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, a hope……

UNICEF works with adolescents and young people to empower them with the improved knowledge, skills and capacities to successfully bring about positive change in their lives and in their communities, towards achieving results in line with UNICEF’s Strategic Plan.

Throughout history, engaged young people and youth-led action have been a powerful force for change. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child Article 12 further enshrines the right of every child to express their views freely in matters affecting them and for these views to be taken seriously.

In addition to the well-documented benefits to individual development and transferable life skills, the empowerment of adolescents and young people as change makers are crucial investments because they lead to long-term positive societal outcomes for all children. Around the world, we see adolescents and young people who have used enhanced confidence and skills to strengthen civil society and increase the accountability of their communities, governments and corporations. This has resulted in more relevant and effective programs and policies on education, mental health, climate change, protection, and other matters in development and humanitarian situations; adolescents’ and young people’s action has also enhanced inclusion, social cohesion, violence prevention, and contributed to peacebuilding. At the local level, we see adolescents and young people advocating for and making daily changes for the better in their families, in peer groups, in schools, and in their communities. UNICEF's Programme Guidance for the Second Decade: Programming with and for adolescents and young people is UNICEF’s vision and strategic direction for the second decade of a child's life, in alignment with the Strategic Plan (2018-2021) and in support of its contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

The Adolescent Development and Participation (ADAP) team in anchored in UNICEF’s Education Programme Section, part of the Programme Group (PG), and provides policy and strategy guidance, thought leadership and technical assistance to regional offices, country offices and partners on accelerating the adolescent and young people agenda across all Goal Areas.

Purpose of the post...

Under the supervision of the Director of Education and Adolescent Development this function leads UNICEF’s efforts to achieve sustainable and scalable results in the adolescent and young people agenda. This is a role that is focused on both management, policy and programme guidance, as well as programme implementation. In addition, the incumbent will lead the achievement of sustainable and scalable results with, and for, adolescents and young people across all thematic areas and teams. The Global Lead provides strategic direction on meaningful participation, civic engagement of adolescents and young people. They will provide thought leadership and technical assistance for the scaling up of impactful programmes in alignment with UNICEF’s Strategic Plan and SDG targets.

The Global Lead will work across teams and offices to seek programmatic synergies, promoting holistic policy development, coordinated planning, effective implementation, and evaluation of results in support of adolescent- and young people-related work.

How can you make a difference? 

Strategic Direction

• Develop and execute a vision and strategy for adolescents and young people engagement and participation for UNICEF in development and humanitarian settings.
• Lead the implementation of UNICEF’s strategy clearly articulating the rights-based approach to adolescents’ and young people’s participation and civic engagement throughout the organization.
• Provide strategic guidance and inputs into key country and regional strategy documents addressing adolescents’ and young people’s priorities.
• Guide inputs into prioritized country and regional strategy documents related to adolescents and young people.
• Provide thought leadership for adolescent- and young people-related issues and activities throughout UNICEF’s thematic areas to ensure coherent and integrated programme advocacy, resource mobilization and communication.

Programme support and Technical assistance (Planning, monitoring and leveraging)

• Develop a vision and strategy for Adolescent Engagement and Participation for UNICEF in development and humanitarian setting.
• Oversee the implementation of the UNICEF’s strategy clearly articulating the rights-based approach to adolescents’ and young people’s participation and civic engagement throughout the organization.
• Lead the development of global strategies related to adolescents’ and young people’s development and participation.
• Guide inputs into prioritized country and regional strategy documents related to adolescents and young people.
• Provide thought leadership for adolescent- and young people-related issues and activities throughout UNICEF’s thematic areas to ensure coherent and integrated programme advocacy, resource mobilization and communication.
• Lead a global network comprised of the HQ ADAP team, Regional ADAP Advisors and wider matrix of staff linked to adolescent and young people agenda;
• Plan, monitor, and leverage resources for adolescent and young people programming by generating and using evidence based policy and programming tools, as well as tools that will measure their impact.
• Drives advocacy for adolescent and young people related issues to be placed on the agenda for major global and regional forums.
• Provide outcome specific, high quality and timely reporting on the progress towards SDGs,

Knowledge generation, management and capacity development

• Lead knowledge acquisition and analysis of adolescent- and young people-related programming through documentation, annual reporting, assessment of good practices, accountabilities, and analyses of management resources.
• Coordinate strategic and effective dissemination of good practices.
• Strengthen UNICEF’s linkages with research and development agencies and with professional organisations to build global knowledge networks in support of programming for and with adolescents and young people.
• Develop and implement capacity-building agenda on adolescent and young people development and programming for UNICEF and partners.

Evidence-based programmatic technical leadership

• Provide oversight of the global guidance for programming for and with adolescents and young people. Monitors global developments. Initiates new approaches and develops methodologies to best meet goals and objectives of global agenda for adolescents and young people.
• Identify issues, needs, and opportunities, seek solutions and provide programme advice and guidance on matters pertaining to adolescent and young people development and participation.
• Collaborate with research 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 UNICEF global programme policy.
• Provide timely technical support and practical guidance to UNICEF regional and country offices to plan, programme and implement programing for and with adolescents and young people.
• Undertake field visits to provide guidance and strengthen capacity at regional and country levels, monitor and assess programme implementation and advise on required corrective action.
• In collaboration with PG Peoples teams, assists country offices to plan and strengthen capacity in country and regional offices for the mainstreaming of adolescent and young people related programming across all programme sectors.

Advocacy, networking policy and partnership-building

• Guide and oversee the development and maintenance of high level relationships with UN agencies, donor organizations, youth organizations, international and national NGOs, academic institutions, professional networks, the Gen Unlimited partnership and others for the purpose of strengthening attention to and investment in adolescents and young people within the global development architecture.
• Represent UNICEF 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.
• Facilitate policy development and influence global agendas to secure greater investment and attention to adolescents’ and young people’s priorities.

Resource Mobilization

• Develop and execute strategic plans for resource mobilization and allocation in collaboration with Public Partnership Division and Private Fundraising and Partnerships, based on country, regional and global priorities.
• Build up and convene group of interested donors and supporters to share strategic vision and funding proposals.
• Oversee the development of funding proposals and donor reports and other statutory reports.
• Lead the budget planning and review process and ensure ultimate allocation, deployment of allocated funds and compliance with rules and regulations.
• Advocate with UNICEF senior management for resources and budget allocation for the organizations, policy and programming for and with adolescents and young people.

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

Minimum requirements:

Education

An advanced university degree in social and developmental sciences (such as child development, anthropology, sociology, or development studies) or a related field is required.

Work Experience

A minimum of 10 years of professional experience at the national and international levels in formulating, designing, and managing policies and programs focused on adolescents and young people is required.

Desirables/Assets:

• A combination of experience in both development and humanitarian contexts is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated expertise in designing and implementing programs for adolescents and young people, with experience in Life Skills Education Programs considered an advantage.
• Experience managing diverse teams effectively.
• Significant experience in cross-sectoral coordination, partnership management, advocacy, and the development of global tools and guidance.
• Experience working on gender equity issues, particularly concerning adolescents and young people.
• Relevant professional experience within UNICEF and/or the broader UN system.

Language Requirements

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

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (3)
• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)
• Works Collaboratively with others (3)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (3)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (2)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (3)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (2)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

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. UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children.

All selected candidates will 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.

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:

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

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.

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.