Consultant - Sustainability and Climate Change Action Plan Req

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

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, LOVE

Vacancy Announcement: Consultant

Consultancy Title: Consultant, Sustainability and Climate Change Action Plan – CEED

Section/Division/Duty Station: WASH section, Programme Group - NYHQ

Duration: 27 November 2023 – 29 March 2024

Home/ office Based: 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 and environmental degradation are some of the biggest threats affecting the world’s children, which can undermine many of the gains we have made in child survival and development. Over a billion children are already at extremely high risk of environmental and climate hazards, including heat waves, floods, cyclones, etc. These impacts threaten to undermine decades of progress on every child’s ability to survive, grow, and thrive. There is an urgent and acute need for countries to adapt, prepare and build climate-resilient, low-carbon social services, such as – water and sanitation (WASH), healthcare, education, nutrition, social protection and child protection – in preparation for more frequent and severe climate hazards. These are among the best investments we can make for children.

In alignment with our commitment to protect children and young people worldwide, UNICEF is launching its Sustainability and Climate Change Action Plan (SCAP) 2023 - 2030. The SCAP prioritises urgent climate action through systematic change in partnership with public and private sectors to prioritise children’s and young people’s needs 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.

The proposed assignment aims to support effective communication, coordination and implementation of the SCAP across the organisation. The work, led by the UNICEF Climate, Environment, Energy, and Disaster Risk Reduction (CEED) team, will primarily focus on improving capacity building, programme acceleration and technical support for the SCAP. This is critical for integrating sustainability and climate action into all aspects of UNICEF’s operations while raising public awareness of the climate crisis’s profound effects on children’s health and well-being. The assignment also aims to strengthen UNICEF’s mainstreaming of biodiversity by initiating capacity-building and setting up an initial knowledge-sharing community on biodiversity and the environment within UNICEF.

Scope of Work:

The consultant is expected to perform the following tasks for the Climate, Environment, Energy and Disaster Risk Reduction (CEED) team and in support of the 2023-2030 Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (SCAP):

Objective 1: Effectively roll out the Sustainability and Climate Action Plan across the organisation

• Create internal communication and knowledge products under the SCAP for the UNICEF network;
• Coordinate with the knowledge management and the internal communications team to ensure successful downscaling of the plan across the organisation;
• Monitor SCAP implementation via the SCAP Project Management Plan and ensure maintenance and communication of it to relevant key stakeholders in the organisation;
• Document UNICEF’s regional and national needs as associated with SCAP implementation;
• Develop training, guidance and informative material on the SCAP for UNICEF staff, consultants and partners.

Objective 2: Coordinate the internal governance mechanism for the SCAP

• Prepare updates for internal governance mechanisms for the SCAP for UNICEF staff;
• Develop background documents for the administrative and coordination support of the internal governance mechanism for the SCAP, including but not limited to shared workplans and working group meeting templates.

Objective 3: Mainstream of biodiversity and environment throughout SCAP implementation

• Develop guidance on the integration of environment and biodiversity for key workstreams;
• Establish a network of biodiversity and environmental focal points for the organisation for knowledge sharing

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

• • Deliverable 1: Create one (1) internal communication and knowledge product under the SCAP for the UNICEF network;

By 15 February 2024

• • Deliverable 2: In collaboration with key UNICEF teams in PG and DGCA, develop one (1)

guidance document to ensure successful downscaling of the plan across the organisation;

By 15 January 2024

• • Deliverable 3: Provide updates on the maintenance and communication of the SCAP Project

Management plan in five (5) SCAP Secretariat coordination meetings;

By 15 February 2024

• • Deliverable 4: Prepare one (1) document that captures UNICEF’s regional and national needs as associated with SCAP implementation;

By 30 December 2023

• • Deliverable 5: Develop one (1) training, guidance and informative material on the SCAP for UNICEF staff, consultants and partners.

By 29 March 2024

• • Deliverable 6: Prepare two (2) updates and/or background documents for internal governance mechanisms for the SCAP for UNICEF staff, including but not limited to shared workplans and working group meeting templates.

By 15 January 2024

• • Deliverable 7: Develop one (1) guidance brief on the integration of environment and biodiversity for key workstreams across PG, either for regions or PG sectors;

By 29 March 2024

• • Deliverable 8: Provide one (1) documentation of the establishing of a preliminary network of biodiversity and environmental focal points for the organisation for knowledge sharing.

By 29 March 2024

Qualifications

Education:

• Master’s degree/ Advanced Degree in Environmental Studies, Environmental Health, International Affairs, Public Policy, or a closely related field.

Work experience:

• Proven experience in communication and project management
• Prior experience with a UN agency is a distinct advantage.

Competencies/Knowledge:

• Strong organisational, planning and prioritising skills and abilities.
• Ability to work effectively with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

• Familiarity with Climate, Energy, Environment, and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) topics.

  Requirements:

Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system and

• Upload copy of academic credentials
• Financial proposal that will include/ reflect:
  • the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference.
  • travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR.
  • Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.
  • Indicate your availability
• 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.