National UN volunteer job : Climate Change and Environment Specialist at UNICEF

Mission and objectives

Guided by the 2030 Agenda principle of “leaving no one behind”, UNICEF Rwanda under the current country programme will contribute to five priorities under the social transformation pillar of the National Strategy for Transformation 2017–2024: (a) Ensuring access to quality health for all; (b) Reducing malnutrition; (c) Ensuring access to and improving the quality of education; (d) Moving towards a modern Rwandan household, and; (e) Enhancing graduation from poverty and promoting resilience. The country programme will be implemented as part of the United Nations Development Assistance Plan 2018–2023 (UNDAP II), specifically contributing to Strategic Result Area 2: Social Transformation.

Context

To reduce the impact of climate and environmental degradation on children, it is critical to ensure that the services they need to survive, grow and thrive are resilient to climate and environmental shocks and to support them with the education and skills they will need to adapt and create a green transition and better world. In this context, UNICEF Rwanda is implementing several initiatives aimed at strengthening climate resilience for children. To support these initiatives, there is a pressing need to deploy additional technical assistance on climate change and environment. The main purpose of this assignment is to enhance capacities of the UNICEF Rwanda Country Office and its partners to strengthen climate resilience for children in Rwanda. The assignment is designed to align with “A Liveable Planet for Every Child – UNICEF’s Strategy for Climate, Environment, Energy and Disaster Risk Reduction — CEED (2022-2030)”.

Task description

Under the direct supervision of Chief Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), the UNV will provide technical, analytical, knowledge management support to the country office in design and implementation of climate, environment, energy and DRR (CEED) programmes. S/he will also assist with advocacy, resource mobilisation and youth led engagements that help accelerate and scale up priority CEED interventions in Rwanda. More specifically, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: • Support evidence generation through conducting analysis and generating relevant infor-mation on impacts of climate change on children in Rwanda; • Support preparation of policy briefs and analytical papers for advocacy with governments and partners to put children and young people first in their sustainability plans, budgets and actions towards a green transition; • Provide technical support for strengthening integration of linkages between climate change, DRR and children’s needs in the NST-2 and other key national development poli-cies and plans; • Work with Child Protection, Education, Health & Nutrition, Social Policy, WASH and other sections to identify opportunities, solutions and concrete actions to address climate change and environmental degradation; • Support implementation and monitoring of RCO’s climate change, environment and DRR related interventions; • Support expansion of green energy use and applications in UNICEF programmes and operations; • Support development of concept notes/funding proposals to mobilse additional resources for climate change and environment related interventions, especially for GCF and other climate financing instruments; • Support building of new partnerships (including, inter-alia, with NGOs, research institu-tions, and private and public sectors institutions) to address climate and environmental risks and disasters with strong focus on children; • Support capacity building of line government agencies, NGOs and private institutions to better understand climate risks with focus on children, the green transition, as well as ways to build resilience to disasters and longer-term climate and environmental shocks; • Support engagement of children and youth in ensuring that the voices, perspectives and ideas of children and young people are heard, and that they have the education and skills necessary to be agents of change in their communities; • Support documentation of good practices and lessons learned on child-sensitive climate change and environment related interventions; • Support effective coordination of UNICEF RCO’s engagement in CEED within and out-side UNICEF; and • Represent UNICEF in the meetings of environment and climate change sector working group, development partners’ climate change working group and environment and other related fora

Eligibility criteria