Adolescent Development Manager – Humanitarian and Peacebuilding (P-4), PG Education-ADAP, Outposted in Nairobi – Kenya # 0086267

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

 For every child, … social change,

The Adolescent Development and Participation (ADAP) team in anchored in UNICEF’s Education Programme Team, as part of the Programme Group (PG), and provides technical assistance to ROs and COs on accelerating the adolescent and youth agenda across all Goal Areas as per UNICEF’s strategic plan.

Under the supervision of the Global Lead, Adolescents Development and Participation, this function aims to ensure safe and meaningful participation of young people in humanitarian and peacebuilding contexts and address key priorities for Adolescent Development and Participation in line with UNICEF’s core commitments to children in humanitarian action and the IASC Youth Guidelines.

How can you make a difference?

Under the guidance of the Global Lead, ADAP, and in close coordination with the PG Humanitarian Action focal points, and the Emergency Operations Division (EMOPS), the Adolescent Development Manager will be responsible for strengthening adolescent and youth components of UNICEF humanitarian and peacebuilding contexts.

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

 Support coordination, advocacy and programme efforts on working with and for adolescents and young people in humanitarian and peacebuilding contexts. 

Implementation of UNICEF’s CCCs on Adolescent Development and Participation, and roll out of global goods on working with and for adolescents and young people in humanitarian and peacebuilding contexts

• Provide technical assistance for programming for and with adolescents and young people, including implementation of UNICEF’s revised Core Commitments to Children on Humanitarian Action, and the IASC Youth Guidelines.
• Conduct roll outs, with partners, at the global, regional and country level on the IASC Youth Guidelines for practical application across sectors in regions and countries, and update/adapt guidance and youth friendly versions as needed.
• Coordinate scale up and utilization of global flagship tools, such as Adolescent Kit for Expression and Innovation, Youth Action Guide including digitization.
• Support advocacy and resource mobilization effort on UNICEF’s efforts to work with and for adolescents and young people in humanitarian and protracted contexts.
• Support the ADAP Global lead and team in positioning and implementing the youth engagement agenda in forcibly displaced contexts, as part of the PROSPECTS partnership.

Advocacy and Partnerships on adolescents and youth in humanitarian and peacebuilding contexts

• Advocate at global level for stronger integration of and allocation of resources to addressing the needs and priorities of adolescents and youth in humanitarian action; disaster risk reduction strategies; emergency preparedness, response and recovery; and peacebuilding processes and programmes.
• Review and contribute to existing organizational plans, tools, policies and standards in the area of emergencies and peacebuilding to strengthen work with and for adolescents and youth; and ensures linkages between emergency, transition and development strategies.
• Participate and actively engage in the inter-agency Youth Compact, including in advocacy efforts, coordination on humanitarian efforts, and developing inter-agency guidance.
• Work closely with EMOPS, UNICEF Humanitarian Action focal points working group in PG and support to regional and country offices in ensuring appropriate attention to adolescents and youth within L2/L3 emergency situations and on-going efforts to harmonize responses to emergencies.
• Forge partnerships with IASC clusters, task forces and surge/stand by partners to position and strengthen efforts with and for adolescents and young people.
• Strengthen the inclusion of and collaboration with youth led/youth centered organizations in humanitarian and peacebuilding contexts.

 Knowledge Management and Documentation

• Participate in institutional assessments, evaluations and humanitarian reviews that help to identify opportunities and gaps in crises preparedness, response and recovery efforts that have implications for adolescents and young people.
• Support knowledge generation (e.g. case study documentation, learning series etc), dissemination, and sharing of experiences among UNICEF staff and partners on strategies and tools, lessons learned, case examples and innovations to prevent and mitigate the impact of emergencies.

Contributions to ADAP HQ section operations and management

• Contribute to ADAP HQ’s resource mobilization and management efforts including planning, utilization and reporting.
• Work with and guide the work of support staff and/or external consultants/contractors such as on the roll out of the IASC Youth Guidelines, training and capacity development on the Adolescent Kit, coordinating inter-agency advocacy and training events at global, regional and country level.
• Synthesize and analyze progress and challenges and develop recommendations for relevant UN and UNICEF policy and strategy documents, annual and mid-term reviews, donor reports and inter-agency feedback.
• Contribute to ADAP Section’s key initiatives and multi-sectoral effortsas required.

The following minimum requirements:

• An advanced degree in social sciences with a technical focus in the areas of education, humanitarian action, human rights, international development, psychology and/or related field is required.
• A minimum of eight (8) years of professional work experience at the national and international levels in adolescent and youth programmes, programme management, youth engagement, with emphasis on working for and with young people in humanitarian and peacebuilding contexts is required.
• Relevant experience in coordination, advocacy, developing global goods and guidance,  partnerships in humanitarian situations, working with humanitarian partners (IASC, cluster mechanisms etc) is desirable.
• Strong knowledge of and experience working on gender equity, especially as pertaining to adolescents and young people will be an asset
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
• Demonstrated experience and expertise working on education programmes for adolescents and young people (Experience with Life Skills Education Programmes is a plus)
• Demonstrated track record in report writing, documentation and publication.
• Knowledge of UNICEF and UN language, protocols, branding and design standards;
• Ability to work with minimal daily supervision and exercise sound judgment in meeting deadlines.
• Fluency in English is required. Working knowledge of another UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish) is considered an asset.

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

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

• Builds and maintains partnerships
• Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
• Drive to achieve results for impact
• Innovates and embraces change
• Manages ambiguity and complexity
• Thinks and acts strategically
• Works collaboratively with others

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

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 does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children.

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.

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

Remarks:

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

This post is subject to PBR approval.

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

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

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.