Job Description

National Consultant to conduct Children’s Environmental Health (CEH) Assessment, Tbilisi, Georgia.

Job no: 583570
Contract type: Consultant
Duty Station: Tbilisi
Level: Consultancy
Location: Georgia
Categories: Health

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built. We offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture., coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to [insert tagline]

Purpose of Activity/Assignment

The purpose of this consultancy is to conduct a Children’s Environmental Health (CEH) Assessment to understand the context and urgency in which children’s environmental health risks need to be addressed.

Children are disproportionately impacted by climate change due to their physiological and developmental characteristics. The effects on their health, development, and education can be lifelong and irreversible—particularly for young children, girls, and those from marginalized communities. Globally, 88% of the disease burden associated with climate change is borne by children under the age of five (COP Policy Brief).

In Georgia, children are exposed to toxic substances, pesticides, heavy metals, and contaminated water, but there is limited evidence of climate and environment impacts on children’s health. UNICEF’s Child Environmental Health Collaborative highlights PM2.5 air pollution as a key issue for children, especially under the age of five.

This consultancy will identify risk factors and environmental hazards specific to Georgia, prioritize hazards that impact child health, and develop recommendations to inform national policy and programmes.

Scope of Work:

 The main objective of the national consultancy is to conduct CEH assessment.  CEH Assessment analysis could be used as reference and basis for prioritization of CEH issues in the country, as well as identification of strategies to address the CEH issues. It should also identify gaps (including in the education system) that prevent addressing the environment related health issues.

The analysis should draw from a variety of credible sources, which include official statistics and other data from verified sources and derived from credible methodologies. Data gathering could also be primary, such as by conducting surveys or key informant interviews.

 Suggested Outline of the CEH Country Assessment

Chapter/Section – Potential Resources (not limited)

1. Country Background Information (general)

• Geography and demographics
• Socio-economic status: GDP and level of development
• Political and governance structure
  Potential resources: Situation Analysis, Country CLAC Report, NDC, Nehab, other official data (Geostat, etc.)

2. Brief overview of child health status

• Status of children, including leading causes of morbidity and mortality; diseases and conditions attributable to environmental risks
• For each disease or condition, please indicate (where possible):
  a) number of children affected as per the latest data
  b) year of latest data
  c) any additional disaggregated data (age, gender)
  Potential resources: Official data (Geostat, NCDC, EU twinning project reports, etc.) and data to be provided by UNICEF

3. Exposure of Children to Environmental Hazards
Please provide any existing national or subnational data and information (national or sub-national levels) of the following environmental hazards (if there is no data that is available, please indicate it as such):

• Heavy metals: mercury, cadmium, arsenic (desk review on lead is not required; just brief description of the existing programmes)
• Toxic chemicals: persistent organic pollutants, highly hazardous pesticides, benzene, asbestos
• Hazardous waste: medical waste, electrical and electronic waste
• Air pollution: household and ambient air quality
• Secondhand smoke and its impact on child health
• Climate Change related: heat stress, floods and/or excessive rainfall, drought, changing disease patterns

Potential resources:

• Children’s Environmental Health Collaborative | Healthy Environments for Healthy Children
• The Climate Crisis is a Child Rights Crisis | UNICEF
• triple-threat-wash-EN.pdf
• Breathless beginnings | UNICEF Europe and Central Asia
• Beat the heat: protecting children from heatwaves in Europe and Central Asia – World | ReliefWeb
• Generation plastic | UNICEF

4. Summary of existing CEH programmes, policies, frameworks and initiatives

• Provide a short and concise description of any key CEH programmes already being implemented by the Government, or partners that are relevant.
• References/links to any key national or sub-national guidelines currently existing and focused strongly on CEH, as well as key health expenditure figures

5. Stakeholders and partnerships mapping and analysis

• Institutional arrangements and coordination mechanism: Outline of key government agencies and stakeholders engaged on or to be engaged on CEH, including the existence of inter-agency or inter-Ministerial committee
• Any existing civil society organizations (NGOs, IGOs, academia, professional associations) engaged on CEH
• Any potential public or private sector funding/financing possible to leverage

6. National and global environmental governance

• Please indicate whether your country is a signatory to any of the key global governance frameworks for climate and environmental action (e.g., Montreal and Kyoto Protocols, Paris Agreement, Basel, Rotterdam, Stockholm and Minamata Conventions, UNFCC, or other relevant Conventions)
• Please indicate any critical national legislation and regulations that will be addressed by UNICEF’s work on CEH under this partnership

Potential resources:

• Country status of ratification to the Basel Convention
• Country status of ratification to the Stockholm Convention
• Country status of ratification to the Rotterdam Convention
• Country status of ratification to the Minamata Convention
• Country status of ratification to the UNFCC
• A guide to key international agreements
• CLAC report

7. Conclusion and recommendations

• This will include also an identification of data or evidence gaps that need to be addressed to generate a better picture of CEH in the country.
• The analysis recommendations should describe how to address these gaps and identify change strategies that could be effective in the given context.
• The recommendations should be addressed to governments and various actors across the country, including UNICEF.
• The recommendations should also include any further research or analysis needed to better understand the CEH situation in the country.

The process of developing the CEH assessment should bring together government and different stakeholders, including civil society and the private sector to foster dialogue and produce a rich analysis that reflects the perspectives of diverse groups. The draft of the assessment report should be presented as at the national so the regional level. The report (not more than 50–60 pages) must be submitted first in English and then translated into Georgian.

Work Assignments Overview

Deliverable: Desk Review
Output: Review of existing reports and data related to CEH (official statistics, CLAC report, UNICEF data, etc.)
Deadline: October 2025 (9 days)

Deliverable: Key Informant Interviews & Data Processing
Output: Interviews conducted, environmental hazards data analyzed, stakeholder mapping finalized
Deadline: October 2025 (9 days)

Deliverable: Assessment Report Writing
Output: Draft CEH assessment report (35–40 pages) with executive summary, recommendations, data/evidence gaps, change strategies
Deadline: November 2025 (5 days)

Deliverable: Presentation of Report
Output: Presentation of draft assessment findings at national and regional level
Deadline: November 2025 (2 days) 

Contract duration: Start Date: 1 October 2025 - End Date: 5 December 2025

Duty Station: Tbilisi, Georgia

Home-based

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

Minimum requirements:

• Master’s degree in public health or environmental field.
• At least 3 years’ experience in conducting research, analysis, and assessments in related fields.
• Knowledge in environmental health and climate change.
• Understanding of the local environmental/climate context.
• Good understanding of healthcare systems, programmes, and medical education in Georgia.
• Knowledge of child rights issues (an asset).
• Excellent analytical, writing, and communication skills.
• Fluency in English; good writing skills in Georgian and English.

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

The 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 

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

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.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be 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 canceled.

Remarks:   

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. 

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

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.

Advertised: 01 Sep 2025 Georgian Standard Time
Deadline: 15 Sep 2025 Georgian Standard Time

Job Tags

Similar Jobs