Project background:

The need for youth civic engagement is recognized by the Government of Armenia (GOAM) and its funding partners who are investing millions of dollars in comprehensive school reform in Armenia including a robust new civic education program. Armenians have limited public understanding of government functions, citizens' rights, and government responsibility and the formal civics courses currently offered in schools are not conducive to preparing civically conscious and responsible citizens and, because of this, Armenian youth lack the knowledge and skills needed to be active, engaged citizens. The design of the Armenia Civics for Engagement Program (ACE) is built on thorough analyses of extensive information collected on ongoing educational and social reforms as well as major non-governmental organization (NGO) initiatives implemented to promote youth civic education and engagement in Armenia. PH International (Project Harmony, Inc.) has assembled a highly capable consortium of local partners to invest in and build the capacity of Armenia's civic education and youth civic engagement ecosystem through ACE.

Under the experienced leadership of PH International, the ACE program pools the talents of three highly respected Armenian organizations, including the International Center for Human Development (ICHD), the Armenian Center for Democratic Education (Civitas Armenia), and the National Center for Educational Technologies of Armenia (KTAK)-the ACE Consortium. Capitalizing upon the local and international networks and capacities of all four of these organizations, the ACE program will have expansive reach across the Armenian civic engagement ecosystem as well as the nuanced capacity to engage hard-to-reach populations and vulnerable youth.

The purpose of the Armenia Civics for Engagement program is to educate youth on the importance of engaging in civic activities and creating pathways for them to do this. The ACE team will work closely with and support the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports (MoESCS) and other stakeholders in contributing to the achievement of USAID Armenia's goals outlined in its 2020-2025 Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS)-to advance democratic transition (DO 1) and increase citizen engagement for democratic consolidation (IR 1.2) by increasing civic and political participation (1.2.1), improving the sustainability of civil society (1.2.2), and amplifying the voice and agency of women, youth, and vulnerable groups (1.2.4). The Program Consortium will accomplish these results by an integrated set of program activities that include: Component 1: Formal education components, and Component 2: Non-formal education/youth engagement components.

A central tenet of ACE is the focus on and integration of the four cross-cutting domains of the Positive Youth Development framework (PYD): asset building, agency, contribution and enabling environment. Through formal civic education reform and non-formal youth engagement, ACE will increase opportunities for youth involvement in decision making and youth leadership to catalyze systemic change that will bolster and sustain greater youth civic participation. Through its innovative model of capacity building, networking, learning, training and investment, the ACE program will ensure a robust, capable, and innovative youth education and youth civic engagement ecosystem in Armenia by 2026.

 

Purpose and objectives

To ensure effective implementation of a set of program activities under Component 2, for which ICHD is responsible, it will hire Youth Public Policy and Strategic Communication Coordinator to manage specific activities pertaining to Objective 2: Enabling Environment for Youth Civic Engagement Improved and the relevant expected results (ER): ER 2.1 The capacity and commitment of relevant government institutions to sustainably; engage youth in decision-making processes increased; ER 2.2 The capacity and commitment of civil society organizations for effective youth programming and civic engagement improved; and ER 2.3 Avenues for non-formal civic education of youth employed.

Engagement of the Youth Public Policy and Strategic Communication Coordinator with sound expertise in the areas of youth policies and strategic communication; public policy research design, management and reporting; as well as scenario development is expected to reinforce the efforts of the ICHD program team in effectively and successfully implementing the program activities under Objective 2. The expected outcome is supporting strong data collection and monitoring systems that will ensure accurate and verifiable results on youth engagement in decision making.

 

Scope of Work

Task 1: Coordination of the design and management of the comprehensive assessment of youth engagement in decision making in Armenia:

• Develop ToR for the comprehensive assessment of youth engagement in decision making in Armenia;
• Develop ToRs for the contractual experts to carry out specific tasks towards implementation of the comprehensive assessment;
• Coordinate elaboration of the Study Protocol for the assessment methodology, including sampling frame and sample size; research instruments; ethical considerations in line with local and international best practices and standards;
• Guide development of the desk review report;
• Manage recruitment of participants and fieldwork;
• Oversee the data management and analysis processes;
• Coordinate preparation of the assessment report;
• Organize the presentation of the assessment findings and recommendations.

Task 2: Consultancy to the youth strategic communication of the MoESCS:

• Provide advice and guidance for the development of the strategic communication plan to engage youth is social, political and economic life of the country, based on the findings of the comprehensive assessment and priorities of the government's youth policies, while ensuring integration of the strategic communication plan with the priorities of the program's communication plan.

Task 3: Development of Town Hall Meeting (THM) discussion scenarios and the report on the THM results:

• Develop THM scenarios for facilitating multi-stakeholder participatory THM discussions on youth engagement in the development of their communities in four pilot communities of Armenia and in Yerevan;
• Coordinate development of the final reports on the results of the THMs;
• Liaise with key stakeholders in the government and the communities to disseminate the results of the THM discussions.

Task 4: Coordination and facilitation of Youth Expo learning events:

• Provide evidence-based guidance on the development of the Youth Expo Programme;
• Liaise with decision makers and other key stakeholders prior and during the Youth Expos to enhance their participation in the expos;
• Provide support with organization and facilitation of the workshops for the Learning Lounge and guidance for organization of Live Debates during the Youth Expos.

 

Institutional arrangements and reporting:

The Youth Public Policy and Strategic Communication Coordinator will work under the supervision Project Manager; guidance of the Project Manager and Program Team Leader for Objective 2 (PH International), and will report to the Project Director. For the implementation of Task 2 the Coordinator will collaborate closely with the program's Public Relations/Outreach Officer (PH International).

 

Required Qualifications:

Education

• Advanced University degree in political or social sciences, or related fields. A relevant university degree in combination with qualifying experience in the area may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience

• At least five years of progressively responsible experience in designing and managing public policy research;
• Experience in working with key decision makers at the national, rational and local levels;
• At least five years of experience of working in a technical advisory role for policy development and strategic communication, as well as policy reform support.

Language Skills:

• Fluency in Armenian and English is required (written and oral).

Competencies

• Ability to develop design and manage implementation of valid and reliable policy research; carry out systemic analysis of challenges, potential risks and opportunities in youth participation; linking the vision to reality on the ground, and making feasible recommendations;
• Ability to build and maintain partnership with wide networks of stakeholders, including representatives of the government, civil society and if need be private sector;
• Ability to capture and sustain attention, interest and agreement of high-level, influential policy and decision makers and secure their buy-in of high-level vision and objectives in youth engagement;
• Ability to work under pressure and within strict time frames, and to multi-task;
• Excellent analytical and interpersonal skills including oral and written communication;
• Acts as a team player and facilitates teamwork;
• Builds strong relationships with the Consortium team, key stakeholders and beneficiaries, focuses on impact and result for beneficiaries and responds positively to feedback.
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.

 

How to apply: A letter of intent, Curriculum Vitae with the names and contact information for three referees should be sent to [email protected] with the subject heading "Youth Public Policy and Strategic Communication Coordinator". Applications must be received by June 20, 2022 to be considered.  Only shortlisted applicants will be notified for interview.