The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, 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 favouritism. 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 — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfil their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries.
Therefore, 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.

UNICEF operates in 190 countries to save children’s lives, uphold their rights, and help them reach their potential from birth to adolescence. Since 1986, UNICEF has supported the Government of Papua New Guinea in enhancing child wellbeing across these areas - Child Protection, Education, Health, Nutrition, and Water and Sanitation Hygiene. The UNICEF country office in Papua New Guinea is rolling out its 6th Country Programme 2024 – 2028 with a focus on helping PNG achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by (a) reducing violence, abuse and exploitation of children and women; (b) strengthening basic, quality social services and building public trust and use of the services; and (c) strengthening resilience and reducing the risks of children and families to disasters and crises. UNICEF PNG is offering a part-time internship over a 3-month period from November 2024 to January 2025 to expose qualified students specialized in various professional fields to the day to day working environment of the United Nations.


The objective of this national UN Volunteer assignment is to provide a motivated and innovative individual with professional experience in Research and Youth Engagement. The UNV will primarily assist the Communication and Health Section, delivering essential support to implement Adolescent and youth research and participation programmes and support Adolescent engagement across all UNICEF’s program.

Under the overall guidance of the Advocacy & Communication Specialist and Health Section Chief, specific tasks of the UNV will include but not be limited to the following:


Youth Engagement & Participation:

- Support and promote meaningful youth engagement across UNICEF PNG programmes

- Facilitate adolescent and youth participation in UNICEF PNG's programming design and implementation

- Roll out and pilot the Participatory Action Research (PAR) framework

- Lead development of the Participatory Action research methodology

- Work with UNICEF sectoral programmes and their implementing partners to identify a team of youth researchers

- Train the target youth in a variety of quantitative and qualitative data collection and research methods including key informant interviews, focus group discussions, surveying, and mapping. Innovative research practices such as video recording and photo documentation will also be presented as part of the training

- Support young people to conduct participatory research.

- Act as a guide and resource to the youth researchers during the development and implementation of their research plan – providing on-going coaching and support

- Support the strengthening of adolescent-inclusive programming based on research findings

- Coach the youth on how best to present their findings using data visualizations, case studies and other techniques to engage with their community in their research and encourage further discussion and action on their findings, including supporting young researchers in advocacy within their communities and in identified forums with policy makers (Parliamentary Committee, Ministerial forums).

Communications & Content:

- Develop youth-related content for UNICEF's social media channels and communications materials

- Support storytelling and documentation of youth voices and experiences

- Identify and support youth influencers in advocating with young people on key issues of relevance for young people

Operational Support:

- Provide logistical and administrative support for youth engagement events and activities

- Support in-office tasks for the Communications section as needed

Other Duties:

- Undertake other responsibilities as required to support programme objectives on adolescent and youth programming.