Individual Contractor: Accelerating actions on adolescent participation and civic engagement and COVID-19 in the LAC Region

Consultant Programme & Policy

Overview

Support adolescent participation and civic engagement in COVID-19 context

You have:

• Master’s degree in Social Science, Human Rights, Psychology, or related field.
• A minimum of five years relevant professional experience.
• Working experience in promoting children rights, adolescent and youth engagement, or climate change.
• A good understanding of regional youth organizations and mechanisms for youth participation in the LAC Region.
• Fluency in Spanish and English is required. Knowledge of French or Portuguese will be considered an asset.
• Professional technical knowledge on children’s rights, adolescent participation, youth engagement in climate change, and expertise in developing training and communication materials.
• Demonstrated excellent communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to engage and build collaboration with multiple partners, with a focus on youth organizations.

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

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, equal opportunities

UNICEF promotes the rights and welfare of all children and adolescents in everything we do. Together with our allies, we work in 190 countries and territories to transform this commitment into practical actions that benefit all children, especially focusing our efforts on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded, worldwide.

The UNICEF Latin America and Caribbean Regional Office is based in in Panama, operating in 36 territories, including 24 country offices.

UNICEF works to put the rights and well-being of the most disadvantaged children at the heart of the social, political, and economic agenda, in line with our equity focus, working across our organization and with our partners in government, civil society and the private sector to support shifts in public policy, fuel social engagement, and increase investment for children.

The UNICEF strategic plan for 2018-2021 includes a focus on adolescent girls and boys, with a commitment to ensure gains made during early years are sustained and not lose during the second decade of life. The cross sectoral work with and for adolescents is organized around four result areas:

• Adolescent girls and boys maximize their physical, mental and social well-being
• Adolescent girls and boys are learning and acquiring skills
• Adolescent girls and boys are safe and supported
• Adolescent girls and boys are civically engaged in their communities

The second decade of life is one of the key programmatic priorities for UNICEF Regional Office. The participation and civic engagement of adolescents is a key element of UNICEF work in the Latin America and the Caribbean Region, ensuring adolescents are engaged and heard in matters that affect them. Adolescent participation is also a key programmatic principle that underpins the work UNICEF does with and for children and adolescents and is also a means for achieving results, by empowering adolescents to be agents of change.

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has not been spared the health and socio-economic impacts of COVID-19, becoming the epicenter of the pandemic with over 2 million cases and 100,00 deaths. The bulk of cases in LAC is reported in people between 20 and 40 years of age, with very few cases in children. The current COVID-19 pandemic is presenting unprecedent challenges and adolescents are negatively impacted by interruptions in their learning pathways, in their interactions with peers, teachers and mentors and the long-term consequences of this emergency among adolescents is still to be understood.

UNICEF LACRO is looking for an individual contractor who can provide technical support for the participation and engagement of young people at the time of COVID-19.

For more information about UNICEF and its work. (www.unicef.org/lac)..)

How can you make a difference?

Purpose of the Job

Under the overall guidance and supervision of the Regional Specialist Adolescents and HIV and in close collaboration with the Regional Specialist Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change, the individual contractor will support the Regional Office to accelerate actions on adolescent participation and civic engagement in the context of COVID-19 and support other priority products affected by COVID-19.

Specific Tasks

The individual contractor will conduct the following tasks, in line with the above objectives:

• Support the roll out and use of UNICEF Guidelines on Adolescent Participation and Civic engagement (both in English and Spanish) in the context of COVID-19.
• Compile results from adolescent civic engagement programs implemented by UNICEF in the Region in the context of COVID-19 and contribute in the preparation of reports, tracking progress from both pre-COVID and post-COVID related results.
• Design and implement a training package based on the Advocacy Toolkit for adolescents and young people and climate change that can be rolled out virtually (as per existing agreement with regional partners).
• Contribute to the development of a Tip Sheet for adolescent participation in climate change, in collaboration with UNICEF staff from LACRO and HQ and regional youth organizations.
• Coordinate collaboration with other stakeholders to ensure voices of youth from the LAC Region are included in regional and global discussions around COViD-19 and other related issues, including discussions on skills development, climate change, mental health and psychosocial support.
• Coordinate the roll out and implementation of Plan 12 e-learning platform as part of regional efforts to promote transferable skills in the context of COVID-19.
• Support documentation of results on the LAC Region contribution to the Generation Unlimited initiative in the context of COVID-19.

