Jordan: Youth Engagement Coordinator (Najahona)

Plan Denmark and Plan International Jordan have been contracted by the Novo Nordisk Foundation to implement a 5 Year program (2022-2026) called “Najahna” focused on youth economic empowerment in Jordan. The action will aim to complement JRP’s top priority, which is to strengthen systems to protect the dignity and welfare of Syrian refugees and vulnerable Jordanians impacted by the Syrian crisis. By doing this, the project will support Jordan’s enduring commitment to continue to build an integrated multi-year framework to respond to the Syrian crisis in a transparent, collaborative, and sustainable manner in line with the Global Compact on Refugees framework.

Plan International is an independent child rights and humanitarian organisation committed to children living a life free of poverty, violence and injustice. Plan actively unite children, communities and other people who share our mission to make positive lasting changes in children’s and young people’s lives. Plan support children to gain the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to claim their rights to a fulfilling life, today and in the future. Plan place a specific focus on girls and women, who are most often left behind. Plan have been building powerful partnerships for children for more than 80 years and are now active in more than 70 countries. Plan Denmark and Plan International Jordan are both part of Plan International. Plan Denmark works with Plan Country Offices in more than 77 countries to ensure that children, adolescents and young people are safe and influence decision making in resilient communities that respect their rights and offer equal opportunities for all regardless of gender. Plan International Jordan was established in 2016 and works to improve the resilience of vulnerable Syrian refugees and Jordanians in both Azraq refugee camp as well as in host communities.

Role Purpose:

The Youth Coordinator is responsible for planning, overseeing, and directing the operations, services, and activities of an assigned Youth program as part of the overall Najaha Program. Performance requires ability to work independently with initiative and proactivity within established guidelines.

The Program:

Going on its eleventh year, and with 6.6 million refugees worldwide, the Syrian displacement crisis is the largest the world has seen in decades. Of those, 5.6 million are hosted in Syria’s neighbouring countries. The Kingdom of Jordan, being one of the most affected countries by the Syrian crisis hosts over 1.36 million refugees. Syrian refugees and conflict affected youth in Jordan confront many challenges, including poverty, limited access to quality formal and non-formal education, high unemployment rates and barriers to economic opportunities. In addition, the youth often experience an exacerbation of harmful social norms, attitudes and behaviours in their communities that prevent adolescent girls and young women from achieving their full potential. The Najahna program aims to empower 48,000 young Syrian refugees and other conflict-affected youth in Jordan, especially adolescent girls, and young women, to become economic, social viable actors in an inclusive, healthy protective and gender responsive environment. The three interlinked program objectives are focused on working with Education, Economic Empowerment, and an Enabling Environment respectively, and provide a gender-transformative frame for a holistic approach to a complex problem. Against this background, the program targets different barriers that young people face from the systems level, with a weak educational system and a restrictive legal and policy environment for refugees, to the societal level characterized by harmful social norms, practices and traditions that stand in the way of young women’s economic empowerment, and finally, to the skills and capacities that young people need at an individual level.

The Najahna program will be led by Plan Denmark and Plan International Jordan in collaboration with four consortium partners; The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), The Royal Health Awareness Society (RHAS), Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and The Confederation of Danish Industries (DI). The consortium partners bring an exceptional combination of experience, capacity and presence built on many years working with refugees and conflict-affected youth in ensuring access to Education, Youth Economic Empowerment, Health/Protection mainstreaming, gender and gender transformative approaches in various countries around the world as well as in Jordan.. ODI and local partner “Information & Research Center King Hussein Foundation (IRCKHF)”will ensure that learning and research are integrated and inform program design and adaptation throughout the program duration.

Responsibilities:  

• Lead the youth engagement the implementation of related activities, follow up on plans, reports, and assigned tasks.
• Ensure continuous engagement, participation and consultation of youth stakeholders in all steps of the project planning and implementation;
• Promote a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions;
• Support advocacy initiatives at community level;
• Support the youth to engage with the local government and community stakeholders to implement advocacy initiatives;
• Coach the youth to utilize evidence and best practices to engage with the local stakeholders to plan and implement local advocacy projects;
• Mobilize the youth by connecting them with a range of local and national youth networks to strengthen their advocacy efforts while offering them the chance to share experiences, acquire new skills and raise their voices in youth forums;
• Actively contribute to project planning and adaptation of the project approaches in line with youth participants priorities and needs;
• Provide guidance to the hub coordinators on referrals to other sectors;
• Representing the project to different stakeholders in the different areas of implementation: partners, CSOs, CBOs, municipalities, community leaders and youth;
• Lead the relationship with youth participants and local stakeholders to ensure achievement of the project objectives within agreed upon timeframe;
• Strengthen the understanding of community development, youth engagement and ownership and of social sustainability among the stakeholders in the areas of intervention;
• Support the coordination, preparation and facilitation of all events related to the project (meetings, workshops, trainings, consultations, national stakeholders meeting);
• Conduct regular field visits, provide coaching and technical support on an ongoing basis and ensure implementation of effective coordination mechanisms;
• Identify areas in need of capacity building of youth and CBOs;
• Ensure implementation of code of conduct, and internal Child Protection policy.
• Abide by the security policies and procedures and report any incidents or breaches to line manager and / or security manager.
• Work with Project Manager and other departments on reporting requirements of the project;
• Provide inputs to Project Manager to ensure budget follow-up and monitoring of expenditures in line with donor requirements;
• When required, participate to meetings and follow-up with the donor, including monitoring visits;
• Ensure all project deliverables and activities are in line with donor and PLANJO requirements;
• Support the logistic, procurement and financial issues related to all project activities and events;
• Collaborate with MEAL team and other colleagues to identify lessons learned and recommendations to continuously improve the project.
• Collaborate with Communication and Advocacy Officer on all communication, visibility and advocacy requirements.
• Regularly participate to management meetings to update colleagues on project updates and progress.
• And any other duties seemed relevant to the position and assigned by your manager.

Child Protection, Gender Equality and Inclusion: 

Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Safeguarding Children, Young People and Programme Participants, Gender Equality and Inclusion are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan

Technical Expertise, Skills and Knowledge: 

Knowledge:

• Minimum 3-5 years of experience working in a humanitarian context, specifically in project coordination, management, lobbying and advocacy, and meaningful youth participation
• Good understanding of community development and civic engagement concepts and practices
• Knowledge of Social Research methodologies and Qualitative data analysis
• Trained on advocacy and communication skills
• Trained on community engagement
• Trained on gender, inclusion and GBV in a plus
• Understanding of humanitarian response, coordination mechanism, humanitarian reform and action
• Experience in Education in emergency programming
• Experience in networking with CSOs and relevant governmental institutions
• Bachelor degree (master’s degree is an asset) in social work, psychology, sociology, international relations or any other related field
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word and Excel

Competencies:

• Fluent in Arabic, Good English speaking & writing skills
• Experience working on Participatory Approaches with youth
• Good skills in data management and analysis, logistics, administration procedures, initiatives and advocacy campaigns, training and facilitation, reporting, documentation, and archiving
• Solid communication, interpersonal, negotiation and relation management skills and experience
• Proven ability to work effectively and sensibly in cross-cultural settings and complex environments
• Development facilitation skills, including catalysing, connecting, and building the capacity of community groups
• Experience in building and maintaining relationships and networks with individuals, communities and development partners
• Soft skills:
• Result Driven, Team Work, Planning and Organizing, Communication

Plan International’s Values in Practice: 

We are open and accountable: 

• Promotes a culture of openness and transparency, including with sponsors and donors.
• Holds self and others accountable to achieve the highest standards of integrity.
• Consistent and fair in the treatment of people.
• Open about mistakes and keen to learn from them.
• Accountable for ensuring we are a safe organisation for all children, girls & young people

We strive for lasting impact: 

• Articulates a clear purpose for staff and sets high expectations.
• Creates a climate of continuous improvement, open to challenge and new ideas.
• Focuses resources to drive change and maximise long-term impact, responsive to changed priorities or crises.
• Evidence-based and evaluates effectiveness.

We work well together: 

• Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate.
• Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals.
• Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities.
• Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.

We are inclusive and empowering: 

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

Physical Environment: It is an Office-based environment, the office is located at Plan Jordan (Amman).

Level of Contact with Children: Low contact - Contact with children is Medium

Role Profile: 

• Type of Role: Fixed-term Job
• Contract Duration: 6 Months
• Reports to: Senior Project Manager
• Location: Amman, Jordan
• Grade: C2
• Closing Date: 5th May 2023

How to Apply: 

Follow this link to apply: https://career5.successfactors.eu/sfcareer/jobreqcareerpvt?jobId=46493&company=PlanInt&st=97F15FF2D08ECBD4F6A75DE05AC8F66B71203F5D

Female candidates are highly encouraged to apply. Plan International operates an equal opportunities policy and actively encourages diversity, welcoming applications from all areas of the international community.

Early application is encouraged as we will review applications throughout the advertising period and reserve the right to close the advert early.

Please note that only applications and CVs written in English will be accepted.

A range of pre-employment checks will be undertaken in conformity with Plan International's Child Safeguarding Policy.