UNESCO – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

Junior Professional Officer Programme (JPO) Chiffre Nr. 2024-1-08

TERMS OF REFERENCE

1. General Information

Title:   JPO for Youth Engagement and Participation

Sector of Assignment:  Education Sector

Organizational Unit:  Section for SDG4 Leadership

Country and Duty Station: Headquarter Paris, France

Duration of assignment: 2 years with possibility of extension for another year. The extension of appointment is subject to yearly review concerning priorities, availability of funds, and satisfactory performance

Please note that for participants of the JPO-Programme two years work experience are mandatory! Relevant work experience can be counted. In order to assess the eligibility of the candidates, we review the relevant experience acquired after obtaining the first university degree (usually bachelor’s degree).

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 2. Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall authority of the Assistant Director-General for Education (ADG/ED), guidance from the Director of the Division for Education 2030 and Head of the Inter-Agency Secretariat, and direct supervision of the Chief of Section, the JPO for Youth Engagement and Participation will be responsible to support the overall work of the SDG4 Youth network and coordinate the implementation of the Global Youth Initiative with the following tasks:

1. Coordinate the implementation of a youth-led Global Initiative taking forward the recommendations of the Transforming Education Summit Youth Declaration, in close collaboration with the SDG4 Youth Network.
2. Engage with a range of UN, civil society and private sector partners to secure technical and financial support for the implementation of the Global Youth Initiative.
3. Support bi-weekly calls involving 30-40 key partners to maintain the momentum and provide updates on youth engagement in education.
4. Interact weekly, support and coach the Executive Committee of the SDG4 Youth Network in their leadership role.
5. Organize monthly SDG4 Youth Network meetings involving close to 80 members in close collaboration with the SDG4 Youth Executive Committee.
6. Support the organization of youth/student constituency consultations before each High-Level Steering Committee Leader and Sherpa meetings.
7. Contribute to the overall governance and functioning of the UNESCO-supported SDG4 Youth Network, including membership.
8. Support the definition and reporting on the new global youth participation indicator in close collaboration with the SDG4 Youth Network.
9. Support communications and advocacy efforts, ensure that youth voices remain at the center of SDG4 Communications and Advocacy campaign.
10. Support other tasks as required.

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3. Required Qualifications

Education: Master’s degree in the field of education, development studies, public policy, social sciences, communications, or other relevant discipline.

Work experience: Preferably two years of progressively responsible relevant experience in youth/stakeholders engagement and/or communication/advocacy, preferably acquired at the international level.

Competencies and skills:

• Excellent oral and written communications skills.
• Good organizational and planning skills, and an ability to prioritize and meet established deadlines.
• Ability to work independently, suggest practical solutions and follow-up effectively on management decisions.
• Strong interpersonal skills, with proven ability to maintain effective working relations within a multi-cultural environment and with partners outside of the organization.
• Ability to work effectively under pressure, to manage heavy workload and to meet tight deadlines.
• Broad understanding of a wide range of public policy issues in education.

Languages: Excellent knowledge of English and basic knowledge of French.

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4. Learning Elements

The JPO will acquire a sound knowledge of the operations of an intergovernmental organization; a thorough understanding of UNESCO, its mandate, functions, and in particular its education programme; a better understanding of emerging issues in the field of education, and how UNESCO collaborates with governments and other diverse stakeholders. The JPO will also gain professional experience in technical cooperation and in the development, management and administration of multilateral programmes and projects.

He/she will have the opportunity to work in an intercultural environment and interact directly with colleagues from different UNESCO programme sectors, other UN agencies, educational institutions and government officials from Member States.

He/she will strengthen his/her analytical, communication, negotiation and interpersonal skills.

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5. Background Information

Launched in December 2021, the SDG4Youth Network is a UNESCO-supported platform putting young people in the driving seat for education. The network aims to amplify the voices of young people in shaping global education policies through engagement in the SDG4-Education 2030 High-level Steering Committee (HLSC) of the Global Education Cooperation Mechanism (GCM) and other education fora.

The Transforming Education Summit has emphasized the central role of young people in transforming education and saw the development of a global movement driven in large part by youth. The Youth Declaration, launched at the Summit, is a first-of-its-kind document presenting the collective vision, demands, and commitments from youth on transforming education. Resulting from consultations with nearly half a million youth in all their diversity from over 170 countries, the Youth Declaration was submitted to the UN Secretary-General at the Summit in September 2022.

The SDG4Youth network played a leading role throughout the Transforming Education Summit process and will continue influencing the follow up as the youth platform of the GCM, in close collaboration with several other youth and student networks, and with the support of the GCM Inter-Agency Secretariat (IAS). It will in particular be responsible for coordinating the implementation of the Global Youth Initiative.

For more information on the Youth Declaration, please consult: https://www.un.org/en/transforming-education-summit/youth-declaration

https://transformingeducationsummit.sdg4education2030.org/

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Bitte senden Sie Ihre JPO-Bewerbung direkt an das Büro Führungskräfte zu Internationalen Organisationen (BFIO) unter Angabe der Chiffre Nr. 2024-1-08 auf dem Bewerbungsbogen

Alle Informationen finden Sie unter www.bfio.de