Note that deliverables and tasks are not chronological and will require simultaneous management. Monthly reports will therefore provide updates relevant for the month in question.

Expected Results The consultant is expected to develop the following results:

• A workplan and timeline detailing how the proposed deliverables will be organized throughout the time of the contract.
• An adapted version of the Guidelines for Adolescent Participation and Civic Engagement in the context of COVID-19.
• A report compiling results from UNICEF country offices on adolescent participation and civic engagement pre and post-COVID 19, including examples from work and initiatives conducted a country level, during the period 2018-2020.
• A training package for the roll out of the Advocacy Toolkit for adolescents and young people on climate change.
• A tip sheet on adolescent engagement in climate change (led by HQ with contributions from the Regional Office and the contractor.
• A e-learning platform on Plan 12 (focusing on transferable skills) developed in collaboration with partners and youth networks, as part of COVID-19 response to the learning crisis.
• A brief report compiling information on GenU achievements in the LAC region (2020-2021).
• Perform other relevant tasks to provide general assistance to the ADAP team as required by supervisor.

Deliverables and expected working days

• An adapted version of the Guidelines for Adolescent Participation and Civic Engagement in the context of COVID-19. [13 days]
• A report compiling results from UNICEF country offices on adolescent participation and civic engagement pre and post-COVID 19, including examples from work and initiatives conducted a country level, during the period 2018-2020 [10 days]
• A training package for the roll out of the Advocacy Toolkit for adolescents and young people on climate change [20 days]
• A tip sheet on adolescent engagement in climate change (led by HQ with contributions from the regional office and the individual contractor). [7 days]
• A e-learning platform on Plan 12 (focusing on transferable skills) developed in collaboration with partners and youth networks, as part of COVID-19 response to the learning crisis. [20 days]
• A brief report compiling information on GenU achievements in the LAC region (2020-2021). [7 days]

To qualify as a champion for every child you will have…

• Master’s degree in Social Science, Human Rights, Psychology or related field.
• A minimum of five years relevant professional experience.
• Working experience in promoting children rights, adolescent and youth engagement, or climate change.
• A good understanding of regional youth organizations and mechanisms for youth participation in the LAC Region.
• Fluency in Spanish and English is required. Knowledge of French or Portuguese will be considered an asset.

Desired technical knowledge, skills and attributes

• Professional technical knowledge on children rights, adolescent participation, youth engagement in climate change and expertise in developing training and communication materials.
• Extensive knowledge of UNICEF programme work in the LAC Region in the areas of adolescent development and participation, skills development, or youth engagement in climate change.
• Experience facilitating adolescent and youth consultations in the Region, collecting programmatic results and coordinate communication initiatives for adolescents and young people.
• Demonstrated excellent communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to engage and build collaboration with multiple partners, with a focus on youth organizations.
• Ability to work efficiently under tight deadlines.
• Demonstrate strong communication skills, verbally and written.
• Able to work effectively and engage young people in programme design.
• Demonstrated experience in UNICEF will be an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

Core values of care, respect, integrity, trust, and accountability. Competencies in: building and maintains partnerships, demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness, drive to achieve results for impact, innovates and embraces change, manages ambiguity and complexity, thinks and acts strategically, works collaboratively with others and nurtures, and, leads and manages people.

Supervision: The individual contractor will work under the direct supervision of the Regional Adolescent and HIV Specialist and in close collaboration with the Regional Specialist Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change.

Workplace: The individual contractor will be requested to work remotely.

Duration: Estimated start date of this individual contract is 15 September until 31 December 2020 (approximately 3.5 months/77 working days).

How to apply: Application should be submitted online and should include CV, cover letter, technical and financial proposal. Qualified candidates are requested to submit daily and monthly fees in their financial proposal.

Remarks:

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

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.

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.

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.

Apply now

Potential interview questions

Added 6 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unicef.org