Sustainability Innovation Coordinator (YOMA), Pretoria, South Africa, 11.5 months

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, OPPORTUNITY.

Youth on the frontlines protecting South Africa’s environment | UNICEF South Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa has contributed the least to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions but is greatly burdened by climate change impacts. Environmental change will continue to deepen existing vulnerabilities, leading to poverty, fragility, conflict, and violence. Without rapid deployment of inclusive, climate-informed development, 43 million additional people could be pushed below the poverty line by 2030 in Sub-Saharan Africa. Globally, economies are losing around US$335 billion annually due to climate disasters (World Bank). The human, economic and developmental costs associated with climate change impacts are significant, particularly in highly vulnerable and poor regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa. Globally, one out of five young people (ages 15 to 24) live in areas with high under- or unemployment. In most African countries, youth unemployment occurs at a rate that is ‘more than twice that of adults’ (AfDB). Many of these individuals are unable to secure jobs due to a lack of education, experience and financial means. Furthermore, the economic domains in most African countries lack decent employment opportunities that harness youth potential.

Skills needed in Sub-Saharan Africa are shifting and the region's educational system is underprepared, resulting in a skills mismatch between those being acquired and those required by companies. According to ILO, the green economy is projected to create up to 60 million new jobs globally by 2030 which require specifics skill sets that the majority of youth do not currently possess. As a result, UNICEF South Africa is currently supporting programmes to capacitate and empower adolescents to participate and civically engage within an overall enabling environment, while also strengthening their employability in the changing labour market. One of these initiatives, the Youth Agency Marketplace (YOMA), is a global initiative that is currently being scaled up in South Africa and the BNLSE region with use cases being built out in the following key areas: ecological restoration, water management, circular economy, just transition, and enviropreneurship.

In partnership with the Generation Unlimited, the Botnar Foundation, GIZ, Rlabs, UNICEF and other key stakeholders, YOMA was launched in 2020 as a global initiative for youth participants to build and transform their futures by actively engaging in social impact initiatives linked to global goals (e.g., SDGs) and gain access to learning and economic opportunities. The platform creates a youth (YO) marketplace (MA) enabling participants to engage in opportunities to improve their skills, build their profiles and thrive through the achievement of their life goals and careers either through employment or the entrepreneurship path. At the same time, YOMA offers the opportunity for organisations (non-profit organisations, corporate actors, academic institutions, and more) to get in touch with youth to provide their support and services and tap into their potential. As youth engage in the opportunities offered by YOMA their active involvement, skills acquired through completion of tasks and learning are recorded on a verifiable digital CV with trusted credentials using blockchain technology. Furthermore, their efforts are rewarded and incentivized with the platform’s digital currency (ZLTO), a digital token, that can be spent in the YOMA marketplace to purchase services and goods to further boost their career development. To address environmental crises in South Africa, YOMA aims to empower youth to address environmental challenges and youth unemployment by providing access to learning and impact opportunities to expand critical skills and boost employability to in the emerging green economy. To this end, in 2022, UNICEF South Africa leveraged YOMA to support various initiatives, including: (1) COP26/27 Green Challenges in which over 40,000 youth engaged with the challenge and 1,000 prototypes were generated to address environmental issues; (2) Just Transition Hackathon in which 124 youth enviropreneurs participated in a bootcamp and were supported; and (3) STEM-SDG Challenge(s) to teach youth STEM skills and enable them to address the SDGs. In 2022/2023, planning has commenced to leverage YOMA to scale up the current work that UNICEF is doing for children and youth in the environmental space while also expanding scope to address needs in South Africa.

In 2023/2024, UNICEF intends to align with youth-focused initiatives alongside key initiatives such as Generation Unlimited, the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention (PYEI) and Harambee/SAyouth. As such, UNICEF aims to leverage innovations (e.g., YOMA, the African Drone & Data Academy (ADDA), GIGA, U-report) to support youth and address growing challenges (e.g., climate change, just transition, ecological/energy crises, flooding, youth unemployment) in South Africa which align with activities in UNICEF's education and health sections.

