Project Associate - Youth Development Delegate- NPSA 6

syrian arab republic

Organization: UNDP - United Nations Development Programme
Location: syrian arab republic
Grade: Level not specified
Occupational Groups:
- Youth
- Administrative support
- Project and Programme Management
Closing Date:

Background

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Syrian people have been through very difficult times in the last eleven years. UNDP’s interventions cover several geographic and thematic areas. Early recovery and resilience-supporting interventions for affected people by improving their access to basic services and providing them with emergency jobs and started stabilizing their livelihoods of people. UNDP-Syria also targets women and youth in all its resilience-building and social cohesion interventions and advocates for the importance of SDGs even in a crisis context. Therefore, SDG community-based activities and youth-led initiatives have been tested in several locations at the national and sub-national levels. UNDP- Syria believes that working together is the only way forward to help people to adapt and recover while building a better future, where there is a place for everyone. In this context, Youth presents the key to a better future as a key human asset in Syria.

The objective of this assignment is to support youth programming and the implementation of the Youth Leadership programme at the country level as well as the regional and global levels. The Project Associate will work under the supervision and guidance of the UNDP Youth Focal Points both at the country and regional levels. S/he will be an integral part of the UNDP Country Office and Regional Programme team and will play an important role in supporting UNDP’s Country Offices and partners, with a strong focus on coordination, advocacy, planning, and evaluation.

This position is part of the Youth Development Delegates in the Arab Region programme that is the result of a partnership between The Arab Youth Center (AYC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Arab States. This youth employment initiative, in its second cohort, will provide an opportunity for 14 young people passionate about achieving Sustainable Development Goals to work at the UNDP offices in their countries, in the field of youth work, to achieve the common vision of both parties aimed at enabling and empowering the youth in the Arab region.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Project Associate is expected to contribute to the effective management of youth programming by performing the following duties:

Directly supports the Regional Youth Project, inclusive of the Youth Leadership Programme (YLP), where relevant and youth programming by following up on implementation, coordinating with partners and UNDP Country Offices, accessing regional networks, creating linkages, and providing technical support.
Contributes to strategic planning, developing innovative responses to emerging challenges and opportunities for youth in the Arab region around SDGs.
Supports the implementation of the Country Programme Action Plan and direction for Youth engagement, YLP, and the SDGs
Supports the timely preparation and quality control of all substantive technical reports, briefs, and required documents, including progress reports, concept notes, background documents, and briefing notes.
Works closely with the regional team members in the development of project activities to promote youth’s social, political, and economic empowerment in the Arab region.
Publicly advocating for and speaking out on youth engagement in development (and the pursuit of SDGs achievement) nationally, which will include monthly vlogs, leading online public webinars, and social media outreach.
Facilitates the delivery of YLP activities by monitoring results achieved during implementation. S/he ensures and guides the appropriate application of monitoring, reporting, and evaluation systems and procedures and develops enhancements if necessary.
Captures stories that reflect on know-how (procedures, processes, tactics) and know why (lessons learned, reasons for failures/success).
Coordinates the YLP’s mentorship support, where relevant.
Conducts an overview and analysis of the relevant partners, donors, and stakeholders to the project, and develops a plan for an efficient flow of information between them and the project, and vice versa.
Develops general tools/guidelines for operative communication measures at regional/national/local levels, for instance, press releases, social media, press events, social media, and campaigns.
Carrying out other tasks as assigned by Regional Coordinator in coordination with respective supervisor, and any other required administrative work.
Leading the YLP alumni support team and creating the required linkages between the programme’s alumni and the UNDP youth team.
Mapping youth activities in the CO, creating linkages between Youth Leadership Programme and other UNDP CO youth programmes.
Preparing project proposals and presenting suggested ideas in a clear and innovative manner.

Institutional Arrangement

The direct supervisor is the Youth Focal Points in close coordination with the Regional Coordinator

Competencies

Complete the Competencies section for each set of competencies as follows:

Core – applicable to all personnel. Select the relevant level for each competency based on the required behaviors.
People Management – if the personnel have people management responsibilities, insert the standard text with the link to the people management competencies list.
Cross-functional & Technical: Insert up to 7 competencies from the approved UNDP Cross-functional & Technical competencies list uploaded on the competency framework site.

Core

Achieve Results:

LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline

Think Innovatively:

LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements

Learn Continuously:

LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback

Adapt with Agility:

LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible

Act with Determination:

LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident

Engage and Partner:

LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships

Enable Diversity and Inclusion:

LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination

People Management (Insert below standard sentence if the position has direct reports.)

UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site.

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies (insert up to 7 competencies)

*Thematic Area*	*Name*	*Definition*
*Business Direction & Strategy*	*Entrepreneurial Thinking*	Ability to create clarity around UNDP value proposition to beneficiaries and partners and to develop service offers responding to client need-based on UNDP’s organizational priorities and mandate
Business Direction & Strategy	System Thinking	Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system
Business Management	Digital Awareness and Literacy	Ability and inclination to rapidly adopt new technologies, either through skillfully grasping their usage or through understanding their impact and empowering others to use them as needed
Digital & Innovation	Design Thinking	Solving problems by putting people at the center, visualizing ideas, and making them tangible in order to improve them through an iterative process of developing and testing. Strong empathy skills, being able to put yourself "in someone else's shoes", understanding needs, abilities, preferences, motivations, and (every day) experiences from different perspectives as well as their cultural, social, economic, and political contexts. Ability to identify and challenge assumptions, (cognitive and social) biases, and dominant mental models by generating new perspectives and frames that help redefine the problem, solution, and opportunity space. Being able to work with incomplete information, ambiguity, and opposing views, needs, and constraints and synthesize them into solutions that are viable, technically feasible, and useful.
Digital & Innovation Storytelling	Story Telling	Ability to empathize with people's perceptions, motivations, feelings, and mental models and craft narratives to build an emotive argument for change accordingly. Ability to present data, insights or information in compelling ways to mobilize resources, talent, or action. Ability to choose media and channels that are fit for the purpose to reach specific target audiences.

Please refer to the competency framework site for the entire list of competencies and further explanations.

Required Skills and Experience

Min. Education requirements	B.A. degree in Development, International Affairs, or another related field.
Min. years of relevant work experience	Minimum 3 years of relevant work experience.
Required skills	Highly motivated, pleasant character with good teamwork spirit; Excellent interpersonal and communication skills; Available for long working hours during times of peak work; Good computer skills in both English and Arabic; Strong writing skills; Ability to accommodate and adapt to changing working environment; Systematic and organized, with an ability to be flexible and adaptive; Ability to perform a variety of standard tasks related to screening and collecting project documentation, projects data entering, preparation of revisions, filing, provision of information, and reporting.
Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section	Advanced computer skills, including word processing (Word), spreadsheet (Excel), and data management programmes, and the ability to quickly learn new applications.
Required Language(s)	Written and oral English and Arabic communication skills, French is an asset.

Disclaimer

Important information for US Permanent Residents ('Green Card' holders)

Under US immigration law, acceptance of a staff position with UNDP, an international organization, may have significant implications for US Permanent Residents. UNDP advises applicants for all professional level posts that they must relinquish their US Permanent Resident status and accept a G-4 visa, or have submitted a valid application for US citizenship prior to commencement of employment.

UNDP is not in a position to provide advice or assistance on applying for US citizenship and therefore applicants are advised to seek the advice of competent immigration lawyers regarding any applications.

Applicant information about UNDP rosters

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