Individual Consultant as Youth Programme Adviser

Africa is said to be the youngest continent in the world with young people aged 15 to 35 years constituting the majority of the African population. While Youth are believed to be the key driving force for Africa’s sustainable development, African Youth face a lot of challenges in the areas of education, entrepreneurship, skills development, sustainable livelihoods and youth unemployment, participation in decision making, health and high prevalence of HIV, gender inequalities, vulnerabilities, migration, conflicts and climate change. Accordingly, the African Union (AU) Heads of State devoted their 17th Ordinary Session held in July 2011 to the theme “Accelerating Youth Empowerment for Sustainable Development’’, in order to discuss and adopt decisions which could lead to the advancement of the youth agenda on the continent. At the end of the Summit, Heads of State agreed to: Address unemployment issues by adopting policies and mechanisms towards the creation of safe, decent and competitive employment opportunities by accelerating the implementation of the Youth Decade Plan of Action (2009-2018) and the Ouagadougou 2004 Plan of Action on Employment Promotion and Poverty Alleviation; Design a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) framework for Youth in Africa; Provide support to the Pan-African Youth Union; and Strengthen the African Youth Volunteer Corps (AYVC) Programme as part of capacity building for young professionals by providing training and deploying Young African Volunteers to the AU organs and the Regional Economic Communities. UNDP has been a key partner of the AU for many years. Under the Regional Cooperation Framework (RCF), UNDP has been providing support to the AU notably through the Ten Year Capacity Building Programme (TYCBP), to strengthen the institutional capacities of the AUC and selected regional economic communities at different levels. UNDP through its Regional Programmes also provides support to the Peace and Security Department, to the Gender Department, and to the Office of the Chairperson. As a result of this long term partnership, the AUC/Human Resources and Science and Technology Department requested that UNDP support the conceptualization and programming of the Summit Declarations on Youth Empowerment. UNDP now requires the services of a consultant to assist in the above and the development of an over-arching comprehensive programme framework that speaks to the advancement of the youth agenda on the continent.

Duties and Responsibilities

The objective of the consultancy is to support the AUC in developing a Strategic Programme Framework to implement decisions of the AU Summit under the theme “Accelerating Youth Empowerment for Sustainable Development”. The consultant will formulate a comprehensive programme framework which will govern the implementation of the declarations for consideration at the upcoming AU Heads of State meeting in June 2012. To this end, the consultant will perform the following tasks: Review the African Youth Charter, International Year of Youth, Decade of Youth Development and its’ Plan of Action (PoA), as well as other relevant documents; Undertake analyses of existing and newly developed regional programmes on Youth Empowerment more broadly, and specific to the four main areas of support agreed to by Heads of State at the 2011 Summit; so as to establish their relevance, scope, spirit, objectives, action plans, and monitoring mechanisms; On the basis of the above, prepare a draft programme framework for review by the AUC/HRST and the AU Summit in July 2012; Develop a monitoring framework to guide implementation oversight; and Provide strategic guidance and support to the AU/HRST Department Time frame and Institutional Arrangements: The consultant will be engaged for three months, based at the AUC in Addis Ababa. With regard to institutional arrangements, the consultant will report to the AUC HRST Commissioner and/or Director, who will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the consultant. The AU Commission will provide the consultant with necessary logistical support, including workspace, internet access, and secretarial assistance, to enable the consultant to perform official duties. The UNDP Resident Representative of Ethiopia is entrusted with supervision of the consultant. The latter will report on the progress of activities and other day-to-day implementation issues, and provide technical/advisory support where necessary, to the Resident Representative. The UNDP Representation to the AU and Liaison Office with UNECA will facilitate and provide in-country administrative and logistical support to the consultant, while overall management of the assignment and contract will be the responsibility of the Project Manager for the Regional Project to Strengthen Institutional Capacities to Accelerate Pro-Poor Growth and Accountability in Sub-Saharan Africa, under which the contract is issued. Deliverables: In addition to the main AUC Youth Programme Framework document, the consultant is expected to produce an inception report within two weeks of starting the assignment and monthly progress reports at the end of the second and third months.

Competencies

Years of experience: At least 8 years of work experience in the field of development management, governance and specifically on youth issues. Competencies: The consultant must be well versed in policy analysis, lobbying and advocacy broadly and specifically on youth issues; S/he must have sufficient knowledge of the institutions, visions, missions, strategic goals, objectives and priorities of the AU, RECs and the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency; Strong analytical skills and excellent communication and interpersonal skills; Ability to work independently and creatively, with delegated authority; S/he must be fluent in English and possess excellent writing skills so as to appropriately frame communication for the target audience; Working knowledge of French would be an added advantage.

Required Skills and Experience

Education: Post-graduate degree or equivalent in International Relations, Law, Public Administration, Development Studies, Economics, Political Science, or any other relevant Social Science discipline. Documents to be included when submitting the proposal: Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications: Proposal: (not more than 450 words) explaining why they are the most suitable for the work and providing a brief methodology on how they will approach and conduct the work (if applicable); Financial proposal: indicate monthly fee; Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references. Financial proposal.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

Individual Consultant as Youth Programme Adviser