Current vacancies

Consultancy Title: Consultant, Environmental Regulations 

Section/Division/Duty Station: PG-Climate Environment Energy & Disaster, Programme Division, NYHQ

Duration: April 1, 2025 to July 31, 2026

Home/ Office Based: NYHQ / Remote

About UNICEF 

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. For over 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries.

Purpose of Activity/ Assignment:

Provide support to UNICEF HQ and country offices on the effective development and implementation of regulatory frameworks for lead exposure and air pollution.

Scope of Work:

The UNICEF Strategic Plan has elevated action on climate change and environmental degradation as an organizational priority, to be integrated throughout UNICEF programmes. To concretize this, Programme Group developed the global programme framework on Healthy Environments for Healthy Children (https://www.unicef.org/documents/healthy-environments-healthy-children-global-programme-framework) (HEHC). UNICEF and partners have also founded a Children’s Environmental Health Collaborative (https://ceh.unicef.org/about/global-collaborative) to mobilize international action to protect child health and development from the impact of climate change and environmental degradation. The Collaborative aims to inspire, motivate, equip and mobilize efforts through advocacy, brokering knowledge and catalysing action.

Lead is poisoning around one in three children globally (https://www.unicef.org/reports/toxic-truth-childrensexposure-to-lead-pollution-2020) on a massive and previously unrecognized scale. It is a major contributor to intellectual disability among children in low- and middle-income countries. As a result, vast economic and social potential is being lost from the widespread cognitive decline and the long-term health effects caused by lead poisoning UNICEF is working with partners to address this problem through systems investments in awareness, surveillance, regulations, enforcement and remediation. 

Air pollution threatens children's health and is the biggest environmental health risk factor. Air pollution was the second leading risk factor for death among children under five in 2021, after malnutrition. Air pollution was linked to a total of 709,000 deaths in children under 5 years old, according to the 2024 State of Global Air. This represents 15 per cent of all global deaths in children under five and means that every day almost 2,000 children under 5 die because of health impacts linked to air pollution. More than 70 per cent of these deaths were linked to household air pollution due to cooking with polluting fuels. The biggest impacts were seen in Africa and South Asia.

A key gap in this area is that the technical guidance, practice and learnings on these issues is distributed across a range of partners and practitioners. Therefore, UNICEF and partners are developing tools and supplementary resources to support low-and-middle income countries working on this issue. Fundamental to this work is supporting countries to identify and adopt regulations to mitigate environmental health risks. 

The Consultant will support the development of framework of laws and/ or regulations and provide technical support to Country Offices. As a basis for this work the Consultant will review and conduct a desk study of laws and regulations on lead exposure, air pollution and environmental health laws, identifying and summarizing salient features of effective approaches. This work will be supplemented but the summarizing of case studies, showcasing the benefits of a robust regulatory framework to mitigate lead exposure, air pollution and environmental health laws.

Informed by the desk study, the Consultant will conduct a gap analysis of regulatory frameworks at the country level. The gap analysis will include a review of relevant documents as well as extensive consultation with country offices and key stakeholders. Following the desk study and gap analysis, and with the inputs of partners, the Consultant will develop a framework for laws on lead exposure, air pollution and environmental health laws. The frameworks will be amenable to utilization by different countries and will include the salient features identified as part of the desk study. The framework will undergo a process of peer-review and revision before being finalized. 

Following the publication of the reports outlined in the deliverables, the Consultant will build capacity in the country offices to shepherd laws into force and support implementation. 

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

Work Assignment Overview

Deliverables/ Outputs Delivery deadline

- Assess the current approaches for regulating lead in the environment and develop a framework for action

1) Develop a report on (i) existing effective regulatory approaches for addressing lead in consumer products and industrial applications, (ii) country case studies, and (iii) the current state of approaches for regulating lead in low-and-middle income countries.

2) Develop a framework for regulating lead in collaboration with partners, including banning and restricting the use of lead, setting exposure limits, phase-out programmes, the use of alternatives and enforcement measures. 

3) One global webinar to disseminate report including the preparation of summary slide deck. 

4) At least 5vMeetings and country consultations with UNICEF staff and partners to review the deliverables above. 

31 October 2025

- Assess the current approaches for air pollution (AP) and develop a framework for action

1) Develop a  report on (i) existing effective regulatory approaches for household air pollution, second-hand smoke, traffic-related hot spots, industry-related AP, and waste-related AP (ii) country case studies, and (ii) the current state of approaches for regulating AP in low-and-middle income countries.

2) Develop a framework for regulating AP in collaboration with partners 

3) One global webinar to disseminate report including the preparation of summary slide deck. 

4) At least 5 Meetings with UNICEF staff and partners to review the deliverables above.

31 July 2026

- Capacity development and technical support to UNICEF HQ, ROs and COs

1) Develop and deliver a training package for UNICEF staff on introduction to environmental law, multilateral environmental agreements how legal frameworks can be used to protect child health

2) Review the regulatory  approaches of 12 global tools to end childhood lead poisoning

3) Provide at least 5 online and onsite technical support to UNICEF Country Offices on environmental regulations and children. 

31 July 2026

Qualifications

Education:

An advanced university degree (Master’s) in environmental sciences, law, or public health with an environmental health focus, or a related technical qualification.

Work experience: 

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

Experience:

• Technical Consultant on the regulation of lead, air pollution and environmental health in the context of environmental health.

• Minimum 5 years of progressively responsible and relevant work experience

• Previous experience of working with UNICEF and the UN is desirable.

Competencies/Knowledge:

• Ability to organize and plan work independently and be a team player.

• Excellent communication skills (oral and written) in English.

• Competency in French or Spanish desirable.  

Requirements: 

Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system and 

- Upload copy of academic credentials 

- Financial proposal that will include/ reflect :

o the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference.

o travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR. 

o Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.

o Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.

o Indicate your availability 

- Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.

- At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.

- Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant. 

U.S. Visa information:

With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process 

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).    

To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF.

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.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates 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 assignment. It does not apply to consultants 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 consultancy contracts.