Climate Resource Mobilization and Financing Consultant, New York Headquarters, Public Partnerships Division (PPD), 11 months – UNICEF job in the USA

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 …

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.

How can you make a difference?

The consultancy is based in the Public Partnership (PPD) Division and with the newly established Climate Financing team.  The role is to engage on specific tasks to support the resource mobilisation of the new UNICEF Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (SCAP) 2023 – 2030. The SCAP prioritizes urgent climate action through systematic change in partnership with public and private sectors 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.

 Key Responsibilities/Tasks:

Build internal climate financing capacity :

• Support the setting up of the “Sustainability Climate Coordination Financing Hub” through supporting in drafting the Governance structure, setting up the list of key stakeholders within UNICEF and the list of the new regional climate advisors.
• Set up and manage the climate resource mobilization pipeline database. Gather data from PPD portfolios including of the humanitarian team at PPD.

• Engage with each regional office and capture latest information on their current and future engagement with donors. Explore ways to connect them with other regions who have gone through similar experiences; ensure sharing of lessons learned and cross fertilization.
• Support in setting up capacity building webinars “Climate Cafes” to share “how to engage” tips and process in engaging with the multilateral climate financing institutions (Green Climate Fund, Adaptation Fund). Record and post the Climate Financing Knowledge Hub. Share key learnings in the form of a one pager.
• Set up the Climate Finance Dashboard, a monitoring tool providing instant information on the overall contributions received by donors.
• Collect pipeline data, analyse and update to the Climate Finance Dashboard (using Power BI).
• Map all multilateral climate financing funds and provide entry points suggestions as how to engage with them.

• Conceptualize and build a PPD Knowledge Management Hub to harbor all PPD related partners’ intelligence, thought leadership, best practices, and current contributions received as well of pipeline of UNICEF projects.
• Update the PPD knowledge Hub on a bi-weekly basis.

• Monitor key climate moments of the year where PPD should engage and maintain the update in a visual manner.

Coordination with HQ divisions, Regional and Country Offices:

• Organise regional focused meeting, gather latest climate financing information from compile, draft action points and share with senior management.
• Monitor actions and report to Senior advisor.
• Engage and support Regional and Country Offices on climate financing and resource mobilization strategies to ensure alignment in advocacy.
• Draft bi-monthly reports and transfer into a power point presentation to be shared with Regional Offices and key HQ divisions at the SCAP Steering Committee meetings.
• Prepare documentation (report, studies, minutes of previous meetings) ahead of bi-weekly meetings with the Sustainability Climate Action Plan Accelerator , including draft minutes and monitor follow up actions.
• Prepare documentation ahead of senior staff briefings and take notes for the record. 

Monitor donors’ intelligence and climate financing trends:

• Set up Knowledge management hub
• Design a Climate financing Newsletter.
• Conduct research through various web sites, donor’s tracker and key informants’ interviews (public donors, multilateral climate funds) and seek to tease out the emerging climate financing trends.
• Compile data in an easy-to-read visual manner and post on the Knowledge management hub on a monthly basis. The information will partly contribute to forming the basis of the “Quarterly Newsletters” focusing on latest climate financing trends, best practices, tips for resource mobilisation engagement. Share widely within UNICEF and externally.
• Perform climate finance trend analysis.
• Establish and update list of key donors’ partners (such as Ministries of Environment)
• Keep the donors’ intelligence “Cheat sheet” updated.

Align advocacy and communication with resource mobilisation:

• Draft advocacy messages on climate financing for PPD portfolios engagement.
• Draft sustainable climate related donors’ proposals to public donors.
• Organise donors’ briefings on Climate financing with key PG and/or Representative either in person and/or remotely.
• Expand the offers of the “enhanced” Climate Environment Energy and Disaster Risk (CEED) Global Thematic Fund by producing communication material, engage with Programme Group and PFP.

• Organize internal and external (with partners) webinars on climate financing.
• Support regional and country engagement with existing and emerging Multilateral Climate Funds and bilateral funding partners.

Prepare for COP29 and other high-level events (Summit of the Future, G20 in Brazil etc.):

• Support overall coordination of the preparations with the regional office based in Geneva and the country office based in Baku, Azerbaijan.
• Set up a preparatory table with key milestones leading to Cop29.
• Engage with PPD portfolios to secure high level meetings for the Executive Director.
• Draft PowerPoint presentation on key advocacy messages for PPD colleagues and keep them abreast through webinars (once a month from March to June) and bi-weekly from September.
• Coordinate and plan a major partnership event to be held at Cop29.
• Engage with the PPD Advocacy Hub on the Summit of the Future to ensure links are made with Climate.
• Once Cop29 over, write a resume of the PPD activities and the role PPD has played.
• Coordinate and plan for two major events to be held in partnership with the PPD portfolio.

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

• Master’s on public affairs, climate, sustainability, environment, development, human rights, and or a relevant field and/or five years of expertise and a Bachelor degree.
• Minimum 5 years of entry-level experience of working in relevant field. Specifically experience on coordination, document software creation, and previous experience with UNICEF would be an added advantage.
• Proven analysis skills and PowerBi or other visualization software
• Experience in developing and managing humanitarian and/or development programming.
• Knowledge of climate, environment and donors’ engagement.
• Experience in working with UNICEF or a United Nations agency is preferable.

Specific Consultancy Requirements…

• Completed profile in UNICEF’s e-Recruitment system and upload copy of academic credentials.
• Financial proposal that will include/reflect:

• • the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference.
  • Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.
  • Indicate your availability.

• 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.

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 here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

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: 

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.