Youth Engagement Specialist

UNDP works in about 170 countries and territories, helping to achieve the eradication of poverty, and the reduction of inequalities and exclusion. We help countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities and build resilience in order to sustain development results.

The UNDP Multi-Country Office (MCO) based in Samoa, which covers Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa and Tokelau, implements the UNDP Subregional Programme Document for the Pacific Island Countries and Territories (2018-22), which is aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and country priorities as reflected in national development plans. In close partnership with the four Governments, UNDP works in collaboration with donors, the private sector, civil society organizations and local communities, academia, media and regional organizations to provide global knowledge and integrated development solutions to development challenges. UNDP promotes a whole-of-society approach to deliver on the ambition of the 2030 Agenda, with greater involvement of civil society actors, emphasis on empowering women, youth and vulnerable groups, and centered on the principle of leaving no one behind.

The context of youth empowerment

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes the key role of youth in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and calls for action against the challenges faced by young people that limits their economic, social and political inclusion. To-day, young people are more connected and more informed than any previous generation. Young people are responding to the challenges of today with innovative approaches, contributing fresh ideas, creating the world they want, and driving human development for themselves, their communities and their societies. But inflation, cost of education, restrained job markets, early family responsibilities, long-lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and other sociopolitical challenges leave many young people at the risk of economic insecurity. Today’s youth is the front liner generation to climate change, who will have to cope and respond to its direct impacts during their lifetime. In addition, young people tend to be left out of decision-making processes that will shape their future, which further contributes to their exclusion. The youth needs to not only benefit equally from development initiatives, but also have the opportunity to reach their full potential as agents of change in their communities.

The modalities of the United Nations Volunteering

UNDP and the MWCSD of Samoa are partnering to recruit a national United Nations Volunteer to support their work on youth engagement and empowerment in Samoa. (S)he will conduct activities to strengthen youth engagement in community projects and in climate action, through supporting the implementation of MWCSD projects, the Youth Engagement project design and fundraising, communications, and monitoring and evaluation.
The time of the UNV will be shared among the two host entities, spending 60% of their working time at the MWCSD of Samoa (3 days a week) and 40% at UNDP (2 days a week).

Under the direct supervision of the MCO Assistant Resident Representative for the Governance and Prosperity Unit and guidance from the CEO of MWCSD, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

1. Support the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development in their youth engagement initiatives:
• Support the design and implementation of community outreach and consultations, with a focus on youth’s active participation
• Support the organization of youth-targeted and youth-led projects activities.
• Contribute to the data collection informing the Monitoring and Evaluation framework of undertaken projects.
• Support the communications efforts, in English and Samoan, to best reach the target youth audience and to showcase best practices of youth engagement.

2. Support the UNDP MCO in building a youth engagement project portfolio with focus on green transformation:
• Develop and support youth engagement in UNDP’s Pacific Green Transformation Project aiming to help Samoa transition to low-carbon mobility.
• Work with the regional UNDP Youth Empowerment in Climate Action Plat-form (YECAP) and other youth empowerment initiatives such as Youth Co:Lab and Movers programme to identify entry points for these initiative in Samoa.
• Produce a youth leadership mapping in Samoa compiling contacts and case studies of youth activists, youth groups, youth-led and youth-targeted development initiatives on climate and social topics.
• Collect lessons learned and best practices on youth engagement from other UNDP country offices (including on convening Youth Parliaments), facilitating knowledge exchange in the Asia-Pacific region, in partnership with the UNDP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific.
• In collaboration with the UNDP Governance and Poverty Reduction Unit and the Environment and Climate Change Unit, and in consultations with partners, develop project concept notes on youth employment, mentorship, entrepreneurship, and youth-led activism on climate and social issues, exploring synergies with other UNDP priorities such as gender equality between young women and men.
• Support the organization of a Policy Dialogue on youth engagement in Samoa reuniting a variety of stakeholders including youth representatives, community leaders, and experts
• Support communications material on youth engagement for the MCO.