Consultant - climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction (CCADRR)

Background

Complex environmental conditions – including the unfolding of diverse and widespread climatic changes, environmental degradation, and increasing threats of disasters – pose impressive challenges to present and future generations of children and to the achievement of their rights. According to the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) 2011 Human Development Report, “environmental degradation stunts people’s capabilities in many ways, going beyond incomes and livelihoods to include impacts on health, education and other dimensions of well-being.” A child’s right to education is endangered by complex and changing environmental conditions, especially for children previously disempowered by poverty or other inequities such as those linked with gender, ethnicity, language, disability, and location. UNICEF’s soon to be released resource pack, Scaling Up and Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction in the Education Sector: Promoting Child Rights and Equity, is primarily a capacity-development tool to support governments and their development partners in guaranteeing the right to quality education for all children. It builds upon the goals set by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Hyogo Framework for Action, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and the Education For All movement (EFA). Focusing on equity and rights, the resource pack aims to enhance the climate change adaptation, mitigation, resilience, and risk reduction capacities of children and their communities in response to changing physical environments. A decision was made to highlight adaptation to climate change rather than mitigation as UNICEF works mainly with vulnerable children in developing countries, where the challenge is to adapt to a changing environment in an uncertain climatic future. This work demands an approach to adaptation that encompasses current risks and uncertainties, and also fosters the adaptive capacity of the most vulnerable. Such an approach requires multi-stakeholder engagement, youth and civil society participation.

Purpose

To prepare for a successful implementation of the policy tool at regional and national levels, these Terms of Reference define the roles of a consultant to support and coordinate plans for “roll-out” of a policy tool at the regional and country levels to mainstream climate change education and disaster risk reduction within existing UNICEF-supported educational/environmental programs in the developing world.

Competencies

• Knowledge of UNICEF and UN system policies and programming on education,
• Sustainable development, climate change, DRR, gender equity.
• Knowledge of the work around Environmental Education and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).
• Excellent communication, presentation and drafting skills in English.
• Working knowledge of other UN languages would be an asset.

Required skills and experience

• Higher degree (Masters or equivalent experience) in Education, Sustainable Development, Climate Change, International Development or a related field.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in education and programme development, on issues related to sustainable development and climate change, in capacity-building and training. (Priority will be given to candidates with experience in Education for climate change adaptation and DRR).
• Knowledge of education, and the intersection/interrelationship of environment, economic, social and gender issues.
• Prior experience conducting workshops and trainings with Ministries and with educators on education and sustainable development related issues in English.