Consultancy:

Provide support to knowledge management for the Children’s Environmental Health Collaborative and UNICEF’s Healthy Environments for Healthy Children Programme.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

For every child, hope.

Consultancy Title: Environmental Health Consultant

Section/Division/Duty Station: PG-Climate Environment Energy & Disaster, Programme Division, NYHQ

Duration: 15 August 2024 to 31 December 2024

Home/ Office Based: NYHQ / Remote 

About UNICEF 

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries.

BACKGROUND

Purpose of Activity/ Assignment:

Provide support to knowledge management for the Children’s Environmental Health Collaborative and UNICEF’s Healthy Environments for Healthy Children Programme.

Scope of Work:

More than 1 million children under the age of five die every year because of unhealthy environments. While there has been significant progress in reducing poverty-related environmental risks in recent decades, greenhouse gas emissions and industrialization-related pollution have steadily increased. Environmental pollution and climate change, as well as hazards in the built environment, are major threats to children’s health and development.

The UNICEF Strategic Plan has elevated action on climate change and environmental degradation as an organizational priority, to be integrated throughout UNICEF programmes. To concretize this, UNICEF HQ developed the global programme framework on Healthy Environments for Healthy Children (HEHC). UNICEF and partners have also founded a Children’s Environmental Health Collaborative to mobilize international action to protect child health and development from the impact of climate change and environmental degradation. The Collaborative aims to inspire, motivate, equip and mobilize efforts through advocacy, brokering knowledge and catalyzing action.

Early exposure to pollution, chemicals, and waste can profoundly shape health and well-being in infancy, childhood, adolescence, and through adulthood. For this reason, UNICEF’s health programmes are incomplete without addressing the environmental determinants of child health and development. UNICEF is working to accelerate action to protect children from environmental risks. In this context, international awareness-raising, advocacy, capacity-building, and country support are needed.

UNICEF is working with partners to prioritizing a set of spotlight risks at global and country level to drive attention and action through a set of reports and analytical work. The priority areas of implementation include evidence generation, target setting, regulations and standards, capacity development and awareness generation. A key focus of the HEHC programme is to draw attention to priority environmental hazards impacting children in international forums and through the collaborative. Related to this, UNICEF is working on children’s environmental health in 24 countries where the understanding of priority environmental hazards impacting children needs to be translated into programme development and implementation to protect child health and development.

The consultant will provide technical expertise in support of the rollout of UNICEF’s Healthy Environments for Healthy Children global programme framework by drawing attention to two priority environmental hazards impacting children - plastics and conflict-related contamination. The consultant will develop two high impact global reports with accompanying materials and webinars, develop web-based resources on these and other CEH topics, and contribute technical expertise in meetings with UNICEF and relevant partners and stakeholders.

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

Workstream 1:

Children and plastics

Develop external-facing materials around child health and plastics, including nano- and microplastics and recycling and waste perspectives, to draw global attention and action to the issue.

1) Comprehensive report covering the latest science on children and plastics. Will include synthesis of recent data (selected locations, based on what is available), information on sources of exposure, evidence of impacts on children’s health, interventions/prevention, partnerships/alliances, and efforts towards global governance. Propose fast-tracking this deliverable to be published prior to the global plastic treaty negotiation Fifth Session (INC- 5), to be held in South Korea, 25 Nov-1

Dec 2024. Consultant will identify and lead external subject matter experts to review draft(s). Approx. 30-50 pages total.

2) Executive summary of the above.

3) Policy brief with specific policy recommendations based on the science and a set of key advocacy messages.

Publication in time for the global plastic treaty negotiation INC-5. Approx. 10 pages total.

4) Provide inputs to the development of infographics and graphics to be used in the above documents as well as broader communications.

5) One global webinar to disseminate report. Consultant develops slide deck together with UNICEF team and presents on webinar.

6) Meetings with UNICEF staff and partners to review the deliverables above. Presentation of first draft and two rounds of feedback.

28 February 2025

Workstream 2:

Children and conflict-related contamination

Develop external-facing materials around child health and conflict-related pollution, chemicals, and waste to draw global attention and action to the issue. This workstream primarily focuses on locations where conflict has taken place (e.g., war zones) and will include limited details on other aspects of conflict environments (e.g., migrant and refugee camps).

1) Comprehensive report that serves as compendium of research and examples of early life exposure to chemical contamination from conflicts from around the world. Will include synthesis of available scientific data, evidence of impacts on children’s health and development, perspectives from interviews, and relevant partnerships/alliances. Consultant will identify and lead external subject matter experts to review draft(s). Approx. 50 pages total.

2) Executive summary of the above.

3) Scientific review publication. Manuscript written and submitted for peer review at international health research journal (e.g., WHO Bulletin, BMJ Global Health).

4) Provide input to the development of infographics and graphics to be used in the above documents as well as broader communications.

5) One global webinar to disseminate report. Consultant develops slide deck together with UNICEF team and presents on webinar.

6) Meetings with UNICEF staff and partners to review the deliverables above. Presentation of first draft and two rounds of feedback.

31 December 2025

Workstream 3:

Development of web-based resources and provision of technical expertise

Develop external-facing materials including videos for UNICEF websites to provide scientific and easy-to understand information on plastics, conflict-related contamination, and other environmental risks.

1) Adapt relevant materials from above reports for the global collaborative.

2) Develop new ideas for, review, and provide technical input on “spotlight” learning pages on additional environmental risks in early life (e.g., cadmium, asbestos), to be written by UNICEF staff. Up to 5 spotlight risks.

3) Develop new ideas for expert educational videos (e.g., “Healthy Tomorrows”). Up to 2 videos.

4) Availability to facilitate and/or provide technical expertise in discussions once per month (at least 17 discussions) with UNICEF and relevant partners on children’s environmental health topics. Preparation and follow-up.

5) Meetings with UNICEF staff and partners to review the deliverables above.

6) UNICEF may request consultant to travel for in-person meetings, conferences, etc.

31 December 2025

Qualifications

Education:

An advanced university degree (PhD) in public health or related topic, with a focus on environmental health and child health and development 

Work experience:

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required *:

At least 8 years of relevant research/work experience

• Track record of research on child development, children’s environmental health, and specifically on children’s exposures to plastics and conflict-related pollution.

• Track record in producing public-facing reports and research-based publications on child health.

• Expertise in developing easy-to-understand webbased resources for learning about children’s

• Environmental health.

• Experienced science communicator through written, spoken, and visual media.

• Ability to organize and plan work independently, and be a team player

• -Excellent communication skills (oral and written) in English

• -Previous experience of working with UNICEF and the UN is desirable

Requirements:

Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system and

- Upload copy of academic credentials

- Financial proposal that will include/ reflect :

• • the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference.
  • travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR.
  • Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.
  • Indicate your availability

- Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.

- At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.

- Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory 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.

U.S. Visa information:

With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.  

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

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. View our competency framework at: Here

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. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy 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. Consultants 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.