Work LocationSomalia
Expected duration2 months
Duties andResponsibilities
The United Nations Human Settlements (UN-Habitat) Programme is the United Nations agency for human settlements and sustainable urban development. UN-Habitat’s mission is to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities and adequate shelter for all. UN-Habitat works with partners at all levels, including government, civil society, and the private sector to transform cities into safer, healthier, greener, and more inclusive and resilient places with better opportunities and quality of life for all. Somalia, like many countries in Africa, is one of the fastest urbanizing countries in the world. The rapidly and spontaneously growing urban population is characterized by a disproportionately large share of youth, high rates of unemployment and high dependency on the informal sector for jobs and increasing proportion of poor households in informal settlements. An estimated 46 percent of the Somali population are children (age 0-14), and 27 percent are adolescents and youth (age 15-24). The children and youth make up almost three quarters of the Somali population. Unemployment rates have soared, particularly among youth. 67% of Somali youth are unemployed. In a country where youth (aged between 14–29 years old) comprise 42% of the population, this constitutes a significant challenge. Faced with grim prospects for the future, over 60% of Somali youth have intentions to leave the country for better livelihood opportunities. In addition, young people are frequently excluded from political arenas with very limited access to engage in meaningful and active decision-making. Conflict, poverty, unemployment, and exclusion from political arenas tend to leave youth frustrated and can fuel conflict escalation and anti-social or violent behavior – which has significant social costs. Therefore, the role of meaningful youth engagement to create opportunities for young people to participate in all parts of the Somali society is very crucial. The Youth Engagement Strategy Consultant will report to the Project Manager for YOURS and collaborate with other team members in the project, as well as with support staff at the UN-Habitat headquarters in Nairobi. Under the overall supervision of the Head of Country Programme and the direct supervision of the YOURS Project Manager, the Youth Engagement Strategy Consultant will perform the following responsibilities: • Develop a work plan to be approved by UN-Habitat. • Define what meaningful ‘youth engagement’ entails for the young people of Somalia. • Summarize and analyze relevant literature in the context of youth engagement. • Highlight good practices, recent experiences and lessons learned in relation to young people’s participation in political, economic and social platforms in the Somali society. • Engage with existing youth organizations to understand challenges and opportunities for youth political participation. • Develop a youth engagement strategy with an accompanying implementation plan to mainstream and institutionalize in relevant platforms effectively, and in ways that are practical, realistic and can be sustained over time. • Develop relevant and practical capacity building tools to support the government, CSOs and NGOs in engaging with young people. • Present the youth engagement strategy to UN-Habitat and key stakeholders through a consultative process to further revise and improve the strategy based on input. • Present the findings to the steering committee.
Qualifications/special skillsMaster’s degree in International Development, Management, Education, Social Works, Political Science, Law, Anthropology, Human Rights or another relevant field is required. A first level university degree can be accepted in conjunction with relevant working experience of five years. Minimum of 2 years experience working with youth/youth issues in a humanitarian– and conflict setting, preferably in Somalia, in relation to areas such as youth empowerment, youth employment and entrepreneurship. Minimum of 2 years relevant work experience in international development with government actors, international organizations or NGOs is desirable Strong research and writing skills including experience producing studies and reports. is desirable
LanguagesFor this post, fluency in oral and written English is required
No FeeTHE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.