countries and territories have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, but only a third are on track with reporting obligations. Explore the different areas of our work here:ย UNICEF Pacific Islands.
UNICEF Pacific Multi-Country Office is preparing a proposal to support education systems across the Pacific to be resilient to the impacts of climate change and natural hazards.
The Pacific region is increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, particularly the heightened intensity and frequency of tropical cyclones. Education systems across the Pacific and school infrastructure are particularly affected: extreme weather events often lead to school closures and learning loss, damaged infrastructure, and displaced communities. The programme proposal to be developed is to support making Pacific Island Countries (PICs) school infrastructure and education systems more resilient to climate change, whilst also supporting regional sharing and resources to sustain investments, learning, and capacity building in school infrastructure maintenance and upgrading/retrofitting for climate resilience. Implementation of the programme will be across Fiji, FSM, Kiribati and Solomon Islands with a regional component across each outcome, particularly related to school infrastructure. Improving regional cooperation to scale up learning, action and investments in resilient school infrastructure in an inclusive and gender-responsive manner.
The proposal will support improved disaster preparedness within education systems across PICS. Make Existing and future school infrastructure in the Pacific more resilient to climate change and disaster risks. ย Sustainability, disaster risk reduction, and the integration of community-driven approaches will be integral to the approach.
How can you make a difference?ย
The scope of technical assistance includes:
Develop the Draft Programme Proposal Draft and structure a complete proposal following donor specific guidelines, ensuring clarity, logical flow, and compliance with the funding criteria. The proposal should clearly articulate the problem, the theory of change, and proposed interventions, with well-defined objectives, activities, outputs, outcomes, and impact. It should also consider regional partnerships; linkages to the private sector and potential opportunities for engagement. Integrate Strategic Priorities: Ensure the proposal aligns with the UNICEF climate action objectives, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. Incorporate elements related to climate change adaptation, disaster preparedness, resilience building, and sustainable development in education. Address Cross-Cutting Themes: Include comprehensive approaches to gender equality, inclusion of vulnerable groups (women, children, people with disabilities), disaster risk reduction, and community resilience. Incorporate Financial Details: Develop detailed and realistic budget estimates for project implementation, ensuring financial transparency and accountability under defined criteria. The budget should reflect capital costs (e.g. school construction and retrofitting), operational expenses (capacity-building and training), and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) components under the agreed financial agreements and costing categories. Stakeholder Engagement and Consultations Organize Consultations: Facilitate virtual consultations with key stakeholders, including UNICEF staff, government agencies, community representatives, and education sector stakeholders in targeted countries, to gather input and align the proposal with local needs and realities. Synthesize Input: Gather and consolidate inputs from stakeholders, particularly around the needs of the education sector, the current challenges with school infrastructure, and the envisioned role of schools as community hubs and shelters during disasters. Research and Evidence Gathering Review Existing Documents: Conduct a thorough review of key reports, data sources, and strategic documents related to climate resilience and education in the Pacific region, including but not limited to national policies, on-going partner programmes in countries; UNICEF reports, and other relevant documents. Data Analysis: Integrate relevant data and evidence into the programme to substantiate the rationale for the initiative. This may include data on cyclone impacts on schools, community vulnerabilities, and the effectiveness of resilience-building strategies. Proposal Review and Refinement Draft Refinement: Continuously refine the draft proposal based on consolidated feedback from UNICEF, the Country government focal points, donor reviewers, and other relevant partners. Ensure that the final document is well-structured, coherent, and addresses all proposal requirements. Final Submission: Ensure the proposal is submitted by the agreed-upon deadline with all supporting documents (e.g., budget breakdown, log frame, theory of change, etc.). Detailed implementation Plan Based upon the final proposal draft an 6 month inception report implementation plan to cover all the necessary programme of works/assessment/recruitments to be completed in the inception phase.Please refer to the ToR (ย UNICEF Pacific Consultancy Pacific CCI in Education - ToR.pdf) for further information on the deliverables and the timelines.ย
GUIDANCE FOR APPLICANTS:ย ย
Please submit a separate financial offer along with your application, stating all-inclusive lump sum amount for all the deliverables with a breakdown for the following:
Monthly/ Daily fees - based on the deliverables in the Terms of Reference. Travel - As this is a remote consultancy, no travel is planned. Living allowance for international consultants during the time in-country (per UN DSA rates), if applicable. Miscellaneous - to cover visa, health insurance (including medical evacuation for international consultants), communications, and other costs.To qualify as an advocate for every child you will haveโฆย
Minimum requirements:
Education:
A postgraduate (Masters or other e.g., PD Dip) in Education Policy and Planning, Social Sciences or other related fields.Work Experience:
At least 10 years of experience in developing and drafting proposals for international development projects, with a focus on climate resilience, disaster risk reduction, or education. Demonstrated experience in managing multi-stakeholder consultation processes and synthesizing inputs from diverse teams. Familiarity with EU funding mechanisms and proposal requirements. Experience working in the Pacific region or similar climate-vulnerable contexts, particularly with Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Proven track record of developing successful proposals for large international organizations or donors, for example GCF; EU in the climate adaptation or disaster risk reduction portfolio.Skills:
Strong writing and analytical skills: Ability to write in a clear, concise, and structured manner, producing high-quality documents that meet donor requirements. Research and data integration: Proficient in gathering and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data and incorporating it into proposal documents.Language Requirements:
Fluency in English is required, with demonstrated ability to produce high-level written documents.For every Child, you demonstrate...
UNICEFโs Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values
The UNICEF competencies required for this post areโฆ
(1) Builds and maintains partnerships
(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
(3) Drive to achieve results for impact
(4) Innovates and embraces change
(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity
(6) Thinks and acts strategically
(7) Works collaboratively with othersย
Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.
UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children.ย The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.
UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer aย wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks andย reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.
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.
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.
Remarks:ย ย
Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered โstaff membersโ under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEFโs 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.
UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable candidatesย are encouraged to apply.
Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally requiredย to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.ย
UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicantsโ bank account information.
Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEFโs Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.
All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.
Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.