Jordan: Youth Engagement Officer

Contract Type:

Part-time - three days per week

Fixed term contract until 31 December 2016, with possibility of extension based on funding availability

Reports to:

Youth Engagement Advisor (London) and Area Coordinator (Mafraq)

Working with

· Youth Engagement Advisor and other members of Advocacy and Communications Team in London (remote)

· Area Coordinator(s) and relevant staff in programmes team and partner organisations based in Jordan

Location

Amman, Jordan, with regular field travel

Overview

War Child works with children who, as a result of conflict, live with a combination of poverty, exclusion and insecurity. These children might include street children, child headed households, children conscripted into armed groups, and children who have been put in prison. Our mission to support and improve the protection and care of children and young people who live with a combination of insecurity, poverty and exclusion in some of the worst conflict-affected places.

Purpose of Post

Despite the active participation of children being enshrined in international law, opportunities for young people to voice their opinions and perspectives on issues affected them remains limited in scope globally, and particularly so for those who find themselves in difficult circumstances. It is, however, vital that young people are supported and empowered to become their own advocates and their voices are not just heard, but really listened to. The Youth Engagement Officer will be pioneering War Child's new initiative - VoiceMore. This is a programme that supports young people in speaking up about their - and their peers - experiences of living in war affected areas. The programme helps them to gain new confidence and skills through an intensive training programme followed by opportunities to advocate for their and other young people’s needs.

Objectives of the VoiceMore Programme are to:

· Support young people in feeling confident and empowered to express their honest views and opinions to a wide range of audiences, and to bring these into debates and decision-making on issues that impact their lives

· Create spaces, mechanisms and processes through which young people can articulate their views, needs and hopes to people who make decisions that affect them and the lives of their peers.

· Support the creation of communities of young people at local, national and international levels who are able to work together to ensure their voices are heard.

· Support young people to be powerful spokespeople on the issues that affect them – through multiple media channels – and capture their stories and views to compel people to support War Child’s work.

· Establish War Child as a leader in promoting the participation of children and young people in programming and decision-making, sharing best practice across the sector.

In Jordan a group of young people will complete their intensive VoiceMore training in August. The Youth Engagement Officer will then support youth in their new roles with guidance from the Youth Engagement Advisor in London and the local War Child Office in Jordan post- training.

In addition, the Youth Engagement Officer will work with the wider programmes of War Child in Jordan to develop strategies for effective youth engagement. They will be responsible for supporting the youth focused elements of ongoing projects, and to link with relevant project staff to ensure good coordination of activities.

Job Specification: Tasks and responsibilities

· Acting as the main contact person and coordinator for all VoiceMore programme activity conducting in Jordan

· Providing support, encouragement and motivation to young people in the VoiceMore group, ensuring their active participation in activities

· Organising and coordinating local activities, meetings and events for the group and occasionally other young people

· Researching and identifying local and national advocacy opportunities in coordination with relevant War Child UK staff in country and the Youth Engagement Advisor

· The organisation and facilitation of regular group meetings with members of the VoiceMore team

· Working with members of the group to draw up personal development goals and support them in reflecting on and acknowledging learning achieved through participation in the programme

· Working with other groups of young people in liaison with the Programme Teams and other partner agencies

· Providing regular updates and reports on VoiceMore activities to the Youth Engagement Advisor and Programmes Manager

· Collating information on programme activities, outputs and outcomes for monitoring and evaluation purposes with support from the Youth Engagement Advisor

· Managing a small budget with support from the Area Coordinator

· Providing input and support to youth activities in War Child programmes in Jordan, at the request of Area Coordinators and Project Managers.

Person Specification – Essential Criteria

Experience

• Bachelor degree in Human Rights, Political Science, Business Administration and/ or any other related field.
• At least 5 years’ experience of working with children and youth in non-formal, empowering ways using participatory techniques.
• Experience of organising and coordinating activities, including planning and facilitation
• Strong experience and skills in training and youth mobilisation
• Experience of working in a close knit team and maintaining regular communication with colleagues
• Experience of working for an international NGO in Jordan, with Syrian refugees
• Experience of working in child protection and of adhering to child protection policy and practice

Technical Skills /Expertise

• Fluent written and verbal English

• Understanding of child protection and safeguarding

• Understanding of Child Rights

• Basic administrative skills, including budget management skills

Competencies (Soft Skills)

• Team player and passionate about young people’s personal development and active participation
• Ability to form constructive working relationships with diverse groups of people
• Demonstrate initiative and problem solving skills in the face of unexpected challenges
• Self-motivated with energetic approach
• Friendly and good sense of humour
• Good listener and willing to support young people in taking the lead
• Flexible and able to work in a small, dynamic organisation with limited resources
• Patient and sensitive in attitude towards children and youth
• Commitment to War Child’s aims and objectives and to working the values of the Organisation

Desirable Criteria

Technical Skills/Expertise

• Formal qualification relevant to the post, such as child psychology, social care or youth working or coaching. /tC2

· Please send your CV and cover letter outlining your suitability for this role to recruitment.jor@warchild.org.uk by 7 August 2016, please insert the reference title "Youth OFR/001" on the subject line, those who don't insert the reference title will not be shortlisted.

· Due to limited resources War Child HR will contact only the shortlisted candidates

· First round interviews will be held on the week of 7th August 2016

· If necessary, second round interviews for selected candidates will be held by the end of this week. Start date for this role is Thursday 18th August.

· Any offer made post the second interview will be conditional on receipt of 3 favourable written references, (from your most recent employer, any other previous employer and a character reference). War Child reserves the right to call the referees, in case clarification is required post the receipt of complete reference forms.

· The successful applicant will be expected to undergo an international police check and sign up to War Child’s Child Safeguarding Policy prior to a final offer being made.