Youth Engagement and Participation Officer

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.

The youth and adolescent programme interventions address the expansion of meaningful participation of young girls and boys in Lebanon. Through increasing access to meaningful civic engagement opportunities, young girls and boys will be trained to develop, implement and lead initiatives for addressing issues of importance in their lives and for improving their communities. With the aim to promote and reaffirm continued participation of youth and adolescents in the decision making process, without any difference and exclusion, as well as in the development of a sense of active citizenship and social responsibility, and facilitating their participation in the shaping of national and local policies, and in holding the government accountable, UNICEF will support the establishment and empowerment of youth mechanisms/councils/ clubs both at the central level as well as in a number of selected municipalities. These mechanisms will provide a forum for direct civic and policy engagement and will enable youth and adolescents to influence policies, programmes, and services for them. Mechanisms will also be established to expand opportunities for adolescents and youth to connect with NGOs/CBOs to find appropriate volunteer opportunities at the local level. When adolescents and youth are empowered to play meaningful roles in their communities, given a sense of purpose, evidence shows that they make positive/healthy choices and transcend violence and discrimination.

Moreover, the programme seeks to create innovative models of youth engagement to identify, analyze, and take entrepreneurial action against challenges in their communities—helping disadvantaged young people realize their role as agents of social change, and building their knowledge and skills, professional readiness, and resilience along the way. It will increase the capacity of institutions engaged in health promotion and education, as well as in women and girls empowerment, to prepare young people become productive members of the society. This programme will be an entry point to reach the poorest adolescents and young people, as well as youth with disabilities, and provide them with equal opportunities for participation in decision-making processes at local level.

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of the Youth and Adolescent Specialist the Youth Engagement and volunteering Associate, the National Youth Engagement and Participation Officer will be responsible for providing:

• Support to the youth engagement and participations component development and planning;
• Support in the review of research and analyze regional and national political, health, social and economic development trends. Collect, analyze, verify and synthesize information to facilitate programme development, design and preparation, review inputs for programme preparation and documentation, ensuring accuracy, timeliness and relevancy of information;
• support to the youth and adolescent section with the mental health and PSS components under the life skills program;
• operational support to the Adolescent and Youth Officers throughout all stages of programming processes by executing/administering a variety of program, operational and administrative transactions, to support program planning, results-based planning (RBM) and monitoring and evaluating results;
• Support to monitoring program activities related to youth engagement in the field, and track/consolidate challenges identified in partner reports to develop recommendations for improving program quality; Any other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisor;
• Support to the civic engagement program and the volunteering platform; act as support at the Volunteer task force to follow up and monitor the implementations of the project under guidance of the supervisor. Furthermore, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for supporting the capacity building for the UNICEF partners and be able to identify, capture, synthesize and share lessons learned for knowledge development and support in building the capacity of stakeholders. Also, to apply innovative approaches and promote good practice to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results;

• Professionalism • Integrity • Teamwork and respect for diversity • Commitment to continuous learning • Communication • Flexibility • Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement

community work, psychology, management or other relevant programmes; experience with youth related projects is an asset, as is experience working in the UN or other international development organization.

Other desired/mandatory required technical knowledge:

• Understanding and experience in content production, project development, monitoring. • Excellent oral and written skills; excellent drafting, formulation, reporting skills. • Accuracy and professionalism in document production and editing. • Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including grassroots community members, religious and youth organizations, and authorities at different levels; familiarity with tools and approaches of communications for development. • Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment; ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel. • Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various MS Office applications (Excel, Word, etc.) and email/internet; familiarity with database management; and office technology equipment. • Self-motivated, ability to work with minimum supervision; ability to work with tight deadlines. • Have affinity with or interest in human rights advocacy, volunteerism as a mechanism for durable development, and the UN System.

As this is a national UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials. This position is based in Beirut, Lebanon. National UN Volunteers are part of the malicious insurance plan. National UN Volunteers are expected to be culturally sensitive and adjust to the prevailing culture and traditions.