Policy Expert National Consultant, Baghdad-Iraq (for Iraqi national only)

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.

How can you make a difference?

Iraq has the fastest growing population and is currently in the pre-dividend stage. Changing demographic trends in Iraq – with a youth population expected to reach 17.6 million by 2040 (27.1 % of the population ) make it important for the country to promote development and participation of adolescent and youth in the second decade of life, to enable them to develop to their full potential and transition to adulthood responsibly. Chronic and systemic gaps in upstream work and in the enabling environment can be found in the consistent lack of focus on young people across sectors, including lack of budget-specific allocations for young people across existing laws. There is a need for effective policies need first and foremost to recognize young people holistically, as a distinct population with rights, unique needs and capacities. This will enable the realization of their rights, promotion of quality (adolescent and youth sensitive and need based) supply and for generating demand for services which are tailored to the needs of young people.

UNICEF in collaboration with UNFPA and support to the Ministry of Planning for the 2019 National Adolescent and Youth Survey. The survey resulted with evidence about adolescent behaviours, needs and choices, including gender and societal norms, system gaps and sectoral responses. This evidence will feed into the influencing of inclusive sectoral budgets, policies and laws for adolescent girls and boys (e.g. education, health, labor and protection). UNICEF will build upon collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and Sports at federal and KRI and UNFPA to address existing policies and strategies which are developed or are being developed to promote adolescent development and participation. to strategically address legislative and policy frameworks to enable young people to meaningfully participate in Iraq’s social, civic, and economic life. UNICEF will maximize disaggregation and analysis of the survey and use it for advocacy with the Government so that budgets and policies address the real needs and priorities of adolescents and youth by supporting the development of policy and advocacy briefs based on the critical analysis of national data, budgets and expenditures for skills, learning and youth participation and sensitive programs/interventions, identifying gaps including in allocations and spending and advocate for participation and skills building of Iraqi youth with adequate financial resources for by federal and provincial governments.

Scope of work: Under the overall guidance of the Adolescent and Youth Development Specialist, direct supervision of the Chief of Adolescent Participation and Development Programme, the consultant will provide technical assistance with development and conduct policy and advocacy briefs on youth participation in decision making process and transferable skills ‘learning to earning’. The policy and advocacy briefs will be developed based on the findings of the National Youth Survey 2019. The assignment includes high level consultation sessions with national and local stakeholders and youth groups. additional data will be generated through U-Report to provide an evidence-based recommendation for advocacy, programme design and implementation and decision-making at national and sub national level. The assignment will require a review of existing policies and strategies including National Youth Vision 2030 and National Development Plan. The National Consultant will be responsible for liaising with national stakeholders (governmental officials, line ministries), undertaking analysis of national data including data of national youth survey 2019, and distilling key findings and messages that will be used to advocate for youth participation and outcomes in favor of addressing youth development and participation

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

• Advanced university degree in fields such as Social Sciences, Economics, Public Policy, Governance and Development Studies or any related fields. Possession of a PhD degree in Social Sciences will be an added advantage.
• Experience – at least 5 experience in research and development activities, with an emphasis on youth development or similar.
• Excellent knowledge of the latest trends and policy issues in the Iraqi context;
• Proven ability to advocate and provide policy advice to senior government officials, international development partners, civil society representatives etc.
• Ability to lead strategic planning and reporting processes with multi-stakeholder involvement and interaction
• Strong analytical and writing skills
• High proficiency in English and Arabic

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are...

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

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 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.