As a Regional Adviser you will provide strategic direction across the board for building on the strengths and resilience of young people as partners in the realization of their rights and development and as contributors to the wellbeing of their communities, countries and the planet. This will include support for building systems with and for adolescents and young people meaningful participation, civic engagement and action on all issues that matter to them, including climate action, mental health, gender norms, employability, social inclusion, peace and tolerance. Provide thought leadership and technical assistance for the scaling up of national programmes in country offices seeking alignment with SP/SDGs targets and leverage resources and partnerships.
The regional adviser will accomplish this by:
Developing Strategic Direction: Developing a vision and strategy for Adolescent and Youth Engagement and Participation for UNICEF ECARO in development and humanitarian settings.
Programme support and technical assistance: Lead a regional team comprised of the ADAP team and a wider team of staff linked to the adolescent/youth agenda in countries and the regional office to lead in areas of programme support and technical assistance.
Knowledge generation, management and capacity development: Manages knowledge acquisition and analysis of adolescent/youth-related programming through documentation, annual reporting, assessment of good practices, accountabilities, and analyses of management resources.
Evidence-based programmatic technical leadership: Provide oversight of the regional guidance for programming for and with adolescents and young people. Monitors global, regional and country developments and incorporates them into regional guidance.
Advocacy, networking and partnership-building: Guide and oversee the development and maintenance of high level relationships with UN agencies, inter-governmental organizations such as the EU and CoE, donor organizations, youth organizations, international and national NGOs, academic institutions, professional networks, key partnerships and others for the purpose of strengthening attention to and investment in adolescents and young people within the regional development architecture.
Resource mobilization: Develop and implement strategic plans for resource mobilization and allocation in collaboration with Public Partnership Division and Private Fundraising and Partnerships, based on country, regional and global priorities.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
An Advanced University Degree (Master's and above) in the social and development sciences (child/youth development, anthropology, sociology, psychology, political science, international relations, development studies) and related fields.
At least 10 years of professional experience at national and international levels in the formulation, design and management and evaluation of policies and programmes for and with adolescents and young people.
At least five of those years should be in a middle- and high-income country context.
Proven international – “hands-on” programme management experience in the Europe and Central Asia region is highly desirable.
Knowledge of the youth sector in Europe and Central Asia is required.
Prior experience in UNICEF or UN agency is considered an asset.
Experience in emergency context is considered an asset.
Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of Russian and or regional language is preferred. Knowledge of another UN language is an asset.
Experience in a UN system agency, large private or public company, or experience working in a developing country and/or humanitarian/ emergency context is an asset.
Experience in Results Based Management is a requirement
Experience in co-creating policy is desirable.
Prior experience working with diverse and executive level stakeholder groups or multi-stakeholder partnerships is highly desirable.
Previous hands on experience in strategic and managerial leadership, preferably in a multi-office context, is required.
Familiarity with Microsoft Office applications is required.
