Youth & Adolescent Development Officer

Mission and objectives

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.

Task description

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.

1. 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.

1. 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

1. 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.

1. 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.

Qualification Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in social sciences, international development, youth studies, education, youth and adolescent development and participation, livelihoods, skills development and employability, social policy, information management or a related field.
• At least 3 years of professional experience in youth and adolescent development, civic engagement, employability programs, or related areas.
• Fluency in English and Ukrainian

Entitlements of National UN Volunteer Specialist 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.

• USD 400 entry lump sum, one-time payment.

• Medical insurance: The UN Volunteer and eligible PFU dependents will receive UNV provided medical insurance coverage.

• Life Insurance: UN Volunteers are covered by life insurance for the duration of the UN Volunteer assignment.

• Annual leave: UN Volunteers accrue an entitlement to 2.5 days of Annual Leave per completed month of the UN Volunteer 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.