Regional Adviser Adolescent Development and Participation (ADAP), P5, Geneva, Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (#21472)

Overview

Provide strategic direction for adolescent development and participation programs

You have:

• An Advanced University Degree (Master's and above) in social and development sciences.
• At least 10 years of professional experience in policy/program management for adolescents and young people.
• At least five of those years should be in a middle- and high-income country context.
• Proven international programme management experience in Europe and Central Asia.
• Knowledge of the youth sector in Europe and Central Asia is required.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of Russian and/or regional languages is preferred.
• Experience in Results Based Management is a requirement.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office applications is required.
• Prior experience in UNICEF or UN agency is considered an asset.
• Experience in co-creating policy is desirable.

Contract

This is a P-5 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 10 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 203,666 USD and 255,240 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 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 champion

Located in Geneva, Switzerland, the Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (RO ECA) coordinates and supervises UNICEF's work in 28 countries to ensure that no child is left out in our efforts to realize their rights.

The Adolescent Development and Participation (ADAP) team contributes toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda which reaffirms the importance of safeguarding the rights of adolescents as stipulated in the CRC and in other key global and regional human rights, policy and programming guidance and international standards endorsed by member states.

How can you make a difference?

As a Regional Adviser you will provide strategic direction across the board for building on the strengths and resilience of young people as partners in the realization of their rights and development and as contributors to the wellbeing of their communities, countries and the planet. This will include support for building systems with and for adolescents and young people meaningful participation, civic engagement and action on all issues that matter to them, including climate action, mental health, gender norms, employability, social inclusion, peace and tolerance. Provide thought leadership and technical assistance for the scaling up of national programmes in country offices seeking alignment with SP/SDGs targets and leverage resources and partnerships.

The regional adviser will accomplish this by:

• Developing Strategic Direction: Developing a vision and strategy for Adolescent and Youth Engagement and Participation for UNICEF ECARO in development and humanitarian settings.
• Programme support and technical assistance: Lead a regional team comprised of the ADAP team and a wider team of staff linked to the adolescent/youth agenda in countries and the regional office to lead in areas of programme support and technical assistance.
• Knowledge generation, management and capacity development: Manages knowledge acquisition and analysis of adolescent/youth-related programming through documentation, annual reporting, assessment of good practices, accountabilities, and analyses of management resources.
• Evidence-based programmatic technical leadership: Provide oversight of the regional guidance for programming for and with adolescents and young people. Monitors global, regional and country developments and incorporates them into regional guidance.
• Advocacy, networking and partnership-building: Guide and oversee the development and maintenance of high level relationships with UN agencies, inter-governmental organizations such as the EU and CoE, donor organizations, youth organizations, international and national NGOs, academic institutions, professional networks, key partnerships and others for the purpose of strengthening attention to and investment in adolescents and young people within the regional development architecture.
• Resource mobilization: Develop and implement strategic plans for resource mobilization and allocation in collaboration with Public Partnership Division and Private Fundraising and Partnerships, based on country, regional and global priorities.

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

• An Advanced University Degree (Master's and above) in the social and development sciences (child/youth development, anthropology, sociology, psychology, political science, international relations, development studies) and related fields.
• At least 10 years of professional experience at national and international levels in the formulation, design and management and evaluation of policies and programmes for and with adolescents and young people.
• At least five of those years should be in a middle- and high-income country context.
• Proven international – “hands-on” programme management experience in the Europe and Central Asia region is highly desirable.
• Knowledge of the youth sector in Europe and Central Asia is required.
• Prior experience in UNICEF or UN agency is considered an asset.
• Experience in emergency context is considered an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of Russian and or regional language is preferred. Knowledge of another UN language is an asset.
• Experience in a UN system agency, large private or public company, or experience working in a developing country and/or humanitarian/ emergency context is an asset.
• Experience in Results Based Management is a requirement
• Experience in co-creating policy is desirable.
• Prior experience working with diverse and executive level stakeholder groups or multi-stakeholder partnerships is highly desirable.
• Previous hands on experience in strategic and managerial leadership, preferably in a multi-office context, is required.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office applications is required.

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…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships (2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (3) Drive to achieve results for impact (4) Innovates and embraces change (5) Manages ambiguity and complexity (6) Thinks and acts strategically (7) Works collaboratively with others, (8) Nurtures, leads and manages people

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

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, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. 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 promote the protection and safeguarding of all children.

Remarks:

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

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

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also 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 cancelled.

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.

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

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

Potential interview questions