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Vacancy Announcement: Consultant

Consultancy Title: Youth Led Action/Humanitarian Consultant

Section/Division/Duty Station: ADAP – EDUCATION Section, New York HQ

Duration: August 6, 2025 to August 6, 2026

Home/ Office Based: NYHQ/ Remote 

BACKGROUND

Purpose of Activity/Assignment: 

This 12-month consultancy will support the management and implementation of UNICEF’s Adolescent Development and Participation (ADAP) team’s Youth-Led Action commitments to donors in both the development and humanitarian space, including country technical assistance and the global digital learning and skilling hub Youth-Led Action. The consultant will also play a key supportive role in building partnerships and resource mobilization for this agenda, including supporting work with country government and stakeholder partners for long-term systems strengthening and country ownership of this work.

With the work in this space evolving and engaging a broader range of donors, the ADAP team seeks to engage a consultant who will contribute to delivering on the Youth-Led Action agenda by producing a set of targeted deliverables, outlined below, and supporting resource mobilization and partnerships.

The consultancy will be managed by UNICEF’s Adolescent Development and Participation (ADAP) team, in close collaboration with colleagues from Health and Mental Health.

Scope of Work:

The consultant will support the following:

•           Provide Technical Assistance for Youth-Led Action Initiatives Across Countries

o          Deliver technical assistance for ADAP to deliver UNICEF’s youth-led action work across sectors, ensuring smooth delivery and continuity of strategic partnerships with Mental Health, Health, Child Protection, Gender, Education, GCA and GenU.

o          Provide strategic input to the Spotify–UNICEF youth engagement initiative, coordinating closely with the MHPSS PGLT team to ensure cohesion and quality.

o          Deliver training to scale-up youth-led action at country and regional levels. Including training facilitation, curriculum development and adaptation, monitoring and reporting support.

o          Support the ADAP team to sustain strong working relationships with youth-focused organizations and networks to maintain momentum and alignment with programmatic goals, including working closely with the Global Refugee Youth Network (GRYN).

•           Develop and Maintain Youth-Led Action Global Resources

o          Work with ADAP and Health colleagues, and a selected digital vendor, to design, develop and finalize scripts and processes for online self-administered youth-led action certified courses.

o          Update and maintain the Youth-led Action website, ensuring it remains an open-access, practical and user-friendly hub for partners to build their skills and capacities.

o          Work with Humanitarian colleagues and partners to develop, build and maintain a humanitarian hub on the Youth-Led Action website.

o          Support documentation of Youth-Led Action Work with the Global Refugee Youth Network (GRYN) and scale-up of the initiative.

o          Manage and coordinate the finalization of guidance, tools, and other global resources tailored for young people, implementers, and partners. This includes specific thematic curriculum adaptation of the resources for indigenous communities, refugees and those in protracted contexts, and other thematic areas, as needed.

o          Document key insights, achievements, and lessons learned from global rollout of youth-led action efforts, ensuring they inform advocacy, programming, and partner engagement. Participate in relevant events, webinars, and forums to share findings.

o          Develop and share success stories and best practices through strategic channels, including social media and internal platforms.

•           Support Resource Mobilization and Partnerships for the Youth-Led Action Initiative

o          Support in advancing new partnership opportunities and mobilizing resources for youth-led action, engaging with PFP, PPD, the private sector, and individual donor networks.

o          Support work with country government and stakeholder partners for long-term systems strengthening and country ownership of this work.

o             Manage the preparation and finalization of donor reports and other key documentation required for closing and initiating partnerships.

•           Manage Communities of Practice for Youth-Led Action

o            Support thegrowth of the online Community of Practice, including moderating discussions, engaging youth and adult participants, and curating relevant resources (e.g., guidance, protocols, and M&E tools).

o          Facilitate communications and outreach, including regular newsletters, email updates, and targeted social media content to promote participation and visibility.

o          Facilitate learning opportunities, such as webinars, virtual sessions, and in-person events, in alignment with community needs and requests .

o          Produce summary and analytical reports to inform program planning and track community engagement, as required by the team.

Terms of Reference / Deliverables

• Provide technical assistance for the expansion and roll out of the Youth-led Action Initiative       

Two technical assistance reports summarizing support provided across UNICEF sectors and regions.

30 Jan. 2026

6 Aug. 2026

Two regional Champion Training rollouts         

31 Dec. 2025

31 April 2026

Two country-level Initiative rollouts (general)   

30 Jan. 2026

31 March 2026

Three country-level Initiative rollouts (humanitarian)    

30 Jan. 2026

29 May 2026

30 June 2026

Rollout of Spotify Youth Mental Health Audio Challenge in five countries

28 Nov. 2025

30 Jan. 2026

30 April 2026

29 May 2026

6 Aug. 2026

Two global webinars   

30 Jan. 2026

31 March 2026

Summary report of engagement and outcomes with GRYN and other youth networks

31 July 2026

• Develop and maintain youth-led action guidance, tools and other global resources           

Two adapted Youth Action Guide curriculums developed          

27 Feb. 2026

31 March 2026

Three supplementary resource guides developed

31 Oct. 2025

30 Jan. 2026

30 April 2026

Finalized script for online, self-administered youth-led action course      

29 Feb 2026

Updated and maintained Youth-Led Action website, including humanitarian hub

30 April 2026

Three knowledge products (e.g., success stories, briefs) published and disseminated        

31 Oct. 2025

30 Jan. 2026

30 April 2026

• Resource mobilization and strategic partnerships

Support creation of two donor resource mobilization efforts       

31 Dec. 2025

6 Aug. 2026

Minimum two finalized donor or partner reports submitted        

31 Dec. 2025

6 Aug. 2026

Manage communities of practice for youth-led action    

Four newsletters shared with community

31 Oct. 2025

28 Nov. 2025

31 March 2026

29 May 2026

Minimum three webinars or online events held, with agendas and attendance logs

28 Nov. 2025

27 Feb. 2026

29 May 2026

Analytical report summarizing engagement trends and recommendations for Community of Practices

31 July 2026  

Qualifications

(1) Education

Advance University degree (Masters) in International  relations, adolescent development, public policy, human rights, public health, education, anthropology, psychology, sociology, or another relevant technical field

(2) Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

•           Six or more years of relevant professional work in programme planning, management, and monitoring and evaluation for youth engagement and youth-led action initiatives is required.

•           Three or more years of demonstrated relevant work in resource mobilization/funding, including direct interaction with funders from the private sector is required.

•           Demonstrated experience as a trainer and in experiential learning techniques, facilitating peer-to-peer learning, knowledge exchange and sharing is required.

•           Direct work experience with youth organizations and young people is required. Experience with adolescent participation and civic engagement is highly desirable.

•           Direct work experience with youth-led action and/or advocacy initiatives is required. Specific experience related to mental health, climate change, education, and young people in humanitarian settings desirable.

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.

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

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UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

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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 is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, are encourage to apply 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. 

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Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

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