General
Description of assignment title
Climate, Energy, Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction Officer
Assignment country
Barbados
Expected start date
01/09/2025
Sustainable Development Goal
13. Climate action
Volunteer category
National UN Volunteer Specialist
Host entity
UNICEF
Type
Onsite
Expected end date
31/07/2026
Number of assignments
1
Duty stations
Bridgetown
Details
Mission and objectives
The UNICEF Office for the Eastern Caribbean Area works across 12 countries and territories: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and Turks and Caicos Islands. The Office is based in Bridgetown Barbados, without-posted personnel in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Castries, St Lucia. UNICEF works with governments and other partners to ensure that countries fulfill their commitments made in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child that every child can grow and develop to reach their full potential.
Context
UNICEF Eastern Caribbean Area (ECA) has a programming focus on the climate and environment crisis and aims to ensure that vulnerable communities are reached. The UN Volunteer will provide critical support in accelerating results in UNICEF ECA’s 2025 Annual Work Plan (AWP), with a key focus on youth engagement, disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate resilience. In particular, the UN Volunteer will support Governments in the Eastern Caribbean to mainstream child- sensitive climate and DRR evidence into national and subnational policies/plans and make the implementation of those policies and plans more effective for children and youth. The UN Volunteer will contribute towards bridging the development/humanitarian nexus with a specify focus on DRR, climate and environment action, and resilience. The UN Volunteer will therefore support UNICEF’s interventions in Climate, Environment, Energy and DRR (CEED) in Small Island Developing States (SIDS), by providing critical support to strengthen community resilience and ensure greater awareness on climate action and the safe and healthy future of children in the Eastern Caribbean. Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction Children and adolescents are subject to risks of environmental, social and health impacts due to climate change (https://www.unicef.org/reports/climate-crisis-child-rights-crisis). A systematic and rapid scale-up of climate-resilient services and investments for children, adolescents, women and other members of affected communities are urgently needed to mitigate such risks. As part of the UNICEF Strategic Plan (2022-2025) and UNICEF Sustainability and Climate Change Action Plan (For Every Child, A Liveable Planet for Every Child) [2023-2030] three objectives have been identified for our work on climate, that are rooted in UNICEF’s comparative advantages: • PROTECT the lives, health and well-being of children and the resilience of their communities by adapting essential social services to a changing climate, more frequent disasters and a degrading environment. • EMPOWER every child through their life course with the developmental opportunities, education and skills to be a champion for the environment. • REDUCE the emissions and environmental footprint within UNICEF, support its global network of partners to do the same, and advocate for the fulfilment of ambitious inter- national sustainability and climate change agreements. In addition, to accelerate progress on climate resilience and adaptation, we must ensure that multiple sectors contribute to broader outcomes including through UNICEF’s Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action.
Task description
Under the direct supervision of the Programme Specialist (Disaster Risk Reduction & Climate Change), and in alignment with UNICEF ECA’s 2025 Annual Work Plan (AWP) activities, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks, but not limited to: Climate, Energy, Environment and DRR Programming: • Coordinate the integration of child- and youth-sensitive approaches into national climate and DRR policies, including technical contributions to revised Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and support NDC implementation in selected countries across the Eastern Caribbean. • Coordinate UNICEF ECA’s work on climate finance pathways, including the development of a UNICEF-branded Climate Finance Mapping toolkit to support governments in identifying and accessing child-sensitive financing opportunities (e.g., Green Climate Fund, Adaptation Fund etc.). • Coordinate a regional climate trends and socio-economic impact study, focused on identifying data gaps, costed interventions, and national investment readiness to inform future resource mobilization and programming strategies for NDC implementation. • Strengthen the linkages between climate risk and social protection systems, including support for interministerial dialogues in the Eastern Caribbean. • Facilitate the finalization and national application of the Children’s Climate Risk Index and Disaster Risk Model (CCRI—DRM) (Version 1.2) in Saint Kitts and Nevis, ensuring technical validation, cross-sector engagement, and integration into national and sub-national planning. • Facilitate ongoing collaboration with Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) to integrate CCRI—DRM into the Caribbean Community Risk Information Tool (CCRIT), embedding a child-focused lens into community risk assessments and supporting the implementation in at least two (2) ECA countries. • Provide technical support to climate-resilient school infrastructure and planning under the Caribbean Safe School Initiative (CSSI), including risk mapping, education sector capacity-building, and promotion of green school practices. • Coordinate UNICEF’s engagement on youth climate participation, including support to COP30, the rollout of Youth Engagement Climate Strategies (YESCA), facilitation of simulation-based workshops and conferences (e.g., “Youth at the Table”), and oversight of digital platforms (U-Report, Climate Fundoo, Green YOMA). • Contribute to flagship and pilot programmes such as Green Rising, Joint-SDG Fund Projects, climate-resilient WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) and education infrastructure, and the EU-CARES rollout across the ECA region. • Contribute to reporting on 2022-2025 Strategic Plan and support the strategic planning for UNICEF ECA’s 2026—2029 programme cycle, ensuring the integration of climate and resilience across priority sectors and country planning documents.
