Organization Mission

UNICEF is supporting health, nutrition, HIV prevention, education, access to safe drinking water, sanitation and protection for children and families caught in the conflict.

Context

UNICEF Ukraine’s Youth and Adolescent program focuses on empowering adolescents and young people to be active agents in Ukraine’s recovery, social cohesion, and EU integration process. Key priorities include youth civic engagement, skilling, employability, psychosocial wellbeing, and policy advocacy.

This UNV assignment will support the meaningful participation of adolescents and young people through structured platforms such as the Young People’s Advisory Board (YPAB), advancing employability and entrepreneurship initiatives linked to Ukraine’s recovery, and strengthening youth-related policy reform at national and local levels.

The UNV will also contribute to improved information management and reporting to capture results and evidence for advocacy. In addition to duty station specific vaccine requirements, appointments 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 appointment.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for UN Volunteers with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage applicants to disclose their disability during application in case reasonable accommodation is required.

Key Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Chief, Adolescent Development, the UNV is expected to undertake the following:

1. UCO Youth Participation and Coordination (Young People’s Advisory Board – YPAB):

• Coordinate the Ukraine Country Office Young People Advisory Board (YPAB) as a youth-led participation platform, ensuring effective communication, planning, advocacy, and implementation of activities.
• Conduct regular (bi-weekly) meetings with enrolled young people, follow up on their interventions, and support collaboration opportunities with external stakeholders.
• Facilitate consultations, joint initiatives, and structured engagement between YPAB members, UNICEF program sections, and external partners, including government and civil society, to strengthen cross-program coordination and improve synergy across ADAP initiatives.
• Ensure meaningful inclusion of adolescents and youth from vulnerable groups (IDPs, youth with disabilities, young women, and marginalized communities), promoting equity and accountability in youth participation processes.
• Support the design and facilitation of training, peer-to-peer learning, and capacity-building initiatives for YPAB members to enhance their leadership, advocacy, and project management skills.
• Establish and maintain monitoring mechanisms, track progress, document results, and prepare periodic reports.
• Support youth participation in advocacy initiatives and campaigns, ensuring safeguarding, logistics, and follow up to maximize impact.

2. Youth Employability and Skills Activation:

• Assist in the implementation of youth employability, entrepreneurship, and upskilling programs, with a focus on green, digital, and technical skills aligned with Ukraine’s recovery.
• Contribute to partnerships with private sector actors, local authorities, and civil society organizations to expand youth learning-to-earning pathways.
• Document lessons learned, promising practices, and success stories for scaling and visibility.
• Provide roving field support to systematize youth participation.

3. Policy and Systems Engagement:

• Support UNICEF’s engagement in youth-related policy reforms (including the EU Youth Guarantee) by providing background research, drafting inputs, and preparing technical notes.
• Facilitate inter-agency collaboration with UN partners and government stakeholders by coordinating meetings, documenting outcomes, and following up on agreed actions.
• Monitor and synthesize developments in national youth policy and legislation, producing concise briefs and updates for UNICEF teams and external partners.
• Assist in mainstreaming adolescent and youth participation priorities across UNICEF programs (e.g., Social Policy, WASH, Health, Gender, SBC, Child Protection, Emergency) through technical inputs, documentation, and coordination support

4. Information Management, Knowledge Sharing, and Technical Quality Support:

• Support systematic data collection, analysis, visualization, and reporting, including coordinating all inputs for SitReps, donor reports, and dashboards.
• Manage knowledge-sharing platforms (e.g., SharePoint, and communication channels.
• Provide technical support and quality assurance to ensure youth participation, skills, and employability components are integrated in program planning, implementation, and reporting.
• Participate in field monitoring and evaluation exercises, program reviews, and prepare reports to guide follow-up action.
• Collaborate with sectoral colleagues and partners to identify and address implementation challenges and propose solutions.

5, Capacity Building and Safeguarding

• Ensure safeguarding protocols are consistently applied in all youth engagement activities, with special attention to IDPs, youth with disabilities, and girls.
• Support the design and rollout of training modules for UNICEF staff, partners, and youth leaders on adolescent participation, and safe civic engagement.

Required Skills and Experience

• At least 3 years of professional experience in youth and adolescent development, civic engagement, employability programs, or related areas.
• Demonstrated knowledge of youth participation methodologies, including organizing youth advisory boards, consultations, and structured engagement processes.
• Experience in supporting youth employability, entrepreneurship, and skills activation programs, with a focus on green, digital, and technical skills.
• Knowledge and experience in youth-related policy engagement and social policy, including familiarity with frameworks such as the EU Youth Guarantee.
• Strong coordination, facilitation, and partnership-building skills, including the ability to work with government, civil society, private sector, and community-based partners.
• Demonstrated experience in safeguarding and inclusive practices, ensuring safe and equitable participation of vulnerable groups (IDPs, youth with disabilities, adolescent girls, marginalized communities).
• Experience in designing and facilitating capacity-building initiatives for youth, partners, and staff, including training on participation, advocacy, and MHPSS integration.
• Proven experience in field-based program implementation, monitoring, and evaluation, including data collection, analysis, visualization, reporting, and lessons-learned documentation.
• Familiarity with digital platforms and knowledge management tools (e.g., SharePoint, dashboards) to support information sharing and program coordination.
• Ability to prepare analytical briefs, reports, and advocacy materials for internal and external stakeholders, including policy and donor audiences.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in Ukrainian and English.
• Strong computer literacy, including Microsoft Office; knowledge of data visualization tools is an asset.
• Self-motivated, able to work independently, manage multiple tasks, and meet tight deadlines.
• Ability to work inclusively and collaboratively in multi-stakeholder environments.
• Sound awareness of security and field safety protocols.

