TOR/2026/14
UNICEF Maldives Country Office is strengthening climate-smart and resilient programming in line with the UNICEF Maldives Country Programme Document 2022–2026, the global Sustainability and Climate Change Action Plan, and regional and country priorities. A key area of focus is the scale-up of the Climate Guardians initiative as a platform for child and youth participation in climate action, climate resilience, environmental stewardship, and green skills development.
Children and young people in the Maldives are growing up in an island context that is highly exposed to climate-related risks, including sea-level rise, coastal erosion, flooding, extreme weather events, and disruption to essential services. Climate action therefore needs to be locally relevant, child-centred, and connected to schools, island councils, civil society partners, youth networks, and national policy processes.
Through the Climate Guardians initiative, UNICEF Maldives seeks to increase direct and indirect engagement with children and young people across the country, support youth-led climate solutions, strengthen Child-Centred Disaster Risk Reduction, and amplify young people’s voices in national and global climate advocacy, including the Youth Track to COP30.
UNICEF Maldives is therefore seeking a national consultant to support the scale-up, coordination, implementation, documentation, and quality assurance of the Climate Guardians initiative and related child-centred climate resilience activities in partnership with Ministry of Climate Change, Environment and Energy, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Ministry of Education (where school engagement is involved).
How can you make a difference?
The purpose of this consultancy is to provide technical, coordination, and implementation support to strengthen and institutionalize the Climate Guardians initiative as a sustainable national platform for child and youth engagement in climate action. The consultant will support implementation in selected islands while also facilitating policy dialogue, stakeholder engagement, and systems-strengthening processes that enable government ownership, institutionalization, and long-term sustainability of the initiative. The consultancy will ensure that children and young people are meaningfully engaged as learners, advocates, innovators, and contributors to community resilience.
Minimum requirements
Desirables
For every Child, you demonstrate...
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
Additional competencies
• Communication
• Respect for diversity and inclusion
• Ethical awareness and child safeguarding
• Planning, organization and problem solving
• Adaptability and learning orientation
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.
Failure to comply with such requirements, where applicable and without a duly approved medical exemption from the relevant UN authority, will result in the cancellation of the selection or may lead to other administrative measures, including separation from service
Remarks
As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.
Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.
UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.
Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.
All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.