Eligibility criteria
Age
18 – 80
Required experience
3 years
Nationality
Candidate must be a national or legal resident of the country of assignment.
Assignment requirements
Relevant experience
5 years
Languages
English, Level: Fluent, Required
Required education level
Bachelor’s degree in Climate Change/Environmental Science, Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, Social Services, International Development, or any other appropriate/similar related field
Competencies and values
Accountability Adaptability and Flexibility Building Trust Client Orientation Commitment and Motivation Commitment to Continuous Learning Communication Communication Creativity Empowering Others Ethics and Values Integrity Knowledge Sharing Planning and Organizing Professionalism Respect for Diversity Self-Management Technological Awareness Vision Working in Teams
Skills and experience
• Demonstrated interest and/or experience in disaster management, international relations, climate change, sustainability, clean energy, environment, youth engagement, innovative ways of working; • Previous experience as a volunteer and/or experience of another culture, (i.e. studies, volunteer work, internship) would be highly regarded; • Experience with Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) as well as risk assessment tools such Children’s Climate and Disaster Risk Assessment Model is an asset; • Experience working in the UN or other international development organization is an asset; • Excellent oral and written skills; excellent drafting, formulation, reporting skills; • Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including grassroots community members, religious and youth organizations, and authorities at different levels; familiarity with tools and approaches of communications for development; • Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment; ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel; • Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various MS Office applications (Excel, Word, etc.) and email/internet; familiarity with database management; and office technology equipment. This position is open to nationals of Barbados, individuals legally authorised to work in Barbados and CARICOM member states and associate members. CARICOM Nationals applying for National position outside of their home country bear sole responsibility for required actions or expenses related to relocation, accommodation, repatriation and any other related expenses, etc. A CARICOM Skilled National Certificate is a requisite for successful candidates who are not from the country for which the position is advertised.
Area(s) of expertise
Energy and environment , Crisis and emergency response, Development programmes
Driving license
–
Other information
Living conditions and remarks
Barbados is a vibrant island nation that boasts a natural beauty and hospitality, which makes it a tourist destination. It is 34 kilometres (21 miles) in length and up to 23 km (14 mi) in width, covering an area of 432 km (167 sq. mi). Eastern Caribbean countries and territories are characterized by notable political stability, with open and competitive democratic systems. Social indicators are relatively good among ECA countries/territories, which points to the commitment of governments to improving the quality of life of its residents. As this is a national UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials. You can check full entitlements at the duty station at https://app.unv.org/calculator. The complete UN Volunteer Conditions of Service is available at https://explore.unv.org/cos The contract lasts for the period indicated above with possibility of extensions subject to availability of funding, operational necessity and satisfactory performance. However, there is no expectation of renewal of the assignment.
Inclusivity statement
United Nations Volunteers is an equal opportunity programme that welcomes applications from qualified professionals. We are committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, care protected characteristics. As part of their adherence to the values of UNV, all UN Volunteers commit themselves to combat any form of discrimination, and to promoting respect for human rights and individual dignity, without distinction of a person’s race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.
Reasonable accommodation
UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for UN Volunteers 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 recruitment process and afterwards in your assignment.
Note on Covid-19 vaccination requirements
In addition to duty station-specific vaccine requirements, appointments 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 appointment. It does not apply to UN Volunteers 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 contracts.
Scam warning
The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.
