Adolescent Development Officer, NO-A, Gaza, State of Palestine, Temporary Appointment (post no. 130063)

If you are a committed, creative professional and you would like to make an active and lasting contribution to build a better and safe world for children, we would like to hear from you. The State of Palestine office is seeking a dynamic qualified candidate to join our team as an Adolescent Development Officer at the NO-A level based in the Gaza Strip, SOP.

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.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, empowerment

UNICEF in the State of Palestine (SoP) works to uphold the rights of children to access services and protection, from early childhood through to adolescence. Our objective is to ensure that every child in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, irrespective of background or circumstance, has an equal chance to fulfil their potential.

In the past years, UNICEF in the State of Palestine has achieved a high reach and engagement through its communication channels. UNICEF-SoP would like to build on this and continue engaging with our audience, who are not only seek information but are willing to have important conversations on crucial issues concerning children’s wellbeing and rights. 

 

How can you make a difference?

Under the direct supervision of the Education Manager and working closely with the ADAP Specialist, the Adolescent Development (ADAP) Officer will contribute to providing professional technical, operational and administrative assistance throughout the programming process through the application of theoretical and technical skills in researching, collecting, analyzing and presenting technical programme information and learning organizational rules, regulations and procedures, to support the development and formulation of the adolescent development and participation programmes/projects within the Country Programme.

Your key functions/accountabilities

1. Support to programme development and planning

- Research and analyze regional and national political, health, social and economic development trends. Collect, analyze, verify and synthesize information to facilitate programme development, design and preparation.

- Prepare technical reports and inputs for programme preparation and documentation, ensuring accuracy, timeliness and relevancy of information.

- Facilitate the development/establishment of adolescent development and participation programme goals, objectives, strategies and results-based planning through research, collection, analysis and reporting of related information for development planning and priority and goal setting.

- Provide technical and administrative support throughout all stages of programming processes by executing/administering a variety of technical programme transactions and preparing materials/documentations in accordance with organizational rules, processes and systems for programme planning, results based planning (RBM) and monitoring and evaluations.

- Prepare required documentations/materials to facilitate the programme review and approval process.

2. Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results

- Work closely and collaboratively with colleagues and partners to collect/analyze/share information on implementation issues, suggest solutions on routine programme implementation and submit report to alert appropriate officials and stakeholders for higher-level intervention and/or decision. Keep record of reports and assessments for easy reference and/or to capture and institutionalize lessons learned.

- Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual programme reviews with government and other counterparts and prepare minutes/reports on results for follow up action by higher management and other stakeholders.

- Monitor and report on the use of adolescent development and participation programme resources (financial, administrative and other assets), verify compliance with approved allocation/goals, organizational rules, regulations/procedures and donor commitments, standards of accountability and integrity. Report on issues identified to ensure timely resolution by management/stakeholders. Follow up on unresolved issues to ensure resolution.

- Prepare inputs for programme/donor reporting.

3. Technical and operational support to programme implementation

- Undertake field visits and surveys and share information with partners/stakeholders to assess progress and provide technical support to relevant officials for resolution. Report on critical issues, bottlenecks and potential problems for timely action to achieve results.

- Provide technical and operational support to government counterparts, NGO partners, UN system partners and other country office partners/donors on the application and understanding of UNICEF and adolescent development and participation policies, strategies, processes and best practices to support programme implementation, operations and delivery of results.

4. Networking and partnership building

- Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with government counterparts and national stakeholders through active sharing of information and knowledge to facilitate programme implementation and build capacity of stakeholders to achieve and sustain results on adolescent development and participation programmes/projects.

- Draft communication and information materials for CO programme advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnerships/alliances and support resource mobilization to ensure the adolescent development and participation programmes/projects are adequately resourced and supported.

- Participate in appropriate inter-agency (UNCT) meetings/events on programming to collaborate with inter-agency partners/colleagues on UNSDCF operational planning and preparation of adolescent development and participation programmes/projects and to integrate and harmonize UNICEF’s position and strategies with the UNSDCF development and planning process.

- Research information on potential donors and prepare resource mobilization materials and briefs for fund raising and partnership development purposes.

5. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

- Identify, capture, synthesize and share lessons learned for knowledge development and to build the capacity of stakeholders.

- Apply innovative approaches and promote good practice to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results.

- Research, benchmark and report on best and cutting edge practices for development planning of knowledge products and systems.

- Participate as resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders.

 

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Education:

- A university degree in one of the following fields is required: anthropology, psychology, sociology, education or another relevant technical field. A university degree in Business Administration, Engineering, Sciences, Humanities or Social Sciences, combined with relevant experience in education field, would be considered given the emergency context for this position.

Experience:

- A minimum of one year of professional experience in social development planning and management in adolescent development related areas is required.

Language Requirement:

- Fluency in English and Arabic is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) 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…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships (2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (3) Drive to achieve results for impact (4) Innovates and embraces change (5) Manages ambiguity and complexity (6) Thinks and acts strategically (7) Works collaboratively with others (8) Nurtures, leads and manages people.

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

This position is not considered an elevated risk role. However, UNICEF reserves the right to conduct further vetting/assessment within the scope of child safeguarding as appropriate. 

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination. UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

 

Remarks:

This position is located in Gaza and any offer of appointment is subject to the candidate’s ability to take up the position at the duty station within a reasonable period.

In the current evolving emergency context, this position will be based in Gaza where medical facilities have been negatively affected and individual chronic and/or serious medical conditions cannot be adequately addressed.

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable female candidates are encouraged to apply.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

This is required for all posts requiring a higher education degree. “UNICEF only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/

Only shortlisted candidates will be notified and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

The VA is open to all (internal and external candidates)

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason. 

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

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.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.