UNICEF aims to ensure that every child and adolescent, learns and acquires skills for their future. It focuses on addressing the global learning crisis, shifting to increase skills acquisition and alternative learning pathways to better reach the most marginalized. In line with the global prioritization of youth, UNICEF’s Regional Office for Eastern and Southern Africa (ESARO) priorities are focused on secondary-age education and transitions into work to advocate for and ensure equity in that more youth in the region, including the most vulnerable, are equipped with skills to succeed in life, school, work and livelihoods.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Background and Justification

UNICEF aims to ensure that every child and adolescent, learns and acquires skills for their future. It focuses on addressing the global learning crisis, shifting to increase skills acquisition and alternative learning pathways to better reach the most marginalized. In line with the global prioritization of youth, UNICEF’s Regional Office for Eastern and Southern Africa (ESARO) priorities are focused on secondary-age education and transitions into work to advocate for and ensure equity in that more youth in the region, including the most vulnerable, are equipped with skills to succeed in life, school, work and livelihoods.

Whether young people are educated, trained or employed has significant implications for their overall wellbeing and ability to promote future economic growth, development and socio-political stability. Since 1999, there has been a concurrent global decrease in young individuals’ labour force participation whilst the proportion of youth increased. In 2020, young individuals were three times more likely than adults to be unemployed (ILO 2020). Many are not only facing a challenging present, but also, a most uncertain future. To meet the changing demands of the labour market, young people will need to be equipped with a set of skills and competencies to compete both locally and globally. The concept of Yoma (Youth Agency Marketplace) was developed by young Africans as a holistic approach to address these challenges and increase youth agency across the globe.

Yoma is a digital marketplace for youth across the world to build and transform their futures by actively engaging in social impact tasks as well as making use of learning and earning opportunities. It is an ecosystem solution that links young people with learning, community engagement and employment opportunities, provided by a range of partners, such as private enterprises and educational institutions. Through these opportunities Yoma can accelerate local impact in a wide range of sectors, such as education and entrepreneurship (e.g. youth acquiring market-relevant skills, leadership abilities and knowledge), as well as climate change mitigation (e.g. youth planting trees, safeguarding healthy wetlands). As a market creating innovation, it satisfies a global demand for SDG impact as youth can actively contribute to their realization by engaging with the new opportunities provided by Yoma. As young people engage in Yoma offerings, their involvement and accomplishments (e.g., community engagement, learning activities or work-experience) are recorded on their profile. This allows them to build a verifiable digital CV using blockchain, which complements their formal education and demonstrates reliability and acquisition of skills, all of which enhance employability and allow for more informed matching with the labour market. The record and recognition of completed learning, employment and social engagement activities can boost young people’s self-esteem, thereby creating positive behavioural incentives to continue their growth journey. Lastly, young people are rewarded through Zlto, a digital token that can be redeemed for digital services (e.g., airtime or premium courses) or physical goods (e.g., bus tickets, basic commodities.). The token also allows to offset opportunity costs of youth to engage on Yoma and participate in digital opportunities.

A young Yoma Operations Team has been set up and undergone significant strengthening efforts in 2023. RLabs successfully recruited a total of 9 team members, constituting the Yoma HQ Team based in South Africa. This team is divided into two main units: the Operations Team, responsible for Communications, Validation/Credentialing, and Customer Support; and the Design Team, consisting of young experts in UI/UX Design. Under the guidance of an Operations Manager and a Product Manager, these teams operate seamlessly. Moreover, the Yoma General Manager, recruited in January, provides essential leadership and supervision to the Operations Manager and Solutions Architect, forming a vital part of the Yoma Leadership Team. This cohesive structure ensures that Yoma HQ activities are closely aligned with the overall vision and mission of Yoma.

After two years of implementation, more than 4 million young people have been reached and more than 400,000 young people have participated in Yoma related opportunities, mainly from Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. A growing number of UNICEF country offices, donors and other partners are involved in the implementation, strengthening the impact and sustainability of the project.

As part of the Yoma Global Team, this role will support the expansion of Yoma with a focus on Southern Africa countries including but not limited to: South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana and Namibia and will serve as focal point for the support to the Yoma Operation Team based in South Africa.

Scope of Work

Goal and Objective:  Under the general supervision of the Yoma Program Manager, the post is expected to lead the coordination for the expansion and operationalization of Yoma in Southern Africa and beyond as required.

1. Provide details/reference to AWP areas covered: Oversee overall coordination and provide Technical Assistance to UNICEF Country Office’s on innovative platforms for youth engagement, skills building, and employability in the green sector (ie greem yoma, Atingi), as well as the African Data and Drone Academy (ADDA)

Activities and Tasks:  

The Consultant will work closely with country offices and Yoma global team to achieve the following results/deliverables.

1. Enhance the programmatic linkage between Yoma and UNICEF programming to facilitate relevance and scaling within UNICEF.

• Liaise with Country Offices to promote Yoma and assist them in assessing the possibility to adapt support the roll-out processes of Yoma to their country context with a particular focus on country office programmatic priorities and interventions.
• Review programmatic priorities at country levels to identify entry points for youth agency through Yoma and provide strategic orientation leveraging on the Youth4Children (Y4C) model of mobilizing young people to support key programmatic priorities and interventions (e.g., in birth registration, education, immunization)

• Provide required support to the Yoma operation Team and assist in the workplan development and monitoring.
• Support COs to develop scalable Yoma models especially among young people in marginalized communities (with little or no connectivity).

2. Provide support to monitoring, strategic learning and evidence generation.

• Lead the process of documenting lessons learned during the expansion of Yoma and facilitating peer learning processes and compiling experiences gained at various levels.
• Facilitate dialogues (through country visits, workshops, webinars) around the strategic relevance of Yoma for UNICEF programming and interventions and keep in contact with different relevant innovation initiatives.

• Work closely with GenU and other UNICEF actors engaged in the youth innovation portfolio to ensure that Yoma is linked to the organization priorities.
• Conduct in-country technical and monitoring visits.

3. Manage programmes related to Yoma.

• Monitor the expansion of Yoma in Southern Africa and the achievement of its objectives in terms of scaling and impact by keeping track of individual country requests and their action, maintaining an overall dashboard containing disaggregated data compiling different initiatives. Provide support on the preparation of funding proposals that allow for Yoma scaling.
• Ensure the linkage between operational research and implementation both in the conceptual and implementation stages.
• Identify opportunities for resource mobilization and new partnerships, and work closely with the regional resources-mobilization unit in developing proposals and partnership development efforts.
• Develop, build, and maintain partnerships with local, regional, and global youth-led networks including civil society networks to promote and scale Yoma related activities and programs.

4. Any other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisor.
5. Work relationships:  The consultant will work in close collaboration with the Programme Manager (Yoma) and the Senior Program Manager.
6. Outputs/Deliverables:  

As part of UNICEF team, efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly, and high-quality support rendered to Yoma and its ecosystem partners in the accomplishment of her/his functions, including:

• Timely and quality support provided to UNICEF Country Offices implementing Yoma and the Yoma operation Team located at Rlabs in close relationship with the Programme Manager (Yoma)
• Quality project proposals and reports produced and submitted, particularly for GIZ and Fondation Botnar
• Documentation of Yoma expansion in Southern Africa

 Payment Schedule

As per table above

Desired competencies, technical background, and experience

1. Education:  Postgraduate degree in development economics or economics with background in business administration & management
2. Experience in working with young people in a digital environment.
3. Young professional (<35) preferred as Yoma is a youth-led initiative.
4. Experience in working in the Global South, previous experience in working in Southern Africa an asset.
5. At least 2years of relevant work experience
6. Strong analytical skills
7. Strong drafting skills
8. Fluency in English, Knowledge of French & Spanish an asset as Yoma is also active in Spanish & French speaking countries.
9. Must exhibit the UNICEF Core Values of:
   1. Care
   2. Respect
   3. Integrity
   4. Trust
   5. Accountability
   6. Sustainability
10. Key competencies required:

1. Building and Maintaining Partnerships

2. Drive to achieve Results for Impact

3. Innovates and Embraces Change

4. Manages Ambiguity and Complexity

5. Works collaboratively with others

Administrative issues

The Consultant will work under the supervision of the Yoma Programme Manager. As most of the Yoma team is working remotely most meetings will be online with occasional in person meetings.

The consultant is expected to be work remotely with potential travel to several countries in Africa and beyond depending on COVID-19 travel restrictions in 2021/22 for which the UNICEF office would cover DSA and travel costs. Travel will be in economy class. If the contractor is required to quarantine while traveling, UNICEF will pay for the quarantine if not organized by the host country.

Conditions

• The consultant will work from his/her own premises as per the UNICEF Flexible Working Policy and use his/her own computer and related infrastructure.
• As this would be a junior consultant role, we are preferably looking for talented young candidates.
• As per UNICEF DFAM policy, payment will be made against approved deliverables. No advance payment is allowed unless in exceptional circumstances against bank guarantee, subject to a maximum of 30 per cent of the total contract value in cases where advance purchases, for example for supplies or travel, may be necessary.
• Individuals engaged under a consultancy contract will not be considered ‘staff members’ under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures and will be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

Risks

This is a remote role that does not foresee any direct contact with children. There are not reasonable risks associated with this consultancy, all deliverables will be cleared by the supervisor before they are being shared with external partners.

How to Apply

Qualified candidates are requested to submit a cover letter, CV, P11 form and their technical proposals to the online recruitment portal (Talent Management System) or email provided.

Interested candidates to indicate ability, availability, and monthly rate expressed in US$ to undertake the terms of reference as an international individual contractor.

Applications submitted without a fee/ rate will not be considered.