RE-ADVERTISEMENT: Digital Communication Manager (Youth Engagement), P4, Division of Global Communication and Advocacy, Valencia, Spain, #103172

The P4 Digital Communication Manager (Youth Engagement Manager) is accountable for leading on the design and implementation of strategies for youth engagement in campaigning and advocacy. RE-ADVERTISEMENT: PREVIOUS APPLICANTS ARE WELCOME TO APPLY!

RE-ADVERTISEMENT: PREVIOUS APPLICANTS ARE WELCOME TO APPLY!

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, advocacy

In recent years UNICEF has increased its focus on young people. The UNICEF Strategic Plan, 2022−2025 recognizes the whole spectrum of young people, including young adults or youth over 18, and includes in its Change Strategies “supporting young people and children as agents of change.” Taking its cue from the strategic plan, the Global Communication and Advocacy Strategy (GCAS) asserts the important role that young people can play in the successful realization of UNICEF’s mandate, and outlines the need to listen to, co-create and collaborate with young people and create meaningful engagement opportunities for them to make a difference. Being important drivers of change, children and young people are essential partners and contributors to both the development and implementation of UNICEF’s Strategic Plan 2022 2025. With a new and ambitious SP, UNICEF intends to be deliberate and committed in fully involving children and young people in creating the solutions to accelerate the realization of the SDGs and driving change forward.

Organizational context

The Digital Communication Manager (Youth Engagement Manager) reports to the Chief Section Youth Engagement who is at Level 5.

How can you make a difference?

Many young people are looking for way to engage on the issues they care about and to contribute towards positive change. If UNICEF succeeds in engaging them in our advocacy and campaigning, we will not only deliver results for children and contribute to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda, but also nurture a generation of lifelong supporters of children’s rights.

The P4 Digital Communication Manager (Youth Engagement Manager) is accountable for leading on the design and implementation of strategies for youth engagement in campaigning and advocacy.

This includes:
• Overseeing the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of integrated youth engagement strategies that generate meaningful opportunities for young people to take action in support of children’s rights;

• Champion youth engagement in strategic organizational processes;
• Brokering innovative partnerships, mobilizing resources, and spearheading new approaches, based on developments in the broader environment;
• Conducting risk assessment and developing mitigation strategies to ensure UNICEF is able to engage with youth on sensitive issues and/or in challenging environments.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Youth Engagement strategy development and implementation
2. Risk assessment and mitigation
3. Resource mobilization & Fostering innovation
4. Youth Engagement M&E
5. U-Report/ Youth Engagement Platforms
6. Youth Advocates
7. Safeguarding and participation
8. Team building, project and budget management
9. Youth Engagement capacity building & Knowledge Management
10. Stakeholder engagement
11. Strategic planning
12. Others

The staff member will lead and manage a team to design and coordinate effective, integrated youth engagement campaigning and advocacy strategies, through the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation stages. They will work collaboratively with colleagues across UNICEF at country, regional and global level, and external partners to develop and scale innovative and sustainable youth engagement programmes.

Duties include:

1. Youth Engagement strategy development and implementation:

• Supervise the development and implementation of robust youth engagement strategies, with SMART outcomes, compelling calls to action, and a clear theory of change.
• Analyze political, economic and cultural trends, conduct audience analysis and market research as relevant and identify potential opportunities and challenges.
• Promote new approaches and innovative ideas as part of the strategy development process.

2. Risk assessment and mitigation:

• Oversee the development of a risk assessment approach for the youth engagement strategy development process, as well as corresponding protocols and mitigation measures.

3. Resource mobilization & fostering innovation:

• Identify and broker innovative partnerships, mobilize resources, and enable a culture of innovation and creativity.

4. Youth Engagement M&E:

• Supervise the development of a youth engagement M&E framework: setting baselines against which results are regularly monitored.
• Conducting analysis to continuously improve the effectiveness of the strategy, approach and activities; and overseeing the production and dissemination of M&E results.

5. Lead, scale, and implement global U-Report Platform:

• Provide strategic oversight for growth, scale and strategy of U-report global platform.
• Lead and engage with multiple stakeholders, including country and regional offices, HQ Divisions, youth organizations, private sector partners, the expansion of U-Report

6. Youth Advocates:

• Supervise the implementation and strategic growth of Youth Advocates programme, ensuring integration with organizational priorities.

7. Safeguarding and participation:

• Promote learning opportunities for the team and ensure adherence to principles of child/youth participation and safeguarding in the development/implementation of all campaigns, communication products and platforms.

