Consultant Youth Engagement Coordinator St. Maarten

Background and Rationale
On September 6, 2017, Hurricane Irma devastated the island of Sint Maarten, negatively impacting the island's economic and physical infrastructure, and posing significant safety, livelihood, health, and wellbeing challenges for the population and Government of Sint Maarten. Among the immediate challenges of the post-disaster landscape was the need to mitigate the hurricane's impact on child safety, wellbeing, and the psychosocial support systems and services.

In the aftermath of the hurricane, the Dutch National Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF NL) supported the government of Sint Maarten, primarily in the areas of school safety, psychosocial support, and child protection services. Building on the successful outcomes of the early recovery project, a follow-up project is currently being implemented in collaboration with the Government of Sint Maarten, and funded by the Sint Maarten Recovery, Reconstruction and Resilience Trust Fund, managed by the World Bank: www.unicef.nl/trustfundsintmaarten.

Through this project, UNICEF NL aims to support the government of Sint Maarten to strengthen the education and child protection systems to address and better respond to the needs of children and adolescents resulting from natural disasters and external shocks. Overall, the project aims to:

Support teachers to deal with their own crisis-related needs, while also improving their ability to detect the needs of and provide psychosocial support to children.
Increase children’s and adolescents' ability to better cope with shocks, by providing life skills training and promoting the development of safe spaces and environments at the school and family level.
Strengthen the child protection referral and case management system and support the strengthening of the Child Protection Information Management System.
Strengthen professionals', such as teachers, social workers, health care personnel, knowledge of child protection.
Strengthen coordination for disaster risk management at the education system and school levels to better prepare for, respond to natural hazards, and protect children's safety during emergencies.

Apart from the above, UNICEF NL is collaborating with the government, through the Department of Youth, Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, to promote meaningful youth participation across various sectors.

Goal/Objective
To support the Youth Participation Initiative (YPI) which promotes the inclusion and active participation of youth in decision-making processes, policy development, and programme design across all development sectors in Sint Maarten. This includes facilitating the training of government and youth sector workers on integrating meaningful youth participation, as well as conducting research, and developing an organisational restructuring plan for the St. Maarten Youth Council to ensure that it is modern, fit-for-purpose, youth-led and democratic. This includes a comprehensive overview of children/youth services of various organizations.

Specific Tasks

Meaningful Youth Participation Training
Collaborate on Course Coordination & Curriculum Development for a Meaningful Youth Participation training: Finalize the training programme's design and development, targeting government policy workers and NGO stakeholders.
Co-facilitate Training Sessions: Actively lead various sessions, particularly those related to youth development, engagement theories, and engagement measurement, and assess participants’ assignments.
Facilitate Positive Youth Development Trainings for the Department of Youth.

Sint Maarten Youth Council Association Research

Conduct comprehensive research on the SXM Youth Council Association (SYCA), including a desk review of all relevant materials, a mapping of all youth social services available on Sint Maarten, and key informant interviews to determine the history and context of the SYCA, as well as its current functioning vis-à-vis its legal and statutory obligations, particularly in relation to the government of Sint Maarten, to have a deep understanding of the current situation of the SYCA and how it can grow and improve.
Facilitate an interactive and participatory process to structure the development of the council in a sustainable, equitable, youth friendly and youth-led manner. This could potentially include focus group discussions, meetings, interviews, questionnaires etc.
Develop an organizational restructuring and development plan, including the validation of the SWOT Analysis and development of a Theory of Change.

Deliverables
The following deliverables are expected to be completed during the consultancy:

Meaningful Youth Participation Training

Completed Training Curriculum and Materials: Provide a finalized training curriculum and all relevant materials for the training programme.
Training Inputs: Contribute to the training programme's design, including recommendations on the setup, number of participants, and duration of training sessions.
Please note that the specific details, such as the number of participants, duration, and other logistical aspects, are subject to adjustment based on the preparation and planning process.
Effective Training Delivery: Successfully conduct live training sessions in Sint Maarten for the target audience, ensuring active participation and engagement.
Webinar Delivery: Organize and deliver online webinars that effectively reach all 125 participants, providing valuable content and engagement opportunities.
Training Assessment and Evaluation: Provide feedback to training participants on submitted assignments; and develop a report detailing the outcomes of an assessment of the training programme with recommendations for potential modifications and follow-up actions to be taken by the Department of Youth for future training programming.

Sint Maarten Youth Council Association Research

An inception report outlining the conceptual framework and the utilized methodology and process while conducting this research. This report should focus on youth participation process when revising the SYCA bylaws and selecting a suitable organizational structure for the sustainability of the network.
A comprehensive and analytical desk review of existing literature and evidence on the SYCA and related background.
A comprehensive mapping of all youth social services available on Sint Maarten, both by the government and by non-governmental organisations,
A field consultation report indicating the outcomes of the conducted interviews, focus group discussions, questionnaires etc. with SYCA members and relevant stakeholders including young people who are not members of the SYCA.
An organizational Restructuring and Development plan for the SYCA with recommendations for the organizational structure that are sustainable, equitable, youth friendly and youth led.

Qualifications and Experience

MSc in Counselling Psychology, Social Work, Public Health, or related degree preferred.
Minimum 10 years of experience in youth development, policy and strategy development and organizational development.
Proven ability in youth programs development in the Caribbean and elsewhere is a merit.
Extensive experience in working with youth networks, youth organizations and/or youth groups.
Excellent research and analytical skills, both oral and written.
Experience from implementing similar programmes with similar complexity.
Strong and practical skills for effective coordination.
Experience conducting evaluations and strategic reviews.
Fluency in written and spoken English is necessary. Knowledge of Dutch language will be considered a plus.

Our Offer
A reference check is part of the procedure. The successful candidate will be offered a consultancy contract with The Dutch National Committee for UNICEF.

Timeframe
The consultancy is expected to start on January 8th, 2024. Expected duration of consultancy is 55 days, spread over several months until 31st July 2024.

How to Apply
Interested candidates who meet the required qualifications and experience are invited to submit an updated CV with a cover letter explaining their motivation and suitability for the post.

Candidates should also submit a workplan and financial proposal for the assignment, outlining availability, all-inclusive fees per deliverable (based on the number of days worked and daily rate charged). Travel expenses and accommodation should be included.

Applications submitted without a clear and detailed financial proposal will not be considered.

Applications must be submitted on or before 16:00 Eastern Standard time,
1st December 2023.

Please submit your CV, motivation letter and information on your daily fee,
via the online button on the UNICEF the Netherlands website, at the latest on
1st December 2023.

Consultant Youth Engagement Coordinator St. Maarten

Vacature

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Type functie