Consultancy Title: Consultant, Partnership for a Lead-Free Future 

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

Duration: 16 June 2025 to 15 July 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.

BACKGROUND

Purpose of Activity/ Assignment:

Develop a central knowledge and resource hub for the Partnership for a Lead Free Future.

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 exposure is a silent but devastating environmental health issue, with far-reaching consequences for children's health and development. An estimated 1 in 2 children in LMICs have blood lead levels that are of significant concern, contributing to an estimated 1.5 million deaths annually. In response to this crisis, the Partnership for a Lead-Free Future ( https://www.leadfreefuture.org/) was launched in September 2024 by UNICEF, in collaboration with USAID, UNEP, WHO, the World Bank, Open Philanthropy, and other key stakeholders. The Partnership is the first-ever global, public-private coalition focused on ending childhood lead poisoning in LMICs by 2040. This initiative brings together governments, civil society, and the private sector to champion country-led efforts to eliminate lead from consumer products, improve industrial practices, and enforce lead mitigation standards. The Partnership for a Lead-Free Future is an accelerator partnership of UNICEF’s HEHC and is linked to the Children’s Environmental Health Collaborative. 

UNICEF serves as the Secretariat of the Partnership by hosting a central knowledge hub, supporting coordinated action, and mobilizing new partners. By leveraging proven strategies to measure, regulate, replace, and enforce lead mitigation efforts, as outlined in the Five Actions to End Childhood Lead Poisoning, the Partnership aims to accelerate progress, empower countries, and foster lasting solutions that ensure a lead-free future for every child.    

Under the guidance of the Lead for the Partnership for a Lead-Free Future (PLF) and in collaboration with the PLF Secretariat, UNICEF divisions, and the Health Environments for Healthy Children Team, the Consultant will create and aggregate best practices and technical tools through a central knowledge and resource hub to support country-led efforts.

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

1. Technical Resource Development and Aggregation

• 1.1: Finalized and updated "Toolkit to End Childhood Lead Poisoning," incorporating new expert videos, aggregated multilateral/technical guidance, and newly developed fact sheets addressing identified technical knowledge gaps. [8 tools]

• 1.2: Comprehensive country profiles developed, including global/national blood lead estimates, source analysis, health impacts, and a maintained/updated global mapping database of relevant studies. [At least 100 LMICs]

• 1.3: Aggregated compendium of best practices, country case studies, and lessons learned, integrated into technical resources to support evidence-based, country-led interventions. [At least 5]

15 July 2026

2. Technical Guidance, Quality Assurance, and Advice

• 2.1: Complete technical review of PLF's strategic goals and targets, including a system for tracking progress, identifying deviations, and managing incoming data for accountability. 

• 2.2: Track progress and provide technical guidance and support to Governments and partners to advance programmes for a lead-free future. [At least 10 countries receiving support as demonstrated on the PLF TA tracking sheet]

• 2.3: Developed additional guidance documents and FAQs for policymakers and programme implementers on utilizing evidence for policy and program design, along with a maintained global roster of experts to facilitate country connections. [At least 5 documents]

15 July 2026

3. Collaborate with Implementers and Stakeholders

• 3.1: Develop a monthly update (12 updates) report summarizing key insights and innovative solutions identified through active participation in relevant working groups and engagements with a diverse network of government agencies, think tanks, and technical organizations to address lead in consumer products and industrial applications.

• 3.2: Facilitation and hosting of 4 targeted technical deep-dive sessions on critical lead-related issues, documented with summaries of discussions and agreed-upon collaborative problem-solving approaches.

15 July 2026

Qualifications

Education:

An advanced university degree (Master’s) in environmental health, environmental engineering, toxicology, public health or related field.

Work experience: 

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

Experience:

• At least ten years of progressively responsible professional work experience with a focus on lead. Deep understanding of issues related to global lead exposure. 

• Experience in providing technical guidance on environment and/or public health policy 

• Experience in research, writing, knowledge management, and monitoring and evaluation 

• Experience in developing and managing technical resources, including toolkits, fact sheets, and online resources. 

• Experience in working with data, including data analysis, aggregation, and visualization. 

• Experience in conducting research or monitoring and evaluation (M&E) projects is a plus.

Competencies/Knowledge:

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

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

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.

Remarks:  

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.