Adolescent Development Specialist, P4, Fixed-Term, UNICEF MENA Regional Office, (117188)

Contract

This is a P-4 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 7 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 127,722 USD and 164,671 USD.

Please keep in mind that the salary displayed here is an estimation by UN Talent based on the location and the type of contract. It may vary depending on the organization. The recruiter should be able to inform you about the exact salary range. In case the job description contains another salary information, please refer to this one.

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, Results

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 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 — not only will give more children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will 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?

Under the guidance and general supervision of the ADAP Adviser (Level 5), the Specialist will support the development, operationalization and implementation of global and regional UNICEF guidelines and strategies including Engaged and Heard, the IASC Guidelines on working with and for young people in humanitarian and protracted conflict , the regional technical guidance note on adolescent and young people’s volunteering, the regional toolkit on Participatory Action Research, the Life Skills and Citizenship Education (LSCE) framework, Green Rising, the Adolescent Girls Strategy, and the Generation Unlimited agenda across UNICEF’s key outcome areas for adolescents in the MENA region.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

• Guidance, technical support and oversight to COs;
• Networking and partnership building
• Knowledge generation and management
• Support and sustain the agenda on Adolescent Development and Participation across key regional outcomes and accelerators

1. Guidance, technical support and oversight to COs:

• Support COs in applying a systems approach to engagement and participation, both in humanitarian and development settings;
• Contribute to the development and review of key RO and country programme documents (annual plans, reports, SitAN, etc) to ensure they reflect relevant outcomes for adolescents and youth in the regional and country context and are in line with established plans and expected results (RAM);
• Work with Gender section to help ensure COs adopt gender transformative approaches in strategy and programme development.
• Strengthening programming of adolescents and youth, based on the global and regional UNICEF guidelines and strategies in relation to engagement and participation, including the Adolescent Girls Strategy and Green Rising
• Identify and contribute in addressing capacity-development needs of country teams regarding the effective and efficient programming and implementation as part of the operationalization of the global and regional UNICEF guidelines and strategies regarding engagement and participation;
• Contribute to reporting on regional and country specific results through SMQs and RAM.

2. Networking and partnership building

• Coordinate UNICEF RO’s engagement in the PROSPECTS partnership with HQ, ESARO, participating MENA COs, and the Dutch MFA (as required).
• Seize the opportunities for UNICEF (regional and COs) of different platforms and partnerships that exist in the region around the referred agenda to ensure alignment and (financial and technical) leverage.
• Strengthen UNICEF RO’s engagement with UN agencies and key stakeholders to scale young people’s engagement in climate change, including Youth Pact for Green Skills, PA and roll-out of the Green Rising global strategy in MENA.
• Use opportunities for regional advocacy to influence policies, programmes and budgeting at all levels related to engagement and participation
• Support regional adolescent and youth engagement platforms, initiatives etc.
• Resource mobilization: collaborate with RO Sections and COs for the development of regional multi-country, multi-sectoral funding proposals to support adolescent and young people’s engagement, skilling and employability in MENA; identify possible sources of new funding from both the public and private sectors.

3. Knowledge generation and management

• Contribute to KM of the sections and the office, in terms of sharing best practices, expertise and lessons learned around programming for adolescents and youth;
• Implement ADAP RO’s Learning Agenda, including facilitation of workshops and development of learning initiatives.
• Ensure the engagement of adolescents and youth, including support to Youth Advisory Groups (YAG) to ensure evidence-informed programming and policy making at sub-national, national and regional level, targeting in particularly vulnerable and displaced adolescents and youth in MENA;
• Support the development of public goods that promote/support implementation of the agenda.

4. Support and sustain the agenda on Adolescent Development and Participation across key regional outcomes and accelerators

• Provide technical oversight and quality assurance in relation to adolescents and young people’s engagement in regional accelerators (WASH and water scarcity, Violence against children, Social protection and skilling/transition to work)

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

Education:

An Advanced University Degree in a social science field (or equivalent field) is required.

Experience:

• A minimum of 8 years of professional experience in social development planning and management at the international level

• A minimum of 3 years of professional experience working on adolescent/youth issues, focusing on engagement and participation and/or transferable skills building;

• At least 3 years of relevant experience in low- or middle-income countries, preferably in the MENA region;

• Active engagement in participatory research is an asset;

• Experience in multi-sectoral work and engagement with different UN partners is an asset

Language:

Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, French) is 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)

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

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, time off for breastfeeding purposes, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will 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.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable from donor are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions 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.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

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

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.