Organization: UNICEF – United Nations Children’s Fund
Location: Remote | Nairobi
Grade: Mid level – P-3, International Professional – Internationally recruited position
Occupational Groups:
Women’s Empowerment and Gender Mainstreaming
Labour Market Policy
Project and Programme Management
Closing Date: 2024-12-27
Join us as the Programme Specialist, Gender, Skills, and Employability, to lead transformative initiatives advancing learning-to-earning opportunities for adolescent girls and young women under the GenU initiative.
UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.
At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.
UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.
Building on work across the UN with and for young people, and in line with the UN Youth Strategy, UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited focuses on finding new ways to ensure that every young person is in school, learning, training or employment by 2030 — with a focus on those in the greatest danger of being left behind, including girls, the poorest, those with disabilities, young people on the move and those affected by conflict and natural disasters.
This partnership brings together leaders from governments, UN agencies, the private sector, academia, international and civil society organizations, and young people. The partnership identifies, co-creates, resources and scales up innovative solutions to expand opportunity for young people.
The Girls Education Skills Partnership is an innovative partnership bringing together the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, a range of private sector partners and UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited seeking to provide high quality digital and skills training to adolescent girls and young women and connect them to livelihood opportunities.
How can you make a difference?
Coordinate and Manage the Girls Education and Skills Partnership (GESP):
The Programme Specialist will oversee the technical delivery, monitoring, and coordination of GESP across Bangladesh, Nigeria, and India, ensuring effective planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting. This includes providing technical support to country teams, aligning activities with programme goals, and engaging with global and country-level stakeholders to fulfill reporting obligations and deliver high-quality programme results. Additionally, the Specialist will drive the implementation of results frameworks and explore opportunities to expand GESP through further programme development and funding.
Advance GenU’s Gender Strategy and Employment Approaches:
The Specialist will lead efforts to mainstream gender approaches across GenU’s ecosystem, prioritizing skills development and employment for adolescent girls and young women. This includes developing an operational framework, enhancing monitoring systems to measure gender-focused outcomes, and advocating for gender-sensitive approaches in public, private, and youth partnership models. The role also involves promoting youth engagement and addressing labor market trends to shape program design and advocacy efforts, while identifying scalable employability solutions for young women in priority countries.
Provide Thought Leadership and Support Resourcing Ambitions:
The Specialist will support global advocacy efforts by promoting GenU’s vision to empower adolescent girls and young women through skills and employment opportunities. This includes contributing to research, sharing best practices, and supporting the development of proposals and concept notes. Additionally, the role will involve strengthening knowledge-sharing, supporting global advocacy campaigns, and providing guidance to short-term staff to ensure effective team performance and programme success.
Requirements:
Education
An advanced university degree (master’s degree or higher) in social sciences, international development, or a related field is required.
Work Experience
A minimum of five years of relevant professional experience in managing programs focused on adolescents and girls, including areas such as education, second-decade education, youth skills development, youth employment, entrepreneurship, or civic engagement, is required.
Desirables/Assets:
- Experience integrating gender perspectives into youth-focused programs.
- Proven ability to design and implement initiatives aimed at improving skilling and employment outcomes for adolescent girls and young women.
- Familiarity with UNICEF’s programmatic approaches, policies, and frameworks.
Language Requirements
- Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.
For every Child, you demonstrate…
UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values
The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…
- Builds and maintains partnerships
- Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
- Drive to achieve results for impact
- Innovates and embraces change
- Manages ambiguity and complexity
- Thinks and acts strategically
- Works collaboratively with others
All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.
How to apply
Simply click on the apply button, fill out of the form, and upload your documents