Representatives Job Description

T E R M S    O F    R E F E R E N C E

Position Overview

Position title: IYF Representative

Location:  As designated

Category: National

Level: R

Duration: 4 Years

Supervisor/Report to: Regional Director

Job type: Voluntary Service (VS) Part-Time 

Overview

The International Youth Federation (IYF) is a global youth network, a politically neutral, and non-denominational organization advocating for youth empowerment and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help young people build a better future worldwide.

The IYF Representative is the leader of the IYF Country Team (IYFCT) and as such plays a central role at the country level in making possible the coordination of the IYF activities for youth development in order to ensure alignment of the IYF assistance with national priorities of young people, plans and capacity building in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Representative is the accredited senior IYF official in the Member country who represents, leads, and is accountable for, harnessing and directing the full potential of IYF’s global capabilities, and those of its associated funds and programmes, in support of national youth development strategies and collaborative partnerships. He/she will be responsible for positions IYF as a strategic partner for youth empowerment, with the capabilities to partner at scale and deliver world-class knowledge and technical expertise. The Representative assumes overall responsibility for the programmatic, operational, partnership, advocacy and communication activities of the IYF.

Mission Statement

To voluntarily represent, positively promote, and uphold the mission of “Empowering youth for a better world” in various programs and opportunities throughout the IYF interventions across member countries.

Background Information

The Representative provides both the managerial and substantive leadership for youth empowerment. S/he provides the vision and strategic direction to translate the IYF strategic vision in the national context through a country framework. The Representative provides guidance to the Country Team for the implementation of IYF’s projects, initiatives and activities. The Representative builds a coordinated and effective team of national volunteers and empower the team to innovate and engage with a diverse set of stakeholders and delivering results in line with the IYF vision and mission.

As a senior official at country level, the IYF Representative promotes teamwork, inclusion, and the empowerment of staff and of counterparts. The IYF work are performed in line with the established management norms, rules and regulations which emphasizes, inter alia, the highest standards of ethics, integrity and accountability in the personal and professional domains. The Representative empowers young people with information and resources to deliver results, nurtures and develops people, and models’ behaviors and attitudes that promote an environment of trust, inclusivity, mutual respect and accountability. 

The Representative is responsible for ensuring that programme results are matched with resources. Engaging with the government, national and international organizations, the Representative mobilizes resources and leverages financing and investment for the country framework. In this context, and in the pursuit of the partnerships that are necessary to realize the potential of the IYF’s integration role, the Representative ensures a client- and service-oriented approach to stakeholders, seeking both inclusivity in its partnerships, and transparency in its operations.

Accreditation

The Representative is accredited by letter of the Secretary-General to the Head of State or Government. The Representative reports to the Secretary-General through the Director of the respective Regional Administration. S/he leads and supervises the IYF Country Team (IYFCT) and represents IYF at national level.

Duties and Responsibilities
(A) Formulation and articulation of the vision and strategies for the IYF’s engagement at country level:

• Articulates and actively communicates a credible and convincing strategic vision for the IYF at country-level which is consistent with national youth priorities, IYF values, IYF Internal Strategy, and aligned with the 2030 Agenda;
• Positions the IYF as a key leader in the field of youth empowerment and introduce integrated services as a platform to promote youth empowerment and improve youth status;
• Continuously assesses the socio-economic situation and trends in the country to ensure that IYF’s support, programmes, and services are relevant and responsive to emerging youth priorities and needs;
• Leads the IYF in the strategic design and application of IYF’s policy and programmatic offer, operational capabilities, and partnership mechanisms, which are aligned to national youth priorities;
• Determines the strategic focus and allocation of resources in consultation with the Government, international partners and other constituents;
• Leads the identification of innovative approaches and modalities of the IYF programme to achieve planned targets through different modalities which facilitate partnership building, engagement of diverse stakeholders, innovative solutions, and external communication;
• Oversees the creation of an enabling environment for safe programme delivery and business continuity.

