Job Description

Summary of duties

• Provide technical guidance to country offices on the preparation, design, and updating of adolescent and youth skills development and employability programmes to ensure that current and comprehensive data on relevant issues is available to guide UNICEF’s strategic policy, advocacy, and interventions. This includes supporting adolescent and youth skills and employability strategies in various contexts: formal and non-formal education settings, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), entrepreneurship, and targeting NEET through multiple pathways.
• In cooperation with others, undertake regional analysis and research on the situation of adolescent and youth skills development and employment, support sector-specific analysis of data, support the evaluation of existing programmes to determine their effectiveness, and recommend alternative solutions that work best in the different contexts of the countries of the region, including emergency contexts.
• Provide technical contribution in strategic programme discussions on the planning of relevant programmes: support country offices to formulate, design, and prepare programme proposals for the sector, ensuring alignment with UNICEF’s Global Strategic Plan. Provide technical and operational support throughout all stages of programming processes and ensure integration, coherence, and harmonization of programmes/projects with other UNICEF sectors and achieve results as planned and allocated.
• Co-create strategies to support the integration of 21st-century skills such as creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration in formal and non-formal education, and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), including in emergency contexts, to prepare adolescents and young people for 21st-century jobs.
• Institutionalize and share best practices and available knowledge on skills integration, skills assessment, skills packages for multiple pathways of training, formal and non-formal approaches, community-based or emergency settings, and support evaluations of existing programmes when they occur.
• Collaborate across sectors to improve integrated emergency responses for adolescents focusing on skills, particularly skills for employability.
• Engage with the Generation Unlimited Secretariat (Gen-U) at both RO and HQ levels to guide and support the operationalization of Gen-U in pilot countries, as well as develop strategies for engagement in other countries in the region.

Learning elements and expectations:

Upon completion of the assignment the JPO will have/will be able to:

• Have sufficient knowledge on ASE programming and program implementation.
• Have strengthened country office collaboration through efficient and effective technical support provided to the development and implementation of ASE programming.
• Have executed ASE advocacy initiatives and products that have an impact on the ability of UNICEF to promote social, political, and economic action and changes in behaviours, social attitudes, beliefs and actions by communities, individuals and societies on youth employment, education, skilling, and empowerment.
• Have contributed in building and developing programs with young people that target approaches to enhancing skilling and employability and other thematic programme areas.

The JPO training programme includes the following learning elements:

• Developing scalable signature programme offerings co-created with country offices and young people.
• Building effective fundraising and communication materials that result in resources for UNICEF.
• JPO Orientation Programme – Designed towards development of professional skills and personal insights into performance and collaboration and create an understanding of how the organization functions and carries out its work around the world
• E-learning opportunities in performance management: create the conditions for high performance and development
• E-learning opportunities on basic UNICEF programme & operational strategies: assimilate UNICEF’s approaches to programming and operations, thematic programme areas as well as cross-cutting functional areas
• JPO Coaching & Mentoring Programme – driven by individual needs and targeted towards insights into organizational culture and targeted training opportunities and support
• Stretch assignments- opportunity, normally from to max of six months that goes beyond the current description and creates an opportunity to learn new skills in a different Duty Station, Division or Section
• Career Transition Programme tailored to support the JPOs in their final year with their future career aspirations
• The JPO position includes a Duty travel and training allowance (DTTA) of $4000 per year which may be used for learning activities related to the assignment and career development.

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

• Citizenship of a developing country that appears on the list of the following eligible countries for the Dutch JPO Programme http://www.nedworcfoundation.nl/pdf/List%20of%20eligible%20countries%20%20November%202018.pdf
• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in  one of the following fields is required: international relations, political science, economics social and behavioural science, sociology, anthropology, psychology, education, communication, public relations, or another relevant technical field. Part of the candidates' academic training must have taken place in a developing country that appears on the following list of eligible countries of the Dutch JPO Programme:http://www.nedworcfoundation.nl/pdf/List%20of%20eligible%20countries%20%20November%202018.pdf
  *A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree or equivalent) in combination with qualifying experience (at least 3 years of relevant working experience) may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree
• Minimal 2 years to maximum of 4 years relevant paid working experience in one or more of the following areas is required social development programme development, education, execution or planning, private sector engagement, public advocacy, civil society engagement, results-based fundraising.
• Working experience within the UN system should not exceed 50% of the relevant working experience including UNV, paid UN internships and UN consultancies.
• All paid work experience since obtaining Bachelor’s degree will/can be considered. 
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.