Duty Station: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Deadline: 16 August 2023
Job Description
Details
Mission and objectives
UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System. It serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP’s policy work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office levels, forms a continuous spectrum of in-depth local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests in the Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains and in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in the Strategic Plan. The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UN Guiding Principles) is widely recognized as the most authoritative, normative framework guiding efforts to reduce or eliminate the adverse impact of business operations on human rights. Experts have described it as the single most important innovation in promoting sustainable business practices in the last 25 years – a role that is reinforced by its inclusion as one of the Means of Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda).
Context
Youth meaningful participation in governance and peacebuilding processes is a key priority for UNDP. UNDP’s approach to youth empowerment and the Youth, Peace and Security agenda is indeed a co-creation approach, considering that young people must have a driving seat at the table and take an active role in decision making processes that affect them. In that regard, UNDP Regional Service Center for Africa, together with the UNDP Youth Community of Practice in Africa, and through its extended network of youth-led organizations, supports initiatives and platforms that translate the Youth, Peace and Security agenda into practice, improve and amplify evidence-based solutions, and advocate for young people’s meaningful participation in peace and security efforts globally, nationally and locally. UNDP, through its programmes and interventions, seeks to strengthen youth political and civic engagement and empower them as active and effective peacebuilding agents within the existing formal structures and within their communities.
In line with the UN Youth Strategy (Youth 2030), and the Security Council Resolutions (SCR) 2250 and 2535 on the role of youth in peacebuilding processes, UNDP recognizes the critical role of young people, and supports national governments and civil society organizations in empowering youth across sectors. The UNDP Renewed Governance and Peacebuilding Framework for Africa: 2022-2025 recognizes the significance of investing in Africa’s youth by, among others, promoting and nurturing the next generation of leaders to steer pathways to transformational leadership on the continent. The Framework aims at reimaging governance and peacebuilding in Africa with youth as the main drivers of change, by focusing on enabling them to build resilience, sharpen their civic engagement, enhancing critical thinking and service as agents of peacebuilding.
In particular, UNDP Regional Service Center for Africa supports the implementation of the Youth, Peace and Security agenda: i) at policy level, through the support to the development of national action plans, and policy frameworks on Youth Peace and Security; ii) at community level, through capacity building of youth-led organizations and young peacebuilders and the creation of safe and inclusive spaces for young people’s participation in decision making processes.
Task description
Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of Youth empowerment specialist or his/her designated mandated representative(s), the UN Volunteer Youth, Peace and Security Specialist will:
I. Provide advisory and programme support to the work related to the Youth Peace and Security agenda in Africa:
• Support the implementation of the workplan of the regional youth team, in particular the outputs related to the implementation of Youth Peace and Security agenda in Africa.
• Develop new proposals to advance the youth, peace and security agenda in Africa.
• Support the development implementation of the Peace Building Fund proposals involving UNDP, and having a youth, peace and security component.
• Promote the YPS entry points in peacebuilding and governance programmes and strategies of UNDP.
• Promote the YPS agenda in UNDP’s portfolios and programmes.
• Support activities and interventions that enable the acceleration of the implementation of resolutions 2250, 2419 and 2535 of the United Nations Security Council to ensure young women and men are recognized, included and supported as partners of peace, including through PBF, Funding Windows, and other initiatives, projects and programme.
• Promote the implementation of the Bujumbura declaration on YPS in Africa (2022) across the continent.
• Support YPS mainstreaming in the Regional and Country Programme Documents, and effectively link political and economic empowerment of young people and peacebuilding using a YPS lens.
• Support youth-inclusive conflict analysis and train other relevant team members on YPS.
• Support the organization of youth and intergenerational dialogues around YPS.
• Align regional interventions on YPS with global mechanisms and programmes, including with the UNDP Youth Global Programme.
• Report on a regular basis on the implementation of the YPS agenda in Africa.
II. Support the development of mechanisms and policies, at the national and regional levels, aiming at strengthening youth meaningful participation in conflict prevention and peacebuilding processes:
• Encourage and support civil society organizations and other stakeholders for the establishment of national coalitions on YPS.
• Support the development of national and local YPS roadmaps and action plans in Africa.
• Engage with and support mobilization of youth-led networks, in particular for youth participation in electoral and transition processes in Africa.
• Support the development of new projects or programmes having youth participation in conflict prevention, peacebuilding and social cohesion as a key priority.
• Document and share lessons learnt on YPS initiatives and identify potential for scale up to other sub-regions in the continent. III. Support inter-agency coordination on YPS and build partnerships and engage with multiple stakeholders for the promotion of the YPS agenda in Africa:
• Contribute to relevant inter-agency meetings on YPS at regional and global levels, to lift stories and lessons learned from the region and formulate policy and programming recommendations.
• Build and strengthen partnerships with UN agencies, the African Union, the Regional Economic Communities, civil society organizations, academia, and other partners and donors, and explore new ways of collaboration on youth, peace and security in Africa.
• Leverage existing coordination mechanisms across UN and non-UN development, peace and humanitarian actors, to advocate for and advance the youth, peace and security agenda in Africa.
• Coordinate YPS mainstreaming at Country Office (CO) level and represent UNDP in relevant interagency mechanisms advancing the YPS agenda.
• Support the newly established interagency group on Youth, Peace and Security in West Africa and the Sahel, co led by UNDP, UNOWAS and UNFPA.
• Coordinate with other UN entities on YPS at country-level. IV. Support the development of knowledge products and contribute to capacity building of various actors on youth, peace and security
• Facilitate capacity building of youth focal points across the 46 UNDP Country Offices that are under the Regional Bureau for Africa, and support the Youth Community of Practice in Africa.
• Facilitate capacity building of youth organizations in Africa, on the youth, peace and security agenda.
• Support the development of innovative strategies and interventions that foster youth participation in peacebuilding and decision making mechanisms.
• Develop innovative tools for knowledge sharing on the YPS agenda in Africa.
• Support the roll out of a storytelling for peace initiative in Africa.
• Draft reports, briefs and notes, including on promising practices and lessons learnt directly linked to YPS initiatives, projects and programmes.
• Identify ways to support and trigger youth-led research on YPS in the region.