(B) Represents the IYF, and leads partnership building and resource mobilization:

• Represents the IYF in international and national fora, and represents the organization in its engagement with the government, and with other national and international stakeholders engaged in youth development;
• Leads the IYF’s approach to building and deepening partnerships, engaging diverse stakeholders, and external communication to ensure that IYF’s value-added and results are visible externally;
• Assumes responsibility for designing and driving the partnerships, resource mobilization, marketing and external communications strategy at country level, and for directly engaging local partners, resulting in concrete contributions to results and enhanced financing for the youth empowerment in the Member Country;
• Anchors advocacy activities, information-sharing, and relationship management with the aim of keeping the public well informed of IYF activities, while fostering strategic partnerships with the Government, private sector, NGOs, community-based organization and the media;
• Strengthens IYF’s visibility with potential stakeholders through conventional media as well as digital and social media channels and provides efficient communication to all partners in relation to activities and projects implementation;
• Ensures that common services and joint arrangements benefit IYF in its objective to provide efficient and cost-effective support services to the implementation of the country programme.

(C) Strategic guidance and oversight of the overall management of the IYF activities to ensure efficiency and adherence to organizational policies and procedures:

• Oversees the effective design and management of a focused, coherent, cost-effective and high impact portfolio of IYF projects and activities;
• Provides strategic guidance and oversight of locally-administered assistants, financial resources, and general administration;
• Identification of risks and implementation of a risk management strategy.

(D) Coordination and communications duties: 

• Assist in increasing national youth organizations/Associations accreditation at the IYF;
• Maintain active communication among youth organizations and other interested entities in at national level;
• Report youth achievements, success stories, youth progressing and related news to HQ press; 
• Provide annual report about IYF country activities, stats, and affiliated organizations.

(E) Country Team Leadership:

The Representative is responsible for establishing and leading the IYF Country Team (IYFCT) to serve as cooperative and interactive unit. Team development and leadership is therefore an important component of the IYFCT, as they will be responsible for the facilitation of IYF activities at country level. The Representative manages the IYFCT which comprises national volunteer officers:

1. Deputy Representative.
2. Communications Assistant.
3. Youth Assistant.
4. Sports Assistant.
5. Innovation Assistant.
6. Women’s Empowerment Assistant.
7. Environment Assistant.

Regional Monitor and Evaluation Process (M&E)
The IYF Regional Director and the Executive Board review the Representatives' annual reports. If the Representatives do not meet their responsibilities, the Regional Director or the Executive Board can offer suggestions. If problems continue, the Representative can be put on notice that they may be asked to step down. If, after being put on notice, the level of effort and activity does not improve - with the approval of the IYF Secretary-General - the Regional Director can ask the Representative to resign.

Competencies
Core Competencies provide the foundation of the framework, describing behaviors expected from the IYF staff, while Functional Competencies reflects the job complexity and level of responsibility for the Representative job.

• Lead (Level-2) Leadership is the art of motivating a group of people to act as a team towards achieving a common goal.
• Design (Level-2) Ability to recognize what changes are required and create a path for improvement using existing knowledge, problem solving skills, creativity and original ways of working.
• Empower (Level-2) Empowerment is a practice of giving team members skills, authority, opportunity and motivation so that they can take initiative and make decisions to solve problems and improve performance. 
• Mobilize (Level-2) Ability to identify resources and activities that individuals and organizations will undertake to support the IYF’s strategic goals and objectives. Engage and influence appropriate donors by building win-win relationships.
• Inspire (Level-2) Inspiration and lead by example is about energizing and creating a sense of direction and purpose in others, unlocking motivation and momentum for positive change.

For the detailed Competency Framwework please visit this link.

Functional Competencies

• Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
• Ability to lead and manage corporate strategic initiatives, projects and programmes;
• Excellent communicatuions, computer, internet, social media and information system skills.

Eligibility

• Only (18-38) age is accepted for this position;
• Be a citizen of the assigned country;
• Be a resident of his/her home country; 
• Highly interest in youth empowerment and youth issues.

Skills Required For Position

• Ability to interact cordially and communicate with a diverse community;
• Effective oral and written communication skills;
• Ability to assess and evaluate situations quickly, accurately and effectively.

Experience
Experience and results preferred at national level in youth empowerment role, development, communications, international relations, youth studies, sport, women empowerment, youth-led organizations or another relevant field. 

Language
Fluency in English with superior drafting skills is essential.