UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office is seeking an individual consultant to bolster Social Policy and Economic Analysis Section in their efforts on social protection and resilience building. It will leverage UNICEF’s extensive experience in social protection to address natural disasters and shock response, supporting the UNICEF EAPRO initiative – Climate Action for All. The goal is to ensure that all children have access to climate-smart social services that increase their resilience, contribute to low-carbon development, and are transformative. Additionally, the consultant will contribute significantly to the implementation of the Regional Strategy on Social Protection in Emergency, aiming to enhance the region’s capabilities in utilizing social protection for effective emergency response and resilience building.

Work assignment, Expected deliverable and Delivery schedule:

Assignment 1: Providing a short, readable document which outlines how climate action and social protection can be integrated, provide clarity on climate approaches and language, and outline practical approaches in how social protection can engage.

• Examine the extent to which shock responsive social protection can be adapted into the climate smart social protection programme guidance framework
• Examine the how social protection systems can contribute to the growing green economy
• Examine ways in which environmental impacts of social protection programmes can be reduced and minimized.
• Engage countries collectively and/or individually both to make its content relevant, and give opportunity for colleagues to engage on this issue over time.
• Develop short case studies and examples, these may need to be beyond UNICEF.
• Development of a presentation which could be given to all interested and form the basis of a stock presentation that countries could use.

Expected deliverables:

• Approx 15 page document that of the linkages between social protection and climate action, and how social policy colleagues can practically engage.
• Presentation slides corresponding to the document and prevailing discussions on the subject, as deemed necessary.

Delivery schedule: to be identified once the detailed workplan has been agreed

Assignment 2: Providing technical assistance on social protection on the development of Social Protection Climate Smart Social Services Programme Guidance document.

The Climate team is developing a guidance document to enable the shifting of the social services to become climate-smart. This will entail utilizing a standard framework that will be applicable across all sectors, and applying a ‘social policy lens’ to the framework, to identify key entry points, interventions, and activities. The consultant will:

• Examine how the climate-smart framework can be applied to social protection (as illustrated in assignment 1), building on the wealth of evidence on shock-responsive social protection, as well as new research on how social protection can contribute to the green economy, and incorporating the principles of inclusive and gender-sensitive social protection in emergencies. Coaching and guiding Social Policy teams in Country Offices on the implementation of the Climate Smart Social Services programme guidance, in relation to social protection programming.Review Country Programme Proposals, in particular with regards to the social protection components.

Expected deliverables:

• Programme Guidance Document on Climate Smart Social Protection

Delivery schedule: To be identified once the detailed workplan has been agreed

Assignment 3 To provide policy, programming, research, and technical analysis as well as technical support to country office in East Asia Pacific on climate smart and shock responsive social protection

Country Support on the implementation of Regional Strategy on Social Protection in Emergency (CPiE)

• • To provide policy, programming, research, and technical analysis as well as technical support to country office in East Asia Pacific on climate and shock responsive social protection, poverty alleviation, Cash+ and HCT, emergency preparedness, and resilience building.

Conduct a Regional Assessment:

• Evaluate the current status of social protection systems in the EAP region, focusing on their capacity to address climate change and to respond to emergencies and climate-related disasters.
• Identify gaps and opportunities for integrating social protection with emergency response and climate change adaptation mechanisms.
• Assess capacity and identify opportunities for integrating social protection programs with UNICEF’s sectoral interventions to develop Cash+ interventions
• Assess the use and effectiveness of humanitarian cash transfers in emergencies.
• Assess the inclusiveness and gender sensitivity of social protection in emergencies in EAP region
• Evaluate the current status and potential for scaling up anticipatory actions within social protection systems.

Develop Implementation Guidelines:

• Create detailed guidelines for country offices on how to integrate social protection into emergency preparedness and response plans, with a focus on climate change adaptation and anticipatory actions.
• Include guidance on the use of humanitarian cash transfers, Cash+ program and innovative modalities for using cash in emergencies.
• Ensure guidelines are aligned with the new Core Commitments to Children (CCC) in Humanitarian Action.

Facilitate Capacity Building Workshops:

• Organize and conduct workshops for UNICEF staff and partners to enhance their understanding and skills in implementing shock-responsive social protection, humanitarian cash transfers and Cash+ programs anticipatory actions, and climate change adaptation.
• In collaboration with the Climate team, provide training on the development of social protection system that are Climate Smart Social Service
• In collaboration with the Emergency team and HCT team, provide training on the design and implementation of humanitarian cash transfers, cash + and innovative cash modalities in emergencies, including the utilization of the HOPE platform.
• Provide training materials and resources to support the workshops.

Support Country Offices:

• Offer technical assistance to country offices in developing and scaling up anticipatory action plans that include climate change adaptation measures.
• Assist in designing and implementing pilot projects for shock-responsive social protection, humanitarian cash transfers, cash+ , and climate resilience in selected countries.
• continue the work on scaling up Anticipatory Action and Shock Responsive Social Protection

Research support and inputs to the analytical, learning and knowledge work program, by contributing to design and develop research technical and research pieces on climate-smart social protection:

• Document best practices, lessons learned, and case studies from the implementation of social protection in emergency and climate change contexts, including the use of humanitarian cash transfers and anticipatory actions.
• Share findings and recommendations through reports, webinars, and regional forums.

Resource Mobilization and Financing for Social Protection in Emergencies and Climate Change

• Assess the current funding landscape for social protection in emergencies and climate change adaptation within the EAP region. Identify key donors, funding mechanisms, and financial instruments available for social protection and climate change initiatives.

Provide support to country offices in developing proposals focused on climate change and emergency response, including HAC (Humanitarian Action for Children)

Requirements:

Master’s degree in social sciences, economics, environmental sciences, climate change, public policy or related field.

• Minimum 8 years of relevant work experience on Social Protection and/or climate change and environmental degradation.
• Solid technical knowledge of climate change and environmental degradation including how it can impact the social services.
• Solid knowledge of shock-responsive/adaptive social protection, anticipatory action, disaster risk financing and climate change.
• Experience with the work of UNICEF in child-sensitive social protection. Experience of UNICEF work at regional level in East Asia and Pacific context.
• Experience in working on social protection in emergency or emergency context.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Facilitation skills of public events is a must and ability to manage diversity of views in different cultural contexts.