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If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines fordeveloping countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries.

Consultancy: Youth Innovation Consultant 

Duty Station: Programme Group – Generation Unlimited

Duration: 10 January 2026 - 30th December 2026

Home/ Office Based: Remote

 

BACKGROUND

Purpose of Activity/ Assignment:

Generation Unlimited (GenU) is a global public–private–youth partnership dedicated to expanding opportunities for young people aged 10–24 to transition from learning to earning by 2030. Through its Entrepreneurship and Livelihoods workstream, GenU partners with governments, the private sector, and youth networks to design and scale models that equip young people with skills, mentorship, and pathways to dignified livelihoods.

This consultancy will strengthen the operational delivery and youth integration functions across GenU’s programme initiatives, with an emphasis on structured coordination, mentorship systematization, and cross-portfolio continuity. The consultant will ensure that programme frameworks—across employment and entrepreneurship clusters such as AI-enabled, green, health, and necessity/subsistence—translate into actionable plans with clear milestones, consistent follow-up, and meaningful youth engagement.

The consultant will work under the overall guidance of the Deputy Director of Programmes, the direct supervision and oversight of the Youth Engagement and Entrepreneurship Lead and will collaborate closely with the Country Support and Global Solutions hubs. The consultant will also coordinate with colleagues leading the Evidence/MERL, Communications, and Programme Operations functions to ensure coherence, alignment, and timely execution of deliverables.

The consultant will:

• provide project management and coordination support across ongoing and emerging entrepreneurship and livelihoods initiatives;
• build and manage the mentorship and incubation support architecture, ensuring continuity and institutional learning; and embed youth centrality as a functional component of programme design and delivery, connecting young people’s perspectives to real-time implementation improvements.

Scope of Work

The consultant will be responsible for the coordinated delivery of outputs that strengthen the operational execution, mentorship architecture, and youth integration across Generation Unlimited’s entrepreneurship and livelihoods initiatives.

The consultant will focus on the following interlinked areas of work:

• Programme Coordination and Delivery Management
• Mentorship System Development and Knowledge Continuity
• Youth Integration and Cross-Portfolio Alignment

Each area is designed to result in time-bound, tangible deliverables that contribute to GenU’s entrepreneurship portfolio implementation quality and coherence.

Programme Coordination and Delivery Management

The consultant will strengthen the operational backbone of entrepreneurship and livelihoods initiatives by ensuring consistent follow-up, documentation, and supporting coordination across stakeholders. This includes:

• Supporting coordinating cross-functional collaboration programme hubs to ensure milestone-based delivery and information flow.
• Supporting work planning, synthesis of action points, and preparation of progress updates and briefing notes

Mentorship System Development and Knowledge Continuity

To strengthen incubation support for young entrepreneurs, the consultant will:

• Design, document, and operationalize the mentorship framework for entrepreneurship programmes, outlining structures for matching, onboarding, and engagement of mentors and mentees.
• Support coordinating with internal teams and partners to align mentorship support with ongoing entrepreneurship and innovation activities (e.g., AI, health, green, and necessity entrepreneurship).
• Track mentorship outcomes and compile insights to inform the evolution of mentorship and incubation approaches across the portfolio.
• Maintain and organize institutional knowledge products (frameworks, trackers, case studies, and lessons learned) to support future continuity and onboarding of new consultants or staff.

Youth Integration and Cross-Portfolio Alignment

To embed youth perspectives and ensure programmes remain responsive to young people’s needs, the consultant will:

• Facilitate the integration of youth inputs from YPATs, alumni, and programme participants into design and implementation processes.
• Develop light feedback mechanisms to capture youth perspectives on relevance, feasibility, and impact of entrepreneurship initiatives.
• Support the operational rollout of youth-centric approaches, ensuring youth engagement principles are reflected in programme governance, selection, mentorship, and learning processes.
• Collaborate with the Youth Engagement team to translate youth feedback into actionable recommendations for programme improvement.
• Support the coordination and facilitation of the P2E Youth Consultation Board, convening quarterly consultations to gather youth perspectives on priority topics such as accreditation, content focus, and related areas.
• Support the coordination and implementation of YPAT micro-structures for GenU global programmes, including the Girl’s Education and Skills Partnership (GESP) GAP.

