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For every child, the right to peace 

PURPOSE OF ASSIGNMENT:

The Global Stocktake of the Paris Agreement, UNFCCC analyses, and recent World Bank/OECD studies converge on one conclusion: mobilizing private finance at scale is indispensable to achieving climate goals. Yet major bottlenecks persist, including policy and regulatory uncertainty, high perceived risks, lack of risk-mitigation instruments, limited bankable project pipelines, weak local financial sector capacity, and insufficient investment in adaptation and social services.

To bridge these gaps, UNICEF aims to develop a comprehensive proposal that brings together public, philanthropic, and private sector actors to co-create financing mechanisms capable of unlocking investment in climate adaptation, mitigation, and resilience, particularly in social sectors that directly affect children and communities.

How can you make a difference? 

SCOPE OF WORK:

UNICEF Partnerships Division intends to engage an international expert to advise on strategies to mobilize climate finance and to prepare and review concept notes and proposals to unlock climate capital for children.

The consultant will support the development of a high-impact proposal that:

• Identifies and addresses key barriers to private-sector investment in climate action.
• Defines blended approaches that combine public finance, philanthropic capital, concessional resources, and private investment.
• Creates an actionable roadmap for scaling sustainable, green, blue, and climate finance into social services and adaptation sectors.
• Positions UNICEF and partners as credible conveners on sustainable, green, blue, and climate finance.
• Advises UNICEF on strategies and opportunities for co-financing with development partners and climate funds in social services targeting children in Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC) and other vulnerable communities.
• Follows up on opportunities for UNICEF to engage with development partners, including climate funds, as:

-  Financial partners, co-financing projects and programs by leveraging grant capital to de-risk innovative financing instruments and business models; and

-  Technical partners, leading or co-leading social services targeting children in projects and programmes.

The consultant will:

• Review evidence from GST, UNFCCC, World Bank, OECD, and MDBs to map bottlenecks and successful solutions.
• Build on findings from stakeholder consultations with public sector actors (ministries, DFIs, MDBs, development partners), philanthropists, foundations, corporates banks, investors, pension funds, and insurance companies.
• Identify financing instruments and structures (e.g., guarantees, blended funds, local-currency facilities, PPPs, aggregation vehicles) suitable for social sector adaptation and resilience targeting children.
• Develop a financing architecture that mobilizes public, philanthropists, and private sector partners to jointly address bottlenecks.
• Draft a resource mobilization initiative targeting both concessional and commercial capital.
• Integrate equity, child-sensitivity, and resilience outcomes into the proposal framework.

DELIVERABLES:

1. Initial concept (3 – 4 pages) for discussions across PPD and PFP to prompt feedback from public partnerships and high-value channels.
2. Draft of concept note with objectives, methodology, mapping of key stakeholders, identification of financial instruments, and key opportunities.
3. Draft proposal including objectives, results framework, methodology, design of financing architecture, instruments, business models for each stream (loans and grants), leverage potential, roles of public and private actors, and a stakeholder engagement strategy.
4. Final Proposal Package: a full proposal with executive summary, theory of change, results framework, financing strategy, and partnership roadmap, ready for donor and investor engagement.
5. Summary Monthly Report: follow up with the development partners, including climate funds, on opportunities identified in the Proposal Package, and raise new co-financing opportunities for UNICEF, as required.

WORK ASSIGNMENTS:

1. Initial concept idea to present to internal consultations.
2. Development of an initial draft concept note.
3. Development of a draft proposal.
4. Final Proposal Package.
5. Summary Monthly Report.

DELIVERABLES:

The consultant will submit monthly deliverables throughout the contract period and payments will be processed at the end of each month, upon acceptance of deliverables by the supervisor.

Deliverable 1:  Ongoing from December 2025 until December 2026

• 3-4 pager concept idea enriched by inputs from relevant teams in PFP and PPD on public partnerships and high-value channels.

Deliverable 2:  by March 2026

• Initial draft concept note with objectives, methodology, mapping of key stakeholders and financial instruments and key opportunities. Participate in select consultations as identified by the office and refine the concept note based on feedback received.

Deliverable 3:  By May 2026

• The draft proposal includes objectives, a results framework, methodology, design of the financing architecture, instruments for each stream (loans and grants), leverage potential, roles of public and private actors,  and a strategy to engage key stakeholders.  Review evidence from GST, UNFCCC, World Bank, OECD, and MDBs to map bottlenecks and successful solutions.  Review findings from stakeholder consultations with public sector actors (ministries, DFIs, MDBs, donors) and private sector (banks, investors, corporates, foundations, and philanthropists). Participate in select consultations as identified by the office and refine the draft proposal based on feedback received.

Deliverable 4: by June 2026

• A full proposal with executive summary, theory of change, results framework, financing strategy, and partnership roadmap, ready for donor and investor engagement. The proposal will specify financing instruments and structures (guarantees, blended funds, local-currency facilities, PPPs, aggregation vehicles) suitable for social sector adaptation and resilience, present a financing architecture that mobilizes public and private sector partners in jointly addressing bottlenecks and include a draft a resource mobilization initiative targeting both concessional and commercial capital, while addressing equity, child-sensitivity, and resilience outcomes dimensions. Participate in select consultations as identified by the office and refine the full proposal package based on feedback received.

Deliverable 5:  Ongoing from December 2025 until December 2026

• The Report will include a monthly follow-up with the development partners, including climate funds of co-financing opportunities for UNICEF identified in the Proposal Package. The Report will be supplemented with additional co-financing opportunities presented to UNICEF for endorsement.

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

Education:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in areas related to water, sanitation, and hygiene; climate change, environmental management, and public policy, or other related disciplines.
• Alternatively, a first-level degree with an additional five years of relevant work experience will be accepted in lieu of an advanced degree.

Experience:

• A minimum of 15 to 20 years’ responsible professional experience at international levels and demonstrated track record in climate resilient projects, climate change, and environmental project design and management.
• Demonstrated experience working in operations across the project cycle for multilateral development banks and climate funds and managing environmental and social safeguards.
• Demonstrated experience developing successful climate funding proposals to international climate funds, including the Green Climate Fund.
• Demonstrated success in designing or mobilizing blended public–private climate finance mechanisms.
• Strong knowledge of international climate finance architecture (GCF, GEF, MDBs, bilateral donors).
• Excellent proposal development, partnership-building, and communication skills.
• Experience working with UNICEF and knowledge of organizational strategies and priorities.

Language:

• Fluency in English is required.  Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, or Spanish) is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

Remarks:  

Please indicate your all-inclusive (lump sum) fees against the deliverables listed above, including all associated administrative and travel costs (if applicable), in the cover letter. The office selects the individual based on best value for money.

Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

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. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts. 

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

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.