Ready to create real, measurable impact? UNICEF Malaysia is hiring a Programme Officer (Climate & DRR) to advance child‑centred climate solutions, strengthen resilience, and elevate youth engagement in policy and action. If you are purpose‑driven and results‑oriented, this role is for you, apply today!
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.
Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.
For every child, the right to hope
Visit our UNICEF Malaysia website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF locally.
How can you make a difference?
The Programme Officer (Climate & Disaster Risk Reduction) will play a key role in advancing UNICEF's Climate, Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction programme in Malaysia, which aims to ensure that every child in Malaysia can live in a clean, safe, healthy and sustainable environment, while also strengthening their resilience and ensuring their voices are heard in shaping a resilient future.
The position will be supervised by the UNICEF Programme Specialist (Climate & Environment) and will work in close collaboration with the different sections. The incumbent will provide technical support in evidence generation, policy, advocacy, partnerships and collaboration, programme development and management, and planning, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting.
Particularly, this position will have a strong focus on climate-resilient social services and disaster risk reduction. The Programme Officer will focus on strengthening the resilience of social services to climate and environmental risks. These will be in the areas of health; education; water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH); child protection systems; and social protection systems. The Programme Officer will also work on advancing child-sensitive disaster risk reduction policies and programmes.
Key Functions
1. Evidence Generation and Knowledge Management
- Identify, collect, and organize up-to-date data on climate, environmental and disaster risks affecting children and the delivery of social services.
- Support the development of research, risk analytics, and situation analyses to deepen understanding of child-sensitive climate and environmental actions across sectors.
- Capture and synthesize lessons learned and best practice globally and locally for protecting children from climate, environment, and disaster risks.
- Develop strategic position papers, briefing notes, knowledge products for internal and external use.
2. Policy Support
- Support the Climate Lead in implementing policy by identifying partners, potential engagement and policy advocacy opportunities. Contribute to proposals on recommendations which will deliver tangible solutions with a positive impact on children.
- Provide technical support in the team's work of integrating climate resilience into sectoral policies, strategies, and budgets (e.g., health, education, WASH, child protection, social protection) including integration of risk reduction approaches in sectoral preparedness and response.
- Support the Climate Lead in developing policy dialogues and support the work of the Office in promoting child-inclusive approaches in national and local planning and governance processes.
3. Advocacy, Partnership and Collaboration
- Build and maintain partnerships with key government agencies, UN entities, CSOs, academia, youth networks, and environmental organizations to advance climate and environmental and disaster risk reduction work for children.
- Support the development and implementation of advocacy and communication strategies, including through awareness-raising campaigns, the dissemination of evidencebased messages, and the development of inclusive advocacy materials.
- Explore and support mobilization of climate and disaster risk financing through innovative mechanisms, public-private partnerships, and vertical funds.
- Contribute to inter-agency coordination efforts and participate in relevant working groups and platforms.
4. Programme Development and Management
- Support strategic planning, coordination, and implementation of climate-resilient social services, providing technical support to UNICEF programme teams and their government counterparts.
- Under the supervision of the Programme Specialist, lead the development and implementation of child-centered disaster risk reduction interventions, including coordination with technical sectors and relevant authorities and line ministries.
- Develop programme documents, concept notes, and funding proposals related to climate-resilient social services and disaster risk reduction.
- Coordinate with Implementing Partners to ensure timely and quality submission of work plans, financial and substantive reports in line with UNICEF's internal requirements.
- Conduct regular field visits and assessments, providing technical guidance and resolving implementation challenges in collaboration with partners.
5. Results-based Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting
- Coordinate and be responsible for effective knowledge management systems (data collection, monitoring, report generation, evaluation and tasks related to documenting the programme process with partners) regarding UNICEF climate, environmental and disaster risk reduction actions.
- Ensure that child-focused climate & environmental actions are appropriately integrated into results-based programme workplans, progress against set objectives and targets is monitored and jointly reviewed with Government to ensure achievement of quality and sustainable results.
- Prepare inputs to annual reports, results assessments, and specific programme/project/donor reports in order to update management, partners, and allies, including relevant briefs and reports for decision making purposes by UNICEF management.
If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: 
Classified JD_Programme Officer (Climate and DRR) NOB.pdf
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Minimum requirements:
- Education: A Bachelors' Degree in environment, climate science, social and economic development, public health, disaster management, public administration, or another relevant technical field.
- Work Experience: Minimum of two (2) years of direct professional work experience at the national level in programme/project development in climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, or social services systems strengthening is required.
- Technical knowledge of climate, environment, and disaster risk reduction in Malaysia is a requirement.
- Experience working in social sectors (e.g., health, education, WASH, child protection, social protection) and integrating climate and environmental considerations in these sectors is required.
- Language Requirements: Fluency in English and Bahasa Malaysia is required. Knowledge of another UN official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.
Desirables:
- Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.
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…
(1) Builds and maintains partnerships
(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
(3) Drive to achieve results for impact
(4) Innovates and embraces change
(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity
(6) Thinks and acts strategically
(7) Works collaboratively with others
Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.
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 a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation 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.
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:
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.
UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable candidate with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
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.
Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.
UNICEF shall not facilitate the issuance of a visa and working authorization for candidates under consideration for positions at the national officer and general service category.
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.