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.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, Hope

Organizational Context

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

The Regional Advisor (RA) Adolescence and Youth reports to the Deputy Regional Director, for general guidance and direction. The incumbent is responsible for providing technical leadership and strategic directions to ensure that the rights of adolescents established under the Convention on the Rights of the Child are reflected in UNICEF’s advocacy, policies, programme and humanitarian work in the West and Central Africa (WCA) Region.

How can you make a difference?

Purpose of the Job:

Coordinate with a team of professionals to achieve the goals of UNICEF Strategic Plan in the area of Adolescent and Youth Programming. Coordinate with all sectors (Gender, Education, Protection, Health, Nutrition, HIV/AIDS, Social Policy, Emergencies, WASH, Climate and Sustainability, etc.) seeking programmatic synergies across them. Provide technical guidance to sectoral outcomes areas for the modeling, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of adolescent and youth programmes at regional and country levels, with a focus on adolescent girls’ rights. Foster innovative cross-sectoral programming with the participation of adolescents and young people (10-24 years old), and leverage resources for adolescent and youth-related work by identifying regional partners and forging strategic alliances. Advocate and build programme partnership platforms at all levels needed in the regional fora where UNICEF can make a difference for adolescents in the region. Guide the achievement of sustainable and scalable results on adolescent-related programmes / projects according to UNICEF’s Strategic Plans, standards of performance and accountability framework.

Promote shared understanding among all outcomes areas to ensure holistic policy development, coordinated planning and effective implementation.

Key functions accountabilities and related duties/tasks:

1. Management
   • Direct the development, formulation and management of UNICEF’s strategy clearly articulating the vision for realizing the rights of adolescents throughout the organization. Lead the development of regional strategies related to adolescent and youth programming. Guide inputs into
     prioritized country and regional strategy documents related to adolescents and young people. Mainstream adolescent related issues and activities throughout sections at the Regional Office to ensure coherent and integrated programme advocacy, resource mobilization and communication. Co-coordinate and co-lead the agenda on adolescent girls’ rights together with Gender and other sectors.

2. Planning, monitoring and leveraging

   • Plan, monitor, and leverage resources for adolescent and youth programming by generating and using evidence-based policy and programming tools, as well as tools that will measure their impact. Contributes to identification of issues to be placed on the agenda for major regional and national forums. Provide outcome specific, high quality and timely reporting on the progress towards SDGs, implementation of CRC as it relates to adolescents as well as within African development agendas (e.g. African Union, Economic Community of West African States, Economic Community of Central African States, amongst others). Actively participates in the preparation of the regional strategies, and strategic plans and regional development agendas to include relevant adolescent and youth related goals, including the development of indicators for implementation monitoring.

3. Knowledge generation, management, and capacity development

   • Manages knowledge acquisition and analysis of adolescent-related programming through documentation, annual reporting, assessment of good practices, accountabilities, and analyses of management resources. Coordinates strategic and effective dissemination of good practices.
     Strengthens UNICEF’s linkages with research and development agencies and with professional organisations to build regional knowledge networks in support of programming for and with adolescents, including the implementation and monitoring of the WCA Girl-Intentional Approach, supporting youth as changemakers and strengthening systems for adolescent and youth outcomes

4. Evidence-based programmatic technical leadership

   • Provide oversight of the regional guidance for programming for and with adolescents, with a particular focus on adolescent girls and youth engagement. Monitors regional developments. Initiates new approaches and develops methodologies to best meet goals and objectives of regional agenda for adolescents, adolescent girls and young people. Identify issues, needs, and opportunities, seek solutions and provide programme advice and guidance on matters pertaining to adolescent development and participation.
     Collaborate with research, evaluation and data divisions of UNICEF to provide strong measurement indicators and tools for monitoring the achievement of results for adolescents and young people. Writes position papers for use in the development of the regional programme policy.

