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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.

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For every child, hope

South Asia has the largest number of adolescents in the world (more than 340 million, representing more than 30% of the total world adolescent population), and yet has the worst numbers of upper secondary the age out-of-school children in the world (64 million). In addition, South Asia is home to 28 million out-of-school children (OOSC) of primary and lower-secondary age – 12 million at primary level, and 16 million at lower secondary level. A large majority are characterized as neither in education, employment or training (NEETs) and dropped-out of school too early to learn foundational skills. Only 1 in 4 young people in South Asia is estimated to be on track to gain secondary-level skills necessary for success in the global economy.  In line with the UNICEF Global Strategic Plan, the 2022- 2025 Regional Office Management Plan provides an important opportunity to give a greater programmatic focus on the second decade, including in scaling-up alternative pathways for adolescents and young people to receive skills required to increase their ability to successfully transition into the 21st century labour market.

This post, therefore, focuses on providing leadership and advocacy to accelerate progress in the region, responding to the global imperative and elevating the skills and employability efforts across the region and enhancing opportunities for meaningful engagement and participation. While Education continues to address the unfinished business agenda of access, equity and quality of education in the region, many adolescents and young people that are excluded from the education system for different reasons are in critical need of alternatives that can provide them with enhanced opportunities to decent jobs, particularly 21st century jobs. ROSA will capitalize on the government’s ownership and partnerships fostered through Gen-U, such as youth-led organizations, and the private sector to significantly enhance opportunities for skills and employment for adolescents and young people. ROSA will also strengthen its focus on alternative pathways for out-of-school children and adolescents. Participation and empowerment will be one of the strategic pillars that are integrated into the skills agenda and will also cut across all thematic responses. The Participation, Skills and Employability unit is established and led by the Regional Advisor, Adolescents to drive the provision of quality support to COs, build new partnerships and raise more funds to advance the economic empowerment, participation and employable skills agenda.

How can you make a difference? 

The Regional Adviser provides senior thought and programmatic leadership through evidenced-based advocacy to accelerate progress on adolescent skills development, participation, employability, empowerment and participation across South Asia. The post will play a critical role in providing strategic advice and oversight to Country Offices at all stages of the programme cycle around Adolescent Participation, Skills and Employability and will be key to responding to global imperatives and the rollout of UNICEF’s Global Strategic Plan and advancing ROSA’s Areas for Acceleration that focus on Adolescents. The Regional Advisor provides senior-level technical assistance and capacity building to countries in designing and implementing activities related to assessing, monitoring and improving adolescent and youth skill development, employability, empowerment and participation with a focus on equity and gender. 

Working closely with key stakeholders, including the private sector to identify and support scaling-up multiple pathways for adolescents and young people to receive skills training and increase their preparedness for the 21st century labour market is critical to this role. There is a strong impetus and opportunities to engage with governments, CSOs and the private sector to drive the ethos of Generation Unlimited (Gen-U) across the region and achieve scalable results with and for adolescents and young people. Partnering with regional institutions, country and regional stakeholders and leaders to advance the agency of young people and bolster investments in adolescents and young people will also be an important component of this post. The Regional Advisor Adolescents (Participation, Skills and Employability) reports to the Deputy Regional Director.

Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks will include but not limited to: 

1. Providing technical assistance, quality assurance and oversight to country offices in areas of adolescent development and participation, skills and employability.
2. Leading strategic representation and partnerships on adolescent development, participation, skills employability, and representing UNICEF in Issue-Based Coalitions as required.
3. Providing knowledge leadership to improve regional approaches and strategies to assure development and update of assessments and analyses of the lives, concerns and priorities of adolescents and young people in the countries of the region. 

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  Job Description - Regional Adviser Adolescent Development, UNICEF ROSA, Nepal, P5, FT, #123683.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

Education: 

• An Advanced University degree with relevant specialization in Social Sciences, Economics, International Development, Adolescent Participation, skills and /or employability. 

Work Experience: 

• A minimum 10 years of relevant professional work experience in a development context.
• Experience working with and for adolescents and young people is required. 
• Results-driven with experience in leading the development and implementation of programmatic interventions, and advocacy strategies, with clear theories of change, with specific, measurable and time-bound objectives and performance indicators.
• Experience with programme planning, management and research in adolescent participation and youth engagement, skills development and employability at the international level, some of which preferably in a developing country.
• Demonstrated experience in the design and management of projects, including budget management and monitoring and evaluation of results.
• Experience in building and maintaining a network of stakeholders, and in working with coalitions, particularly the private sector

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is an asset.

Desirables:

• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency. 

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…

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (2)
• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)
• Works Collaboratively with others (2)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (2)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)
• Drives to achieve impactful results (2)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF.

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’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable female candidates and persons with disability are encouraged to apply.

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.

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.