Research Consultant

Deadline for Applications

November 11, 2025

Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)

H (no hardship

Family Type (not applicable for home-based)

Family

Staff Member / Affiliate Type

CONS International

Target Start Date

Terms of Reference

Job Title: Research Consultant (Climate Action and Digital Solutions)

Duty Station: Home Based (A time zone that is mutually convenient for both GMT+7 (Bangkok) and GMT+1 (UK), ensuring sufficient overlap for collaboration and communication.)

Duration:  1 December February 2026 (possibly later depending on level of effort) Expected to be 60 days of work.

Contract Type: Consultancy

General Background of Project or Assignment:

Digital technologies are playing an increasingly vital role in addressing environmental and climate-related challenges. Tools ranging from simple communications to predictive analytics can be applied to a huge range of challenges and explore diverse solutions. For example, environmental monitoring can help us understand how climatic factors influence human mobility, exposure to risks and environmental changes which can enable faster, more informed responses. They can also be essential lifelines for refugees, such as by improving access to early warning systems to provide life-saving information, enhancing sustainable agriculture and optimizing energy use. However, digitalization also brings environmental risks, such as higher resource use and increased energy demand, particularly of data centres. To minimize these risks, it is essential for digitally enabled solutions to address sustainability. For example, through initiatives that reduce waste and increase device lifespans like loan models, reuse and repair of ICT equipment and expanding renewable energy use.

While opportunities for digitally enabled solutions for environment and climate action are growing, this remains an underexplored area in displacement settings. Lack of access to digitally enabled methods to combat impacts of the climate crisis potentially risks hindering the ability of displaced people to respond to these challenges more effectively, exacerbating inequalities and excluding them from a just transition. Refugees face many barriers to participate in the digital transformation that have been extensively documented, such as poor availability of digital infrastructure in refugee-hosting areas, lower levels of digital literacy, restricted financing, regulatory barriers (such as restricted access to SIM cards), among others; but a greater understanding of the specific barriers to the uptake of digitally enabled solutions for environment and climate action is needed to inform future work. Addressing this gap could open new pathways to strengthen the safety and resilience of displaced people and meet their protection needs.

Overall Purpose and Scope of Assignment:

UNHCR Innovation Service aims to conduct a scoping research piece to further explore opportunities in the space of digitally enabled solutions for environment and climate action in displacement settings and analyse reasons for current limited uses. This will focus primarily on opportunities for climate resilience and adaptation as key priorities for addressing priority challenges highlighted by refugees. It will look to test the assumptions of the current understanding and provide an evidence base for potentially addressing this gap. The study is envisioned as an initial scoping exercise which will remain broad and has not defined a regional or thematic focus. While some of the findings will support insights into potential advocacy for inclusion, it will remain operationally focused to inform future work.

UNHCR is seeking an individual consultant with demonstrated experience in digitally enabled solutions for environment and climate action, ideally within displacement contexts to carry out this study. The consultant will be responsible for conducting desk-based research, strategic analysis, and reviews to produce a comprehensive report that addresses key research questions and provides actionable recommendations. They will engage with a range of stakeholders—including UNHCR staff, refugee-led organizations (RLOs), communities, and other relevant actors—and incorporate feedback from these consultations into the final deliverables. The consultant is expected to produce a high-quality, operationally relevant report with clear, action-oriented recommendations to inform future programming and strategic direction. The study is expected to be global, depending on the original mapping conducted, a regional deep dive may be relevant and suitable. This will be decided as the study progresses

The consultant will:

- Enhance understanding of the opportunities available in the space of digitally enabled solutions for environment and climate action in displacement settings, and analyze the factors contributing to their limited current use based on (but not limited to) the following research questions:
How are digitally enabled solutions already supporting climate resilience and adaptation of forcibly displaced and stateless people?
How can UNHCR work with displaced and stateless people and local organisations and stakeholders to ensure these solutions are fit for purpose, address priority challenges and support their local adaptation and adoption?
How do current climate action financing structures (both financing for climate action initiatives and different financial products that can support adaptive capacity like climate-linked savings products) and limited access of refugees to financing more broadly impact the opportunities provided by these solutions?

