Adolescent and Youth Programme officer

Details

Mission and objectives

UNICEF works in the world’s toughest places to reach the most disadvantaged children and adolescents – and to protect the rights of every child, everywhere. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we do whatever it takes to help children survive, thrive and fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines, we support child health and nutrition, safe water and sanitation, quality education and skill building, HIV prevention and treatment for mothers and babies, and the protection of children and adolescents from violence and exploitation. Before, during and after humanitarian emergencies, UNICEF is on the ground, bringing lifesaving help and hope to children and families. Non-political and impartial, we are never neutral when it comes to defending children’s rights and safeguarding their lives and futures.

Context

This United Nations Volunteers (UNV) assignment is a catalytic contribution to the Regional Programme for West and Central Africa (WCA) of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). A region currently hosting 196 million young people (10-24 years old), with demographic signs of an increasingly youthful population in the years to come, UNICEF WCA has prioritized adolescents and youth as rights holders and agents of change by adopting a life-course approach to mitigate the cumulative disadvantages experienced through first-to-second decade transitions, as well as to promote opportunities for adolescents and young people to fulfil their life plans and contribute to their communities. The programme to which this UNV assignment will contribute envisions a region where all adolescent girls and boys, young men and women are equipped with skills and opportunities to claim and enjoy their rights in safe and enabling environments. The Region has equally prioritized adolescent girls' rights, committed to accelerating actions with and for adolescent girls to revert the stark indicators that have showed little change over the years, by promoting their leadership and agency. UNICEF WCA is based in Dakar, Senegal and covers 25 countries, a region that bridges development and humanitarian contexts. The Region has adopted a Common Agenda comprised of eight programmatic Key Results for Children (KRC) to ensure multi-sectoral responses for those most in need. Adolescent and Youth Programming is fundamental to the achievement of all KRC, leveraging complementarity with the UNICEF Gender Action Plan (GAP) to do so. The UNV assignment will contribute to the Regional Common Agenda, grounded in UNICEF's Strategic Plan, as well as to the implementation and monitoring of the Sustainable Goals (SDG) Framework, the Youth 2030 Strategy and the African Union Agenda 2063. UNICEF WCA works with country offices, regional integration bodies and partners to develop and implement strategies with and for adolescents and young people, with a focus on those KRC that address leaming outcomes (access and quality), harmful practices (child marriage and FGM) and sexual violence. Gender equality, youth engagement and climate action are cross-cutting strategies. UNICEF WCA hosts a thriving Young UNICE network (professionals under the age of 35) and includes talent management goals to increase staff in this age bracket to both provide opportunities for young people in the Region as well as to ensure youth perspectives in programme development and delivery. Resilience-building, particularly in the Sahel, is a core priority for the Region where more than half of the entire youth population resides.

Task description

The proposed UNV will work with the Adolescent Advisor, and in collaboration with other sectors, to ensure technical excellence and quality programming across sectors and with partners to advance a multi-sectoral programme with and for adolescents and young people in WCA. Under the direct supervision of the Regional Advisor, Adolescent Development, the UNV will undertake the following tasks: I. Support regional sections and country offices on adolescent and youth programming: a. Identify and disseminate promising practices on adolescent and youth programming, with a focus on climate action, girls' rights, employability and youth-led actions; b. Contribute to the coordination of a youth advisory group; c.Contribute to the finalization of the Adolescent and Youth Theory of Change; d. Contribute to the consolidation of guidelines on effective methods for youth engagement; e. Contribute to on-going partnerships with the African Union (AU) around Transforming Education in Africa and the AU Youth Manifesto; f. Develop and implement knowledge management strategies, including Communities of Practice, with UNICE country offices, youth networks and partners on adolescent and youth programming, and Contribute to the development of key messages and/or event preparation for Regional or International days (such as the International Day of the Girl and/or the African Month of Youth). II. Support regional sections and country offices to implement and monitor the WCA Girl-Intentional Approach (regional strategy on adolescent girls' rights): a. Develop and disseminate communications materials around adolescent girls' rights; b. b. Support the on-going, and expansion of, study on adolescent girls' resilience in the Sahel; c. Engage with partners towards a harmonized, complementary agenda on adolescent girls' rights in WCA; d. Consolidate tools and guidance around working with adolescent girls' groups; e. Support country offices to implement and monitor the WCA Girl-Intentional Approach, and f. f. Contribute to network strengthening amongst adolescent and youth organizations across the Region, with a particular focus on gender equality and climate action