Consultancy - Youth Participation, New York/Remote, Office of Global Insight & Policy, 50 days from August 2022 to March 2023

Contract

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UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, a future

Child rights are universal, inalienable and indivisible. Yet the pursuit of these enduring rights takes place within a world that is in constant flux. Economic, social and political dynamics, driven by new technologies, actors and challenges, pose important tests for the current and future well-being of children.

The Office of Global Insight and Policy (Global Insight) was established in 2019 to assist UNICEF in interpreting, and engaging in, a rapidly changing world. Global Insight provides UNICEF with intelligence on a range of issues with implications for children and its work, equipping the organization to more effectively shape the global discourse with greater awareness of children’s issues, and preparing it for the future by scanning the horizon for frontier issues and ways of working.

With dedicated expertise in seven policy areas – digital technology, human capital, governance, the environment, society, finance, and markets – Global Insight serves as UNICEF’s internal think tank, scoping frontier issues and emerging practices affecting children that may inform UNICEF’s approach.

How can you make a difference?

UNICEF Office of Global Insight and Policy is looking for an experienced and dynamic Youth participation consultant to support the advancement of the Office’s approach to meaningful youth participation. The Youth participation consultant will support the development of the Office’s framework for meaningful youth participation in convening, research, and foresight activities, develop tools that leverage human-centered design methodologies, support the implementation of workshops and consultations with young people and partners, identify linkages and opportunities to strengthen UNICEF’s work, and support the development of derivative products.

Your main responsibilities will be:

Design, adapt, and implement Youth participation frameworks for Convening, Research, and Foresight.

• Work with internal stakeholders and partners, leverage UNICEF principles and tools for the meaninful and ethical participation of young people, and design frameworks to standardize meaningful youth participation in priority projects and events.
• Develop a youth foresight methodological framework and support its implementation.

Develop and implement human-centered design workshops and other participatory methodologies to advance youth participation in Convening, Research, and Foresight.

• Design youth-centered processes and workshops to meaningfully engage youth in priority projects.
• Train and support youth partners on foresight methodologies.

Youth partners and stakeholder engagement.

• Support the development of youth advisory groups and governance mechanisms to engage youth beyond timebound projects and programmes.
• Identify and engage partners to strengthen UNICEF’s meaningful youth participation work across Convening, Research, and Foresight.

Produce materials, tools and toolkits.

• Develop toolkits for meaningful and participatory youth engagement methodologies across convening, research, and foresight.
• Contribute to the development of products (such as reports, presentations,…).

Development and implementation of Youth Foresight activities

• Develop and implement process and workshops for meaningful youth participation in Outlook report process through a youth-lead global trends analysis.
• Support the development of Youth Foresight toolkit and reports
• Support the development of Youth Foresight toolkit and reports

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in development, public policy, social science or a relevant field is required.

*A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.

• A minimum of eight (8) years of relevant professional experience in leading youth participation in development, convening, research, or strategic foresight, is required.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver on complex projects with multiple stakeholders.
• Experience with strategy and execution of internal and external engagement functions such as in campaigns, communications, design, or partnerships/coalition is highly desirable.
• Excellent verbal and interpersonal communication skills; meticulous attention to detail and ability to work under tight deadlines with a commitment to quality.
• Ability to use and/or adopt UNICEF’s corporate tools and software in order to develop strategies and deliver tasks (such as Microsoft suite, SharePoint, Mailchimp,…)
• Experience in making proposals and decks to present information to specific audiences is an asset.
• Experience facilitating, designing and executing participatory meetings and events offline an online is an asset
• Proven experience and knowledge in integrating meaningful youth participation and engagement in convening, research, and foresight is necessary.
• Applying collaborative, iterative and agile principles in framework and strategy development roles is highly desirable.
• Experience working with global teams and in international settings is preferable.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is considered an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA). To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Payment details and further considerations

• Monthly payment, based on monthly tasks and progress reports, approved upon monthly review with supervisor.
• Consultant is responsible for his/her own health and travel insurance
• Consultant is eligible for standard DSA for all work-related travel

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

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 also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.