In Ghana, UNFPA has started implementing its new five-year 8th Country Programme 2023-2027. The 8th CP aligns well with national, regional and global priorities including aligning with the UNFPA strategic plan, 2022 – 2025, that seeks to accelerate the reduction of preventable maternal death, unmet need for family planning, and gender-based violence and harmful practices. It fits within two of the three pillars of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), 2022 – 2025, namely: equitable access to social services and promoting a peaceful Ghana. In addition, the country programme aligns to the ICPD Programme of Action, the national voluntary commitment made by the Government at the Nairobi Summit on the 25th anniversary of ICPD (ICPD+25), and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Overall, the country programme contributes to national priorities, including creating a wealthy, inclusive, sustainable, equitable, resilient, healthy and disciplined society, encapsulated in the President’s vision of “Ghana Beyond Aid”.

Working within a large and complex Ghana Country Office environment, you will ensure the effective management of UNFPA activities in the areas adolescents and youth development in line with the Ghana Country Programme Document (CPD) 2023 – 2027 focusing on strengthening national capacity in the area of adolescents, youth and development, especially for the most vulnerable populations, including women, young people.

Employing your programme management experience, you will oversee the work of the adolescents and youth development programme team as well as consultants, advisors, and experts. You will establish and maintain collaborative relationships with counterparts in government, multi-lateral and bilateral donor agencies and civil society to address emerging issues related to adolescents and youth development, and effectively influence diverse stakeholders to contribute to achieving UNFPA’s mandate.  You will contribute to policy making and strategies related to adolescents and youth development issues and their inclusion in the national development agenda as outlined in the regional and global priorities, including aligning with the UNFPA strategic plan, 2022 – 2025, that seeks to accelerate the reduction of preventable maternal death, unmet need for family planning, and gender-based violence and harmful practices, and it   fits within two of the three pillars of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), 2022 – 2025.

You will establish and maintain collaborative relationships with counterparts in government, multi-lateral and bilateral donor agencies and civil society to address emerging issues, and effectively influence diverse stakeholders to contribute to achieving UNFPA’s mandate.

You would be responsible for:

1. Management and technical leadership support 

• Analyses and interpret the political, social and economic environment relevant to the area of adolescents and youth development and identify opportunities for UNFPA assistance and intervention.  Keep abreast of new policy developments and strategies analyzing policy papers, strategy documents, national plans and development frameworks.
• Engages in policy dialogue with the Government, UN system and other development partners to incorporate the issues of adolescents and youth development into national policies, strategies and plans, and within UN system wide initiatives and frameworks.
• Promotes awareness of the critical role of the ICPD PoA in the achievement of Agenda 2030 in high-level meetings, conferences and other fora.
• Keeps abreast of policy and legal developments that affect adolescents and youth development and prepares analysis on the implications for the work of UNFPA.
• Identifies policy gaps in the fulfilment of adolescents and youth development and translates knowledge gained from programming into policy recommendations.
• Facilitates the conduct of in-depth adolescents and youth development analyses of trends, threats and risks that may negatively impact the achievement of the ICPD agenda and advances strategic approaches to respond to these trends.
• Represents UNFPA in technical fora of government, civil society and academic institutions as well as of other technical agencies and partners.
• Provides technical leadership on gender equality and women’s rights, with a special focus on addressing adolescents and youth development contexts in the country.
• Actively promotes, nurtures and participates in relevant networks and coalitions related to gender equality and social inclusion, gender-based violence and harmful practices, focusing on adolescents and youth development issues.
• Provides vision, direction and technical guidance to the positioning of adolescents, youth and development issues at the national, regional and local level, including in policies, strategies, plans and programmes in development contexts.
• Ensures state-of-the-art thinking and research is integrated within UNFPA’s adolescents and youth development portfolios, incorporating an intersectionality lens and an integrated approach across all other thematic areas of work.
• Prepare regular briefing notes on the socio-economic and political conditions in Ghana and their implications to UNFPA supported activities.

       2.   Partnerships, coordination and resources mobilization

• Actively seek and maintain strategic partnerships and collaboration with external counterparts, including research institutions, think tanks, universities and development partners for technical collaboration, resource mobilization, advocacy and knowledge sharing in the area of sexual reproductive health and rights of adolescent and young people.
• Actively promote and facilitate communities of practice.
• Represent UNFPA Ghana in relevant technical meetings, workshops and conferences as required.
• In all activities, work as part of the inter-disciplinary Country Office team and provide high quality integrated technical support, operational policy, programme and communications support to the Country Office management and other programme units.
• Scan donors’ environment and mapping their presence and interest in the country to support the Country Office management in resource mobilization.
• Lead adolescent and youth portfolio proposals writing and their submission to targeted donors.
• Ensure quality reporting of the adolescent and youth development projects implementation and timely submission of reports to Government and donors.
• Actively contribute to advocacy and resource mobilization efforts of the Country Office in related area, by ensuring preparation of relevant documentation, i.e. project summaries, conference papers, speeches, donor profiles, and participating in related meetings and public events.

       3.  Programme Management and Coordination

• Contributes to the formulation of the UNFPA country programme, ensuring that selected interventions position UNFPA as a thought leader in the area of adolescents and youth development.
• Leads in the formulation of gender responsive, rights based, inclusive programmes on adolescents and youth in line with Government priorities and UNFPA’s mandate in Ghana.
• Leads and manages interventions focused on policy advocacy and youth engagement under the adolescents and youth development component of the country programme including work plan development and efficient delivery of programme interventions, ensuring a rights-based approach.
• Conducts results-based monitoring and reporting of the adolescent and youth projects; and undertakes regular monitoring visits as well as joint visits with the other relevant staff, implementing partners and interested parties, as needed.
• Leads UNFPA’s engagement in in relevant UN inter-agency and development partners working groups and consultative processes, ensuring consultations with diverse stakeholders to discuss youth concerns, knowledge sharing, and the integration of youth issues in the UN system wide country assessments, frameworks and programmes.
• Promotes inter-linkages and synergies among the UNFPA supported adolescent and youth interventions across the different thematic areas of UNFPA work on sexual and reproductive health, gender equality, and population and development to maximize impact.
• Promotes the use of state-of-the-art technical knowledge, evidence, lessons learned, and success stories and ensures their use to improve the effectiveness of UNFPA support to programme interventions.
• Contributes to capacity development activities in adolescents and youth development for UNFPA staff and UNFPA implementing partners.
• Manages programme and support staff, supervises consultants and facilitates working groups and task teams, as needed.

Carry out any other duties as may be required by UNFPA leadership.

Qualifications and Experience: 

Education:  Advanced degree in Development Studies, Political Science, Sociology, Gender Studies and/or other related social science discipline.

Knowledge and Experience: 

• At least five years of increasingly responsible professional experience at the advisory/managerial level in managing adolescents and youth programmes.
• Demonstrable technical expertise in adolescents, youth and development programmes.
• Proven experience in coordinating/managing a team of staff, experts and consultants.
• Familiarity in communicating in a clear and articulated manner, technical and/or complex issues to different types of audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to network within the development sector, including with civil society.
• Demonstrated experience in coordination and liaison with government counterparts, NGOs, UN agencies, private sector, development partners and CBOs.
• Possess excellent interpersonal, negotiating, intercultural communication skills, and political acumen.
• Ability to work independently and in culturally diverse teams.
• Field experience is an asset.
• Prior experience in the UN system is an asset.
• Proficiency in current Microsoft Office software packages and web-based management systems such as the ERP systems, Quantum, QuantumPlus, Quantum PowerBI, etc.

Languages: 

Fluency in English; knowledge of other official UN languages is desirable.