Climate Change and Environmental Education Consultant at UNICEF

How Can You Make a Difference?
Background and Purpose of Assignment:

• As the world grows closer to the 1.5-degree Celsius limit on global warming agreed to in Paris in 2015, carbon emissions are higher than at any point in human history, and countries around the world are increasingly impacted by climate change and environmental degradation.
• Nigeria is no exception and is classified as “extremely high risk” on UNICEF’s global Children’s Climate Risk Index. Heavy rainfall, floods, rapidly increasing temperatures, growing aridity and soil erosion, environmental degradation, and biodiversity and ecosystem loss have cumulative impacts on the social, economic, and environmental structures in Nigeria.
• As these factors stall development and impede the effective management of resources, children’s rights to survive, grow, thrive, and learn are directly threatened.
• Nigeria has a population of 206 million people, more than 103 million of whom are children. It, therefore, accounts for approximately 4 percent of the global child population and 10 percent of the children globally living in extremely high-risk countries according to the CCRI.
• By 2050, one in 13 births will take place in Nigeria, expanding the number of children at risk, increasing competition for limited resources, and putting additional pressure on social systems, such as health and education, which are already heavily burdened by the impacts of climate change.
• The education system must be prepared to mitigate the impacts of climate change on children’s access to quality learning through climate-resilient sector planning and disaster risk reduction.
• This alone, however, is not enough. Education must also be leveraged as a primary catalyst for empowering Nigeria’s children and youth to call for and lead environmental action and to drive national, regional, and global transformation for a more sustainable and life-sustaining future.
• The steps that Nigeria takes today-not only to strengthen the education system’s resilience to climate change but also to empower the country’s large population of children and youth to call for and lead environmental action, including through education have immense potential to drive national, regional and global transformation for a more sustainable and life-sustaining future.
• In 2019, Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Environment’s Department of Climate Change developed the National Climate Change Policy for Nigeria (2021-2030). The policy envisions a low-carbon, climate-resilient Nigeria with the mission of ensuring sustainable development and a climate-proofed economy through multi-stakeholder engagement.
• In 2021, Nigeria promulgated the 2021 Climate Change Act, which provides a framework for climate actions at the national level. As stated in the act, the Secretariat, with approval of the Council, advises the Ministries, Department, and Agencies (MDAs) responsible for regulating educational curriculum in Nigeria on the integration of climate change into various disciplines and subjects across all educational levels.
• It notes the potential for partnerships with MDAs and the support of scientific research and a similar project to facilitate the formulation and development of educational curricula and programmes aimed at adaptation and risk mitigation.
• UNICEF, as a custodian of the landmark Intergovernmental Declaration on Children, Youth and Climate Action, supports governments around the world both in strengthening education sector resilience and in enhancing children’s knowledge and skills regarding climate change, environmental degradation, and readiness for the future, both through green skills development and disaster risk preparedness.
• The UNICEF Nigeria Country Office (NCO) Basic Education programme addresses three key outputs focused on system strengthening, equitable access to education, and improved learning outcomes.
• NCO’s work on climate change in the education sector spans all three outputs by strengthening government capacities for climate-resilient education sector planning and service provision; expanding access to safe, protective, climate-resilient learning environments; and empowering children and young people with the knowledge, skills, and opportunities to influence climate-change discussions, policy-making and Nigeria’s transition to a more sustainable future.
• To support the latter, UNICEF will work with government partners, other UN agencies, and a network of key stakeholders, especially children, youth advocates and climate activists, teachers, and community members to review the existing curriculum against international guidance and standards in order to develop a set of curriculum standards for climate change and environmental education.
• The consultant will provide technical expertise and leadership of a stakeholder committee to guide the development of curriculum standards and identification of aligned materials for use by teachers and learners.

Scope of Work
Under the supervision of Chief Education, the consultant will be responsible for the following over the course of the contract:

• The consultant is expected to provide technical leadership to a committee that will comprise key stakeholders (government partners, other UN agencies, and a network of key stakeholders, especially children, youth advocates and climate activists, teachers and community members, and UNICEF and other UN agency climate change and education focal points at the NCO and field office levels) for review of and feedback on the below-outlined deliverables.
• The consultant will lead the desk review of national policies, curriculum frameworks, and international guidance on climate change and environmental education and draft an inception report based on the findings.
• Based on this review and the existing framework for climate literacy education, the consultant will draft a set of curriculum standards for basic education (pre-primary, primary and junior secondary school), conduct a review process with the committee, collate all inputs and effect necessary changes to the standards, and finalize the standards with a set of expert recommendations for their implementation.
• The consultant will lead the development of criteria/checklist based on the curriculum standards to be used for reviewing climate change and environmental education content and will share with the committee for feedback and validation before finalizing the checklist.
• The consultant will lead the committee in collating existing climate change and environmental education content from local CSOs and NGOs, UN agencies, other development organizations, and state and federal government agencies and will map the content against the developed criteria to curate a set of materials which can be used by teachers and learners to implement the standards across basic education levels. The consultant will lead a workshop with the committee to validate, revise and finalize the curated packages and identify remaining gaps in available content.
• The consultant will develop, with input from the committee—especially teachers—a brief guidance note for each package by education level (pre-primary, primary, and junior secondary) to guide teachers and school personnel on how to use them.

Requirements
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have:

• An Advanced University Degree (Master’s or Higher) in Climate Change, Environmental Science, Environmental Education, Science Education or other related fields.

Knowledge / Expertise / Skills Required:
Qualifications:

• A minimum of 10 years of experience in environmental science and/or environmental education.
• A minimum of 5 years of experience advising government and other education stakeholders on the integration of climate change and environmental science into education policies or curricula.
• At least 5 years of experience translating environmental science into practical and actionable content for education stakeholders, specifically teachers, and children.
• Demonstrable experience supporting the development or review of climate- and environment-related education content.
• A minimum of 5 years working experience working in or as a direct consultant for UN organizations and/or Ministries of Education.
• Strong working knowledge of key international guidance on climate change and environmental education, curriculum and teaching/learning content development
• Strong knowledge of the Nigerian (or at least other developing countries) context and understanding of international development issues, including the status of the humanitarian-development nexus nationally and at the state level in Nigeria, particularly as it relates to education for girls and marginalized populations.
• Strong working knowledge of Nigeria’s basic education curriculum.

Other Skills and Attributes:

• Experience working in Nigeria, West, and Central Africa region, or other similar development contexts
• Strong knowledge of the Nigerian political landscape and recent developments in education
• A good understanding of UNICEF’s programmatic areas, namely Education (especially Education in Emergencies) and WASH
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with experience translating evidence for and communicating with a broad range of actors (including government) on sensitive issues
• Ability to present ideas concisely for diverse audiences and to give practical, actionable advice grounded in evidence

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required.

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.