Young Innovator Fellow

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UNFPA - United Nations Population Fund

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Application deadline 2 years ago: Sunday 20 Mar 2022 at 00:00 UTC

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Contract

This is a UNV National Youth contract. This kind of contract is known as National UN Volunteer. It is normally only for nationals. More about UNV National Youth contracts.

Enabling young people to realise their full social, economic and human potential is a key aspect of UNFPA’s mandate. Our Fellows are innovative young people from around the world who have demonstrated commitment to development issues within their communities. The Young Innovators Fellowship programme brings young people into UNFPA with a dedicated focus on both providing a youth perspective and driving innovation. This exciting opportunity sees fellows undergo leadership training and support innovation efforts in UNFPA Regional or Country Offices in a capacity relevant to their experience. Our goal is to provide fellows with the tools, skill sets, international experience and exposure to innovation to empower them to realise their career goals, thus building national capacity. Fellows in turn provide innovative insights and ideas that will enable us to be better aligned with development issues in their community.

The UNFPA Young Innovator Fellow will contribute to UNFPA’s innovation priorities. As a member of the Innovation and Technology Team of UNFPA Benin, working in close collaboration with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the Fellow will participate in initiatives leveraging the power of the digital revolution to accelerate access to sexual and reproductive health care and connect young people with youth friendly health services, while contributing to girls and women’s empowerment up to the last mile.

The Young Innovator Fellow will be actively engaged and support: ● mHealth and e-learning for young people: using new and innovative mobile technologies to increase access and quality information to sexual reproductive health (SRH) services for adolescents and young people, including self-care and provision of services to the last mile. The Fellow will therefore contribute to accelerating the achievement of zero unmet family planning needs and preventable maternal deaths for young mothers.

● Girls’ empowerment: using innovative strategies in programme design, implementation and evaluation to address bottlenecks of youth interventions and accelerate results in the access and use of SRH services for adolescents and young people, especially the girls most at risk of being left behind. The Fellow will therefore contribute to accelerating the achievement of the transformative result of zero gender based violence (GBV) and harmful practices

Under the direct supervision of the Innovation and Technology Team lead of UNFPA Benin, the Fellow will undertake the following tasks: ● Actively contribute to the implementation of the innovation actionable strategy of the UNFPA Benin’s 2019-2023 programme, including the UNFPA/ITU supported #Tech4Youth and #Tech4Girls Initiative, identifying challenges and opportunities with a view to infuse additional perspectives, innovation and creativity ● Participate in the ongoing subregional #Tech4Youth and #Tech4Girls initiative and other key stakeholders of the Innovation and Tech ecosystem in Benin to strengthen partnerships and help accelerate the achievement of our mandate ● Support of the identification and use of novel technologies to increase access to sexual reproductive health (SRH) services for adolescents and young people and promote youth and girls empowerment ● Provide technical support on existing technology and innovation projects launched by UNFPA Benin with a focus on testing, learning and refining the content and platform ● Think creatively about best fitting technology for projects targeting in school and out of school young people, understanding currently available technology and trends, to develop effective solutions ● Provide research, monitoring and evaluation and knowledge management support regarding existing innovative initiatives to promote learning and continuous improvement ● Contribute to the involvement of adolescents and young people in the assessment of existing projects using human-centered design approaches, with a specific attention to gender concerns and cultural sensitivity ● Interact with the local youth community; network and building relationships with local organizations, groups or individuals

The assignment will include mission travel to New York, once for a capstone to conclude the fellowship.       Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to: ● Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day); ● Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; ● Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities; ● Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; ● Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers; ● Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

☒ Accountability ☒ Adaptability and Flexibility ☒ Building Trust ☒ Commitment and Motivation ☒ Commitment to Continuous Learning ☒ Communication ☒ Creativity ☒ Empowering Others ☒ Ethics and Values ☒ Integrity ☒ Professionalism ☒ Respect for Diversity ☒ Working in Teams

● Prior experience or demonstrated interest working with digital technologies or online platforms for programmatic areas (e.g., education, health, social development) ● Demonstrated interest and dedication to development issues in areas of UNFPA’s mandate through either volunteer experience, work experience, or youth network affiliations. Preferably, up to 3 years of experiences are welcomed. ● Demonstrated, or clear idea of, delivery of UNFPA’s mandate in an innovative way ● Ability to identify and propose innovative solutions to problems ● Prior experience engaging with different stakeholders or entities, such as with the private sector, social enterprises, academia, the media, a plus ● Open to candidates aged between 18 years to 26 years old ● Special consideration will be given to indigenous people, persons with disabilities and LGBTQI candidates

Benin is a country located on the African west coast. This assignment is based in Cotonou, the capital city of the Republic of Benin, with possible travels to the decentralised office of Parakou, and in the North of the Country, where a number of UNFPA youth and girls programmes are being implemented.

Living conditions are relatively good. Running water and electricity are available. Cost of living is high compared to other countries in the sub-region. Most food stuff is imported. Basic food includes meat, fish, cassava and rice. It is easy to find fresh food on the market. There are regular flights from/to Benin.

The country has boundaries with Nigeria, Togo, Ghana and Burkina Faso. The official language is French.

The current situation in Benin is relatively calm and at a minimum security level (SLS 1) of the United Nations.

Added 2 years ago - Updated 2 years ago - Source: unv.org