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, a resilient future for children

The purpose of this consultancy is to conduct an in-depth policy review of BARMM’s climate change and disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) framework. The assignment will:

1. Assess institutional coherence and mandates, mapping roles, responsibilities, and coordination among BARMM ministries and local government units (LGUs).
2. Evaluate the implementation of national climate and DRRM commitments including the National Adaptation Plan 2023-2050 and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Bangsamoro Development Plan 2023-2028 within the BARMM context.
3. Analyse the financing architecture and its implementation at both regional and LGU levels, identifying gaps, barriers, and opportunities for sustained investment.
4. Assess the integration of child rights, encompassing health, nutrition, education, WASH, child protection, and social protection, as well as gender equality and disability inclusion, to ensure that policies and plans are child-centred and socially inclusive.
5. Develop clear, actionable recommendations for UNICEF and partners to strengthen climate and DRRM policy, institutional mechanisms, and financing in BARMM

How can you make a difference? 

TASK 1 INCEPTION REPORT CONTAINING:

• Refined assessment questions and a detailed methodology.
• A matrix linking each assessment question to relevant BARMM and national laws, policies, and instruments.
• A sampling frame of priority LGUs.
• A comprehensive stakeholder map covering BARMM ministries, LGUs, CSOs, youth and disability groups, and private sector actors.
• Data-collection tools (e.g., interview guides, focus group checklists).
• A risk management and ethical safeguards plan (e.g., data confidentiality, child safeguarding, conflict sensitivity).
• A consolidated workplan with timeline and deliverables.

• Compile and index all relevant regional and national instruments on climate change, DRRM and environment
• Assess internal consistency and external coherence with national frameworks (e.g., NAP 2023– 2050, NDCs, Philippine DRRM Act) and international standards (Sendai, Paris Agreement, CRC).
• Develop a Policy Coherence Matrix scoring each instrument for:
  • Legal clarity and enforceability.
  • Child rights, gender, disability, and youth mainstreaming.
  • Integration of DRR, climate change adaptation (CCA).
  • Roles, accountabilities, and coordination mechanisms.
  • Monitoring, reporting, and enforcement provisions.
  • Financing hooks and sustainability measures.
• Identify gaps, overlaps, conflicts, and missing provisions aligned with UNICEF’s CPC9 programme areas.

• Map the mandates and coordination mechanisms of MENRE, MILG/READi, MOH, MBHTE, MPW, MSSD, MAFAR, BPDA, DRRM councils/committees, and LGUs, with a specific focus on how their roles and interlinkages advance climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR).
• Analyse inter-ministerial and vertical coordination (region–province–city/municipality), highlighting bottlenecks, accountability gaps, and opportunities for improved governance and service delivery.

• Review financing sources and utilization patterns of government mechanisms (e.g., People’s Survival Fund, DRRM Trust Funds, and emerging inter-parliamentary regional response (IPRR) mechanisms).
• Assess climate finance accessibility at LGU and community level, identifying opportunities to leverage domestic and external resources for child-centred DRR/CCA and WASH investments.

• Conduct key informant interviews and focus group discussions with:
  
  • Regional ministries and LGUs.
  • Youth representatives (via BYC), organizations of people with disabilities (OPDs), women’s groups, civil society, and service providers.
• Community leaders, teachers, and health workers for ground-level perspectives.
• Present preliminary findings in a Validation Workshop, collecting feedback from government, humanitarian, and development partners.

• Benchmark BARMM instruments and practices against:
  
  • National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
  • UNICEF Strategic Climate Action Plan (SCAP), PCO Climate Strategy pathways, and Sphere/CCC standards.
  • Good practices from child-centred DRR and climate-resilient governance in other Philippine regions and comparable international contexts.
• Provide cost, time-bound policy and institutional recommendations, including:
  
  • Integration of child rights across health, nutrition, education, WASH, child protection, and social protection.
  • Gender equality, disability inclusion, and youth participation.
  • Options for strengthening financing mechanisms and monitoring systems

Tasks and Deliverables:

• Inception        
  • Inception report approved by UNICEF, including: detailed methodology, evaluation matrix, sampling framework, stakeholder mapping, data-collection tools, risk/mitigation plan, and detailed workplan
• Desk Review & Policy Mapping      
  • Final Policy Coherence Matrix and Gaps/Overlaps Brief submitted and accepted
• Field Consultations & Validation  
  • Comprehensive list of stakeholders consulted and an endorsed Validation Workshop Summary Report
• Draft Final Report    
  • Draft report with key findings, analysis, and preliminary recommendations submitted for review and comments
• Final Report  
  • Final report integrating all comments, plus a PowerPoint presentation summarizing key findings and recommendations, formally accepted by UNICEF

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

Minimum requirements:

Education:

• Advanced degree in public policy, public administration, climate/DRR, environmental management, social policy, or related field.

Work Experience:

• At least 5 years of proven policy analysis/reform experience in DRR/CCA/governance, ideally in conflict-affected and devolved settings

Skills:

• Strong technical understanding of child rights, gender equality, disability inclusion, and youth participation, and of WASH/CER linkages.
• Demonstrated ability to facilitate high-level consultations and produce actionable, evidence-based recommendations.
• Excellent research and analytical writing skills, with ability to produce high-quality policy reports (writing sample required).

HOW TO APPLY

Qualified candidates are requested to complete an online candidate profile in http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/ by 16 October 2025. Only applications sent through the e-recruitment portal under Job Number: 584638 will be considered.

All candidates are requested to submit a COVER LETTER, and the duly filled P11 Form which can be downloaded from our website at P11 Form.docx (sharepoint.com) indicating three (3) previous supervisors. Please indicate your professional fees and the soonest availability to take on the post based on the above terms of reference.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles.

All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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.

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 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.

Remarks: 

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. The candidate may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid).