Youth Engagement and Participatory Research Specialist - National Volunteer at VSO

Type of role: Community and social work
Start Date: 15th October, 2018.

Job Purpose

• The purpose of the Youth Led Participatory Research is to understand how young people are engaged in programmes, organizational operations and governance, and also to inform decision making on youth related matters. This will serve as part of evidence gathering on best practices on youth engagement, exploring further opportunities, enablers and barriers for meaningful youth engagement within VSO and in community, regional, national, continental and global levels, and to facilitate development of VSO's Youth Engagement framework and articulation of youth contribution to VSO's Global Engagement Framework
• The Youth Engagement and participatory Research Specialist will work directly with the country programme team, M&E focal person and youth volunteers, guided by Global Youth Engagement Officer and Global Youth Engagement manager, and in collaboration with Knowledge for Impact team, Programme Development team and Engagement and Partnership team.

Responsibilities
Develop Research Proposal:

• Develop/review the TOR for the research and - Develop research proposal.
• Identify skills and knowledge of Youth Researchers (alumni, volunteers and primary actors) and provide guidance for youth researchers selection criteria:
• Develop JD/TOR for youth researchers
• Identify youth researchers with the support from country Programme Managers, Recruitment team and the programme team with agreed selection criteria.

Youth  Researchers’ Capacity Building and Support:

• Assess youth researchers’ needs, aspirations and assets to inform support and capacity building plans -Develop/adapt training resources for the youth volunteers/researchers
• Train the youth researchers on research ethics, participatory research tools and methodologies
• Lead youth research team  in the research process
• Provide coaching and mentoring support to the youth on participatory research process

Support to Country Office Team:

• Ensure Country office team understand the research process  
• Build capacity of the country team on participatory research
• Offer ongoing technical support to the country team.

Participatory Research:

• Support and guide youth researchers to;
• Conduct desk research to review the current evidence on youth engagement  
• Developing and testing the participatory action research tools aligning with VSO's youth position.
• Conduct action research in the country and select regions
• Analyse of action research findings in coordination with Global M&E lead
• Compile a research report with recommendations and a PowerPoint presentation of key findings (again in coordination with VSO and the youth researchers Relationship Building and Team working -Work collaboratively with youth researchers and VSO staff, KFI, PD and EP teams.
• Supervise the youth researchers  Knowledge Management and Reporting  
• Document and share successes, best practices and lessons learnt on monthly basis.
• Input in the development of the Youth Engagement Framework based on research findings.
• Participate in Youth Engagement team planning and review meetings
• Work with Knowledge for Impact team to refine the report for internal and external use and sharing
• Lead the dissemination of the findings of the action research to inform future actions
• Others Perform any other duty as may be deemed necessary by VSO 

Key Performance Indicators:

• Draft TOR/proposal for the research developed
• Youth are trained and built their capacity to have high confidence in conducting research Good practice, training material/modules developed to build capacity for youth researcher
• Coaching and mentoring guidelines and principles for youth researcher are developed with monitoring tool of their progress and their development.
• Quality evidence and report on youth engagement
• Evidence disseminated internally and externally
• Staff are trained and engaged in learning about participatory action research as a way to create meaningful youth engagement and have improved their confidence and ability to deliver quality youth engagement in their programmes.
• Spaces and learning platforms are created for sharing success stories, case studies, and good practices.
• Quality reports, case studies and good practices are developed and shared.  
• Number of success stories, case stories, good practices documented and shared

Competencies:

• Building and Sustaining working relationships - The social skills to build and actively maintain working relationships that foster teamwork and collaboration with others for the benefit of a common goal.
• Open Minded and Respectful - A non-judgemental approach that values other people and culture.
• Seeking and Sharing Knowledge - Recognition that learning is a two-way and continuous process.
• Facilitating Positive Change - The ability to analyse problems and develop lasting solutions in line with VSO approaches.
• Adaptability - A flexible approach and the ability to adapt behaviour to different situations.
• Resilience - Self-confidence to work with a variety of situations, diverse people and ambiguity.

Qualification and Experience
Essential:

• Educated at Master's Level in Social Sciences, Research for Social Sciences or equivalent.
• Minimum 3+ years’ experience  in Youth participatory action research and community advocacy with and by young people
• Sound knowledge of the current participatory research approaches and methodologies.
• Experience in youth coaching and mentoring
• Experience and knowledge in Positive Youth Development Framework  
• Experience working with/training low capacity teams/grass root organisations  
• Excellent documentation and report writing skills
• Skills in the application and use of various data analysis tools, SPSS, Epi-data
• Good training and facilitation skills  
• Proven planning, organizational and systems management competencies.  

Personal Qualities

• Ability to work with minimum supervision  
• Strong interpersonal skills and suitable character to work in a slow-paced environment which can be bureaucratic (requiring patience and tenacity).  
• Conceptual and analytical thinker
• Ability to adjust and adapt easily to a new environment, culture and situation; address multiple challenges in the workplace and be able to work with minimal supervision.
• A team player able to work alongside their local colleagues in a spirit of partnership
• Proactive, supportive and accommodative