Policy Specialist – CEED (P-4), FT, PG CEED, Outposted in Nairobi – Kenya # 00131788

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. 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 personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

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

Disasters, climate change, and environmental degradation present significant and escalating threats to the well-being of children globally, jeopardizing the progress achieved in child survival and development. Over a billion children are exposed to severe risks from climate and environmental hazards such as heatwaves, droughts, floods, and cyclones. Consequently, it is imperative for countries to establish climate-resilient, low-carbon policies and social services encompassing water and sanitation, healthcare, education, nutrition, social protection, and child protection to tackle current threats and prepare for increasingly severe impacts.

In alignment with its commitment to protect children and young people worldwide, UNICEF has started to implement a Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (SCAP) 2023 – 2030. The SCAP prioritizes systemic institutional and policy change in partnership with public and private sector partners to prioritize the needs of children and young people and build their resilience to the impacts of climate change.  The SCAP strives to mainstream sustainability and climate action both internally and externally, through protecting the lives, health and well-being of children and the communities, systems and services they depend on; empowering children with developmental opportunities and skills; and reducing emissions and the environmental footprint within UNICEF.

For every child, resilience..

Under the close supervision and guidance of the supervisor, the CEED Policy Specialist will focus  on the following responsibilities: 1. Provide quality technical advice and guidance to ensure that children’s needs, perspectives and priorities are represented in national and international climate change, environmental , energy, and DRR policies; 2. Strengthen UNICEF’s thought leadership on evidence-based policy making in the space of climate, environment, energy and disaster risk reduction; 3. Coordinate UNICEF’s policy engagement in key international fora and processes on climate change; 4. Engage with UNICEF partners and networks to strengthen advocacy and policy impact of UNICEF-supported climate programs and initiatives.

How can you make a difference? 

Provide policy guidance:

• Analyze the policy impacts of climate-relevant programs in UNICEF to identify opportunities for improvement and pathways to greater scale
• Analyze lessons learned from UNICEF programs to guide risk-informed policy development and -implementation.
• Review and consult on ongoing policy initiatives in UNICEF to assess their alignment with the SCAP and identify opportunities for cross-sectoral collaboration.
• Co-ordinate policy-related initiatives with internal and external stakeholders, including children and young people, governments, UNICEF offices, UN partners and intergovernmental organizations as well as the private sector.
• Consolidate and present evidence related to the implementation of national climate change plans and policies (eg NDCs, NAPs) for internal and external dialogue.

 Enhance climate-sensitive and risk-informed programming:

• Develop policy-related knowledge and communication materials to strengthen the capacity of UNICEF staff to mainstream climate action into sectoral policies and programs.
• Prioritize and implement policy-relevant research to develop practical policy recommendations and advance the inclusion of children and young people across climate, environmental, disaster risk reduction, sustainability, and related sectoral policies.
• Identify and strengthen advocacy and knowledge partnerships to further UNICEF’s impact and visibility in national and international climate policy initiatives.
• Appraise and address questions for policy-relevant support from regional and country teams.
• Support Regional and country teams on demand-based policy engagement with governments and other partners.
• Develop capacity strengthening initiatives (workshops, trainings, briefings) to increase the capacity and skills on climate, environmental, energy and DRR policy and programming.

Engage with key climate and sustainability fora, partnerships and networks:

• Design and host meaningful child and youth engagement opportunities to elicit youth-centered feedback and ideas to policy proposals (including NDCs, NAPs)
• Serve as UNICEF focal point for engagement with key program-relevant processes under the UNFCCC (NDC partnership, Santiago Network, CoP) and other Rio Conventions
• Serve as UNICEF focal point for policy engagement on Loss and Damage from climate change, based on dialogue and coordination with other relevant teams
• Support other UNICEF global teams to strengthen the integration and mainstreaming of climate, environmental, disaster risk reduction and sustainability considerations in sectoral programs and policies.
• Prepare climate and sustainability-focused content, updates, and advocacy materials for policy-relevant dialogue with internal and external audiences.
• Identify and support internal and external advocacy efforts on climate issues in coordination with UNICEF-internal Communication, Advocacy and Partnership functions.
• Other policy-relevant tasks as required, based on operational needs in the UNICEF Programme Group

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

Minimum requirements:

Education:

An advanced university degree in climate change, environmental science, engineering, disaster management, International Development, International Relations, Government, Public Administration, Public Policy, Social Policy or other relevant disciplines is required.

Work Experience:

A minimum of 8 years of relevant work experience in areas related to climate action, sustainability, international development, disaster risk management, environmental management, public policy, social policy, or children’s health and wellbeing is required

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

Desirables:

• Specific experience in policy formulation, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting related to climate change, environmental management and/or disaster risk reduction is required, preferably in a developing country context.
• Demonstrated knowledge of climatic, environmental and disaster trends and solutions to address them
• Familiarity with children’s rights in the context of climate change, environmental degradation and disaster risk
• Expertise in staff capacity building and training, particularly as part of a global/regional role in support of country offices will be considered an asset.
• Experience working on CEED issues within UNICEF or other international development agencies is considered an asset.

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

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)
• Works Collaboratively with others (2)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (2)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (2)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

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 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. UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children.

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.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be 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 canceled.

Remarks:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

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

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. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

 Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.