- Conduct consultations with forcibly displaced and stateless people, facilitated through engagement with UNHCR teams and organizations supported by the Refugee-Led Innovation Fund.

- Collaborate closely with relevant colleagues from the Innovation Service, including those working on service design and communications, throughout the research process and during the development of final outputs.

Outputs :

Output 1: Landscape analysis report detailing findings to the research questions including:  
Key benefits and opportunities of digitally enabled solutions for environment and climate action in displacement settings 
Barriers that have limited forcibly displaced people's access to these opportunities, particularly leading their development and adaptation 
Types of solutions that are most impactful, relevant and adaptable for displacement contexts 
Necessary conditions and pre-requisites to successfully develop and implement these in displacement settings 
Basic statistics/evidence on the landscape. 

- Output 2: Strategic recommendations for advancing digitally enabled solutions for environment and climate action in displacement contexts. The recommendations will include, but are not limited to: 
Stakeholder Engagement: Strategies for how various actors including refugee-led organisations, community-based organisations, humanitarian agencies, governments, private sector and local NGOs can support and scale these solutions. 
Investment Priorities: Identification of high-impact areas where targeted investment can accelerate innovation and sustainability in low-resource displacement settings. 
Advocacy: Guidance on promoting advocacy efforts to address regulatory, policy or other barriers that hinder the adoption or scaling of these solutions in displacement contexts. 

- Output 3: 3 case studies showcasing digitally enabled solutions for environment and climate action in displacement settings or demonstrate strong potential for adaptation to such contexts. 

- Output 4: Communication materials . To further present the research findings to different audiences, the following materials will be developed: 
A standalone summary report providing a concise version of the findings for use in stakeholder engagement 
A presentation deck to showcase in webinars and discuss the findings. 

Key Deliverables:
- Inception Report: detailing the workplan, research methodology and stakeholder mapping
- Draft report: containing drafts of outputs 1-3
- Final report - finalisation of outputs 1-3 based on feedback
- Communications materials: final drafts of output 4

Payment schedule: The fees and payments will be made based on the completion of deliverables. The schedule may vary based on the financial offers received from applicants. Deliverables are expected to be completed over 60 days within a maximum period of 5 months.

No travel is expected.

Required level, qualifications and work experience:

Education:

- University level qualifications Bachelor's (essential) or Master's degree (desired) in development studies, climate change, sustainable development, or other relevant fields required.

Job Experience :

- At least 5 years experience working in the humanitarian or development sector in relevant fields, including climate resilience and adaptation and/or digital solutions for development. Knowledge and experience of working in displacement settings highly desirable.

- Proven track record of leading evaluation or research projects in the areas of climate action, climate-tech, climate resilience and adaptation, digital solutions or other related areas.

- Proven experience in quantitative and qualitative research methods and participatory methodologies ensuring inclusion of vulnerable groups highly desirable.

- Demonstrated ability in data analysis and interpretation producing engaging reports and presenting analysis or recommendations in accessible formats.

- Demonstrated ability to engage stakeholders from multiple backgrounds and coordinate collaboration between them e.g. conducting focus group discussion.

- Experience with and up-to-date technical literacy on the use and risks of digital technologies desired.

- Experience working with technology-enabled programmes in humanitarian or development organizations is an asset.

- Experience working for a UN agency or international organization is desirable.

Language :

- Working proficiency in English; additional languages are an asset.

Competencies: 

- Excellent writing, research, analytical and documentation skills, demonstrating high levels of attention to detail. 

- Strong time management skills, including the ability to work quickly and to meet deadlines. 

- Strong interpersonal and communication skills, including across cultural contexts and different age groups.

- Works well in a multicultural team and has a strong work ethic; strives to deliver high-quality, error-free deliverables.

- Flexibility in working hours to accommodate the different time zone in Asia and the Pacific and Western Europe region.Standard Job Description Required Languages

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Desired Languages

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Additional Qualifications

Skills

Education

Certifications

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Other information

This is a consultancy to carry out a specific research task.This position doesn't require a functional clearance

Remote

Yes

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