Individual Consultancy - National Consultant to Scale Up the Climate Guardians Initiative (Maldivian Nationals only)

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For every child, the right to holistic education.

Vacancy Announcement - National Consultant to Scale Up the Climate Guardians Initiative, Maldives.

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.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: Advert - Climate Guardians Consultant Jul26.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

[Include the vacancy requirements aligned to the category and level of the position. You can see examples in the branded VA example.]

• Education: A university degree in environmental science, climate change, disaster risk reduction, education, youth development, social sciences, public policy, communications for development, or another relevant field is required.
• Work Experience: At least 3 years of relevant work experience in climate projects.
• Skills (optional):
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English and Dhivehi.

Desirables:

• Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.
• Project assistance, Organizing and event planning and facilitation.

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

Additional competencies:

• Communication

• Respect for diversity and inclusion

• Ethical awareness and child safeguarding

• Planning, organization and problem solving

• Adaptability and learning orientation

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 encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

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.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments are conditional on the selected candidates’ willingness to comply with current or future vaccination requirements, should UNICEF mandate it for personnel.
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.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable persons with disabilities, are encouraged to apply.

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.

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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.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.