International Individual Consultant- Youth Skilling, Employability and Engagement (Open to Non-Ghanaians)

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

For every child, empowerment.

In Ghana, UNICEF cooperates with the Government and other partners to defend the rights of children and help them fulfill their potential. With offices in Accra and Tamale, the UNICEF team seeks to achieve results in strategic programme areas. The overall goal is for every child to survive and thrive, to live in a safe and clean environment, to learn, to be protected from violence and exploitation, and to have an equitable chance in life. The current Country Programme of cooperation is aligned with the Government priorities, the UN Sustainable Development Partnership (UNSDP) and Key Results for Children (KRCs) in the West and Central African Region (immunization, nutrition, learning outcomes, ending child marriage and ending open defecation). UNICEF main strategies include evidence-based advocacy, system strengthening, integrated programming across sectors, emergency preparedness and response, and innovation.

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How can you make a difference? 

Overall, UNICEF in Ghana’s youth programming focus for its 2023-2027 Country Programme is expected to contribute towards removing barriers and bottlenecks to ensure that all adolescents and youth (aged 10-24) in Ghana have increased access to and participate in activities that strengthen their skills for 21^st century-relevant education, employment, entrepreneurship and engagement with their government, communities, and each other in a meaningful way. Within the UNICEF Ghana country programme for 2023-27, this consultancy is intended to build on the achievements of the Ghana Country Office during the 2018-2022 programme towards exploring innovative models to meaningfully engage and empower youth. Examples of these activities include innovation challenges organized to support Generation Unlimited, skilling through programmes such as UPSHIFT, the UNICEF StartUp Lab with its focus on incubating social entrepreneurs, including young entrepreneurs and accelerating socially-minded startups, engaging on innovative youth engagement and skilling models through partnerships with the Ghana Library Authority and youth engagement through traditional and innovative mechanisms such as the Youth Advocacy Guide, youth-engagement forums, and U-Report. New investments have been made in engaging youth in increasingly relevant thematic areas such as climate change and sustainability.

 An enhanced focus on the following broad thematic areas within the youth portfolio are expected:

• Improving access to traditional and alternative skilling pathways for adolescents and youth
• Strengthening school-to-work transition support services, to gain better employment and attain entrepreneurship skills.
• Strengthening platforms, institutional capacities and youth capacities for meaningful youth participation and engagement, so Ghanaian youth have a voice.
• Strengthening institutional capacity to programme for youth as a demographic focus for Ghana

Under the direct supervision of the Adolescent, Gender, and Youth (AGY) Unit Head (OiC), and in close collaboration with relevant UNICEF staff especially within the Adolescent, Gender, and Youth Unit, the consultant will.

• Support UNICEF’s provision of institutional policy support to national youth policy and entrepreneurship initiatives aligned with Ghana’s initiative.
• Support new strategic, shared value partnerships including those that support Generation Unlimited (GenU) in Ghana.
• Support financial and non-financial resource leverage opportunities in the youth and innovation sector

Specific Task : (Kindly provide your proposed all-inclusive fee based on the attached  Proposed Budget from Consultant- Youth Skills.docx

• Support day-to-day coordination on 2nd decade programming and provide technical support to all work on youth skilling, employability, and engagement across the country office.
• Supports engagement in policy advocacy and respective institutional support. Supports the monitoring of trends in partners’ respective policies, systems, and actions around youth. Supports efforts that ensure that UNICEF’s interests, perspectives, and knowledge of young people are considered in relevant youth policy advocacy.
• Supports engagement with development partners, UN agencies, and the business sector on relevant youth initiatives and policy advocacy. Supports and contributes to improved co-ordination among development partners and government activities around youth policy and programmes. Attends relevant meetings of strategic partners, and supports UNICEF to influence youth programming priorities, initiatives, and resources, including through UN and other Development Partner mechanisms for inter-agency engagement.
• Supports UNICEF-led iterative analysis to identify sources of related partnership and leverage opportunities and risks, and its sharing with relevant UNICEF staff in a timely fashion. Supports the establishment of formal agreements and engagement modalities and terms, consistent with UNICEF’s mandate, business model and Rules and Regulations. Supports the establishment of systems to regularly monitor and assess the effectiveness of UNICEF’s partnerships including their reach and outcomes and monitors the contribution of related channels to the country programme.

• Supports the advancement of a national investment agenda for young people, mobilizing young people and relevant stakeholders to play leadership roles within a coordination/steering committee and to facilitate their contribution to shaping the national investment agenda for young people. Supports related engagement and coordination of key stakeholders, especially private sector organizations.

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

• A university degree in international development, gender, economics, public policy, international relations, social policy, communication, management science, business administration or another related field
• A minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible professional experience is required, preferably in youth programming, skills development initiatives, youth engagement, public-private sector engagement, strategy development, partnership building, external relations and/or leveraging resources.
• Experience in building partnership mechanisms and engagements, especially with the private sector is an asset.

• Demonstrated strategic, planning, communication, research experience and very strong writing and editing skills. Demonstrated ability to plan and implement projects in coordination with multiple stakeholders. Adept at turning complex projects and concepts into easy-to-understand, accessible content. Experience and familiarity with a range of financial instruments.

• Familiarity with emerging programmatic areas such as youth entrepreneurship, climate change and youth, youth-led innovation is a strong asset. Solid understanding of the role technology plays in the development and humanitarian sectors is an asset.

• Proven experience effectively engaging partnerships and/or developing an effective “pitch”/ advocacy message; a track record working with the business sector. Good networking and inter-personal communication skills are essential.

• Fluency in English is required. High-level ability in written English, with a reader-friendly style and demonstrated ability to translate complex information into simple and accessible text for a wide audience. Candidates may be asked to provide writing samples such as publications, articles, and/ or policy briefs.

• Strong self-management, supervision and leadership skills required. Demonstrated capacity to prioritize and manage a diverse range of partners, projects and activities. Project management skills including task prioritization, workflow coordination, and results-driven strategies

• For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

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.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

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 also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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. 

Remarks:  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates 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 assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.