Youth Participation Intern, Mbabane, ESwatini, 6 months

Organizational Context

UNICEF operates in over 190 countries and territories, dedicated to saving children's lives, defending their rights, and helping them fulfill their potential from early childhood through adolescence. We are committed, passionate, and proud of our work, viewing the promotion of every child's rights as a calling. UNICEF fosters career growth with diverse professional and personal development opportunities.

Job Purpose

The Youth Participation Intern will provide crucial support to the Lifelong Learning, Protection, and Development section, with a specific emphasis on enhancing youth participation initiatives. This role is designed to contribute significantly to achieving transformative results for children while simultaneously offering the intern valuable hands-on experience for professional development. The intern will be instrumental in strengthening the functioning of the Youth Advisory Board, including the development of an alumni network for institutional memory and mentorship. They will also play a key role in implementing youth-focused programs like Youth4Change (Y4C) and YOMA in Eswatini, ensuring meaningful youth perspectives are integrated to maximize relevance and impact. Furthermore, the intern will assist in engaging potential partners for youth skills development and support activities related to the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) grant, focusing on youth engagement and adolescent participation.

Responsibilities

The Youth Participation Intern will be responsible for supporting the Youth Advisory Board, which includes establishing and coordinating an alumni network to maintain institutional memory, provide mentorship, and ensure continued engagement of former members. A key responsibility will be supporting the implementation of the Youth4Change (Y4C) initiative and YOMA in Eswatini, ensuring that youth perspectives are meaningfully integrated to enhance program relevance, participation, and overall impact. The intern will also assist UNICEF in engaging with potential partners who can contribute to the youth-skills ecosystem through YOMA. Additionally, the role involves supporting the execution of activities under the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) grant, with a specific focus on youth engagement, skills development, learning opportunities, and adolescent participation. The intern will also contribute to knowledge-sharing activities, both online and offline, by facilitating dialogues on skilling and employability and by drafting and disseminating success stories that highlight youth leadership, innovation, and opportunities. The intern will report directly to the Chief of Section, Lifelong Learning, Protection, and Development, and collaborate closely with team members and other sections.

Work Experience

A minimum of 1 year of relevant experience in youth participation, accountability, and/or advocacy for youth-related issues, including but not limited to education, health, mental health, HIV and sexual reproductive health and rights, skilling, and employability.

Skills

Strong analytical skills, Excellent report writing skills, Excellent presentation skills, Excellent communication skills, Youth participation, Accountability, Advocacy, Skills development, Project implementation support, Knowledge sharing, Mentorship coordination, Partnership engagement

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