For every child, sustainability and climate partnerships

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

Environmental degradation and climate change present significant and escalating threats to the well-being of children globally, jeopardizing the progress achieved in child survival and development. In response, UNICEF has launched its Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (SCAP) 2023 – 2030.  The SCAP prioritizes urgent action on climate change, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss through systematic change in partnership with public and private sectors. The SCAP will 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 drive achieve of SCAP targets, the Public Partnerships Division (PPD) has established a joint Sustainability and Climate Partnerships and Financing Hub with the Private Fundraising and Partnerships Division (PFP).  The Hub operates virtually across UNICEF locations including New York and Brussels.

How can you make a difference?

The postholder will play a key role in driving the work of the Sustainability and Climate Partnerships and Financing Hub.  The position reports to the P5 Senior Advisor, Public-Private Partnerships with a dotted line to P5 Senior Advisor, Climate Change, PPD. Additionally the postholder will work in close coordination with Sustainability and Climate Focal Point(s) in PFP.  The postholder will also collaborate closely with Private Fundraising Partnership (PFP) counterparts, and the Climate, Environment, Energy and Disaster Risk Reduction (CEED) team within Programme Group. S/he will contribute to developing, enabling and implementing sustainability and climate partnerships.

The postholder will coordinate teams across UNICEF engaging in sustainability and climate partnerships and provide technical assistance for development of partnership arrangements and ensuring compliance with key legal and oversight requirements for funding streams related to sustainability and climate.

Key functions, accountabilities, and related duties/tasks

The key responsibility for the postholder will be to play a pivotal role in accelerating sustainability and climate resource mobilization for UNICEF, to deliver and achieve the new Sustainability and Climate Action plan (SCAP) targets. The role will include development and implementation of the UNICEF sustainability and climate resource mobilization initiatives underpinning the SCAP in cooperation with PPD, PFP and GCA, in partnership with other divisions and the regional and country offices. More specifically, the postholder will:

Strategic planning:

Analyze global sustainability and climate financing trends and assess how they align with UNICEF’s mission and goals.

Portfolio Development and coordination:

1. Play a key coordination role in preparation, execution of the Sustainability and Climate Partnerships and Financing Hub established to drive inter-divisional collaboration and unified approach.
2. Support the development of proposals and pitches tailored to specific donors and partners, highlighting UNICEF’s unique role in sustainability for children, with a focus upon multi-country/region initiatives.
3. Expand engagement with the current Green Climate Fund, but also explore potential entry points with existing and emerging Multilateral Climate Funds (MCFs) including the Adaptation Fund and Loss and Damage Fund, working with key internal UNICEF stakeholders.
4. Support expanded sustainability and climate related work with the multilateral development banks and other financial institutions in coordination with the UNICEF International Finance Institutions (IFIs) team based in Washington, DC.
5. Leverage the expertise and framework of UNICEF’s IF4C Innovative Finance (IF) mechanism to support the adoption and scale up of IF mechanisms delivering on SCAP goals.
6. Advise and support Regional and Country Offices on sustainability of the resource mobilization of the SCAP.
7. Promote Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) addressing climate change in conjunction with PFP and private counterparts including UNICEF National Committees, serving as case study of “action learning” in development of broader UNICEF PPP strategy.
8. Any other task as may be required (5-10% of time allocation.

Reporting and Compliance:

9. Advise on and oversee the adherence to financial and operational compliance requirements set by donors in partnership with the PPD portfolios.
10. Develop a body of knowledge, tools and best practices for climate finance partnerships, supporting UNICEF country and regional offices in the delivery of results in accordance with the SCAP, with a focus on MCFs and Public Private Partnership (PPP) mechanisms.
11. Develop and maintain a holistic view of UNICEF’s resource mobilization pipeline on sustainability and climate, with a focus on multi-country/region initiatives.  Regularly review and report to ensure they address the diverse needs of children and communities impacted by climate change.
12. Leverage UNICEF’s UNISON CRM system, to enable identification, tracking and forecasting on climate partnership opportunities and commitments.

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

• An advanced university degree in climate change, environmental science, engineering, disaster management, International Development, International Relations, Government, Public Administration, Business Administration, Finance, Public Policy, Social Policy or other relevant disciplines is required
• A minimum of 8 years of relevant partnership development and management experience in areas related to climate change, environment, sustainability, international development, disaster management, public policy, social policy, and children’s health and wellbeing.
• Specific experience in sustainability and climate related partnerships with MCFs, IFIs, MDBs, policy / advocacy / programming, implementation, monitoring, review and evaluation, environment or disaster risk reduction is desirable, preferably in a developing country context. Experience with significant funding partnerships with MCFs is particularly desirable.
• Specific experience relating to public-private partnerships, impact investing innovative finance mechanisms is desirable.
• Familiarity with children’s rights in the context of climate change, environmental degradation and disaster risk reduction required
• Experience in managing complex multi-stakeholder negotiation processes is highly desirable, particularly in a UN context.
• Expertise in staff capacity building, developing tools, and providing training, particularly as part of a global/regional role in support of other country offices will be considered an asset.
• Experience working on sustainability and climate related issues within UNICEF or other international development agencies is considered an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

The location of this post will likely be in Europe.

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 competencies required for this post are…

(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 others.

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework 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.
We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.
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 is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children.

Remarks:

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be cancelled.

All selected candidates will 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.

Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government 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.

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