As such, UNICEF South Africa will leverage YOMA to support various initiatives for youth in 2023/2024, including: a citizen science water monitoring project, various Green YOMA Challenges alongside partners (UNDP, UNEP, SAIIA, Airbnb) focused on circular economy and sustainable tourism, an agriculture crop observation project, solar panel youth employment programmes, digital skilling programmes (e.g., with SAP), SDG-STEM challenges, and more. In support of these efforts, UNICEF will also be working with research institutions (e.g., Wits University, Rhodes University) to conduct critical operational research on the green learning-to-earning pathway for youth in South Africa which complements various YOMA-enabled initiatives.

These initiatives will be facilitated by UNICEF's innovation team who will work closely with partners and the various UNICEF sections to support thousands of youth, further the Generation Unlimited agenda in South Africa, and enable UNICEF to expand critical partnerships with civil society and government (e.g., the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention (PYEI)). UNICEF will also be expanding other innovations to address South Africa's environmental issues, such as the use of drones to support in disaster risk reduction efforts, which will link to the YOMA initiatives being rolled out.

How can you make a difference?

Under the supervision of the Innovation Specialist in South Africa, the consultant will support with:

1. Management of Specific Components of the YOMA ecosystem - While the annual priorities will be elaborated jointly in the team, it is anticipated that the consultant will focus on all economic aspects of the YOMA and its operational research component. Priority issues include: green/digital pathways for youth, entrepreneurial pathways for youth, and operational research. Monitor work progress and ensure results are achieved according to schedule and performance standards.
2. Programme management, planning and monitoring - Support the YOMA team in on the conceptualization, drafting and finalization of programme and project proposals. Elaborate monitoring systems and draft progress and end project reports. Stay engaged in the latest research outcomes relevant to YOMA. Maintain an evidence base to guide the learning and iterating of the YOMA journey. Participate in strategic programme discussion across various areas to ensure the continued relevance of programme interventions on the planning of education programmes. Establish specific goals, objectives, strategies and implementation plans for the sector using results-based planning terminology and methodology (RBM).
3. Advisory services and technical support - Provide technical advice to the YOMA team and key counterparts on issues related to development economics, youth employability and evaluation/research/data. Operate data analysis where required. Participate in strategic discussions to influence policy and agenda setting for enhancing youth empowerment, participation, relational wellbeing and livelihoods.
4. Communication, advocacy, networking and partnership building - Build and strengthen strategic partnerships through networking and advocacy with local/national governments, UN system agency partners, donors, internationally recognized institutions, NGOs, funding organizations, research institutes and private sector to reinforce cooperation and/or pursue opportunities to support the development of the YOMA ecosystem. Lead on the communication elements in YOMA with a particular focus on youth centric and relevant communication.
5. Any other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisor - Support with the integration of YOMA into Generation Unlimited, the Basic Package of Support and other programmes.

The deliverables for this consultancy will contribute towards areas of youth engagement, skills building, employability, and scaling up innovations to support young people.

Full statement: Key stakeholders, including government, UNICEF and sister UN agencies, are capacitated to deploy and scale up innovation for children, including technology-driven solutions and social innovation tools.

Tasks/Activities:

1. Design & implementation of key YOMA projects, including:
   • Citizen water monitoring project
   • SAP digital skills pilot
   • SDG-STEM Challenges
   • Digital X Challenges (2 challenges)
   • Giga / YOMA pilot
2. Support operational research to be used for green YOMA and mapping of the green learning-to-earning pathway for youth
3. Support the localization / integration of YOMA with platforms in South Africa
4. Support to strengthen local partnerships and fundraise for activities
5. Identification of new green YOMA use cases
6. Scale up of other innovations related to citizen science & earth observation (drones, GIGA)

Key issues to be addressed: youth unemployment, green/digital skills gaps, environmental challenges, youth advocacy, inclusive innovations to support children and youth

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in international development, sustainability, climate change, innovation
• A minimum of 1 year of relevant professional experience in working on scaling up innovations to address youth unemployment and climate change; experience working with UN innovation teams preferred; understanding of the application of and concepts related to blockchain technology
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language or a local language is an asset

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit 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.

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 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.

Consultants 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.