Youth and Communication Officer

Organization: United Nations Volunteers (UNV)

Host entity: UNICEF

Assignment country: Belize

Expected start date: 28/08/2023

Sustainable Development Goal: 4. Quality education

Volunteer category: National UN Volunteer Specialist

Type: Onsite

Duration: 12 months (with possibility of extension)

Number of assignments: 1

Duty stations: Belize

Details

Mission and objectives

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favouritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfil their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations. UNICEF works with governments and other partners to ensure that countries fulfil their commitments made in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child that every child can grow and develop to reach their full potential. tiene menú contextual

Context

Recruited by UNICEF Belize Country Office, the Youth and communication officer is under the supervision of the social policy specialist and in coordination with Belize government partners and UNICEF HQ and Regional Office, will be responsible for Youth and communications support towards programmes in Belize. The Youth and communication officer will drive and contribute to the implementation of the overall youth engagement agenda through strengthening the capacity of the Adolescent Participation Program by promoting a systematic and integrated civic and digital engagement agenda for young people.

Task description

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of Social Policy Specialist or his/her designated mandated representative(s), the UNV Youth and communication officer will: KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES and DUTIES & TASKS Within the delegated authority and the given organizational set-up, the incumbent may be accountable for all or assigned areas of the following major duties and end results. 1. Youth engagement Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results in civic participation and skills-building with and for young people. Duties & Tasks • Technical support to cross-sectoral youth programs, development of relevant documents, capture and share lessons learned from ongoing young people’s programmes and activities. • Provide technical guidance and support to the Youth Led Action Initiative to capacitate and support youth advocates and the implementation of their advocacy initiatives. • Mapping and identification of key partners, including CSOs and the private sector, working in the area of adolescent participation and youth; and engage them in the implementation of the youth program activities. • Innovative digital content creation using Apps and platforms for reaching young people for example TIK TOK, Podcasts, Infographics and blogs. • Knowledge Management through identification and capturing of good practices, synthesizing and sharing lessons learned from ongoing young people activities for integration into broader advocacy, communication, and fund-raising efforts. • Using the country office sharepoint site, maintain an inventory of Adolescent and Youth Engagement interventions, assets, resources and networks. 2. Adolescent Participation Support the UNICEF country office on the development and implementation of the Adolescent participation programme including planning and strategizing to reach office goals. Duties & Tasks • Support the relevant sections and stakeholders on the meaningful participation of young people during an office-wide events, including the launch of the State World Children’s Report, World Children’s Day initiative and children’s parliament. • Build partnerships and strengthen networks with implementing partners and stakeholders, including the government and UN agencies, NGOs, schools, community-based organizations, municipal authorities, and adolescent and young people to for adolescent participation. • Support the implementation of U-Report activities and campaigns; production of interactive content and polls, and coordinate poll content with UNICEF programmes, government, CSO, and UN agencies. • Establish and coordinate an adolescent led task force to promote youth led initiatives, integrated approaches to listening to voices of young people and advocate for programme and policy changes in various sector. 3. Communication materials Support the timely production of communication products and materials is and contribute to country communication strategy, regional and global campaigns, and priorities and to support resource mobilization. Duties & Tasks • Support the implementation of the country communication work plan and strategy as needed. • Gather content and coverage of relevant country efforts to identify effective relevant country programme activities and results. Develop complementary, country specific and local community materials and activities. • Support the production of communication materials (e.g. Human Interest stories, programme briefing notes, images, video. Web pages etc.) that meet the country and global standards as set out in the Communication Toolkit. • Follow up on the production of advocacy and communication materials (e.g., films, videos, audio/visuals, etc.), and oversee the qualitative aspects of production, (e.g., quality control, translations, reviews of layout and graphic design etc.) to meet standards as set out in the Communication Toolkit. • Maintain an up-to-date documentation centre for communication materials including publications, and clippings, photographs, audio-visual materials, web resources, etc.

Eligibility criteria

Age

27 - 80

Nationality

Candidate must be a national or legal resident of the country of assignment.

Requirements

Required experience

3 years of experience in Youth/adolescent engagements and use of digital tools; • Experience working with the UN or other international development organization is an asset; • Excellent oral and written skills; excellent drafting, formulation, reporting skills; • Accuracy and professionalism in document production and editing; • Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including grassroots community members, religious and youth organizations, and authorities at different levels; familiarity with tools and approaches of communications for development; • Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment; • Ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel; • Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various MS Office applications (Excel, Word, etc.) and email/internet; familiarity with database management; and office technology equipment.

Area(s) of expertise

Development programmes, Education, Communication

Driving license

-

Languages

English, Level: Fluent, Required Spanish, Level: Working knowledge, Desirable

Required education level

Bachelor degree or equivalent in Social Science, anthropology, psychology, sociology, Marketing, Communications, Journalism and or another relevant technical field.

Competencies and values

i) Core Values • Care • Respect • Integrity • Trust • Accountability ii) Core Competencies • Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness • Works Collaboratively with others • Builds and Maintains Partnerships • Innovates and Embraces Change • Thinks and Acts Strategically • Drive to achieve impactful results • Manages ambiguity and complexity iii) Functional Competencies • Persuading and Influencing • Applying Technical Expertise • Learning and Researching • Planning and Organizing

Other information

Living conditions and remarks

Belize is an independent country on the eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered on the north by Mexico, on the south and west by Guatemala, and on the east by the Caribbean Sea. Its mainland is about 290 km (180 mi) long and 110 km (68 mi) wide. Belizeans have long described themselves as a “Caribbean nation” that just happens to be in Central America, for they have more in common with the distant islands on the Caribbean than their next-door neighbours of Central America. They share a British heritage, the English language and cultural influences such as music, dance and folklore. When attending official activities or when at the hotel, there is no worries or concerns. Gang related crime is high as of late, especially in Belize City and surrounding areas. It is important to follow all advice and guidelines offered by the UNICEF staff and UNDSS official while in Belize. Staff, consultants, UNVs and interns will receive a safety briefing upon arrival. The contract lasts for the period indicated above with possibility of extensions subject to availability of funding, operational necessity and satisfactory performance. However, there is no expectation of renewal of the assignment. Travel to duty station (if applicable) and a Settling-In-Grant will be provided in the event the duty station is not within commuting distance from the place of recruitment. The applicable Volunteer Living Allowance is provided monthly to cover housing, utilities and normal cost of living expenses. Life, health and permanent disability insurance are included (health insurance for up to 3 dependents), as well as final repatriation (if applicable) and resettlement allowance for satisfactory service. Specific UN Volunteer entitlements, including insurance coverage, Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA), Deployment / Repatriation lump sums, among others, are available at https://app.unv.org/calculator. The complete UN Volunteer Conditions of Service is available at https://explore.unv.org/cos.

Inclusivity statement

United Nations Volunteers is an equal opportunity programme that welcomes applications from qualified professionals. We are committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, care protected characteristics. As part of their adherence to the values of UNV, all UN Volunteers commit themselves to combat any form of discrimination, and to promoting respect for human rights and individual dignity, without distinction of a person’s race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.

Reasonable accommodation

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for UN Volunteers with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the recruitment process and afterwards in your assignment.

Note on Covid-19 vaccination requirements

In addition to duty station-specific vaccine requirements, appointments are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the appointment. It does not apply to UN Volunteers who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their contracts.

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