Consultancy: Mercury and Children Consultant – Req.#580038

Consultancy Title: Mercury and Children Consultant

Section/Division/Duty Station: PG-Climate Environment Energy & Disaster, Programme Division, NYHQ

Duration: March 1, 2025 to August 31, 2025

Home/ Office Based: NYHQ / Remote

 

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 over 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.

 

 

The purpose of this consultancy is to facilitate research and technical assistance on the Mercury and Children report of the Healthy Environments for Healthy Children programme.

 

The last three decades have witnessed huge progress in the reduction of poverty-related environmental risks to children’s health. With the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals, the global community made a promise to all children: to safeguard the gains made on child survival and to ensure that every child has the chance to thrive and fulfil their potential. However, climate change and environmental degradation are seriously jeopardizing these precious gains and our promise to the world’s children.

 

Children’s environmental health has been a longstanding priority across the world and among many global organizations. However, it has lacked global coordination across issues, borders, sectors and partners to drive a lasting impact for children that is holistic. Comprehensive solutions are needed everywhere, especially in in low-and-middle income countries.

 

UNICEF launched is global programme on Healthy Environments for Healthy Children in 2021. To improve the salience of children’s environmental health, UNICEF has put together a Global Collaborative. The collaborative will advocate for change, broker knowledge and catalyze action by engaging governments, industry and civil society. The Global Collaborative will promote similar multi-stakeholder and multisectoral collaborations at the country level. It will also draw attention to a range of ‘spotlight risks’ on children’s environmental health, including those related to climate change, pollution and built environments.

This consultancy will support the pollution component for Healthy Environments for Healthy Children (HEHC) programme, including the Global Collaborative over a 6-month period. The Environmental Health Specialist of Healthy Environments for Healthy Children programme based in NYHQ’s Programme Group will be the contract manager supervising the consultant.

 

The consultant will collaborate with colleagues in the HEHC team, relevant UNICEF Regional and Country Offices and the Minamata Convention on Mercury secretariat. Additionally, the consultant will be working closely with partners involved in the CEH Global Collaborative.

 

Under the supervision of the Environmental Health Specialist and based on the review/inputs of stakeholders, the consultant will support the following over a 6-month period:

 

1. Facilitate the development of the technical content of the Mercury and Children report to include meetings with HEHC team and the Minamata Convention secretariat; literature review , compilation and analysis of data, drafting of the report, consulting with the expert community, finalizing the report

The report will include but not limited to: Introduction to mercury and children, sources and routes of exposure, health impact, mercury burden of disease, prevention and management, mercury in human body and the environment – biomonitoring and environmental monitoring studies, reference values, children exposure to mercury- ASGM, products- dental amalgam, skin lightening creams, others, international policy actions, recommendations to policymakers and caregivers

2. Develop “mercury and children” technical components on the global collaborative portal. This includes 

               a) the drafting of web pages

b) support engagement with partner collaborators on mercury and child health’, and c) acting as resource person in a webinar.

 

 

Work Assignment Overview

Deliverables/ Outputs Delivery deadline

 

1) Facilitate the development of the technical content of the Mercury and Children report to include coordination meetings with HEHC team and the Minamata Convention secretariat; literature review, compilation and analysis of data, drafting of the report, consulting with the expert community, finalizing the report

The report will include but not limited to: Introduction to mercury and children, sources and routes of exposure, health impact, mercury burden of disease, prevention and management, mercury in human body and the environment – biomonitoring and environmental monitoring studies, reference values, children exposure to mercury- ASGM, products- dental amalgam, skin lightening creams, others, international policy actions, recommendations to policymakers and caregivers

– Database of studies (both quantitative and qualitative) on mercury and children

– 4 drafts of the report to be circulated to experts

– Final report

31 August 2025

 

2) Develop “mercury and children” technical components on the global collaborative portal. This includes 

a) the drafting of web pages

b) support engagement with partner collaborators on mercury and child health’, and c) acting as resource person in a webinar

– Mercury and Children webpage in the CEH Collaborative developed 

– Webinar on Mercury and Children delivered to internal UNICEF and external partners

31 August 2025

 

 

Education:

An advanced university degree (Master’s) in Public Health

 

Work experience: 

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

– Technical expertise on mercury and children

– Proven experience in drafting programmes and strategies, research and policy advocacy

– Minimum 10 years of progressively responsible and relevant work experience in research and public health 

– Ability to organize and plan work independently, and be a team player

– Excellent communication skills (oral and written) in English

– Desirable: Previous experience of working with UNICEF/ UN

 

Completed profile in UNICEF’s e-Recruitment system and 

– Upload copy of academic credentials 

– Financial proposal that will include/ reflect :

o the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference.

o travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR. 

o Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.

o 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 values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).    

To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.

 

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility jobs-near-me.org UNICEF.

 

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.

  

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.