Core Competencies

• Professionalism: demonstrated understanding of operations relevant to UNICEF; technical capabilities or knowledge relevant or transferrable to UNICEF procedures and rules; discretion, political sensitivity, diplomacy and tact to deal with clients; ability to apply good judgement; ability to liaise and coordinate with a range of different actors, especially in senior positions; where appropriate, high degree of autonomy, personal initiative and ability to take ownership; resourcefulness and willingness to accept wide responsibilities and ability to work independently under established procedures; ability to manage information objectively, accurately and confidentially; responsive and client-oriented;
• Integrity: demonstrate the values and ethical standards of the UN and UNICEF in daily activities and behaviors while acting without consideration of personal gains; resist undue political pressure in decision-making; stand by decisions that are in the organization’s interest even if they are unpopular; take prompt action in cases of unprofessional or unethical behaviour; does not abuse power or authority.
• Teamwork and respect for diversity: ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; excellent interpersonal skills; ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and harmonious working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, mixed-gender environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity; sensitivity and adaptability to culture, gender, religion, nationality and age; commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of UN operations; ability to achieve common goals and provide guidance or training to colleagues;
• Commitment to continuous learning: initiative and willingness to learn new skills and stay abreast of new developments in area of expertise; ability to adapt to changes in work environment.
• Planning and organizing effective organizational and problem-solving skills and ability to manage a large volume of work in an efficient and timely manner; ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor (own) work; ability to work under pressure, with conflicting deadlines, and to handle multiple concurrent projects/activities.
• Communication: proven interpersonal skills; good spoken and written communication skills, including ability to prepare clear and concise reports; ability to conduct presentations, articulate options and positions concisely; ability to make and defend recommendations; ability to communicate and empathize with staff (including national staff), military personnel, volunteers, counterparts and local interlocutors coming from very diverse backgrounds; capacity to transfer information and knowledge to a wide range of different target groups;
• Flexibility: adaptability and ability to live and work in potentially hazardous and remote conditions, involving physical hardship and little comfort; to operate independently in austere environments for protracted periods; willingness to travel within the area of operations and to transfer to other duty stations within the area of operations as necessary.
• Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement, which include solidarity, compassion, reciprocity and self-reliance, and commitment towards UNICEF mission and vision, as well as to the UN Core Values.

Living Conditions

As it is a national UN Volunteer”s assignment, the UN volunteer shall organize his/her accommodation by themselves.

Entitlements of National UN Volunteer Specialist >> USD 1587

The contract lasts for the period indicated in the vacancy with the possibility of extensions subject to availability of funding, operational necessity, and satisfactory performance. However, there is no expectation of renewal of the assignment. This is a full-time contract.

Allowances:
• Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA): A Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) USD 1587 (equivalent in UAH) is provided monthly to cover housing, utilities, and normal cost of living expenses. This includes Well-Being Differentials for the period while the ICSC applies hardship classification to duty stations in Ukraine as “E”.
• USD 400 entry lump sum, one-time payment.

Medical and life insurance:
• Medical insurance: The UN Volunteer and eligible PFU dependents will receive UNV provided medical insurance coverage. Coverage for UN Volunteers begins from the Commencement of Service and normally ceases one month after the last day of the UN Volunteer Contract date.
• Life Insurance: UN Volunteers are covered by life insurance for the duration of the UN Volunteer assignment. If a UN Volunteer dies during the UN Volunteer assignment, the eligible designated beneficiaries will be entitled to receive a life insurance lump sum.

Leave entitlements:
• Annual leave:  UN Volunteers accrue an entitlement to 2.5 days of Annual Leave per completed month of the UN Volunteer assignment. Unused accrued Annual Leave up to a maximum of 30 days is carried over in case of a contract extension within the same UN Volunteer assignment. Unused accrued Annual Leave may not be carried over in case of reassignment or a new assignment.
• Learning leave: Subject to supervisor approval and exigencies of service, UN Volunteers may request up to ten working days of Learning Leave per consecutive 12 months of the UN Volunteer assignment, starting with the Commencement of Service date, provided the Learning Leave is used within the contract period.
• Certified Sick Leave: UN Volunteers are entitled to up to 30 days of certified sick leave based on a 12-month cycle. This amount is reset every 12-month cycle.
• Uncertified Sick Leave: UN Volunteers receive seven days of uncertified sick leave working days in a calendar year. This amount will be reset at the established interval period.