Senior International Consultant on Gender & Climate Adaptation (remote for 13 months)

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 for as long as we are needed. 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 professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

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For every child, the right to result.

How can you make a difference?

Climate change is increasingly recognized by UNICEF as a major threat to children’s rights, well-being and development. Its impacts are often mediated through households, communities and essential services, and can affect children differently depending on age, health, disability, household circumstances and access to support. These impacts are also not gender-neutral. Gender roles, caregiving responsibilities, access to information and resources, participation and decision-making can influence both exposure to climate risks and the capacity to prepare for, respond to and recover from them. At the same time, women can play important roles in household and community adaptation, including through preparedness, risk communication, service delivery, community networks and local decision-making.

In China, urban and rural communities across different regions are exposed to diverse climate risks, and communities play an important role in climate risk management, disaster risk reduction and resilience building. Existing community adaptation efforts have often focused on infrastructure and other physical interventions, while the systematic integration of women’s and children’s perspectives remains at an exploratory stage. At the same time, local organizations and community actors have accumulated practical experience in areas such as disaster risk reduction, women’s empowerment, child services and environmental protection, creating an important evidence base for further learning and analysis.

Against this background, UNICEF China is developing a 12-month study on community climate adaptation for children, women and families in China. The study will identify and analyse good practices through policy and evidence review, field-based case studies and comparative analysis. It is expected to examine approximately 10 community-level cases across China, including practices that already incorporate the needs and capacities of women and children, as well as otherwise effective adaptation approaches that could be further strengthened from a child- and gender-responsive perspective.

The study will seek to understand how selected adaptation practices work in different community contexts; how they affect the adaptive capacity, participation and access to support of children, women and families; what design features, enabling conditions and institutional arrangements contribute to their effectiveness; and how relevant lessons could inform wider policy and practice in China. The research is expected to generate a case-study compendium, comparative analysis and policy-relevant recommendations.

Given the specialized nature of the gender dimensions of the study, UNICEF China seeks short-term technical support from a consultant with expertise in gender and climate change. The consultant will provide targeted technical backstopping and quality assurance to the research team at critical stages of the research, helping to ensure that gender considerations are integrated in a technically sound, context-appropriate and practically useful manner.

The consultant will draw on relevant UNICEF gender equality and climate-related policies and technical frameworks, as well as international good practice, to support the quality of the analytical framework, case-selection approach, research tools, interpretation of emerging findings, and final recommendations. The consultant’s role is intended to complement, rather than duplicate, the climate adaptation and policy expertise of the national research team.

The consultant will provide advisory and technical-review support and will not be responsible for primary data collection, overall research management, or preparation of the case studies themselves.

If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here: Senior Consultant on Gender&Climate Adaption.pdf

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

Minimum requirements: (Qualifications/Experience/ Knowledge/Expertise/Skills)

• Education: Masters in gender studies, climate change, development studies, public policy, social sciences or a related field.
• Work Experience:
  • At least 8–10 years of relevant professional experience in gender equality and climate change, climate adaptation, resilience or related areas.
  • Demonstrated experience at the intersection of gender and climate, including research, policy analysis, technical guidance or advisory support.
• Language Requirements: Excellent analytical, writing and communication skills in English
• Knowledge/Expertise/Skills:
  • Strong knowledge of UNICEF and/or UN gender and climate frameworks, together with familiarity with relevant international standards and good practice.
  • Proven experience in reviewing or developing analytical frameworks, research methodologies, case-study approaches and policy recommendations from a gender perspective.
  • Strong comparative international experience, with the ability to assess country-level research against wider global evidence and practice.
• Desirables: Experience supporting UNICEF or other UN agencies on gender–climate research or technical products would be a strong 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

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

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.

Qualified candidates are invited to submit the following documents via the online recruitment portal, TMS (Talent Management System):

• An up-to-date TMS profile and curriculum vitae (CV)
• Cover letter
• A separate financial proposal (only acceptable in the format of the linked template) Financial proposal Senior Consultant on Gender&Climate Adaption.docx
• A detailed technical proposal: Applicants are required to submit a brief technical proposal outlining the proposed approach and an indicative workplan aligned with the key deliverables in the TOR; exact timing will be agreed with UNICEF based on the progress of the underlying research.