Eco-system research and support with the roll-out of the Yoma marketplace in Uganda to empower young people with pathways for Learning to Earning (L2E), Kampala, Uganda, 6 months Full Time

In addition to being skilled with transferable skills for life and work in the 21st century, the adolescents and youth in Uganda need a platform that links them with further job-specific self-learning and employability experiences provided by different stakeholders. Without engagement in such a linking platform, some of the adolescents may not find their way to a successful independent life and rewarding entrance into the world of work. Marketplaces like Yoma can fill this gap by linking adolescents and youth with employability experiences, including job-specific self-training, internship, and self-employment (through entrepreneurship) provided by a range of public, private and academic sector actors. Hence, UNICEF Uganda is seeking a consultant to support the establishment of the foundation of such an ecosystem for the roll-out of Yoma in Uganda. The successful candidate will work closely with the Uganda Country Office team, the ESARO Innovation team, and local partners to advance the roll-out of Yoma in Uganda and ensure timely and quality delivery of all components of the assignment.

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Background and Purpose

Today, Uganda has 17 million adolescents and youth aged between 10 and 24 (UBOS National Household Survey 2019/20). The country has a prospect of enjoying a demographic dividend if they are adequately educated and trained with the competencies and skills that are required to thrive in the market. However, young people face a variety of barriers to accessing quality education, skills-building, and empowerment opportunities. Opportunities for acquiring transferable skills, including 21st-century skills, innovation, and digital skills most needed in today’s world are scarce. According to the latest Labour Force Survey conducted by UBOS (2021), 41% of youth in Uganda are not in education, employment, or any training (NEET). Out of this total population, the absolute majority are girls, and every fourth of them is either pregnant or a child mother below 18 years old. Refugee children and young people, comprising about 70% of the total refugee population with over 1.5 million (UNHCR 2023), remain the most disadvantaged groups in need of support.

To address the above needs of adolescents and youth in Uganda, within the scope of its Basic Education and Adolescent Development (BEAD) programme, UNICEF supports the Government in the institutionalization of transferable skills training (with a special focus on 21st-century skills/life skills, social innovation and entrepreneurship skills, and digital skills) in formal and non-formal education and training systems. Through this institutionalization, adolescents and youth especially the most marginalized in Uganda will have multiple opportunities to improve their transferable skills within the existing formal and non-formal education institutions and will be better prepared for a successful transition from school to work life. To ensure full preparation for the transition to life and work, UNICEF in Uganda developed a model of transition pathway for employability by building platforms of connection for adolescents to access employability experience, including through job-specific self-training, internship, and self-employment (through entrepreneurship) that are provided by a range of private sector actors and programs implemented by development partners.

One such platform for connection is YOMA (Youth Marketplace Agency) the UNICEF Innovation team in the Regional Office for Eastern and Southern Africa (ESARO) has developed and supported its roll-out in several countries in the region. Yoma is a digital marketplace platform that aims to provide young people with the opportunity to learn, serve their communities and grow by giving them access to relevant capacity-building and employability activities in their communities. Yoma aims to identify, nurture, and connect hidden talents using psychometric tools and dynamic experiential learning, allowing for an individual – yet scalable growth journey through new partnerships with the public sector, private sector, educational institutions, and other local organizations. UNICEF aims to introduce Yoma to Uganda as a part of the transition pathway to employability for adolescents and young people aged 10 to 24 that will allow them to continue their self-skilling as well as access to employability experiences provided by different stakeholders in Yoma. Through Yoma, UCO aims to establish an eco-system to engage, reach, and impact young people in Uganda in the following ways: 1. Linking adolescents and youth with further and market-driven skills training online (with credentials) 2. Linking adolescents and youth with employability opportunities, i.e., internship, apprenticeship, short-term jobs both online and offline 3. Linking adolescents and youth with volunteering opportunities both online and offline 4. Linking young innovators with actors interested in and willing to invest in their innovations and scale them up.

The above-proposed action is in line with the Uganda Vision 2040 and its goals for human capital development, RWP signed between UNICEF and sectoral Ministries, in particular, MoGLSD in this case, ESARO flagship program on Learning-to-Earning for adolescents and young people as well as post-MTR acceleration results defined by BEAD programme.

