Youth and Adolescent Development Officer, NOA, TA, Damascus

Damascus

Organization: UNICEF - United Nations Children’s Fund
Location: Damascus
Grade: Junior level - NO-A, National Professional Officer - Locally recruited position
Occupational Groups:
- Youth
- Social Affairs
- Adolescent Development
Closing Date: Closed

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

PURPOSE OF ASSIGNMENT:

The incumbent will work under the direct supervision of the Youth and Adolescent Development Specialist (NOC), and will work in close coordination with the NOB ADAP Officer and support of the Section Chief. Technical support will also be provided by Regional Office, ADAP section. The Youth and Adolescent Development Officer will be accountable for professional technical contribution to program design and mainstreaming across programs, monitoring and evaluation of ADAP activities, data analysis and reporting in support of achievement of planned objectives of the work plan, aligned with country strategy. Close collaboration with UNICEF sector colleagues is expected.

MAIN DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

Mainstreaming of adolescent programming across sectors:
1. Support sectors in assessing how they can more effectively identify and address the needs of adolescents and youth.

Support sectors in:

- Identifying adolescents and youth targeted within overall population in need

Program strategies should identify to the extent possible the overall numbers of adolescents and youth (10-24 years) in their population in need, further disaggregating within this group as feasible and appropriate.

- Clearly articulating the specific needs of adolescents and youth

Sections strategies should articulate the key needs of adolescents and youth, giving due attention to the very different needs of girls and boys of different ages within this group (for example: WASH – menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls; Health and Nutrition: specific health and nutrition needs of adolescent girls and boys; Child Protection: Structured PSS support for Adolescent boys and girls, addressing issues of GBV among adolescents, violence prevention etc)

- Defining and ensuring quality interventions which meet the needs of adolescents and youth

Sections should articulate evidence informed interventions to address adolescent and youth needs in line with sector-specific approaches and include indicators to track results for adolescents and youth programming within the sector monitoring frameworks

b. Support sectors in engaging adolescents and youth to reach sector results.

The NOA will work very closely with sectors (WASH, Health and Nutrition, Social and Child Protection, Education, C4D, Communication and M and E) to build on the sector identified opportunities and identify new opportunities for adolescent and youth engagement supporting achievement of sector objectives. These could include: Engaging adolescents and youth within: the existing cash transfer programme in Aleppo and Homs, support classes for out of school children, hygiene prevention in IDP shelters and other relevant/pertinent communication and social mobilization campaigns at community level; Young researchers can support data collection related to sectoral objectives; Young people can volunteer to support the Child Protection units, etc.

II. Developing a platform for vulnerable adolescents and youth to access opportunities for engagement across sectors and partners:

Building on the SoP and Kosovo volunteer platform, the consultant will support NOUR NGO partner to establish a platform for young people to access volunteer opportunities in UNICEF supported programs and with UNICEF supported partners. In the preliminary phase of the program, the platform will be accessible to only young people linked with UNICEF supported civic, social and economic engagement programs.
III. Establishing a network of experts to mentor/support UNICEF/IECD supported young entrepreneurs
Support UNICEF and IECD to establish a network of local and remote technical experts/mechanism to mentor/support the young entrepreneurs (using a similar model adopted by Unicef Kosovo).

QUALIFICATIONS AND COMPETENCIES:

Education:

Bachelors in Social Sciences, International Relations, Government, Public Administration, Public Policy, Social Policy, Social Development, Community Development, or other relevant disciplines.

Work Experience:

Minimum two years progressively responsible professional work experience in Adolescent and Youth Programming – specific experience in technical support, networking and partnerships an asset.
Knowledgeable of the Adolescent and Youth Programming sector in Syria, contacts with private sector, NGO partners, Academic institutions an asset
Excellent written skills in English; Fluency in Arabic.
Ability to work well in a team and under pressure and in response to changing needs, as well as the ability to plan well, set own targets and meet them.

Competency Profile

i) Core Values (Required)