Programme Officer (Adolescent Skills & Employability), P-2 at UNICEF

How can you make a difference?

• Currently across Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) young people are facing unprecedented times around learning and employment, with the rapidly changing nature of technologies, migration, labour markets, the environment, political contexts and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Key stakeholders are increasingly exploring new ways to support young people with learning, engaging, connecting, and working. Viable, scalable and evidence-based solutions and innovations are required to reduce the impact of extended interruptions and on-going challenges to education and livelihoods faced by young people. Within the over-arching framework of ESA’s regional priorities and education flagship programme, there is an important and growing need to strengthen results and investments in opportunities for and with all young people, contributing to learning, skilling and school- to-work transitions.
• Under the overall guidance and direction of the Regional Education Specialist, Adolescent Skills & Employability, the main purpose of this role is to provide coordination and backstopping for robust operational research, thought leadership and knowledge management to accelerate this new and growing agenda in the region. This role will enhance guidance and evidence-based programming to country teams and HQ/Regional Office counterparts and respond to interests and investments of partners.
• The Programme Officer will support the multiple demands and requests for programming information and support within the Skills & Employability portfolio by developing and maintaining robust knowledge management and rolling-out operational research of relevant areas of work om the region. He/She will provide coordination/administrative support, quality assurance and knowledge generation/management and technical assistance to strengthen and expand the Skills & Employability agenda across ESAR.

The successful individual will be responsible for the following key accountabilities:

Coordination of large-scale operational research on skills & employability in the region

• Oversee all related administrative, roll-out and reporting processes for the operational research (including for the ADA and PROSPECTS research initiatives).
• Ensure high quality research inputs from partners and compilations of inputs for various required reports to donors and within UNICEF, as required.
• Manage the day-to-day research contracts and activities, with partners (including academia and service providers) and within UNICEF.
• Facilitate the upcoming dialogues and events for thought-leadership and ‘South-South Learnings,’ including promotion of research findings, evidence and products to a wide-range of stakeholders. 
• Stay up-to-date on relevant research topics (e.g. the ‘circular economy,’ green skilling and jobs, digital learning-to-earning).   

Coordination and support for strategic learning, evidence generation and Knowledge Management

• Support the Regional Office with the development of evidence-based ‘learning to earning pathways’ and ‘Multiple Flexible Pathways’ aligned with C4C priorities, GenU priorities, Yoma vision, with Country Offices and new partners; this will include identifying and developing required guidance materials and products on high potential areas, such as the ‘circular economy,’ green skilling and jobs, digital learning-to-earning.
• Support the Regional Office in identifying, designing and monitoring evidence generation for advocacy, programme development and resource mobilization.
• Prepare and support global and regional events, forums, consultations in ESA on adolescent skills & employability.
• Lead the processes of documenting lessons learned, good practices and innovations of relevant programming areas of skills & employability (remotely and in the field). 
• Provide on-going technical assistance on the required data needs and the development of the data dashboard on skills & employability.

Support with technical assistance to Country Offices and Partners

• Lead the development(s) and improvement of all partnership and programme tools on skills & employability.
•  Map, update and monitor country and regional results on skills & employability (including contributions to the Regional Priorities/Education Flagship programme).  
• Identify and support the CO technical requests/plans; specifically, develop strategic KM activities and plans based on these requests.
• Provide technical reviews, quality assurance and inputs into country and regional programme and policy materials/products. 
• Provide efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly and high-quality support to the country teams and partners, as required; this includes support around new opportunities and the scale-up of the skills & employability agenda.
• Collaborate with various global and regional teams: Partnerships, Innovations, Adolescent and Gender, Migration, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, in addition to Generation Unlimited Secretariat and the Yoma Ecosystem.

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

• A university degree in social sciences, development studies, or a related technical field.
• A minimum of two years of progressively responsible professional work experience at national or international levels in the international development.
• Experience in developing mappings, surveys, knowledge products in the education sector.
• Extensive research experience, including reporting and packaging results for internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience in knowledge management and the development of practical and evidence-based tools for a wide-range of stakeholders. 
• Expertise in event planning and coordination.
• Excellent knowledge of the skills, employability and the learning to earning agenda in Africa.
• Experience with UNICEF administrative processes.
• Fluency in English (verbal and written)
• Good knowledge of French (verbal and written) an asset
• Knowledge of another UN language an asset

Deadline: 17 Jul 2023 E. Africa Standard Time