   • Provides timely technical support and practical guidance to UNICEF regional and country offices to plan, programme and implement programing for and with adolescents, adolescent girls and young people. Undertakes field visits to provide guidance and strengthen capacities at country level, monitor and assess programme implementation and advise on required corrective action. In collaboration with DHR task teams, assists country offices to plan and strengthen capacity in country offices for the mainstreaming of adolescent related programming across all programme sectors.

5. Advocacy, networking, and partnership-building

   • Guide and oversee the development and maintenance of high-level relationships with UN agencies, donor organizations, girl-focused and youth organizations, international and national NGOs, academic institutions, professional networks, and others for the purpose of strengthening attention to and investment in, and collaboration with, adolescents and young people within the regional development architecture. Represents the Regional Office in meetings with high level and senior officials as well as multi-lateral, bilateral agencies and NGOs; interacts, negotiates and advocates programme goals and strategies. Identifies strategic alliances, and influences policy development to facilitate achievement of programme goals at all levels.

6. Resource Mobilization and Leveraging

   1. Propose and prepare strategic plans for resource mobilization, leveraging and allocation, based on the Key Results for Children in WCAR, the corporate priority on adolescent girls’ rights and country priorities. Jointly develop funding proposals and engage with donors to raise funds for adolescent and youth programming. Oversee the development of funding proposals and donor reports and other statutory reports. Participate in the budget planning and review process and ensure ultimate allocation, deployment of allocated funds and compliance with rules and regulations. Advocate with senior management for resources and budget allocation for the organizations, policy and programming for and with adolescents and young people.

Impact of Results:

Decisions

• On activities leading to the definition of programme strategy, planning, implementation guidance and evaluation. On the use of funds and human resources directed to the proposed results of the Section.
• On the choice of country programmes to support.
• On the content and documentation for submission to HQ colleagues and donors.
• Decisions can have a positive impact on the achievement of goals and objectives, affecting the attainment of programme results and strategic direction in the area of adolescent development and participation.

Recommendations:

• On major programme thrusts to support, to ensure achievement of stated objectives.
• On the timing and nature of initiatives in specific country programmes; establishment of new programme policies, and on areas of organizational and human resources development.
• Recommendations will have a major impact on the direction of UNICEF programming approaches, strategic planning and the development of future policies related to programming for and with adolescents. Recommendations contribute to the attainment of results in line with SP, SDGs and other developmental goals and targets that are set for adolescent, youth and child development, participation and engagement regionally.

Errors:

• Lack of understanding of regional, regional, and country situation and trends.
• Inappropriate advice and decisions in guiding and implementation of activities related to adolescent and youth programming.
• Pursuing and sustaining ineffective partnerships

These will reduce UNICEF’s effectiveness and voice in delivering and promoting adolescent agenda. Errors would compromise the relationship with partners and undermine the organization’s credibility. This could result in a reduction of support to UNICEF’s programmes and may even reduce financial contributions and staff performance.

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

Minimum requirements:

[Include the vacancy requirements aligned to the category and level of the position. You can see examples in the branded VA example.]

Education:

• An advanced university degree in the social and development sciences such as child development, gender and development, anthropology, sociology, development studies is required.

Work Experience:

• At least 10 years of professional experience at national and international levels in the formulation, design and management and evaluation of policies and programmes for and with adolescence and young people, with explicit experience around adolescent girls’ programming.
• Demonstrated expertise and experience with gender-transformative programming is required.
• Sectoral knowledge and/or experience in education, health, child protection, WASH or nutrition is desirable.
• Experience in nexus programming or working in fragile contexts is highly desirable.
• At least five years of professional experience should be in a developing country context.
• Proven international – “hands-on” - programme management experience in different regions and countries is highly desirable.

Language Requirements: [

• Fluency in English and French. Knowledge of Spanish and/or Portuguese is an asset

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…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness

(3) Drive to achieve results for impact

(4) Innovates and embraces change

(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity

(6) Thinks and acts strategically

(7) Works collaboratively with others 

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.

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.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

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.