Youth and Adolescents Development Officer

UNICEF is the leading United Nations agency on child rights (www.unicef.org) and works in 190 countries around the world. UNICEF’s Global Strategy focuses on supporting child survival and development, basic education, child protection and policy advocacy, and WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene). In countries affected by crises, UNICEF leads the humanitarian efforts to help children and women living in challenging circumstances and provides support to help them to survive and to maximise their development potential. 

In Jordan UNICEF is implementing a youth programme with the vision to support a safe and successful transition of youth into adulthood.  UNICEF aims to support a generation of young people across Jordan who are engaged, empowered and employable. This entails approaches to achieving employability and resilient adulthood, which are underpinned by mentoring and coaching, with the expectation to improve three key outcomes for young people: transferable skills building, engagement and employment.

The Syrian refugee camps of Zaatari and Azraq host under 20% of the registered Syrian refugee population of Jordan. However, youth in the camps face particular challenges in accessing opportunities for skills building, engagement, employment or even higher education. These challenges are exacerbated for young girls in camps where rates of early marriages and pregnancies are high, and increasing as a result of  the aftermath of COVID-19 and the ensuing economic crisis. UNICEF has been playing a key role in providing services to children, adolescents and youth ever since the refugee camps were created in 2012 and 2014 for Zaatari and Azraq respectively.

As lead of the education sector in camps, UNICEF has built a strong understanding of the needs of young men and women, which has informed programme implementation. UNICEF currently operates 3 Youth Centres (2 in Azraq camp and 1 in Zaatari camp), which provide comprehensive and tailored services to young people in the areas of skills building (e.g. digital and financial literacy, English and human-centred design); engagement (e.g. volunteering and youth-led community projects) and employment (TVET, social entrepreneurship and home-based business). Support to youth is underpinned by consultation with and participation of youth in programme design, and guidance on pathways for young men and women accessing UNICEF’s services. Programmatic interventions in youth centres are closely coordinated with UNICEF’s Makani programme, which provides services, including skills building, to children and adolescents.

Under the supervision of the Chief of Youth and Humanitarian Affairs Manager, the Youth and Adolescents  Officer will be providing technical support and assistance in all stages of adolescents and youth programming in camps, including (a) supporting the planning, design, implementation and monitoring/evaluation of programmes implemented by UNICEF Jordan Adolescents and Youth Section; (b) overseeing the implementation of the programme focused on skills building, civic engagement and the transition from learning to earning, including but not limited to social innovation, participation, future pathways, career guidance for UNICEF Jordan; (c) overseeing all aspects related to efficient use of funding and data for programmatic decisions and (d) contribute to the evidence generation and advocacy related to adolescents and youth programming in Jordan. Key functions are detailed below:

Programme Development and Management

• Support in developing a programme framework for UNICEF Jordan programme in camps

• Support the development and tailoring of youth programmes in camp focused on adolescents and youth civic engagement and  transition from learning to earning, with programme design or adaptation strongly rooted in youth participation and youth needs. 

• Contribute to the roll out programmes through multiple platforms including Makani  and Youth Centers. This includes ensuring mechanisms for PSEA and AAP are in place.

• Support cross sectoral coordination internally within the adolescents and youth section as well as with other concerned sections including but not limited to, education, child protection, social protection, gender and social behaviour change. 

• In coordination with the humanitarian and youth sections, monitor and keep track of funding needs and funding allocation, disbursements and utilisation for adolescent and youth programmes in camps and contribute to donor reports and other resource mobilisation efforts. 

• Supports programme implementation in coordination with operational partners such as financial management, management of human resources, and coordination of contracts and partnerships.

• Provide technical assistance to UNICEF Jordan implementing partners and contractors, and works with the humanitarian section and youth section for meeting targets and providing high quality interventions for the most vulnerable young people in camps. 

• Support preparation of programmatic work plans at all levels.

• Provide guidance and support to the Adolescents and Youth Team in camps, including Incentive-Based volunteers deployed in the three Youth centres.

• Represent UNICEF in task forces and working groups including the youth task force in camps. 

• Support other duties as required.

Programme Monitoring and Evaluations

• Administer a consistent and transparent monitoring and evaluation system.

• Undertake field visits to monitor and assess programme implementation and make recommendations to the Chief of Youth, Humanitarian Affairs Manager,and/or concerned partners/contractors on required corrective action.

• Participate in programme evaluation exercises in consultation with the Humanitarian Affairs Manager  and adolescents and youth section, as well as others to improve efficiency and quality of programme delivery.

• Prepare programmes’ progress and status reports in coordination with other programme officers.

Use of data for programmatic decisions and advocacy 

• Ensure that all systems are in place so that programmes collect data on beneficiaries

• Carry out field visits to verify the quality and soundness of data collected through partnersCarry out analysis of data to inform programme implementation

Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

• Identify, capture, synthesise and share lessons learned for knowledge development and to build the capacity of stakeholders.

• Suggest innovative approaches and promote good practice to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results.

• Contribute to research, benchmark and report on best and cutting edge practices for development planning of knowledge products and systems.

• Participate as a resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders.

• Technical competency

• Drive for results 

• Analytical 

• Reliable and able to work under pressure

• Capable of working in a multi-national/cultural environment

• Excellent communications skills

• Strong organising ability

• Flexibility

• Ability to learn 

• Initiative 

• Bachelor degree in Relevant Fields

• Training courses in adolescents and youth development, fundraising, people’s management, management of community spaces are assets 

• Experience in refugee camps context is an asset. 

• Minimum 4 years of relevant experience to the position. 

• Experience in working with adolescents and youth development projects is an asset

• Fluency in Both Arabic and English is required.

1. Contract type: ICA
2. Contract level: Local ICA Specialist - level 8
3. Contract duration: 12 months subject to extension

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.

• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.

• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures,  languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 

• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.

• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process.  If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

Terms and Conditions 

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 

• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. For more information on a retainer contract here.

• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.

• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.