TERMS OF REFERENCE

Programme Officer II

This position is being advertised for Programme Officer II1 with responsibility
for the Jamaica Youth Advocacy and Participation Initiative (JYAPI).
Background
The Jamaica Youth Advocacy and Participation Initiative (JYAPI) is a two-year UNICEF-funded project
of the Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network (JYAN) and will be implemented in partnership with the
National Centre for Youth Development (NCYD), an arm of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports
and Ashe Performing Arts Company.

JYAN is a premier youth-led advocacy programme and training organisation addressing a range of
issues affecting adolescent and young people in Jamaica. JYAN is a youth led leadership and
implementing body, supported by youth values, which seeks to develop, empower and sustain a
cadre of youth advocates to lobby for change on behalf of young people by promoting positive
behaviours; teaching techniques of positive advocacy; advising and guiding policies affecting them
and building their capacity in Jamaica, the Caribbean and beyond.

The goal of JYAPI is to build children and young people’s capacity to analyze policies, monitor and
track their implementation, while advising on their development and advocating changes that will
ensure a creative and protective environment for children and young people. It is inspired by the
visions of young people who will be trained in the skills of advocacy and supporting capacities,
including drama, music, speech and writing as tools for advocating change.

The key expected results of this project are:

1. To equip 120 youth with knowledge, skills and tools to act as effective youth advocates,
using the Convention on the Rights of the Child as the basis for their advocacy.
2. To develop parish-level advocacy action plans in four target parishes with at least one major
youth-led lobbying and advocacy-related activity targeting young people and policymakers.
3. To raise the awareness of at least 300,000 members of the general public about key issues
affecting Jamaican youth and the views of youth on these issues.
4. To facilitate the participation of at least 60 adolescents and young people in the
development of policies most relevant to adolescents and young people.
5. To develop and disseminate youth-friendly policy analysis papers to schools, youth-focused
organizations and key policy makers.
6. To host a youth conference to assess youth participation in policy development and provide
recommendations for policymakers concerning key policy issues affecting adolescent and
youth development.

1
There are two Programme Officers for the JYAPI, all duties under the Scope of Work will be
shared equally between the Programme Officer I and Programme Officer II.

Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network

3rd Floor – Ministry of Health & Environment – 2-4 King Street – Kingston, Jamaica
T: (876) 922 9477 | E: info@j-yan.org | W: www.j-yan.org
Scope of W ork
The Programme Officer is expected to lead the planning and implementation of the Jamaica Youth
Advocacy and Participation Initiative (JYAPI), working in close collaboration with Ashe, NCYD, UNICEF
and other collaborating partners. This involves coordination of four parish-level advocacy training
sessions; close liaison with the Youth Empowerment Officers at each of the Youth Information
Centres to mobilize and sustain Youth Advocacy Clubs and the development and monitoring of
parish-based advocacy action plans in the four target parishes; coordination of the development of
all public events and material for public dissemination.

Within the framework of the JYAPI, the Programme Officer will also ensure strong and consistent
linkages are made with the NCYD Task Force for the evaluation and renewal of the Youth Parliament
as well as the Youth Parliament Watch Group, Youth Minister Advisory Council and development of
the youth mainstreaming strategy.

Objective
To mobilize, train and sustain an effective cadre of youth advocates who will employ multiple
platforms to raise public awareness of key issues affecting young people and to influence the
development of policies related to young people.

Duties and Responsibilities

Working closely with NCYD, the Programme Officer will be responsible for the following key duties
and responsibilities:

Project M anagem ent

• Convene monthly Project Coordination Team meetings and regular one-on-one meetings with
each Project Assistant and other key stakeholders.
• Provide oversight, management and correct use of project finances, including timely
reporting as per UNICEF requirements.
• Budget and track expenses, in collaboration with support team at the Project Coordinating
Team and under the direction of the Executive Director. This responsibility includes:
ü Developing and keeping current a tracking spreadsheet for overall project expenses
as compared to budgeted amounts.
ü Developing a monthly activity expense reports with assistance from the JYAN Finance
Officer to be submitted to the Project Coordinating Team.

