Youth Engagement Advisor

Chemonics seeks a Youth Engagement Advisor for the five year, $15 million USAID Advancing Youth Leadership (AYL) Activity in Cambodia. The primary purpose of the Advancing Youth Leadership activity is to enhance the capacity and leadership of youth, including those from marginalized groups, to fully participate in socio-political life, to address local development issues, and to increase civic participation. The Youth Engagement Advisor will be responsible for overseeing, implementing, and coordinating a variety of programs, and activities to develop leadership and adaptive and critical thinking skills, which include a unique leadership program and youth civic engagement. This position will require planning, outreach, data collection, and coordination with youth, civil society organizations, and the private sector. This includes facilitating access to the training program for Cambodia’s larger youth population, especially the underserved populations. The Youth Engagement Advisor will contribute to the planning of the Activity’s holistic approaches to counter gender-based violence and identity-based discrimination through advocacy, social behavior change communication, and emergency victim support. This will be a local long-term key personnel position that will be based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. All members of AYL’s team are expected to uphold Chemonics’ values of leadership, versatility, and integrity. We are seeking individuals who have a passion for making a difference in the lives of people around the world.

Responsibilities:

• Develop and cultivate strong working relationships with a broad range of stakeholders to promote active engagement with youth, youth-led and youth-serving organizations, civil society organizations as applicable
• Support the design of soft skill training programs ( i.e. digital literacy, media literacy, online security, and ability to carry out situational analysis)
• Provide technical guidance in the development of a customized leadership program and appraise AYL of existing innovative leadership programs that can be supported
• Design/manage peer-to-peer networks which will serve as a support system to build social and mental resilience among youth and marginalized communities
• Contribute to the design of AYL’s grants portfolio; facilitate opportunities for youth to apply leadership skills in civic engagement and participation in policy dialogues; youth participation in relevant networking events, festivals, and competitions to display talents, skills and innovation

Qualifications:

• Minimum Bachelor’s degree in international development, social science, business, law, communication, or other related fields; graduate degree preferred
• At least 7 years of experience coordinating large/complex or international programs with a focus on soft skill/skill development, youth empowerment, civil society, and civic education
• Demonstrated experience in capacity building initiatives for youth and community groups, community mobilization, coordination, and facilitation
• Ability to develop and manage civic engagement-focused grants
• Knowledge and experience on gender and social inclusion
• Strong understanding of youth networks and civil society organizations in Cambodia’s development context
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and relation management skills
• Expertise in building and maintaining relationships and networks with individuals, communities, development partners and other relevant stakeholders.
• Excellent and written and oral communication skills in English and Khmer required.