Thought Leadership and Youth-Centric Evidence Generation

To strengthen GenU’s global positioning and ensure youth perspectives meaningfully shape entrepreneurship and livelihoods programming, the consultant will deliver clearly defined, time-bound outputs that contribute to GenU’s thought leadership agenda. This work focuses on translating evidence, youth insights, and programme learnings into high-quality knowledge products and strategic communications.

• Develop youth-led knowledge products, including blog posts, policy notes, or evidence summaries aligned with GenU’s entrepreneurship and livelihoods priorities.
• Coordinate youth contributions for global platforms such as the Green Jobs for Youth Pact, GPE, and YFI, ensuring youth perspectives are clearly captured and reflected.
• Support the development of flagship knowledge products, contributing research, drafted text, or youth-generated content for reports, concept notes, or positioning papers.

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

Work Assignment Overview/Deliverables and Outputs/Delivery deadline

1. Programme Coordination and Delivery Framework Developed 

- Deliver an operational coordination framework outlining processes, trackers, and reporting tools for entrepreneurship and livelihoods initiatives, ensuring milestone-based implementation and internal coherence across hubs.

15 Jan 2026

2. Mentorship Framework and Implementation Toolkit 

-  Develop and document the mentorship and incubation support framework, including templates and guidance for  mentor–mentee matching, onboarding, and engagement

10 Feb 2026

3. Mentorship Tracking and Lessons Summary

-  Compile data and insights on mentorship outcomes across entrepreneurship initiatives; produce a synthesis note summarizing trends, lessons learned, and recommendations for improvement

18 Mar 2026

4. Youth Feedback and Integration Mechanism Operationalized

-  Design and pilot two light feedback mechanisms—such as one survey and one focus group or feedback loop—to capture and integrate youth perspectives from YPATs, alumni, and programme participants. A short summary of findings from each mechanism will be submitted upon completion

1 May 2026

5. Youth Integration Report and Recommendations 

-  Deliver a short analytical brief summarizing how youth inputs informed programme design, mentorship models, or governance processes across the portfolio

12 Jun 2026

6. Institutional Knowledge Products and Repository Organized

-  A shared repository with frameworks, trackers, and case studies created to ensure continuity

28 Jul 2026

7.  GenU global programmes micro-structures implemented

-  5 activities/meetings planned and delivered in coordination with programme coordinator

1 Sep 2026

8. Youth Consultation and Integration Mechanisms Strengthened

-  Deliver 4 coordination frameworks and consultation summaries for the P2E Youth Consultation Board, ensuring youth perspectives inform key programme decisions (e.g., accreditation, content focus, thematic priorities). Outputs include meeting agendas, minutes, and a synthesis of youth recommendations integrated into the entrepreneurship workstream

15 Oct 2026

9. Youth Feedback Integrated into Strategic Outputs

-  Design and facilitate a youth consultation process on the Entrepreneurship Report, compiling feedback, analysis, and recommendations to strengthen the report’s findings and youth-relevant framing. Deliver a short synthesis brief capturing youth priorities and alignment with the broader entrepreneurship portfolio

30 Dec 2026

Qualifications

Education:   

Bachelor’s degree in International Development, Business Administration, Public Policy, Social Sciences, or a related field.

Language Proficiency:

Fluency in English required. Working knowledge of another UN language an asset

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required *:

• At least three (3) years of progressively responsible experience in programme or project management, coordination, or delivery within international development, innovation, or youth-focused initiatives.
• Experience supporting entrepreneurship, livelihoods, or mentorship programmes is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate multi-stakeholder workstreams and manage implementation plans, trackers, and milestone-based delivery systems.
• Experience supporting the execution of entrepreneurship, livelihoods, or youth innovation initiatives in global or regional contexts.
• Proven skills in organizing, documenting, and synthesizing programme processes, lessons learned, and implementation results.
• Familiarity with mentorship and incubation frameworks, including participant matching, monitoring, and engagement processes.
• Strong understanding of youth engagement and participatory programme design approaches.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across diverse teams and time zones.
• Analytical and problem-solving skills with attention to detail, accountability, and follow-through.
• Ability to work independently, meet deadlines, and adapt flexibly to evolving priorities

Requirements:

Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system and

- Upload copy of academic credentials

- Financial proposal that will include/ reflect :

• • the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference.
  • travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR.
  • Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.
  • Indicate your availability

- Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.

- At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.

- Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

U.S. Visa information:

With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. View our competency framework at: Here

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

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. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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. 

Remarks:  

Individuals engaged under a consultancy will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants. Consultants are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.