Youth Engagement Associate

Details

Mission and objectives

UNDP supports strategic capacity development initiatives to promote inclusive growth and sustainable human development. Together with national, regional and local authorities, civil societies, private sector, UNDP strives to support Ukraine in its efforts to eliminate poverty, develop people’s capacity, achieve equitable results, sustain the environment, and advance democratic governance. UNDP is in line with 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to achieve national strategic capacity development.

Context

In Ukraine, UNDP operates in five programmatic areas of support: government capacities for crisis response and management; sustaining provision of public services; emergency works facilitating return and reconstruction; incomes, livelihoods and the private sector response; and civil society and maintenance of the social fabric.
The war in Ukraine has resulted in significant loss of life; unprecedented displacement, internally and towards neighbouring countries; and devastating destruction of infrastructure. Eighteen years of socio-economic achievements in Ukraine are at risk. UNDP’s core engagement is to preserve development gains as fully as possible, and to return Ukraine to pathways towards achieving the SDGs as quickly as possible.
UNDP launched its Resilience Building and Recovery (RBR) framework for Ukraine on 11 April 2022 to immediately respond to the development and humanitarian challenges. The overall objective is to preserve development gains in Ukraine, mitigating risks of descent into a governance and service delivery crisis, embedding activities for recovery from the onset of the humanitarian effort, and facilitating a swift return to development pathways and processes for national attainment of the SDGs.
To respond to the time-critical needs emerging as a result of the full-scale war – while at the same time addressing drivers and long-term implications of the conflict – and to regain progress that had previously been made while preventing further deterioration of development gains, UNDP – with generous support from the Government of Denmark – has launched the “Enhanced Citizen Engagement for Improved Community Security, Strengthened Social Fabric and Increased Stability in Areas Affected by the War in Eastern Ukraine and Beyond” project. The project interventions are grouped under the following outputs:
• The effectiveness of security service provision and civil protection functions is maintained, with reinforced capacities for crisis response, and public institutions and civil society are enabled to strengthen the social fabric, uphold human rights for all people, and engage in inclusive response and recovery efforts.
• Access to and quality of services is improved due to enhanced law enforcement and access to justice and inclusion, strengthening perceptions of personal and community security among communities, particularly women and youth, veterans and other vulnerable groups.
• Communities, including internally displaced men and women, youth, veterans and other vulnerable groups, have enhanced capacities, are empowered and participate in local-level evidence-based recovery, development and decision-making.
• Conflict-affected communities in Mykolaiv Oblast have additional capacities to support themselves throughout the winter season, with a specific focus on vulnerable groups.
To support the implementation of Project activities aiming to preserve and strengthen the social fabric in communities affected by the war and proactively engage young women and men in the recovery process, UNDP Ukraine invites applications from highly qualified and experienced Ukrainian professionals for the post of UNV Specialist – Youth Engagement Associate.

Task description

Under the direct supervision of the Community Security and Social Cohesion Specialist, and operational supervision of the Social Cohesion Associate, the incumbent will perform the following functions, while ensuring full compliance of planned activities with UNDP rules, regulations, and procedures.
i. Contribute to and support local dialogue and trust-building within communities with a special focus on outreach to young women and men, and between them and the authorities through joint decision-making, public consultation, and hearings, with a special focus to communities most affected by the war and displacement;
• Support the establishment of local platforms for networking and partnership building with youth and volunteers networks, national and local authorities, non-governmental, private sector and international development organizations or projects.
• Support advocacy effort to ensure the participation of youth CSOs, leaders, and networks in Community Security Working Group (CSWG) meetings and consultations with regional and local administrations, departments of state institutions and city/town councils; promote establishment and building capacities of youth CSOs for the monitoring of local policies, budgets and development of respective advocacy plans.
• Support organizing and carrying out regular regional and local consultations on youth inclusion and youth-led recovery in partner oblasts and provide substantive inputs for the preparation and publishing of analytical reports as needed.
• Assist efforts geared towards supporting the authorities at local, district and oblast levels to implement youth-oriented communication strategies and public awareness approaches.
ii. Contribute to the development of civic activism and a culture of volunteerism among young people;
• Contribute to the development of youth led CSOs’, youth activists’, and other relevant stakeholders’ competence to monitor the fulfilment of local development projects and strategies in relation to the preservation and strengthening of the social fabric, inclusion, and local recovery in broad sense.
• Support the activities of social, cultural, volunteer networks and informal interest groups at the community level, including but not limited to local recovery planning and response to the war.
• Facilitate and provide full support to development of the school curriculum and recommendations on extra-curriculum activities in schools to promote tolerance education and proactive engagement into civil life.
• Perform other functions as assigned by the supervisor and as deemed essential for effective results.
Under the overall supervision of the Community Security and Social Cohesion Specialist, operational supervision of the Social Cohesion Associate, the incumbent will support and contribute to the youth outreach and engagement component in partner oblasts and hromadas. Also, the Youth Engagement Associate will support close cooperation within UNDP cross-portfolio initiatives and joint collaboration with other UN agencies (particularly UN Women, UNFPA, UNHCR).