Climate Finance and Partnership International Consultant, UNICEF Global Programme Division(GPD), New York/Office based, 12 months

Working arrangement - Office based, Climate Finance Unit, Climate Resilience Centre of Excellence, New York, UNICEF NYHQ.

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built. We offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right for a future.

How can you make a difference?

Deliver defined project cycle management, technical support, partnership coordination and institutional review outputs for UNICEF’s climate finance portfolio. The assignment covers coordination of the Senegal GCF proposal through finalization, resubmission, fund review and Board consideration, with transition planning following approval; Adaptation Fund engagement and proposal support; and technical assistance and practical guidance for country offices on locally led adaptation and meaningful, inclusive and safe child and youth-led action.

If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here:

Minimum Qualification required:

Education
Master’s degree in Sustainable Development, Climate Change, Environmental Studies, International Development, or a related discipline.

W ork experience
• Minimum 10 years of relevant professional experience in programme development, management or coordination across UNICEF sectors and programmes, including climate resilience, youth engagement and climate advocacy.

• Demonstrated hands-on experience developing and reviewing GCF funding proposals and supporting annexes, coordinating technical inputs and preparing responses to fund review comments.

• Experience managing complex proposal development and review processes, including workplans, quality assurance, consultant deliverables, risk monitoring and institutional clearances.

• Experience coordinating across country offices, regional offices and headquarters divisions, and engaging government counterparts, UN agencies and technical partners on programme design and implementation arrangements.

• Experience supporting institutional reviews of climate finance agreements, consolidating technical, financial and programme inputs, and preparing issues papers and negotiation briefing materials.

• Experience integrating locally led adaptation and meaningful, inclusive and safe child and youth participation into climate programming, proposal development or practical guidance.

• Experience preparing partnership updates, advocacy materials and senior management briefings on climate finance or development programmes.  

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills
• Strong knowledge of GCF funding modalities, investment criteria and project cycle requirements, including proposal submission, technical review and Board consideration.

• Strong technical drafting and analytical skills, including the ability to develop proposal text, supporting annexes, review responses and concise recommendations for management.

• Understanding of UNICEF sectors and programmes and the respective roles of country offices, regional offices and headquarters divisions in project development, institutional review and partnership management.

• Familiarity with legal due diligence, Term Sheets and climate finance agreements, including the ability to coordinate specialist inputs and track review and clearance requirements.

• Knowledge of locally led adaptation, child-centred climate resilience and approaches to meaningful, inclusive and safe child and youth-led action and engagement.

• Strong project management and coordination skills, including the ability to maintain workplans, responsibility matrices, review trackers and action and decision records.

• Ability to translate technical and institutional issues into practical guidance, advocacy messages and briefing materials for different audiences.

Language Requirements
Fluency in English and Arabic, with strong written and verbal communication skills.  

Desirables
• Experience with GCF Simplified Approval Process and Full Funding Proposal proposals and preparing technical inputs for fund review and Board consideration.

• Experience supporting climate adaptation programming in health, WASH, education or youth engagement.

• Experience contributing to legal due diligence, Term Sheets or the review of GCF Funding Activity Agreements and readiness agreements.

• Experience applying child safeguarding and safe participation approaches in child and youth engagement.

• Experience developing operational guidance, review tools and knowledge-sharing materials for country offices.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s 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

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.  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 reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. 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.

Qualified candidates are invited to submit the following documents via the online recruitment portal, TMS (Talent Management System):

• An up-to-date TMS profile and curriculum vitae (CV)
• Cover letter
• A separate financial proposal (only acceptable in the format of the linked template) TMC0007468 Financial proposal template.docx

Remarks: 
If the TOR or financial proposal documents are not downloadable on certain recruitment platforms, please visit our official page Vacancies | UNICEF Careers .

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 applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here .