Background

In its long term strategic perspective on development, the Government of Saudi Arabia recognises the role of youth in human sustainable development, and expressed the government’s commitment to invest in youth by mobilising their capacities and resources for developing strategies that will enhance the role of youth in the national development process;
In January 2010, Ministry of Economy and Planning, on behalf of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed an agreement to develop the Saudi National Youth Strategy. As a respond to national priorities identified, the strategy highlighted many priorities that remain on top of the national agendas. Sustainable growth and job creation are among the national priorities, as the creation of a market for knowledge- based jobs for educated young job seekers;

The National Youth Strategy has been recently endorsed by the Shura Council, opening the door for the actual implementation. Nevertheless, implementation of any national strategy depends largely on the capacity of government institutions and on coordination among ministries and other parties concerned. Thus, translating strategies into action plans require skills and competencies which may need to be addressed in relation to the National Youth Strategy in order to enhance national organisational capacities to implement it and to mainstream the strategy and action plan across various related entities;

The current phase of the project will provide the needed support to the Ministry of Economy and Planning for the development of the action plan for the national youth strategy, it will discuss all the findings in a series of workshops and seminars with a view to develop programmes that address youth concerns and challenges. The project will strengthen the capacities of all stakeholders involved, since the role of stakeholders is imperative throughout the implementation, monitoring and evaluation phase. An action plan for youth development will be produced as a result and related programmes will be developed and implemented.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Formulate strategies and plans for the enhancement of the effectiveness of youth sector, raising efficiency, and insuring financial sustainability;
• Advise on the revision of the national youth strategy document and the preparation of the action plan for the implementation of the youth strategy;
• Provide technical assistance to the design and implementation of the national youth strategy;
• Provide international experience and best practices from other countries with similar experience
• Prepare the youth sector’s Policy Paper for the 10^th National Development Plan (10^th NDP);
• Support the preparation of the 10^thNDP Operational Plan for the youth sector, and the drafting of the 10^th NDP Document;
• Participate in studies, analysis and formulation of objectives, policies and programs related to the development of youth sector.

• Plan and facilitate stakeholder’s workshops;
• Provide assistance in building the capacity of the national agencies to enable them to participate effectively with project partners and to develop relationships with a wider range of stakeholders to achieve the objectives of the project; 
• Support the project in the identification of knowledge gaps among project staff, target groups and beneficiaries and design measures to address such gaps; actively support the sharing of project results and products, lessons learned and good practices with other projects, and government agencies;
• Coordinate training programme for stakeholders (policy formulation, facilitation skills, focus groups, and RBM) as indicated in the project document;
• Prepare progress reporting and any other monitoring reporting related to the implementation of the project;
• Provide substantive advisory support on project issues as required, and perform other duties as deemed necessary.

Competencies

• Serves and promotes the vision, mission, values, and strategic goals of the UNDP-supported project for the Government of Saudi Arabia.

• Promotes a learning and knowledge sharing environment;
• Facilitates the development of individual and multi-cultural/team competencies.

• Plans and prioritizes work activities to meet organizational goals;
• Strategic approach to problem solving.

• Builds and sustains relationships with key constituents (internal/external/ bilateral/ multilateral/public/private; civil society);
• Seeks and applies knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside of the project;
• Demonstrates ability to handle working relationships with senior officials, academics and technical experts.

• Conceptualizes and analyzes problems to identify key issues, underlying problems, and how they relate;
• Generates creative, practical approaches to overcome challenging situations;
• Devises new systems and processes, and modifies existing ones, to support innovative behaviors.

• Demonstrates outstanding communication skills, verbal and written, in English and Arabic.

• Possesses expert knowledge and advanced concepts in youth Development;
• Applies the required depth and breadth of knowledge and expertise in youth strategy development, implementation and monitoring and evaluation issues to support the Government;
• Demonstrates the ability to carry out high quality research;
• Possesses proven ability to analyze from a global perspective, with the ability to offer practical policy advice on youth development issues based on local realities;
• Uses Information Technology effectively as a tool and resource; 
• Keeps abreast of new developments in the area of youth policies theory and practice and seeks to develop him/herself professionally.
  

Required Skills and Experience

• Masters or equivalent in Business Administration, social development or other job-related discipline.

• At least 7 years work experience, and considerable knowledge of youth development and the ability to communicate results and undertake on the job training;
• Experience in the Arab region is an advantage.

• Fluency in English;
  
• Knowledge of Arabic language is a strong asset.