Details
Mission and objectives
UNICEF is responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide. UNICEF Health program is designed to support national health priorities with focus on programs that will positively impact on the lives of the most disadvantaged children, such as the prevention and treatment of diseases through establishing community-level efforts and services to promote the health and well-being of children. In line with this strategy, UNICEF supports immunization and health prevention programs for childhood diseases and funding for sustainable health services. UNICEF programs have been guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), which affirms the right of all children to “the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and to facilities for the treatment of illness and rehabilitation of health.”
UNICEF is committed to realizing the rights of all children to help them build a strong foundation and have the best chance of fulfilling their potential. We believe that ensuring a happy and healthy child begins before birth: from ensuring his/her mother has access to good neonatal care and delivering in a clean, safe environment to reaching adulthood as a responsible, healthy and informed parent to the next generation. This journey relies on a child having access to shelter, good nutrition, clean water and sanitation, healthcare and education.
UNICEF is committed to realizing the rights of all children to help them build a strong foundation and have the best chance of fulfilling their potential. We believe that ensuring a happy and healthy child begins before birth: from ensuring his/her mother has access to good neonatal care and delivering in a clean, safe environment to reaching adulthood as a responsible, healthy and informed parent to the next generation. This journey relies on a child having access to shelter, good nutrition, clean water and sanitation, healthcare and education.
Context
Nigeria is highly exposed to climate-related shocks, including floods, drought, extreme heat, land degradation and water stress, which are increasingly affecting children’s health, nutrition, learning, protection, access to safe water and continuity of essential social services. In line with UNICEF’s mandate to uphold the rights of every child and the UNICEF Nigeria Country Programme, climate action is being advanced as a cross-sectoral priority across WASH, Health, Nutrition, Education, Child Protection and Social Policy. UNICEF Nigeria is supporting government and partners to strengthen climate-resilient basic services, including climate-resilient WASH, education and healthcare services; clean energy and solarization initiatives; Green Rising; youth engagement; and evidence-based advocacy on child-sensitive climate policies and programmes. Building on the Climate Landscape Analysis for Children in Nigeria (CLAC), UNICEF is also working with the Federal Ministry of Environment, the National Council on Climate Change and other relevant Ministries and partners to ensure that the voices and needs of children, adolescents and young people are reflected in national climate policy processes, including the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and National Adaptation Plan (NAP). Within this organisational context, the National UNV Climate Change Specialist will support UNICEF Nigeria to strengthen coordination, evidence generation, programme integration, documentation and knowledge management for child-sensitive climate action, while contributing to the implementation and follow-up of the CLAC Action Plan and related climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience interventions.
The assignment will complement existing technical capacities within UNICEF Nigeria and support collaboration across programme sections, Field Offices, government counterparts, UN agencies, development partners, civil society and youth-led platforms. The National UN Volunteer will contribute to practical implementation support, policy engagement, monitoring, reporting and documentation of UNICEF-supported climate actions, ensuring that climate change considerations are systematically integrated into programmes and that results and lessons are captured for organisational learning, advocacy and resource mobilization
The assignment will complement existing technical capacities within UNICEF Nigeria and support collaboration across programme sections, Field Offices, government counterparts, UN agencies, development partners, civil society and youth-led platforms. The National UN Volunteer will contribute to practical implementation support, policy engagement, monitoring, reporting and documentation of UNICEF-supported climate actions, ensuring that climate change considerations are systematically integrated into programmes and that results and lessons are captured for organisational learning, advocacy and resource mobilization
Task description
Under the direct supervision of the Chief of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)/Climate Change Lead, the UN Volunteer will perform the following tasks:
a. Technical Support to Mainstream Climate Change into Sectoral Programmes (40%)
• Compile relevant information and share with various section focal points at the Country Office and Field Office teams to integrate climate change adaptation, mitigation, and resilience considerations into UNICEF-supported programmes across sectors.
• Support state governments, implementing partners, and UNICEF teams in applying climate-risk informed, child-sensitive, and resilience-building approaches in programme planning and implementation.
• Contribute to internal collaboration across UNICEF programme sections to ensure coherent and coordinated climate change programming in health, nutrition, WASH, education, child protection, and social policy.
• Support the development, adaptation, and use of tools, guidance notes, checklists, and templates for integrating climate risk analysis and resilience measures into programme interventions.
• Support implementation and follow-up of the Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation (CLAC) Action Plan, including actions that promote meaningful participation of children, adolescents, and young people in climate action.
b. Coordination, Finance, and Partnerships (20%)
• Support government efforts to apply for climate financing.