Justification

In addition to being skilled with transferable skills for life and work in the 21st century, the adolescents and youth in Uganda need a platform that links them with further job-specific self-learning and employability experiences provided by different stakeholders. Without engagement in such a linking platform, some of the adolescents may not find their way to a successful independent life and rewarding entrance into the world of work. Marketplaces like Yoma can fill this gap by linking adolescents and youth with employability experiences, including job-specific self-training, internship, and self-employment (through entrepreneurship) provided by a range of public, private and academic sector actors.

Hence, UNICEF Uganda is seeking a consultant to support the establishment of the foundation of such an ecosystem for the roll-out of Yoma in Uganda.

The successful candidate will work closely with the Uganda Country Office team, the ESARO Innovation team, and local partners to advance the roll-out of Yoma in Uganda and ensure timely and quality delivery of all components of the assignment.

Objectives

Under the general supervision of the Adolescent Development Officer, the Consultant will be responsible for conducting a landscape analysis of the Yoma eco-system1 and laying a foundation for the roll-out of Yoma in Uganda.

Results 1: The country-specific landscape analysis of the Yoma eco-system is conducted

Results 2: The foundation of the eco-system established through the strategic partnerships

Major Tasks

1. Inception – Develop a research and lanplan that includes a draft table of contents, objectives and methodology in consultation with the UNICEF focal point(s)
2. Research on YOMA’s Value Proposition

• Identify major challenges around young people’s employability, i.e. market-driven skills training and experience that potentially lead to employment (internship, apprenticeship, and other job-specific experiences) disaggregated by the needs of different categories of adolescents and young people3 in Uganda; analyze the available program’s landscape that responds to the above challenges; indicate gaps and opportunities that Yoma can propose (value propositions) to address them, including through leveraging existing identified programs & digital solutions.
• Plan and conduct a co-creation workshop with inclusive young people and stakeholders selected in consultation with UNICEF focal point(s) to identify the necessary contents and country-specific customization needs including using U-Report; verify the value propositions of Yoma platform and define appropriate promotion activities to reach different target audiences among young people, including the aspect of reward and feedback system for young people.

3. Operationalization of the YOMA Platform

• Support the country-specific customization of the content in Yoma by following the results of the co-creation workshop
• Support the light touch promotion of Yoma (after contextualization of the promotion content) through social media posts and engagement with identified youth networks and other stakeholders such as government, development partners, CSOs, and the private sector as agreed with UNICEF focal point(s)
• Design and set up the context-specific local reward and feedback system and develop the local Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for this mechanism with potential incorporation into the Yoma platform

4. Capacity Strengthening of Stakeholders and Closure of Support Delivery

• Plan and conduct capacity-building training(s) for both the nominated Yoma Champions and Yoma core partners for their solid understanding of the Yoma platform, ownership, and continuous engagement, in consultation with UNICEF focal point(s)
• Develop a final delivery report that shows the workable model of Yoma implementation in Uganda, including Yoma’s value propositions, the main stakeholders (such as Yoma Champions and core partners), the operation model including the reward and feedback system and the next steps for further scalability and sustainability, and any other items requested by the UNICEF focal point(s).

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

• Work Experience:

• At least five years of professional experience in the areas of child and youth engagement and/or entrepreneurship, project management, resource mobilization/partnerships, community engagement, advocacy

• Previous experience working with development actors: United Nations agencies, civil society, and government entities as well as private sector

• Experience in managing internal and external partnerships, including international organizations, government, and the private sector

• Understanding of the Uganda context and education, training, employment, innovation and entrepreneurship landscape

• Good knowledge of UNICEF’s global and regional youth engagement and innovation strategy, including the Generation Unlimited initiative would be an asset

• Knowledge of U-Report and/or Fundoo or experience using Cartedo, Atingi or Yoma platforms would be an asset

• Excellent command of Microsoft Office tools (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote).

• Experience in conducting Social Media Ad campaigns is an asset

• Competencies:

•    Able to work independently, has sound judgment and strong organizational skills

•    Strong project management skills with a proven ability to conceptualize, plan and execute ideas as well as to transfer knowledge and skills

•    Demonstrated ability to work in a multicultural environment and establish harmonious and effective working relationships

•    Ability to work with, gather feedback from and co-create solutions with youth

•    Distinctive ability to foster open dialogue, build trust and engage key stakeholders

•    Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of a local language is an asset

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships (2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (3) Drive to achieve results for impact (4) Innovates and embraces change (5) Manages ambiguity and complexity (6) Thinks and acts strategically (7) Works collaboratively with others (8) Nurtures, leads and manages people.

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable are encouraged to apply.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Tagged as: Uganda, UNICEF