Adolescent Development Officer

The Adolescent Development Officer reports to the Chief of Section for close guidance and supervision.

The Officer will support the implementation of the Young People’s Resilience, Connectedness and Empowerment programme, aimed at ensuring that by 2026, more young people, including the most marginalized, are provided with equitable integrated health and employability services and are empowered to influence decision-making at national and local levels to build a greener, more resilient and inclusive society.

The Officer provides professional technical, operational and administrative assistance throughout the programming process through the application of theoretical and technical skills in researching, collecting, analyzing and presenting technical programme information and learning organizational rules, regulations and procedures, to support the development and formulation of the adolescent development and participation programmes/projects within the Country Programme.

In addition, the Officer will work across prorgammes to support and elevate TCO programmes for the mainstreaming of safe and inclusive adolescent participation in policies, programme and services development, monitoring and evaluation, as well as in the mid-term review process of the UNICEF Country Programme for 2022-2026.

Responsibilities:

Support to programme development and planning:

• Research and analyze national trends in related to the development and participation of adolescents in Thailand. Collect, analyze, verify and synthesize information to facilitate programme development, design and preparation.
• Prepare technical reports and inputs for programme preparation and documentation, ensuring accuracy, timeliness and relevancy of information.
• Facilitate the development/establishment of adolescent development and participation programme goals, objectives, strategies and results-based planning through research, collection, analysis and reporting of related information for development planning and priority and goal setting.
• Provide technical and administrative support throughout all stages of programming processes by executing/administering a variety of technical programme transactions and preparing materials/documentations in accordance with organizational rules, processes and systems for programme planning, results-based planning (RBM) and monitoring and evaluations.
• Prepare required documentations/materials to facilitate the programme review and approval process.

Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results:

• Work closely and collaboratively with colleagues and partners to collect/analyze/share information on implementation issues, particularly on issues of adolescent skills and participation, suggest solutions on routine programme implementation and submit report to alert appropriate officials and stakeholders for higher-level intervention and/or decision. Keep record of reports and assessments for easy reference and/or to capture and institutionalize lessons learned.
• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual programme reviews with government and other counterparts and prepare minutes/reports on results for follow up action by higher management and other stakeholders.
• Monitor and report on the use of adolescent development and participation programme resources (financial, administrative and other assets), verify compliance with approved allocation/goals, organizational rules, regulations/procedures and donor commitments, standards of accountability and integrity. Report on issues identified to ensure timely resolution by management/stakeholders. Follow up on unresolved issues to ensure resolution.
• Prepare inputs for programme/donor reporting.

Technical and operational support to programme implementation:

• Undertake field visits and surveys and share information with partners/stakeholders to assess progress and provide technical support to relevant officials for resolution. Report on critical issues, bottlenecks and potential problems for timely action to achieve results.
• Provide technical and operational support to government counterparts, NGO partners, UN system partners and other country office partners/donors on the application and understanding of UNICEF and adolescent development and participation policies, strategies, processes, and best practices to support programme implementation, operations, and delivery of results, particularly in the area of adolescent skills and participation.

Networking and partnership building:

• Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with government counterparts and national stakeholders, including young people, through active sharing of information and knowledge to facilitate programme implementation and build capacity of stakeholders on meaningful adolescent participation to achieve and sustain results on adolescent development and participation programmes/projects.
• Draft communication and information materials for CO programme advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnerships/alliances and support resource mobilization to ensure the adolescent development and participation programmes/projects are adequately resourced and supported.
• Participate in appropriate inter-agency (UNCT) meetings/events on programming to collaborate with inter-agency partners/colleagues to enhance the participation of adolescents in the design of policies, services, and programmes.
• Research information on potential donors and prepare resource mobilization materials and briefs for fund raising and partnership development purposes.

Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building:

• Identify, capture, synthesize and share lessons learned for knowledge development and to build the capacity of stakeholders in the area of adolescent development and participation.
• Apply innovative approaches and promote good practice to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results in the area of adolescent development and participation.
• Research, benchmark and report on best and cutting-edge practices in the area of adolescent development and participation.
• Participate as resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders, particularly on meaningful adolescent participation.

Qualifications of Successful Candidate:

Education:

• A first university degree in one of the following fields is required: anthropology, psychology, sociology, education or another relevant technical field.

Work Experience:

• A minimum of one year of professional experience in in adolescent development and participation related areas is required, preferably two years and above.
• At least one year experience related to results tracking, knowledge management and budget monitoring is required.
• Previous experience of direct engagement with adolescents for the development of policies and programmes is required.
• Experience working in a developing country is considered as an asset.
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.

Language Proficiency: 

• Fluency in English and Thai is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset

Source:  https://jobs.unicef.org/cw/en-us/job/571427