Background

The Youth Associate will support UNFPA Country Office North Macedonia in the implementation of the youth component of the Annual Work Plan(s) of the office, primarily focusing on the regional youth project “Strengthening the role of youth in promoting increased mutual understanding, constructive narrative, respect for diversity, and trust in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Kosovo[1]”, funded by the Peace Building Fund (PBF). The project focuses on partnering with young men and women to address divisive narratives and hate speech to enhance social cohesion in the region and to increase inter-group dialogue, mutual understanding and gender equality. The project is funded by PBF and jointly implemented at national level in North Macedonia by UNFPA and UNDP.

Furthermore, the Youth Associate will support the UNFPA North Macedonia office in the implementation of the activities related to youth, as envisaged with the Country Programme Document for 2021-2025, such as advocacy for increased youth engagement at local level, and scaling up access to  Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE).

How you can make a difference:

UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled.  UNFPA’s strategic plan (2022-2025), reaffirms the relevance of the current strategic direction of UNFPA and focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices. These results capture our strategic commitments on accelerating progress towards realizing the ICPD and SDGs in the Decade of Action leading up to 2030. Our strategic plan calls upon UN Member States, organizations and individuals to “build forward better”, while addressing the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on women’s and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, recover lost gains and realize our goals.

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards, and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction.

UNFPA is seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high impact and sustained results; we need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them and who commit to deliver excellence in programme results.

[1] All references to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).

Duties and Responsibilities

Job Purpose:

You will work with the UNFPA team contributing to increased youth engagement, youth empowerment, meaningful participation and strengthening of youth dialogue platforms, as well as to a series of peace building initiatives, with counterparts from both central and local levels.

You will contribute to strengthened cooperation between regional, public media and local youth media networks and engage with young social media influencers on developing and promoting youth content to address divisive narratives, hate speech, masculinities and gender norms and equality.

Furthermore, you will support the scaling up of access to CSE by working with diverse group of stakeholders (teachers, parents, students, local authorities, government entities and academia).

Under the direct supervision of the SRH/Youth Programme Analyst, and overall guidance of the Head of Office, you will be responsible for:

UNFPA North Macedonia component of the regional youth project funded by the PBF:

• Working with all relevant partners and stakeholders, act as focal point for the implementation of the UNFPA North Macedonia component of the regional youth project, to ensure timely delivery of quality results and achievement of the programmatic targets.
• Coordinate on regular basis with the implementing partner(s) and local civil society organizations, youth activists and representatives from the Local Municipal Councils and youth officials.
• Support the development of annual work plan(s), in line with the approved project outputs and timeline.
• Build synergies with partners and stakeholders to harmonize approaches and to promote common interests and achievement of results.
• Develop and maintain collaboration and strategic relationships with civil society partners, youth groups and organizations and other relevant stakeholders.
• Provide technical advice to the project team and partners.
• Undertake regular field visits (to 5 municipalities) and monitor the implementation of field activities.
• Contribute to collection of data and preparation of progress report(s) in compliance with the requirements of the donor.
• Prepare regular inputs for progress reports for the Local Project Advisory Board.
• Draft correspondence and various project-related updates / fact sheets.
• Manage and monitor project risks initially identified, and timely identify and alert the project team on new risks.
• Support knowledge sharing and collection of lessons learnt and stories from the field, related to the project activities.
• Provide research support in the design of new initiatives and innovative approaches in peacebuilding-related work.
• Support the CO advocacy for introduction of a monitoring tool (youth indexes) at local level.
• Any other related tasks as may be required.

Supporting national efforts to scale up access to CSE:

• Support the process of CSE roll-out led by the Bureau for Development of Education, through sensitization of parents, teachers and community leaders.
• Support the activities with the Bureau for Development of the Education, with regards to development of relevant teaching materials that incorporate the concepts of health, promotion of gender equality, non-discrimination and inclusion.
• Contribute to the development of communications materials related to promotion of CSE (audio/visual products, social media tools, discussions with parents, teachers, students and advocates) aiming to break the taboos and possible barriers with regards to CSE.
• Support the knowledge-sharing on CSE piloting and implementation in other countries of the region.
• Support the development and/or adaptation of complementary contents relevant for CSE.
• Support the exchange of positive examples, at local and regional level, including between countries in the region.
• Provide inputs in the conceptualization of extra-curricular activities in the field of CSE (e.g. thematic workshops with students, with the involvement of health professionals).
• Support the design and implementation of out-of-school CSE initiatives, in close cooperation with relevant stakeholders.
• Any other related tasks as may be required.

Competencies

Required Skills and Experience

Education: 

Completed Secondary Level Education required. First level university degree is a strong asset.

Knowledge and Experience:

• 3 years of relevant working experience in project development, implementation and monitoring, with and for young people, as well as excellent understanding of the national context and infrastructure with regards to youth participation, youth engagement and empowerment, peacebuilding and peer education.
• Experience in conducting similar assignments, with the engagement of national counterparts within the youth and education sector, especially with marginalized youth groups and organizations will be considered an asset.
• Excellent communication skills (verbal and writing skills) in English.
• Teamwork, facilitation skills and interpersonal skills in involving diverse stakeholders.
• Proficiency in MS Office software applications. Previous experience with Atlas/PeopleSoft or other ERP application is an asset.
• Experience in working with international organizations on youth issues will be considered an asset.

Languages:

Fluency in Macedonian and English is required. Knowledge of other local languages shall be considered an asset.

Compensation and Benefits:

This position offers an attractive remuneration package including a competitive net salary health insurance and other benefits as applicable.

Disclaimer:

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Fraudulent notices, letters or offers may be submitted to the UNFPA fraud hotline http://www.unfpa.org/help/hotline.cfm

In accordance with the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations, persons applying to posts in the international Professional category, who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment.