Youth Engagement Specialist / Спеціаліст/ка по роботі з молоддю

Who are Plan International?

Plan International is an independent child rights and humanitarian organisation committed to children living a life free of poverty, violence and injustice.

We actively unite children, communities and other people who share our mission to make positive lasting changes in children’s and young people’s lives. We support children to gain the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to claim their rights to a fulfilling life, today and in the future. We place a specific focus on girls and women, who are most often left behind.

We have been building powerful partnerships for children for more than 75 years and are now active in more than 70 countries.

How have Plan International responded to the Ukraine Crisis?

Since March 2022, Plan International has been responding to the crisis in partnership with civil society organisations in Poland, Romania, and Moldova to meet the needs of those affected by the crisis as well as host communities, and now we are ready to extend our operations in Ukraine itself.

We are supporting an integrated education and child protection response, incorporating mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), with cash and voucher assistance (CVA) as a modality.

What can you bring?

We know that this crisis will have devastating long-term effects on women and children in the region and Plan International will play a vital role in responding to these needs as we continue to establish operations in each of the four countries. We plan to transition from the current support provided globally by Plan International’s teams to locally based, longer term staffing.

The Youth Engagement Specialist will focus on pilot Champions of Change project in Ukraine and work with colleagues and partners to integrate meaningful youth participation, open and honest communication, and mechanisms to listen and act on feedback, within programmes and operations. This role will be involved in advocacy activities with youth and adolescents and deliver youth focused curriculum ‘Champions of Change’, with co-facilitator from Plan International CSO partners. 

 Accountabilities

Deliver champions of change programme approach

• Lead the  Champions of Change approach to Ukraine context.
• Provide oversight and delivery of champions of change activities with youth and adolescents.
• Document and reflect learning from implementation of champions of change, assessing feasibility to scale up the approach. 

Technical input

• Build on the original youth organisation mapping undertaken in the first half of 2024 and continue building relationships with and identifying youth networks across Ukraine which Plan International Ukraine could potentially collaborate with 
• Develop relationships and act as a focal point for youth organisations and networks across Ukraine, particularly those whose missions and objectives align with Plan International’s strategic priorities 
• Support the Business Development Manager to design and develop  projects and assess where adolescents and youth can be actively engaged as part of implementation. 
• Develop understanding and capacity of Plan International Ukraine staff and partners on working with and engaging adolescent and youth in projects
• Monitor the key issues and platforms which Ukrainian youth organisations and networks are campaigning on particularly relating to: Ukraine’s reconstruction and recovery; the promotion of gender equality and human rights; youth participation and leadership; and other social reforms 
• Provide input to donor reporting ensuring that reports are submitted on time and of high quality.

Project implementation: 

• Work with the Program Implementation  Manager to ensure programmes and projects are designed with the involvement and input of adolescent and youth girls and boys and any marginalized or at-risk groups
• Support partners to understand and enable adolescent and youth participation in projects 
• Work with the programme implementation team on delivery of youth related activities including conducting monitoring visits
• Work with technical specialists to discuss linkages to programme quality standards and share lessons learnt from youth and adolescent focused projects
• Support Plan International Ukraine’s program team and communication officer in developing youth-led and youth-focused knowledge generation products, as well as on other influencing and communication tasks as needed 
• Identify and attend events, either online or in person, organised by youth-led and youth-centered organisations and suggest opportunities for Plan International Ukraine build its visibility within active Ukraine’s youth movements 

Safeguarding:

• Work closely with Plan’s safeguarding focal points to ensure wide dissemination of Plan International’s safeguarding policy and procedures and ensure community messaging in contextually relevant and feedback and complaints Mechanisms are clearly known and accessible in the communities we work with 

 Technical expertise, skills, and knowledge

Essential Skills & knowledge

• Three years’ experience working in community engagement, community mobilization and/ or participatory research activities i.e., gathering community feedback, tools for communicating with communities (radio, social media, social mobilization) and participatory research processes such as focus group discussions, surveys 
• Experience of designing and implementing/supporting assessments, community consultations, research and/or focus groups discussions
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and networking skills, able to build relationships with people at all levels of the organisation and with external partners and organisations
• Excellent ability to build collaborative and respectful relationships with local organizations and government authorities
• Experience in project design, participatory learning and monitoring and evaluation skills
• Excellent teamwork skills and ability to ability to work independently
• Excellent negotiation, representation, skills, and the ability to work comfortably with an ethnically diverse team in a very sensitive environment.
• Excellent, information management and telecommunication skills and computer skills with proficiency in Microsoft Word and Excel. With experience working with large data sets in Excel
• Strong presentation, facilitation, and training skills and ability to present detailed and complex information in accessible and understandable ways
• Fluency in written and spoken English and Ukrainian is essential.

Desired Skills & knowledge

• Experience in Humanitarian project management and humanitarian standards considered and asset.
• Experience of planning and implementing/implementing Community engagement and accountability approaches within an emergency response considered an asset.
• Knowledge of Accountability to affected populations (AAP) standards related to humanitarian action, such as the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Guidelines on AAP considered an asset.

Essential Behaviours 

• Committed to Plan International’s strategy and values 
• Experienced with working in collaboration with Project Manager and external stakeholder
• Team player and relationship builder 
• Able to work calmly under extreme pressure, volatile & insecure environment and at unpredictable (long) hours during emergency response 
• Works well in and promotes teamwork, comfortable in a multi-cultural environment, flexible and able to work under pressure well
• Committed to Plan International’s strategy and values
• Communicator; 
   •    Promotes innovation and learning; 
   •    Communicates clearly and effectively; 
   •    Strong team building and motivational skills; 
   •    Demonstrates clear respect to all and especially children and women without discrimination
• Involves others in setting and achieving goals
• Demonstrates honesty and transparency in holding self and others to account to deliver on agreed goals and Plan’s standards of behaviour
• Promotes a strong learning culture in the organization 
• Highly motivated, self-starter able to take initiative and lead a team or process

Plan International’s Values in Practice

We are open and accountable

We create a climate of trust inside and outside the organisation by being open, honest and transparent. We hold ourselves and others to account for the decisions we make and for our impact on others, while doing what we say we will do.

We strive for lasting impact

We strive to achieve significant and lasting impact on the lives of children and young people, and to secure equality for girls. We challenge ourselves to be bold, courageous, responsive, focused and innovative.

We work well together

We succeed by working effectively with others, inside and outside the organisation, including our sponsors and donors. We actively support our colleagues, helping them to achieve their goals. We come together to create and implement solutions in our teams, across Plan International, with children, girls, young people, communities and our partners.

We are inclusive and empowering

We respect all people, appreciate differences and challenge inequality in our programmes and our workplace. We support children, girls and young people to increase their confidence and to change their own lives. We empower our staff to give their best and develop their potential.

Please send your CV to [email protected]