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UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, a champion.

Purpose of Activity/Assignment

The Czech Republic hosts the highest number of Ukrainian refugees per capita in the European Union. Since the onset of the refugee crisis, over 600,000 Ukrainian refugees have arrived, with approximately 400,000 still residing in the country. Among them, 26% are children and 43% are women. About 76,000 refugee youth aged 15-24 years reside in the Czech Republic. Around 1,500 new Ukrainian refugees 15-24 years old enter the Czech Republic each month (as of January 2025).

Refugee adolescents and youth face unique challenges due to disrupted education, trauma associated with displacement and often separation from their families. Education is not compulsory after 15 years of age and secondary school enrolment among refugee adolescents remains persistently low at an estimated 22% - 30% (compared to 80% in primary school). UNICEF’s consultations with refugee youth revealed a trade-off young people face between the desire to continue education and the need to start working due to the financial pressures in displacement. For many youths, disruptions in their education and skills development now will have lifelong consequences.

CESTY programme brings together all relevant stakeholders including government, civil society organizations, the private sector, embassies, academia and young people themselves to support refugee youth to stay on the path to continued education. CESTY provides Ukrainian youth with opportunities to access education, develop skills and smoothly transition to quality first jobs in the Czech Republic. To accompany young people through the important decisions and new professional pathways in their lives in displacement, UNICEF aims to strengthen the Cesty programme by providing refugee youth with access to mentoring opportunities. Participation in mentoring will enhance their engagement with education and skills-building and help them navigate their first professional experiences more effectively.

Rationale for CESTY Youth Engagement and Participation Consultant

The Youth Engagement and Participation Consultant plays a vital role in the next phase of the CESTY (Pathways) programme, ensuring that young refugees remain at the center of programming through meaningful engagement and participation. As the programme evolves to cover more diverse youth groups and geographic areas, it is essential to maintain strong and responsive engagement and community building strategies. Participatory approaches ensure that the perspectives of young people directly inform decisions affecting their lives. Human-centered design is a core methodology of the CESTY programme and it requires continuous and regular engagement with youth for youth to co-develop relevant and adaptable solutions. The consultant will work in collaboration with other experts in the CESTY team and will bring critical expertise in both youth participation and youth community engagement methods, language skills, ensuring that CESTY remains grounded in real experiences, responsive to emerging needs, and aligned with the lived realities of its primary stakeholders: Ukrainian refugee adolescents and youth in the Czech Republic.

Scope of Work

The Youth Engagement and Participation Consultant will work under the direct supervision of the ADAP/SBC Specialist and will develop and implement such programme interventions that ensure refugee adolescents and youth remain at the center of programming through meaningful participation.

In this context, the Youth Engagement and Participation Consultant will serve as a key point supporting young people in shaping the programme that impacts their lives, amplifying their voices and facilitating safe and supportive pathways for learning, skills building, jobs engagement, mental health services and community participation.

The Youth Engagement Consultant will:

• Strengthen coordination and communication with youth representatives, youth workers and Regional Integration Centers (RICs)
• Facilitate access for youth to education, skills-building, and early career opportunities
• Embed youth-led initiatives and feedback loops across programme planning
• Promote mental health-sensitive, trauma-informed engagement practices
• Create safe, inclusive, multilingual, and empowering spaces both online and offline, for meaningful youth participation.

Work Assignment Overview

Estimated Duration of the Contract

75 working days between July and November 2025

Consultant's Work Place and Official Travel

The Consultant will be office-based in Prague.

Estimated Cost of the Consultancy & Payment Schedule

Payment will be made on submission of an invoice and satisfactory completion of the above-mentioned deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if work/outputs are incomplete, not delivered or for failure to meet deadlines. All materials developed will remain the copyright of UNICEF and UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify them in the future.

Please submit a professional fee (in USD) based on 75 working days to undertake this assignment.

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

Required:

• Completed High-School level education
• At least 2 years of experience in human-centered design methodology
• At least 2 years of experience with programme development and implementation
• Proven experience in youth participation, youth-led initiatives, and refugee youth support
• Deep understanding of Ukrainian refugee youth lived experience in Czechia
• Age 18 – 24
• Fluency in English and Ukrainian
• Knowledge of Czech language min. A2

Desirable:

• UNICEF experience will be considered an advantage
• Ability to work in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment, and maintain respectful working relations with sensitivity and respect for diversity

Skills:

• Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines
• High motivation, and dedication to deliver results within strict timeframes

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS), and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most marginalized children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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:

Please submit a full CV, a Cover Letter, and a financial proposal (in USD) in your application. Applications submitted without a professional fee will not be considered. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract 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 and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors 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.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants 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.