Emergency Manager (Disaster Risk Reduction), NO-3, FT, #125700, Caracas – Venezuela, LACR

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, hope

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

Climate action and resilience building is fundamental for the realization of rights of the child. A clean and healthy environment that sustains life on earth is critical for children’s survival, health, development and well-being. Advocating for and carrying out child-centred action on climate change and risk-informed development benefits all targeted SDGs, and UNICEF has a unique comparative advantage to help reduce impacts on children/youth. Venezuela is exposed to multiple biological and human-made hazards, which create significant disaster risks. The country is in an area prone to earthquakes, droughts, heavy rains, floods, landslides and possible soil desertification, all of which are exacerbated by climate change. UNICEF Venezuela CPD 2023-2016 support the integration of climate, environment, energy, and disaster risk reduction in social and behavior change strategies in Venezuela.

How can you make a difference?

Under the overall guidance of the Chief Field Operations, Emergency & DRR, the DRR Specialist will be responsible for providing professional technical, operational, and administrative assistance to UNICEF Venezuela sectoral outcomes to improve and enhance the office’s climate change, resilience, and environment initiatives and interventions. The position will support the mainstreaming of DRR, climate and resilience through important development sectors by supporting UNICEF’s sections (Social Protection, WASH, Education, Child Protection) with programme design, planning and implementation, management and stock-taking and evaluation of programme/project activities, data analysis and progress reporting. This includes providing support and developing sub-national entities and Government’s capacities across several sectors, disaster preparedness, response and resilience as well as promoting child centered Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change approaches.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

 Programme development, management, monitoring and delivery of results.

• Prepare the annual work plan, including developing strategies, determining priorities, and performance measurements.
• Coordinate work progress monitoring and ensure results are achieved according to schedule and performance standards, and reporting and reviews (mid-annual and annual).
• Provide technical guidance, advice, and inputs to UNICEF sections (child protection, education, social policy & social protection, SBC and operations) on all aspects of climate (mitigation, adaptation, resilience), and environment planning, programming and
• implementation.
• Advance synergistic cross-sectoral programming, in education, child protection, and social policy & social protection sections, SBC and community engagement, to ensure that climate programming has a greater impact for children.
• With programme sections, identify UNICEF’s niche for addressing climate change impacts on children, awareness raising and design of programmes supporting the rights of children and strengthening risk-informed programming.
• Lead the preparation, design and updating of the situation analysis for the DRR-CC and resilience section to ensure that current and comprehensive data on CEED issues is available to guide work plans interventions and development efforts on related programmes.
• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual sectoral reviews with government and other counterparts and prepare reports on results for required action/interventions at the higher level of programme management.
• Prepare/assess monitoring and evaluation reports to identify gaps, strengths/weaknesses in programmes and management, identify and document lessons learned.
• Support the update/review UNICEF EPP and other emergency related tools.

Provide technical support to sections regarding climate, energy and environment, DRR (CEED) and resilience.

• Ensure that UNICEF engagement in the area CEED and resilience is well coordinated within and outside UNICEF, and that UNICEF progressively integrates climate change action into office programs.
• Coordinate UNICEF Venezuela national, regional, and global advocacy points and inputs into the annual COP climate conference/s, including community driven action.
• Support Education, Child Protection, SBC, Social Protection & Social Policy sections in identifying UNICEF’s niche for addressing Climate Change and Environment impacts on children, awareness raising and design of programmes to support the rights of children,and support risk-informed programming in UNICEF Venezuela.
• EDUCATION: support the section in the development of environment and climate action curriculum support, as well as in awareness raising around environmental impacts on Early Childhood development (ECD).
• CHILD PROTECTION: support engagement regarding the climate resilient protection and health systems, in particular work regarding MHPSS due to climate change.
• SOCIAL POLICY: support the section in incorporation of national climate and environment vulnerability assessments and social safety systems.
• SOCIAL PROTECTION: support engagement regarding the climate resilient social protection systems and enhancing shock-responsive essential.
• services provision.
• WASH: coordinate concept and proposal development jointly with internal and external stakeholders for accessing climate finance. Potential entry points include household and institutional climate adaptation, environment, and climate awareness through school programmes/EiE, innovation in WASH in emergencies, climate resilient water safety planning and water management.

Generate evidence, policy advocacy and positioning of UNICEF in climate change and children.

• Provide technical guidance and policy advice and inputs to sub-national entities national governments, private sector and civil society partners on climate change and environmental risks facing children.
• Contribute to reviews of relevant Government and partner policy documents, including support to National Action Plans, Nationally Determined Contributions, and national climate strategies.
• In coordination and partnership with UNICEF programmes (Social Policy/Social Protection section) and other UN and institutional stakeholders, support public expenditure reviews of national public/private sector climate and environment financing and budgeting.
• Support communication and policy advocacy regarding climate change, environmental degradation and child rights in Venezuela and input into key national climate and environment policy dialogues (National Action Plans, Nationally Determined Contributions and national
• climate strategies).
• Identify objectives, actions, and best practices for protecting children from climate change and environmental risk and work with sections on
• implementation strategies.
• Identify partners and entry points for strategic engagement regarding climate change impact on children as well as strategic entry points for
• engagement with the government.
• Participate in relevant workshops/meetings held by UNICEF, Government, and partners to develop or update key policies.
• Contribute the development and review process to UN emergency contingency plans; and represent UNICEF at the coordination platform.

Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

• Promote critical thinking, innovative approaches, and good practices for sustainable CEED and resilience programme initiatives through advocacy and technical advisory services.
• Keep abreast, research, benchmark, introduce and implement best and cutting-edge practices on climate risk monitoring/management and information systems. Institutionalize and disseminate best practices and knowledge learned.
• Contribute to the development of policies and procedures and introduce innovation and best practices to ensure optimum efficiency and efficacy of sustainable programmes and projects.
• Organize, plan and implement capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of stakeholders to promote sustainable results on CEED-related programmes/projects.

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

• An advanced university degree in environment, climate change, environmental management, disaster risk reduction, social and economic development or related area. *A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.
• A minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible professional work experience at the national or international levels in programme/project development, focused on developing countries in areas related to development cooperation in climate change adaptation and mitigation, environment, and socio-economic development.
• Practical experience in supporting national policies and strategies on Disaster Risk Reduction, climate change and energy transition.
• Knowledge of climate change impacts, climate risk assessments, and adaptation solutions is required.
• Proven ability to coordinate across multiple stakeholders.
• Familiarity with children’s rights and gender in the context of climate change adaptation and mitigation is desirable.
• Excellent analytical and writing skills, advocacy, and presentational skills.
• Experience and knowledge in climate financing instruments and the ability to design and develop climate adaptation projects is highly desirable.
• Specialized training/experience in emergency response management is highly desirable.
• Fluency in Spanish is required. Working knowledge of English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French or Russian) is an asset.

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

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 (8) Nurtures, leads and manages people

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.
We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.
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. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children.

Remarks:

This position has been assessed as an elevated risk role for Child Safeguarding purposes as it is: a role with direct contact with children, works directly with children, and is a safeguarding response role. Additional vetting and assessment for elevated risk roles in child safeguarding (potentially including additional criminal background checks) applies.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be cancelled.

All selected candidates will 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.

Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government 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.

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