Silvia Gaya

Chief, Climate Partnerships Private Sector Fundraising and Partnerships (PSFP) - UNICEF

Silvia Gaya is the Chief of Climate Partnerships at UNICEF. She has over 25 years of experience in international development and humanitarian response programmes. Her career spans work in conflict-affected and fragile contexts, as well as countries impacted by natural disasters, epidemic outbreaks, and extreme climate events. She also brings a decade of private sector experience from developed economies, bridging corporate and development perspectives.
Silvia has led large-scale, high-impact programmes on climate resilience, adaptation, and sustainable water and sanitation, often in politically complex environments and countries under-sanctions. She has served in multiple field and country offices, and held senior leadership roles at UNICEF Headquarters in New York as Senior Adviser on Water and Climate, and in the East Asia and Pacific Regional Office as Regional Adviser on Climate, Sustainable Environment, and WASH. In these roles, she has led UNICEF’s efforts to climate-proof essential social services and strengthen community resilience.
In her current capacity, Silvia leads UNICEF’s Climate Partnerships, advancing private sector engagement in adaptation, mobilizing technical expertise and financing, and advocating for investments that deliver climate resilience to the world’s most vulnerable children and communities.