8. Team building, project and budget management:

• Provide a protective, nurturing environment for the team – in line with UNICEF’s highest ethical standards and values; respond appropriately to ethical issues and complaints of abuse of authority, bullying and harassment.
• Ensure project management coherence in the activities of the team, conveying strategic priorities and setting clear deliverables.
• Manage inclusive teams featuring a variety of advocacy and non-advocacy professionals, to drive and deliver strategic advocacy initiatives.
• Support mobilizing resources. Ensure effective and transparent management of budget and resources.

9. Youth Engagement Capacity Building & Knowledge Management:

• Contribute to building internal UNICEF capacities in youth engagement, through coaching, training and sharing of expertise.

10. Stakeholder Engagement:

• Provide strategic direction for partnerships and networks through proactive collaboration with internal and external partners.
• Partners will include key internal stakeholders, other UN entities, influencers, youth ambassadors, goodwill ambassadors, academics, business leaders and other public and private sector partners.
• Ensure that effective youth engagement strategies and plans are co-created with partners, to leverage their power to contribute to UNICEF’s goals.
• Ensure that feedback from key stakeholders is incorporated into strategy design, implementation and team learning.

11. Strategic Planning:

• Champion youth engagement in strategic organizational processes.
• Undertake internal advocacy on the importance and strategic value of partnering with young people in advocacy and campaigning.
• Promote the involvement of youth in all stages of advocacy and campaigning.

12. Others:

• Undertake other key responsibilities as required.

 

Impact of Results

The efficiency and efficacy of support provided by the Digital Communication Manager (Youth Engagement Manager):

• Increased capacity by UNICEF to engage young people as advocates and champions for children’s rights through flagship campaigns and platforms.
• Strategic, innovative, effective and engaging and risk-informed campaigns with increased and robust participation of young people, ultimately helping to achieve key advocacy objectives for the organization.
• A positive brand image among young people, laying the groundwork for sustained supporter engagement.

 

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

Education:

Advanced university degree in Communications, Marketing, Journalism, International Relations, International Development, social sciences, or another related field.

*A first level university degree with an additional two years of experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least eight (8) years of progressively responsible and relevant professional work experience in advocacy/ campaigning and communication with young people is required.
• Experience in leading the development and implementation of youth engagement strategies, with clear theories of change, specific, measurable and timebound objectives, and performance indicators.
• Experience in management of digital platforms, building strong relationships with traditional and social media entities and using media relations and channels to engage public audiences.
• Experience in building and maintaining a network of stakeholders, experience in partnerships and in working with coalitions. Strong communicator with emphasis on being able to present complex policy ideas in succinct, engaging ways through campaign narratives and creative tactics.
• Experience in line management of at least one staff member is a requirement, along with a proven commitment to diverse and inclusive recruiting process.
• Experience managing a multicultural team is an asset.
• Demonstrated experience in design and management of projects, including budget management and monitoring and evaluation of results.
• Knowledge of children’s rights, public policy, international development and humanitarian issues.
• Knowledge of child safeguarding and ethics of working with children and youth.
• Experience in advocacy at the international level is an asset.
• Experience in training and facilitation is an asset.
• Experience working in a developing and emergency environment is an asset.

Language:

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

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

Core Competencies (For Staff with Supervisory Responsibilities) *

• 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)

or

Core Competencies (For Staff without Supervisory Responsibilities) *

• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (1)
• Works Collaboratively with others (1)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (1)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (1)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (1)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (1)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

[add the 8^th competency (Nurtures, leads and manages people) for supervisory role]

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

 

Child safeguarding elevated risk role

Child safeguarding involves proactive measures to limit direct and indirect collateral risks of harm to children, arising from UNICEF’s work, UNICEF personnel or UNICEF associates. The risks may include those associated with: physical violence (including corporal punishment); sexual violence, exploitation or abuse; emotional and verbal abuse; economic exploitation; failure to provide for physical or psychological safety; neglect of physical, emotional or psychological needs; harmful cultural practices; and privacy violations.

Certain UNICEF positions present elevated child safeguarding risks (“elevated risk roles”) and candidates and/or incumbents may be subject to more rigorous vetting and training. Roles may be elevated risk roles because of significant unsupervised direct contact with children, their data, having a role in responding to safeguarding incidents, or being otherwise assessed as presenting an elevated risk. This position has been identified as not being an elevated risk role. 

Remarks:

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 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 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.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. 

Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid).

Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government 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 only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/”

For more information on remuneration and benefits, please visit UNICEF’s Entitlements’ page.  If you would like to find estimates for entitlements, you may use the online Salary Estimate Calculator

• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
• Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.