National consultant to coordinate interventions on youth engagement in climate agenda

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, support!

Scope of Work:

Specifically, working in close cooperation with the national partners and UNICEF Youth and Adolescent Development and Participation and Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction Teams, the national consultant will be responsible for the below workstreams:

1. Coordinate adaptation, development and translation of learning materials for Young Climate Champions and other children and youth, informed by the opinions of young people and climate change specialists. This includes learning material for in-person training and online learning solutions.

2. Coordinate the scaling-up and operation of the Young Climate Champions network. Specifically, the consultant will be responsible for the recruitment of adolescents through an open call, capacity building of the mentors and members of Youth Climate Champions, development of the action plans in every region for 2025-2026 academic year; support and monitoring of awareness-raising and community youth-led eco events in schools and communities.

3. Empower youth climate actions through the undertaking, jointly with the national partners, climate challenges/plogging/ ecathons by bringing young people from the most deprived regions to develop youth-led ecological solutions or mobilize the community.

4. Support meaningful youth participation in climate-related decision-making and policy advocacy at local, national and international levels. Specifically, the consultant will be responsible for securing the platform for youth and preparing young people to make meaningful interventions.

5. Document the work process, participation of young people, lessons learned, and feedback received during programme implementation for the way forward. Moreover, the consultant will be responsible for the development of advocacy and communication materials to increase awareness of climate change, adaptation and mitigation measures and to showcase impactful youth climate actions among young people and the general public.

Work Assignments Overview – Deliverables/Outputs – Timeline

1. Coordinate the work of a recruited specialist on adaptation, development and translation of learning materials for Young Climate Champions and other children and youth, informed by the opinions of young people and climate change specialists. This includes learning material for in-person training and online learning solutions – The adapted and translated teaching and learning materials are reviewed and recommended for approval – 15 July 2025.

2. Coordinate the scaling-up and operation of the Young Climate Champions network

• 2.1 In cooperation with MOPSE and Zamin, recruit the second cohort of Young Climate Champions (YCC) through an open call – At least 50 schoolchildren from all regions of Uzbekistan are selected and recruited as the second cohort of Young Climate Champions – By 15 July 2025;
• 2.2 In cooperation with MOPSE and Zamin, train 14 young mentors to guide and support the work of YCC 2.0 throughout the next academic year -14 adolescents are equipped with facilitation and mentorship skills to support operation of YCC 2.0 in the regions – By 1 August 2025, 5 working days;
• 2.3 In coordination with MoPSE and Zamin, launch and build capacity of the second cohort of Young Climate Champions to increase awareness, lead community eco events and participate in climate advocacy – At least 50 schoolchildren and 14 teachers have increased capacity to lead awareness-raising, community mobilization and advocacy on climate change; Young people developed the action plans for 2025-2026 academic year – By 9 August 2025, 5 working days;
• 2.4 Support and monitor youth-led climate actions in schools and their communities – Monthly updates on adolescents’ activities in the regions are submitted to the Youth and Adolescents Development Officer; At least 14 field monitoring reports are submitted with the key takeaways from each region Monthly, October 2025 – May 2026;
• 2.5 Undertake the closing event and award ceremony for the second cohort of Young Climate Champions – All Young Climate Champions and their teachers received the certificates. The achievements of young people are recognized and appreciated by UNICEF and the national partners – By June 2026;

3. Jointly with the national partners, undertake diverse youth climate actions or advocacy events agreed on with the national partners, e.g. climate challenges, climate hackathon, etc. – At least 500 adolescents and youth are engaged into climate hackathon, plogging or another youth climate challenge – By June 2026;

4. Support meaningful youth participation in climate-related decision-making and policy advocacy at local, national and international levels – At least 100 young people from all regions of Uzbekistan are provided with a platform to express their opinion on the climate change adaptation and mitigation measures, e.g. LCOY; At least 10 young people are prepared and provided with an opportunity to participate in climate change policy-dialogues at the national and international levels, e.g. NDC development, COP30; Youth Advisory Boards are established under the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of Uzbekistan – By September 2025

5. Document the work process, participation of young people, lessons learned, and feedback received – Report on the key results, lessons learned and recommendations on the way forward is developed and approved by UNICEF – By 6 April 2025;

6. Develop advocacy and communication materials to showcase youth climate actions – At least 5 human interest/success stories showcasing the climate actions of young people are developed and posted – May 2024 – April 2025.

Travel International: 

• Trip may be required to Brazil, COP30 – November 2025

Travel Local:

• Travelling to the bootcamp venue – August 2025
• Monitoring visits to the pilot regions – Sep 2025- April 2026

Please submit a professional fee (in USD) to undertake this assignment, without travel fees as this will be reimbursed as and when they take place.

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

• A university degree in one of the following fields is required: international development, environmental studies, human rights, sociology, anthropology, international law, education or another relevant social science field.
• At least 3 years of experience in one or more of the following areas is required: social development, eco volunteering, youth engagement initiatives design, planning, implementation and monitoring.
• Knowledge and experience in gender equality promotion, work with girls-led organizations is an asset.
• Demonstrated experience in project coordination, preferably in the field of youth development, volunteer engagement, or community empowerment.
• Proven ability to coordinate and manage complex project work, with a focus on education, climate change, youth engagement, social and behaviour change.
• Experience in building partnerships with various stakeholders, including the Government, NGOs, local authorities and school administration.
• Experience in report writing, monitoring and evaluation of projects.
• Previous experience working with the UN(ICEF) or UN(ICEF)-funded projects is an asset.
• Good communication and public speaking skills.
• Fluency in Uzbek, English and Russian is required.

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.

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.