Climate Adaptation Economics Consultant, Global Practice Climate & Environment, GPD, Bangkok, Thailand, Home-based with no travel, 8 Months, # 595405
Organizational Context
UNICEF operates in over 190 countries and territories, dedicated to saving children's lives, defending their rights, and helping them fulfill their potential. We are committed to promoting the rights of every child, offering diverse opportunities for professional and personal development in a passionate and diverse culture.
Job Purpose
Climate change poses a significant threat to child health and development, with children disproportionately exposed to climate hazards and vulnerable to their impacts. Despite growing policy recognition, climate finance for child-responsive programs remains critically low, and the adaptation finance gap for essential child-dependent services is largely unmeasured and unfunded. This consultancy aims to address this gap by supporting the development and application of a policy-relevant evidence base on the adaptation finance gap for children. The consultant will conduct research to quantify the costs of adapting child-critical social services to climate change and estimate the economic and socio-economic returns of these investments, contributing to more effective policy, planning, and financing decisions for child-resilient adaptation.
Responsibilities
The consultant will conduct a baseline and evidence mapping of existing data and research on adaptation needs and costs of child-critical social services, including relevant approaches to assessing economic and socio-economic returns. They will develop and apply a methodology to generate actionable estimates at the country level for the cost of adapting child-critical social services to climate change and the economic and socio-economic returns of these investments. The consultant will assess options for the wider application of this methodology across countries and regions, and where feasible, for informing regional or global estimates. The work will inform policy, planning, and financing decisions, specifically supporting the costing and implementation of social sector commitments in NDCs 3.0 and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). This includes developing investment cases, national financing strategies, and climate finance proposals for child-responsive adaptation. The consultant will also consider relevant environmental or mitigation co-benefits where material and assessable, distinguishing between underlying service delivery costs and incremental adaptation costs.
Work Experience
A minimum of five years of professional experience in climate change economics, adaptation finance, economic analysis of social services, or a related field. Experience in quantitative research, modeling, and policy analysis is essential. Experience working with international organizations or governments on climate change adaptation and child-related issues is desirable.
Skills
Climate change economics, Adaptation finance, Economic analysis, Quantitative research, Policy analysis, Cost-benefit analysis, Social services, UNICEF programming, Data analysis, Report writing, Stakeholder engagement, Methodology development