Youth Engagement Consultant

Job Location : Gauteng, Pretoria
Deadline : May 07, 2025

Tasks and activities include :

Strategic Leadership in Youth Engagement

• Co-lead the expansion of UNICEF South Africa’s youth engagement strategy, ensuring integration across civic action, climate justice, advocacy, economic development, and UNICEF programmatic areas such as Education, Adolescent Development and Participation (ADAP), Child Protection, Social Policy, Innovations, and Youth for Children.
• Develop and implement a cohesive youth engagement framework that aligns with national policies, UNICEF’s global youth engagement agenda, and regional strategic objectives.
• Establish and maintain strong partnerships with government agencies, civil society organizations, private sector partners, and youth-led networks to drive meaningful youth participation and engagement.
• Advocate for youth-friendly policies, ensuring that engagement strategies align with national and international frameworks, and actively represent UNICEF South Africa in high-level policy discussions related to youth engagement.

Integration of Green Rising into the Youth Engagement Framework

• Support the implementation and scaling of the Green Rising initiative within the broader youth engagement strategy, ensuring its alignment with the UNICEF Volunteer Programme and programmatic priorities.
• Facilitate cross-sector collaboration to integrate Green Rising activities with other youth-focused initiatives, ensuring sustained impact and multi-disciplinary engagement.
• Develop an adaptable Green Rising roadmap tailored to the South African context while fostering knowledge exchange with neighbouring country offices.
• Expand Green Rising to include social entrepreneurship opportunities, connecting youth-led environmental initiatives with sustainable business models to foster long-term engagement.
• Establish and nurture a Green Rising Community of Practice to engage practitioners and stakeholders in collaborative learning and strategic planning.
• Support the onboarding and capacity building of Green Rising practitioners within South Africa and neighbouring countries to ensure a structured and scalable approach to climate action engagement.

Expansion and Diversification of the SACO Volunteer Programme

• Design and implement innovative models for volunteer engagement beyond university clubs, incorporating digital volunteering, school-based initiatives, and community-driven participation.
• Strengthen youth participation pathways by integrating advocacy, leadership training, and economic empowerment opportunities such as green skills and social entrepreneurship.
• Develop scalable volunteer engagement strategies aligned with South Africa’s national youth development framework and UNICEF’s global vision.
• Conduct mapping exercises to identify high-impact areas where volunteer efforts can contribute to UNICEF’s broader objectives, ensuring an evidence-based expansion strategy.
• Ensure that the volunteer program in South Africa is integrated within the Green Rising initiative and supports the broader climate and environmental strategy.

Capacity Building and Knowledge Sharing

• Lead capacity-building initiatives for Green Rising practitioners, volunteers, and youth engagement facilitators to ensure a structured and scalable approach to climate action and civic engagement.
• Facilitate peer learning, skill-sharing sessions, and mentorship programs to enhance youth leadership, advocacy, and professional development in climate justice and economic empowerment.
• Develop toolkits, training manuals, and resources to support consistent and high-quality capacity-building initiatives across various regions.
• Promote the sharing of experiences, expertise, and success stories through enhanced impact measurement and tracking mechanisms among Green Rising practitioners in South Africa and neighbouring countries.

Knowledge Sharing, Documentation, and Advocacy

• Develop impact-driven knowledge-sharing mechanisms, including monthly reports with quarterly summaries, case studies, and best-practice documentation.
• Facilitate bottom-up strategy development by empowering youth volunteers and local stakeholders to shape regional volunteer strategies within Green Rising and other youth engagement initiatives.
• Support the development and dissemination of youth-driven research and policy briefs to inform decision-making and advocacy efforts.
• Create an interactive knowledge repository to store and share youth engagement insights, making it accessible to partners, stakeholders, and young people themselves.
• Support the creation and distribution of content for internal communications channels (websites, newsletters, etc.) to ensure ongoing engagement, learning, and visibility for the Green Rising program.

Digital Engagement, Innovation, and U-Report Integration

• Strengthen the integration of YOMA, U-Report, and digital platforms into the youth engagement strategy to enhance accessibility, participation, and impact tracking.
• Develop digital engagement strategies incorporating gamification, micro-learning, and certification pathways to enhance youth skill-building and career readiness.
• Utilize data-driven approaches to improve youth participation rates and tailor digital engagement strategies to youth preferences and needs.
• Expand digital storytelling initiatives, empowering youth to share their climate and advocacy journeys through online platforms, social media campaigns, and digital storytelling competitions.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Impact Assessment

• Establish dynamic monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) systems to assess the effectiveness of youth engagement programs and initiatives.
• Develop key performance indicators (KPIs) to track volunteer participation, skills development, advocacy impact, and program scalability.
• Provide quarterly and annual reports with data-driven insights and recommendations to refine program implementation and inform future strategic decisions.
• Develop a real-time dashboard for monitoring youth engagement data, allowing for agile adjustments and adaptive programming based on trends and emerging needs.

Resource Mobilization and Sustainability

• Identify and mobilize key funding opportunities to sustain and scale youth engagement programs.
• Lead proposal development and partnership engagement with donors, private sector stakeholders, and multilateral organizations to secure resources for youth-led initiatives.
• Develop innovative funding models, including social entrepreneurship and public-private partnerships, to enhance long-term program sustainability.
• Create a youth-led fundraising mechanism, empowering young people to drive their own resource mobilization efforts through crowdfunding, grant applications, and local fundraising events.

Regional Collaboration and Green Rising Expansion

• Leverage South Africa’s experience with Green Rising to support neighbouring countries in developing and scaling similar initiatives.
• Foster cross-country learning to enhance climate action outcomes by engaging youth volunteers and local stakeholders in regional strategy development.
• Contribute to achieving global Green Rising targets by promoting best practices and fostering collaboration across borders.

Event Leadership and Stakeholder Engagement

• Lead and facilitate key youth engagement events, including conferences, summits, hackathons, and policy dialogues to elevate youth voices.
• Organize skill-sharing workshops, webinars, and design thinking sessions using Human-Centered Design methodologies to enhance program innovation and impact.
• Ensure young people are at the forefront of decision-making processes, advocating for policy shifts and systemic changes that benefit youth-led climate and economic initiatives.
• Develop an annual youth engagement forum, bringing together key stakeholders, policymakers, and young leaders to discuss trends, challenges, and future directions in youth participation and advocacy.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• A bachelor's degree from a recognized university in public policy, social sciences, or another relevant field
• A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in youth and volunteer engagement work, especially in Africa
• Experience supporting youth engagement in climate action initiatives
• Significant experience working with teams to develop, deliver, and optimize successful volunteer initiatives
• Experience creating functional communities of practice in global organization contexts
• An ability to tailor engagement approaches to context, adjusting to suit different issues, audiences, cultures, political situations, and systems of government
• A sophisticated and current knowledge of relevant digital tools and technologies, and a knowledge of trends and best practices in volunteering and the broader public engagement spaces
• Experience facilitating workshops using human-centered design approaches, building capacity, and hosting internal communications
• Excellent verbal and interpersonal communication skills; meticulous attention to detail and ability to work under tight deadlines with a commitment to quality
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergencies is considered an asset
• Experience working in the UNICEF context is preferred