Project Im plem entation

• Manage the development of training methodology and curriculum to implement the parish-
level advocacy training sessions.
• Coordinate the hosting of the advocacy training sessions in target parishes.
• Oversee the development of parish-level advocacy action plans and monitor follow-up
actions.
• Coordinate the development of all material and hosting of all project events designed for
public audiences, including the youth-friendly policy analysis papers and the public fora.

Project M onitoring and Evaluation

• Prepare summary reports for all Project Coordination meetings and stakeholder meetings
that include decisions made, next steps and partner responsibilities.
• Seek technical assistance and/or lead in designing and implementing the project
management information system (PMIS) including development, field pre-testing and
ongoing improvement of the PMIS manual/toolkit (i.e. data collection instruments, step-by-
step M&E guidelines and training manuals).

Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network

3rd Floor – Ministry of Health & Environment – 2-4 King Street – Kingston, Jamaica
T: (876) 922 9477 | E: info@j-yan.org | W: www.j-yan.org
 • Provide leadership and input into reports (i.e. JYAN monthly, quarterly and annual reports) to
the Project Coordinating Team to ensure results-based reporting and that M&E components
are accurately and comprehensively reported for each objective of the project.
• Develop and implement an effective dissemination system that ensures timely M&E
reporting to all stakeholders and opportunity for stakeholders feedback and input.

Supervision and Reporting Responsibility

The Programme Officer will be contracted to JYAN. The work of the Programme Officer will be
supervised by a Project Coordinating Committee. This is comprised of all collaborating partners on
the project, which will provide technical guidance and oversight. The Project Coordinator will meet
regularly with the Project Coordinating Committee to submit progress reports and to discuss the
review the progress of the project

Deliverables and Tim elines

1. Final work plan inclusive of proposed methodology/approach to achieving the deliverables,
and related timeframe for the consultancy, by February 10, 2011;
2. Updated project information brief intended for senior MoCYS officials and other
stakeholders, by February 25, 2011;
3. Final advocacy training plan, inclusive of methodology and curriculum and means of
evaluation, by February 20, 2011.
4. Reports on the outcome of each parish-level advocacy training session, inclusive of pre- and
post-training results, by the last day of the respective month in which each training session is
convened
5. Four youth-friendly policy analysis papers, inclusive of a report documenting the development
and dissemination of the papers, as per the following schedule: 1st paper by March 2011; 2nd
paper by April 2011; 3rd paper by June 2011 and 4th paper by August 2011.
6. Reports on the outcomes of the public fora by the last day of the respective month in which
each forum is hosted;
7. Disseminate the Final report containing the recommendations from the Yute X 2010
conference, by February 15, 2011.
8. Comprehensive final report including an evaluation of all the project activities and
recommendations on the way forward, by May 2011.

Required Com petencies, Skills and Experiences

• An Associates Degree or Diploma in Business Administration, Social Work, Youth Development
or related field.
• At least four years experience working in youth empowerment and community development
with at least three years in youth advocacy and participation.
• Ability to work closely in a team, patient, adaptable, flexible, able to improvise and work in an
atmosphere that is deadline-driven and often stressful.
• Excellent spoken and written English: general ability to express clearly and concisely ideas and
concepts in written and oral form.
• Knowledge of how to present information to different audiences including young people,
general public, media to high level decision-makers.
• Good interpersonal skills.
• Analytical and conceptual skills to think and plan strategically.
• Proven ability to effectively manage relationships with media representatives, government
officials, community groups and other JYAN partners.
• Knowledge of computer systems and applications, specifically MS Office and interactive digital
media.

Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network

3rd Floor – Ministry of Health & Environment – 2-4 King Street – Kingston, Jamaica
T: (876) 922 9477 | E: info@j-yan.org | W: www.j-yan.org
Other required com petencies
• Financial management skills
• Excellent management and developmental skills
• Leadership qualities
• Ability to resolve situations of conflict
• Effective problem solving skills

Interested candidates should application to Jaevion Nelson, Director of Advocacy,

Policy & International Affairs at jaevion@j-yan.org

Submit your cover letter and resume no later than February 10, 2011 at 3PM.

Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network

3rd Floor – Ministry of Health & Environment – 2-4 King Street – Kingston, Jamaica
T: (876) 922 9477 | E: info@j-yan.org | W: www.j-yan.org