Regional Adviser Adolescent Development, (P-5), Amman, Jordan (MENA) #52343

The Regional Adviser on Adolescent Development and Participation (ADAP), under the overall guidance and direction of the Deputy Regional Director is accountable for managing the ADAP section in providing integrated support and quality assurance to Country Offices in the formulation and evaluation of their country programme in addressing the needs and rights of adolescents both in regular and emergency contexts. S/he is responsible for providing such a support in accordance with the Regional Office Management Plan outcomes and outputs and in accordance with the priorities outlined in the relevant Regional Accelerators, notably those on (1) Learning, Skilling and Transition to Decent Work and (2) Climate change (focus on youth engagement in climate action).

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, Care

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 — will not only give all children the opportunity to fulfil their potential but also 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.

How can you make a difference?

The Regional Adviser on Adolescent Development and Participation (ADAP), under the overall guidance and direction of the Deputy Regional Director is accountable for managing the ADAP section in providing integrated support and quality assurance to Country Offices in the formulation and evaluation of their country programme in addressing the needs and rights of adolescents both in regular and emergency contexts. S/he is responsible for providing such a support in accordance with the Regional Office Management Plan outcomes and outputs and in accordance with the priorities outlined in the relevant Regional Accelerators, notably those on (1) Learning, Skilling and Transition to Decent Work and (2) Climate change (focus on youth engagement in climate action). In addition, s/he supports UNICEF’s strategic approaches to realizing the rights of children in the second decade of life as outlined in the CRC.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:  

1.         Technical leadership

The regional advisor provides technical leadership on adolescent and young people’s development with focus on adolescents’ rights generally and with specific focus in adolescents’ and young people’s Learning to Earning and (civic) engagement. S/he strengthens and contributes to the development of knowledge-based policies and strategies related to adolescents’ and young people’s protection, development, and participation. In consultation with colleague- regional advisors, supports the regional accelerator on learning, skilling and transition to decent work in various countries, taking into account specific contexts, UNICEF comparative advantage and entry points. S/he leads the preparation of ADAP inputs to relevant management and planning documents including Regional Office Management Plan;(bi) annual work plans; reviews annual reports from country offices and contributes to the preparation of management reports and documents. S/he manages human and financial resources effectively, transparently, and inclusively in support of programmatic results and contribute to office-wide results within the ROMP. S/he collects and analyzes data and prepares reports on adolescents’ development, protection, and participation activities in the region, for internal reporting and analysis purposes.  S/he contributes to the development of UNICEF policy and operational strategies in the area of adolescence / young people by collecting data and assembling perspectives and experiences from the region on these issues, analyzing them in the context of UNICEF's corporate priorities and making recommendations to the ADAP Section and relevant sectors.

2. Partnerships for and with Adolescents and Young People

The regional advisor builds and strengthens UNICEF partnerships for (and with) young people. This entails leading and contributing to the delivery of regional public goods, including within the UN coherence agenda. Notably, the Regional Advisor co-convenes (with UNFPA, UNECO as well as UNDP and ILO) the Regional UN Initiative on Young People’s Learning, Skilling and Transition to Decent Work in support of the 6 UN global transitions towards achieving the SDGs. This includes leveraging the policy, advocacy and partnerships platform of the 2024 High Level Meeting on Young People’s Learning, Skilling and Transition to Decent Work to support young people’s transition from learning to earning (with special focus on the most vulnerable, including adolescent girls and you people affected by migration) to support progress on policy and implementation of policy in the region.

S/he expands and strengthens regional and global partnerships in support of the regional accelerator (Generation Unlimited, Global Volunteer Initiative, European Training Foundation, others). S/he mobilizes resources and influences strategic partnerships in support of UNICEF agenda in young people’s learning, learning to earning, volunteering and civic engagement including through multi-country proposals and other resource mobilization strategies.

The regional advisor leads advocacy and technical support initiatives to promote meaningful engagement of adolescents and young people in UNICEF’s work and promotes the approach of working with and for adolescents and young people across all sectors and programmes.

3.         Technical Support to Country Offices

In support of the UNICEF Strategic Plan and within the ROMP and the Regional Accelerator Framework the regional advisor facilitates the integration of adolescent development, protection and participation strategies into country programmes by providing technical support during the Country Programme Exercises, developing evidence-based implementation guidelines for both sectoral and intersectoral programmes, and identifying relevant indicators and appropriate monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for interventions at the country level. Ensure adolescents’ and young people’s (10-24) programming results with focus on regional accelerators are clearly reflected in the CPD/SMR/MTR of country programmes.

Regularly monitor and support progress of results of the MENA accelerator framework (with a focus on the skills, learning and employability accelerator); joint field missions, meetings with CO teams. Provides direct quality support to Cos through missions / remote support at the request of Cos on all aspects relating to the focus area of the accelerators (skills activation i.e., learning to earning, volunteering, civic engagement/participation).

In coordination with the RO Humanitarian Team and HR section, provides leadership to ensure that UNICEF staff and COs have the required capacity to deliver on CCCs and cluster approach organizational accountabilities both at the preparedness and response levels.

Disseminates to country offices within the region innovative and evidence-based approaches to support the design of programmes that foster empowerment and well-being of most vulnerable adolescents, capitalizing on UNICEF specific normative role with specific attention to policy developments, systems strengthening, improved quality of services, and at scale avenues for social engagement.

Assists in coordinating with multi and bilateral cooperation agencies, and UNICEF offices in the region, in order to contribute to the sensitization and mobilization of governments and civil societies towards the achievement of greater participation of adolescents girls and boys, as well as young people, in decision making in all spheres of national activity and in the family, school and community, and to ensure equal and equitable participation of girls, boys and young peope in all processes for the building of citizenship, with particular emphasis on education and earning systems, the media, and communities.

Strengthens the capacities of UNICEF and key counterpart staff in the region, by developing and facilitating relevant learning opportunities focusing on policy, programming and behavior change in favor of adolescent development, protection and participation. Identifies appropriate training institutions. Provides specific learning and network opportunities on issues identified by COs in collaboration with RO. Identifies expertise needed to assist Cos in accelerating results. Ensure suitable UNICEF expertise on adolescents and youth expertise is deployed to COs through key recruitments.

Leads support to COs to mobilize additional resources in support of acceleration of results, including through influencing, and through engagement of public sector and private sector (in collaboration with Generation Unlimited and other internal partners including PFP and PPD).

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

Education: 

Advanced university degree in anthropology, psychology, sociology, education or another relevant technical field.

Experience: 

Minimum ten (10) years of progressively responsible professional work experience in planning, designing, implementing programmes related to adolescents/youth in developing countries. Experience working in a developing country is considered as an asset. Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset. Familiarity/ background with emergency is considered as an asset.

Language:

Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another UN language is considered 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:

• 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)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (2)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

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

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.

Remarks:

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children.

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/”.

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

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 are also 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.

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