• Contribute to policy dialogue and engagement with federal and state government institutions, youth-led groups, civil society organizations, academia, and development partners on child-sensitive climate action.
• Support coordination of climate change technical meetings, workshops, consultations, and communities of practice at national and sub-national levels.
• Attend climate change-related webinars, meetings, and workshops, document key issues discussed, and share with other team members and supervisors.
• Support efforts to strengthen partnerships with government, UN agencies, development partners, youth networks, and community-based organizations to advance climate-resilient services for children.
• Support meaningful engagement with children, adolescents, and young people, ensuring their perspectives inform UNICEF’s climate change advocacy, programme design, implementation, and monitoring.
c. Evidence, Research and Knowledge Management (20%)
• Support development of research tools, case studies, technical briefs, and knowledge products on climate risks, child vulnerability, resilience, and climate-resilient basic services.
• Contribute to climate risk analyses, vulnerability assessments, sectoral reviews, and documentation of best practices from UNICEF-supported climate change initiatives.
• Assist with programme learning exercises, reviews, and evaluations to strengthen evidence-informed climate programming and resource mobilization.
• Document promising approaches, lessons learned, and human-interest stories for dissemination across UNICEF Nigeria, government platforms, and partner networks.
d. Monitoring, Reporting and Documentation (20%)
• Track climate-related programme indicators in consultation with UNICEF sections, analyse data, and support validation for quality, accuracy, and timely reporting.
• Undertake field monitoring visits and supportive supervision to assess progress, identify bottlenecks, and document field-level evidence on climate-resilient programming.
• Contribute to donor reports, annual reports, updates, briefing notes, presentations, and human-interest stories showcasing UNICEF’s climate change results.
• Contribute to ensuring climate change outcomes, youth engagement, resilience results, and lessons learned are consistently captured and reported across relevant programme components.
a. Technical Support to Mainstream Climate Change into Sectoral Programmes (40%)
• Compile relevant information and share with various section focal points at the Country Office and Field Office teams to integrate climate change adaptation, mitigation, and resilience considerations into UNICEF-supported programmes across sectors.
• Support state governments, implementing partners, and UNICEF teams in applying climate-risk informed, child-sensitive, and resilience-building approaches in programme planning and implementation.
• Contribute to internal collaboration across UNICEF programme sections to ensure coherent and coordinated climate change programming in health, nutrition, WASH, education, child protection, and social policy.
• Support the development, adaptation, and use of tools, guidance notes, checklists, and templates for integrating climate risk analysis and resilience measures into programme interventions.
• Support implementation and follow-up of the Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation (CLAC) Action Plan, including actions that promote meaningful participation of children, adolescents, and young people in climate action.
b. Coordination, Finance, and Partnerships (20%)
• Support government efforts to apply for climate financing.
• Contribute to policy dialogue and engagement with federal and state government institutions, youth-led groups, civil society organizations, academia, and development partners on child-sensitive climate action.
• Support coordination of climate change technical meetings, workshops, consultations, and communities of practice at national and sub-national levels.
• Attend climate change-related webinars, meetings, and workshops, document key issues discussed, and share with other team members and supervisors.
• Support efforts to strengthen partnerships with government, UN agencies, development partners, youth networks, and community-based organizations to advance climate-resilient services for children.
• Support meaningful engagement with children, adolescents, and young people, ensuring their perspectives inform UNICEF’s climate change advocacy, programme design, implementation, and monitoring.
c. Evidence, Research and Knowledge Management (20%)
• Support development of research tools, case studies, technical briefs, and knowledge products on climate risks, child vulnerability, resilience, and climate-resilient basic services.
• Contribute to climate risk analyses, vulnerability assessments, sectoral reviews, and documentation of best practices from UNICEF-supported climate change initiatives.
• Assist with programme learning exercises, reviews, and evaluations to strengthen evidence-informed climate programming and resource mobilization.
• Document promising approaches, lessons learned, and human-interest stories for dissemination across UNICEF Nigeria, government platforms, and partner networks.
d. Monitoring, Reporting and Documentation (20%)
• Track climate-related programme indicators in consultation with UNICEF sections, analyse data, and support validation for quality, accuracy, and timely reporting.
• Undertake field monitoring visits and supportive supervision to assess progress, identify bottlenecks, and document field-level evidence on climate-resilient programming.
• Contribute to donor reports, annual reports, updates, briefing notes, presentations, and human-interest stories showcasing UNICEF’s climate change results.
• Contribute to ensuring climate change outcomes, youth engagement, resilience results, and lessons learned are consistently captured and reported across relevant programme components.
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