Climate and Disaster Data Coordinator

UNICEF works in the world's toughest places to reach the most disadvantaged children and adolescents – and to protect the rights of every child, everywhere.

Since 1964, child rights have been at the heart of the strong partnership between the Government of Malaysia and UNICEF. UNICEF’s work in Malaysia is driven by the ultimate aim of ensuring that every child, especially the most vulnerable, has a fair, equitable start in life. This means that all girls and boys – regardless of location, family income or disability – ought to enjoy equal access to quality services and an equal chance of developing to their full potential.

An upper-middle-income and culturally diverse country, Malaysia is home to 32.7 million people of which 9.2 million are children. The country has witnessed tremendous progress over the years in poverty reduction, access to primary health care, education, and advances in Child Rights and wellbeing, social and cultural norms. However, gaps in the legal, regulatory and policy framework, comparatively low levels of public expenditure on social protection and social services, and limited capacity in the public sector to meet the demands of the equity agenda, constrain women and child rights. Further advances in education, health and nutrition, and social protection outcomes are needed if Malaysia is to achieve advanced nation status.

UNICEF Malaysia is a unique country office in that it is an upper middle-income country, but with significant remaining disparities and inequalities where both advocacy and programming approaches are required. UNICEF adds value by influencing the development narrative of the country through quality evidence generation, evidence-based advocacy and policy recommendations, supported by partnerships and alliances with civil society, academia, and think tanks. UNICEF Malaysia also has a highly developed Private Sector Fundraising Team (PSFR) which raises significant resources for children in innovative ways. In this context, the role of multi-faceted evidence-based communications and policy advocacy and partnership building play critical roles in advancing child rights.

Adopting a human rights-based approach, the UNICEF country programme in Malaysia has been designed in partnership with the Government of Malaysia and is aligned with the Shared Prosperity Vision for 2030 and the 12th Malaysia Plan. The programme responds directly to UNICEF’s and the UN’s global priorities, Agenda 2030, the Leaving No One Behind and Build Back Better agendas and forms an integral part of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for Malaysia 2021-2025.

Under the general supervision of the Programme Specialist (Climate and Environment) and the guidance of Programme Officer (Climate and Environment) and working collaboratively with colleagues from other sections, the UNV Climate and Disaster Data Coordinator will provide direct support in the following areas.

1. Data management (40%)
• Support the development, implementation and testing of the first version of Malaysia’s subnational Children’s Climate and Disaster Risk Index (CCDRI) model in close collaboration with government partners, academia and youth networks and the technical partner, UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)
• Collect, clean, organize and manage data for climate, environmental and disaster hazards and child-vulnerability datasets using excel and basic programming tools
• Support geospatial risk analysis and mapping using GIS tools where applicable
• Assist in developing dashboards, charts and visualizations to communicate key findings for internal and external partners
• Coordinate with technical data partners (government agencies, universities) to collect, verify and update datasets
• Maintain an organized data repository and ensure data quality and consistency

2. Evidence Generation (30%)
• Support the development of the CCDRI analytical report in close consultation with partners, highlighting key analysis and recommendations, ensuring user-friendliness of the document
• Draft research notes, evidence summaries, and data briefs that translate data findings into clear messages for advocacy and programming
• Provide data-driven inputs for policy briefs, presentations, and technical reports
• Review and document insights from partner datasets to identify data gaps and opportunities to strengthen national climate and DRR evidence for children
• Support the development of evidence packages—slide decks, fact sheets, technical notes—for use with government, state agencies, and UNICEF programme teams

3. Programme Support (30%)
• Support planning, coordination and implementation of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) programmes, CCDRI development and dissemination including launch of the risk model, and other climate & environment programmes
• Liaise with government partners to organise meetings, collect programme data, and follow up on action points
• Assist in preparing presentations, talking points, and programme updates for meetings with government, CSOs, academia, and youth networks
• Contribute to planning and execution of training sessions, workshops, school visits, and field missions
• Support coordination of knowledge management and produce appropriate documentation and reporting while ensuring the quality, standardisation and consistency. Maintain CCDRI SharePoint page as a one-stop center for information sharing and record.
• Assist the team in planning, designing and coordinating of inception and validation workshops with government and data providers for the CCDRI development

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers programme mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities:

• Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take an active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day);
• Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country;
• Provide annual and end of assignment self-reports on UN Volunteer actions, results, and opportunities.
• Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.
• Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly arrived UN Volunteers;
• Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

Results/Expected outputs:

As an active UNICEF Malaysia – Climate and Environment team member, efficient, timely, responsive, client–friendly and high–quality support rendered to the team and its beneficiaries in the performance of her/her functions, including:

• Strategic growth and involvement of our digital and traditional media audience.
• Lessons learned and best practices are shared.
• The development of capacity through coaching, mentoring and formal on-the-job training, when working with (including supervising) national staff or (non-) governmental counter-parts, including Implementing Partners (IPs);
• Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment
• A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for peace and development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed