Expert on Adolescent Development and Participation & Gender

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. In Equatorial Guinea, UNICEF is working the Government, particularly its Ministry of Education and partners to strengthen the education sector. Some of our priorities in the current Country Programme cycle 2019-2023 include foundational numeracy and literacy, evidence generation (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene - WASH in Schools, and Learning Outcomes), distance educa-tion and inclusive education. The main counterpart within the Ministry of Education is the Department of Preschool and Primary Education, and Inclusive Education.

UNICEF plays a critical role in responding holistically to the priorities and needs of adolescents across health and well-being, nutrition, education, protection, and participation. Guided by a rights-based, gender-responsive, and equity-focused approach, UNICEF recognizes adolescents and young people as agents of change and key partners in accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Adolescent development is mainstreamed across all thematic areas of the UNICEF Strategic Plan, reflecting the organization's commitment to creating meaningful opportunities for adolescents to participate in decisions that affect their lives and contribute to positive social change. In Equatorial Guinea, where 56 per cent of the population is under the age of 25, investing in adolescents represents a critical opportunity to advance human capital development and sustainable development outcomes. However, adolescents—particularly girls—continue to face significant barriers to education, participation, health, and protection. Access to secondary education remains limited, especially in rural areas, where geographic, economic, and gender-related barriers contribute to lower educational attainment and reduced opportunities for girls. Schools often lack safe and inclusive learning environments, while harmful gender norms and practices continue to restrict girls’ participation and development. Adolescent girls also face heightened vulnerabilities, including increased risks of school dropout, early pregnancy, child marriage, gender-based violence, HIV infection, and exclusion from decision-making processes. Existing legal and social barriers further limit their ability to continue their education and fully realize their rights. These challenges are compounded by inadequate opportunities for adolescent participation and leadership, particularly for the most marginalized and out-of-school girls. Addressing these challenges requires flexible, inclusive, and gender-responsive approaches that expand learning opportunities, strengthen life skills, and promote girls’ agency and participation. Under the general supervision and guidance of the Deputy Representative, the Adolescent Development and Participation Officer will provide technical and operational support for the design and implementation of integrated, girl-centred approaches that expand access to learning, build skills, and promote meaningful adolescent participation, with a particular focus on out-of-school and marginalized girls. The assignment will contribute to the development of practical tools, models, and strategies that can be adapted across contexts to strengthen inclusive education, skills development, mentoring initiatives, and adolescent engagement programmes, ultimately advancing the rights and empowerment of adolescent in Equatorial Guinea.

Under the general supervision of the Deputy Representative, the UNV Expert will support the design, implementation, monitoring, and documentation of integrated adolescent development and gender-transformative programmes: · Support the design and implementation of integrated adolescent development and gender-responsive interventions, with a focus on adolescent girls, out-of-school adolescents, and other vulnerable groups. · Contribute to programmes that promote life skills, empowerment, leadership, and meaningful adolescent participation. · Support the integration of gender equality, equity, adolescent participation, and climate resilience across education, health (including HIV prevention), protection, and social development programmes. · Assist in developing strategies and tools that improve adolescents’ access to safe learning environments, skills development, and participation opportunities. · Support the establishment and strengthening of safe, inclusive, and meaningful adolescent participation platforms and civic engagement mechanisms. · Contribute to initiatives that promote adolescent leadership in community action, governance, and social accountability processes. · Support adolescent engagement in climate action, environmental awareness, disaster risk reduction, and community resilience-building initiatives. · Facilitate consultations with adolescents and youth on programme design, including climate-related vulnerabilities and solutions. · Support gender-transformative programming that addresses structural inequalities affecting adolescent girls. · Contribute to interventions that reduce barriers to education, participation, health services, and protection for adolescent girls. · Support initiatives addressing harmful social norms, including child marriage, early pregnancy, gender-based violence, and school dropout. · Assist in the development and strengthening of safe spaces and empowerment programmes for adolescent girls. · Support adolescent HIV prevention initiatives, including life skills education, risk reduction, and access to adolescent-friendly health services. · Support coordination with health partners to strengthen integrated adolescent well-being interventions. · Support the integration of climate change education, environmental sustainability, and green skills development into adolescent programming. · Contribute to initiatives that promote environmental awareness, climate resilience, and youth-led climate solutions. · Assist in linking education, skills development, and climate action to enhance adolescent employability and resilience. · Support the development of innovative approaches that engage adolescents in addressing local environmental challenges. · Support coordination with government counterparts, civil society organizations, youth-led networks, and development partners to advance adolescent development, gender equality, and climate action priorities. · Contribute to multisectoral collaboration across education, health, and child protection sectors. · Assist in the preparation of technical inputs for meetings, joint planning, and coordination mechanisms. · Assist in documenting good practices, lessons learned, and case studies on integrated adolescent programming. · Contribute to data collection, analysis, and evidence generation to inform programme improvement and decision-making. · Perform any other related duties as required to support the adolescent development, gender, participation, and climate action agenda within UNICE