Youth4Climate Analyst

Background

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. 

UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 

UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and 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 contiguous spectrum of deep 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 central purpose of the Rome Centre for Climate Action and Energy Transition is to ensure the effective implementation and further development of the strategic partnership between UNDP and the Government of Italy across the objectives of sustainable development and in doing so advancing the broader partnership between UNDP and G7 and G20 countries.

The Rome Centre focuses on the critical policy areas of youth engagement in climate action, energy for development and climate finance. These objectives are pursued through the effective implementation of three initial main programmes: 

• Energy for Growth in Africa
• Youth4Climate
• Platform for Investment Support and Technical Assistance (PISTA)

The Youth4Climate initiative promotes youth engagement in climate action, contributing to SDG13. Youth4Climate supports the implementation of youth-led and youth-inclusive solutions to environmental and climate challenges, both financially and through capacity development. It also gives young people around the world who are committed to fighting climate change a platform to engage with policymakers and global leaders. Since 2023, Youth4Climate has awarded funding totalling USD 2.5 million to 100 youth-led solutions across 52 countries. 44 of these 100 are led by African youth, and a majority of Y4C’s 22,000-strong online community are also from Africa. 

The selected candidate will be responsible for overseeing the Youth4Climate initiative’s support in the countries covered by the UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa (RBA), as per the scope of work below. The post will report to the Youth4Climate Team Lead (based in Rome, Italy), with a dual reporting line to the Youth4Climate Specialist at the Regional Service Centre for Africa (based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia), to ensure alignment with UNDP’s regional priorities, programming, and Country Office networks. 

The 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 empower youth in terms of peace and security, participation on inclusive political processes, climate activism and on socio-economic empowerment into practice, improves and amplifies evidence-based solutions, and advocates for young people’s meaningful participation in these efforts globally, nationally and locally. UNDP, through its programmes and interventions, seeks to strengthen youth political and civic and socio-economic engagement  by working closely with the African Regional Economic Commissions and the African Union.

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 re-imagining 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. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Identification and selection of youth-led climate innovations in Africa

• Ensure widespread dissemination of the Youth4Climate Call for Solutions in Africa;
• Participate in the process of evaluating proposals received from Africa;
• Analyze and generate insights on African youth’s contributions to local climate action.

Contract Monitoring and Reporting

• In coordination with the UNDP Rome Centre operations team, ensure timely supplier registration, innovation challenge award contract preparation, and payment disbursement to Youth4Climate awardees in Africa;
• Monitor the implementation of contracts, including organizing regular calls with awardees, effectively collecting, analyzing, and storing deliverables and means of verification;
• Create connections between awardees, country and regional programmes in order to support the visibility and scaling of awarded solutions as well as to channel interesting youth-led innovations to strengthen UNDP programming; 
• Collect communication materials from awardees and ensure their timely dissemination on Youth4Climate and UNDP channels;
• Map partnership opportunities and connections with UNDP programmes at country, regional and global levels that can support the sustainability and scaling of awarded projects;
• Contribute to reporting on the results and impact of awarded projects;
• Conduct on-site monitoring missions as needed.

Community engagement and learning

• Provide support to young people in the process of preparing proposals for the Youth4Climate Call for Solutions, for example by organizing webinars on the application process or by leveraging mentors;
• Coordinate a mentorship programme for Youth4Climate awardees;
• Manage the Youth4Climate online community, including by posting relevant resources and opportunities, organizing community webinars, supporting partners wishing to organize learning offers or consultations, and promoting the Youth4Climate mobile application;
• Deliver capacity development sessions at regional climate and/or youth events; 
• Additionally, the incumbent will support advocacy and promotion of youth engagement in climate action in the context of the overall work of the UNDP RSCA, from a policy and programmatic point of view;
• Support Country Offices on youth activism on climate action;
• Support the team on policy engagement on youth and climate activism with the AUC and RECs.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Institutional Arrangement

The Youth4Climate Analyst will work under the direct supervision of the Youth4Climate Team Lead, with a second reporting line to the Youth Empowerment Specialist at the UNDP Regional Service Centre for Africa. 

• Achieve Results: LEVEL 2: Scale up solutions and simplifies processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work.
• Think Innovatively: LEVEL 2: Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking.
• Learn Continuously: LEVEL 2: Go outside comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning.
• Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 2: Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process.
• Act with Determination: LEVEL 2: Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously.
• Engage and Partner: LEVEL 2: Is facilitator/integrator, bring people together, build and/or /maintain coalitions/partnership.
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 2: Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, considers in decision making.

Functional/Technical competencies

Business Direction & Strategy

• Systems Thinking:  Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system. 

Business Direction & Strategy

• Effective Decision Making: Ability to take decisions in a timely and efficient manner in line with one’s authority, area of expertise and resources. 

Business Management

• Project Management: Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals. 

Business Management: Communication

• Ability to communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience.
• Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels. 

Business Management 

• Monitoring: Ability to provide managers and key stakeholders with regular feedback on the consistency or discrepancy between planned and actual activities and programme performance and results. 

Digital & Innovation

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent)  in Business Administration, Public Administration, Economics, Political Sciences, Development Studies, Social Sciences or related field.  
• A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree) in the areas mentioned above in combination with additional 2 years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree. 

Experience:

• Minimum of 2 years (with master’s degree) or 4 years (with bachelor’s degree) of relevant experience in project management and/or innovation management in the context of sustainable development programming is required. 

Required skills:

• Experience in demonstrated understanding of the needs of youth, particularly in Africa;
• Experience in contract management and monitoring;
• Proven experience in communication and storytelling. 

Desired skills:

• Experience in climate change policy and programming is desirable, particularly in Africa;
• Experience in youth entrepreneurship and start up development is an advantage;
• Experience in supporting innovation challenges, particularly in a UNDP context, is a strong advantage;
• Experience in the development and implementation of capacity development and learning content. 

Languages:

• Fluent oral and written communication skills in English.

Equal opportunity

As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination. 

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles. 

Right to select multiple candidates

UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

Scam alert

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